1. Physical Geography of North America
Ch 5.1
Physical Geography of North America

2. North America U.S. and Canada share the northern part of the continent
Covers more than 7 million sq miles; about 12% of the earths land surface

3. Landforms Mountains at eastern and western edges
Plateaus and rolling plains in the middle
Rivers and enormous lakes provide freshwater

4. Landforms: West
Pacific Ranges: young, contain Sierra Nevada, Cascade Range, the Coast Range, and Alaska Range.
Located in Alaska, Mt. McKinley highest point, 20,320 ft
Rocky Mtns connect US and Canada, 3000 mi long
Dry basins and plateaus between 2 western ranges
Columbia Plateau – formed by lava
Colorado Plateau – flat topped mesas, Grand Canyon (formed by Colorado River – walls 6,000 ft)
Great Basin – contains Death Valley, hottest and lowest place in the US

5. Interior Landforms Great plains: 300-700 miles
Slopes toward central lowlands along Mississippi River

6. Eastern Mountains and Lowlands
Canadian Shield – Hudson and James Bays
Appalachian Mountains – NA oldest mtns, Quebec to Alabama
Coastal Lowlands – SE of the Appalachians
Piedmont – coastal lowlands close to the Atlantic Coastal plains

8. Islands Manhattan Island – NYC mouth of the Hudson R
Hawaii – 8 major and 124 smaller volcanic islands in the Pacific Ocean
Canada’s most important – West Vancouver Island, East-Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, Cape Breton Island
Greenland – world’s largest island; territory of Denmark; size of Texas and Alaska together

10. Water
Large amounts of fresh water provides power, movement of resources, and meets city and rural needs
Divide – high point or ridge that determines the direction that rivers flow
Continental Divide: In the Rockies
east of the divide = rivers flow into the Arctic, Atlantic, Hudson Bay, Gulf of Mexico, and Mississippi River
West = rivers flow into the Pacific Ocean

12. Water Cont Headwaters – source of a rivers water
Tributaries – smaller rivers or streams that feed into a larger one
Mississippi River – NA’s longest river; empties into the Gulf of Mexico
Eastern Rivers – St. Lawrence River: Canada’s most important
Fall line – boundary where the higher land of Piedmont drops to lower Atlantic Coastal Plain
Rivers break into waterfalls and rapids (provide power)
Niagara Falls – major source of electricity

14. Water Cont Glaciers to lakes
Glaciers caused the Canadian Shield and glacial basins which formed the Great Lakes
Great Lakes – Lake Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior

15. Natural Resources Fuels (petroleum and Natural Gas) Minerals
Texas and Alaska rank 1st and 2nd in oil reserves
Texas 1st in Natural Gas
Coal mined in Appalachians, Wyoming, and British Columbia for 100 years
Minerals
Rocky Mtns – Gold, Silver, and Copper
Canadian Shield – Iron and Nickel

16. More Resources Timber Fishing Forest covered most of the land
Today – less than 50% of Canada and 33% in the US have forest
Fishing
Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and Gulf of Mexico – rich with shellfish and fish

17. Climate and Vegetation
Ch 5.2
Climate and Vegetation

18. Varied Region
2/3 of Canada and Alaska lie in higher latitudes, long, cold winters, brief/mild summers
Most of US and 1/3 of southern Canada – temperate climates with varied elevation
Hawaii- tropical climate

19. Northern Climates Cold winters January temps below 0 to -70 Cold winds
Arctic Coastline – Tundra, cold summers few people live here
Greenland – sedge, cotton seed, lichens on small ice free areas – few people live here

21. Western Climates
Variation of climate due to latitude, elevation, ocean currents, and rainfall
Marine West Coast:
Windward side of the mountains – 100 inches +
Plateaus, Basins, and Deserts:
Rain Shadow effect b/w Pacific and Rocky mtn ranges
Great Salt Lake Desert, Death Valley, Mojave, and Chihuahan desert

23. Timberline – elevation above which trees cannot grow
Death Valley – highest temperature recorded in US 134 degrees F
Highlands - elevation
Coniferous forests
Timberline – elevation above which trees cannot grow
Chinook – a warm dry wind

25. Interior Climate Great Plains (center of North America)
Humid continental climate – cold winters, hot summers
Prairies – naturally treeless expanses of grasses
Avg in, grasses 6-12 ft tall
Dust Bowl – settlers broke up sod to grow crops on the Great Plains
Dry weather and wind eroded the topsoil creating a huge dust bowl

27. Eastern Climates Humid subtropical climate – southeast US
Wetlands and swamps (Everglades)
Hurricanes – ocean storms hundreds of mi with heavy winds (hit coastlines)
Humid continental – Northern US and Southeastern Canada – deciduous and mixed deciduous-coniferous forest from Newfoundland to Yukon Territory
Blizzards – winds 35 + MPH heavy or blowing snow and low visibility

29. Tropical Climates tropical savanna - Extreme southern tip of Florida
tropical rainforests - Hawaii and Puerto Rico

30. Exit Ticket List the major islands of North America
Name the tallest mountain peak in NA and what mtn range it is located in?
What is significant about the Death Valley?
What is a timberline?