New Map: The American Nations Regions Across North America Published: August 31, 2025 Author: Colin Woodard --- Overview This post introduces a new map that extends the American Nations regional culture model across North America. Developed with the help of the Nationhood Lab and collaboration from mapping experts, the map is the first comprehensive depiction of these cultural regions spanning Canada, the United States, and northern Mexico. The American Nations model originates from Woodard's book American Nations, which explores the continent's cultural history north of the 25th parallel. The new map helps visualize these regional distinctions and encourages cross-border research and analysis. --- Key Details Map Coverage: Covers the entire continent north of the 25th parallel, including Canada, the U.S., and northern Mexico. Extends the model to Canada for the first time. Includes Greenland as part of the First Nation region (Greenland is part of Denmark). Cultural Regions Highlighted: Spanish Caribbean extends to the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. The map hints at peripheral areas like the "Spanish Main" (northern Caribbean coast of South America), though not deeply researched. Central and Southern Mexico align with "post-Aztec" and "Maya" cultures, which extend into Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras. Plans may include collaborations on a South American Nations map in the future. Development Collaborators: John Liberty (map creator) Tova Pearlman (data wrangler) The team at Motivf Reception: The map post has generated unprecedented organic online interest. It is a useful new resource for academics, researchers, and the general public interested in cultural geography. --- About Colin Woodard Background: New York Times bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize finalist. Author of seven books translated internationally and adapted for television. Director of Nationhood Lab at the Pell Center, Salve Regina University. Award-winning journalist with work published in major outlets like The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Economist. Former reporter in Eastern Europe during the Soviet collapse. Awards & Honors: 2012 George Polk Award 2016 Pulitzer Prize finalist Jane Bagley Lehman Award for Excellence in Public Advocacy Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society Education: Graduate of Tufts University and the University of Chicago Past Pew Fellow in International Journalism at Johns Hopkins SAIS Social Media: Facebook Twitter YouTube LinkedIn --- Navigation & Related Content Previous article: Sharing our rebooted national story — and why we need one — on PBS’s “Story in the Public Square” Next article: The Lobster Coast finally gets an audiobook edition Full articles archive available on the site. --- Links Nationhood Lab - American Nations in Canada Nationhood Lab - Master Map of American Nations Regions across North America American Nations book page: https://colinwoodard.com/books/american-nations/ Motivf: https://www.motivf.com/ --- © 2003-2025 Colin S. Woodard. All rights reserved.