Physical Geography of the US and Canada Ch. 5

 Canada is 2 nd in land area in the world.  US ranks 3 rd in land area.  Both have lots of natural resources, which have attracted people to this regions for centuries.  Productive soil  Large water supplies  Forests  Minerals Landforms and Resources

 Landforms  Atlantic Coastal Plain – east coast  Piedmont – plateau of rolling hills and rivers and streams  Appalachian Mountains  Newfoundland to Alabama  Several ranges found in these mountains – Catskills, Great Smoky Mountains  The Interior Plains

 The Great Plains  Treeless area  Canadian Shield – found in Canada only  Rocky flat area that rings the Hudson Bay  Rocky Mountains  Lots of islands in Canada in the north

 Resources  Oceans  Atlantic  Pacific  Artic  Rivers and other bodies of water  Great Lakes  St. Lawrence  Mackenzie  Mississippi r

 North America has such productive soil makes it the world’s leading food exporter.  Minerals and fossil fuels  Iron ore  Nickel  Copper  Gold  Uranium  Silver

 Coal  Natural gas  Oil  The US is the world’s biggest consumer of energy resources.  Makes the US a major importer of these.

 US has more climate zones than Canada  Tundra to tropical  US is located in the mid-latitudes where climates are moderate  Canada is in the higher latitudes so its climate is colder. Climate and Vegetation

 Canadian Climates  Tundra  Sub-artic  Marine west coast  Highland  Semiarid  Humid continental

 US Climate  Marine west coast  Mediterranean  Highland  Semiarid  Desert  Humid subtropical  Tropical wet and dry  Humid continental