The North America Nebula is a large emission nebula located in the vicinity of Deneb, the brightest star in Cygnus.
The nebula is famous for its shape, which bears a striking resemblance to that of the North America continent. It occupies an area of 120 by 100 arc minutes and has a visual magnitude of 4.
It lies at an approximate distance of 1,600 light years from Earth. It is listed as NGC 7000 in the New General Catalogue.
The North America Nebula is part of the same H II region as its smaller neighbour, the Pelican Nebula (IC 5070). The two nebulae are separated by a molecular cloud of dark obscuring dust. They are both located in the Orion Arm of the Milky Way.
The portion of the nebula that exhibits the most concentrated star formation is called the Cygnus Wall.
It spans about 20 light years and appears as a W-shaped ridge in the part of the nebula that resembles Mexico and Central America.