1. Elevation Map of United States

2. Appalachian Mountains
Stretch through many Atlantic coast states
1,500 miles long
miles wide
The Appalachians are aging mountains –they have undergone erosion. (The process by which the products of weathering are moved from one place to another)
Thought to have been formed 680 million years ago
Individual Mountains avg. 3,000 ft.
Highest peak = Mt. Mitchell (North Carolina, 6,684 ft)
Mt. Mitchell

3. October in the Appalachian Mountains

4. Ranges in the Appalachians
White Mountains (northern)
Blue Ridge Mountains (central)
Black Mountains, Great Smokey Mts. (southern)

5. Appalachian Mountains Natural/Economic Resources
Timber
Coal, granite, limestone, etc.
Bears, mountain lions, wild cats, wolves, foxes, deer and moose

6. Rocky Mountains

7. The Rockies Mt. Elbert 3,000 miles long “Younger” mountains
from British Columbia, in Canada, to New Mexico
“Younger” mountains
( million years ago)
A complex mountain system with jagged peaks, flat topped elevations, woodlands, year-round snow caps, grasslands, etc.
The highest peak is Mount Elbert (Colorado, 14,440 feet)
Mt. Elbert

8. Rocky Mountains
The Colorado Rockies

9. Rocky Mountains Runoff and snowmelt from the peaks sculpt landscape
Supply one-quarter of the United States with water
Rocky Mountains rivers eventually drain into three Oceans: the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, and the Arctic Ocean
Arkansas River, Colorado River, Columbia River, Missouri River, Rio Grande, Snake River, Yellowstone River
The Columbia River carves a deep gorge through the Cascade Range, at Crown Point State Park, Oregon.

10. Rocky Mountains The Continental Divide
designates the line at which waters flow either to the Atlantic or Pacific Oceans
located along the Rocky Mountains

11. Rocky Mountains Natural/Economic Resources
▪ Coal, copper, gold, iron ore, lead, petroleum, natural gas, silver, and zinc
Timber
Northern Rockies
Livestock
Sheep, Cattle, Bison, etc.
Recreation and tourism

12. Alaska Mountain Range 400 miles long mountain range
Southern Alaska
Mount McKinley (Denali)
Tallest mountain in N. America
19,470 ft

13. Cascade Mountain Range
Famous for its Volcanoes
Part of “Pacific Ring of Fire”
90% of earth’s earthquakes
over 160 active volcanoes

14. Cascade Mountains Natural/Economic Resources
Farming
Volcanic rock is rich in minerals creating excellent soil conditions
Powerful streams/rivers
Recreation
hydroelectric power
Crop irrigation
Volcanic steam is used to heat public buildings
Klamath Falls, Oregon

15. Cascade Mountains - Mt. Rainier
Mt. Rainier overlooks Tacoma, WA
Mount Rainier highest peak in the Cascades (WA, 14,410 ft)
Last recorded eruption in the mid 19th century

16. Mt. Saint Helens
Catastrophic eruption on May 18, 1980 at 8:32am. That eruption was the most deadly and economically destructive volcanic eruption in US history
57 people were killed and 250 homes, 47 bridges, 15 miles of railways, and 185 miles of highway were destroyed.

17. Mt. Saint Helens Became active again in 2004
continues to erupt in small doses
36,000-foot plume of steam and ash emerged in 2005

18. Sierra Nevada 400 miles long 70 miles wide California
Mt. Whitney – largest peak in the continental US (14,505 ft. - CA)

19. Sierra Nevada Yosemite Valley Lake Tahoe Granite summits
Half Dome, etc.
Lake Tahoe
largest Alpine lake in N. America
between Nevada and California

20. Mojave Desert California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona
Avg. less that 13 in of rain per year
Joshua Trees
Native to this desert area
Sparsely populated
Few big cities (ex. Las Vegas)
Death Valley
Lowest, Hottest place is North America

21. Grand Canyon Carved by the Colorado River into the Colorado Plateau
Arizona
277 miles long, over a mile deep
Home to many native tribes
Pueblo (Anasazi) as early as 1200 BC

22. The Mississippi, Missouri, and Ohio Rivers

23. Mississippi River Lake Itasca
Mississippi River begins at Lake Itasca in northwest Minnesota and runs 2,320 miles to the Gulf of Mexico
approx. 90 days for a drop of rain to travel from Lake Itasca to the Gulf
2nd longest river in the US
Run through 2 states, forms the border of 8 more
Drains most of US between the Rockies and Appalachians
Lake Itasca

24. Mississippi River
The Mississippi River near St. Louis

25. Mississippi River Basin
Mississippi River has the third largest drainage basin in the world.
41% of the continental US
Covers more than 1 million square miles
31 states

26. Mississippi River
Mississippi River traffic near New Orleans

27. Mississippi Delta Alluvial plain between Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers
Not actually a delta
Low elevation
Thousands of years of flooding, sediment between rivers
flat, fertile land
Between Memphis and Vicksburg
Plantation system filled with slaves, sharecroppers
“Birthplace of the Blues”

28. Ohio River
The Ohio River is the principal tributary of the Mississippi River (by volume & business)
981 miles long
Begins in Pittsburg at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers

29. Ohio River

30. Cincinnati, Ohio: “Queen City of the West”
Ohio River
Many native tribes lived along river
Border between slave and free states before Civil War
Primary transportation route
French and Indian War was fought for control of the Ohio River Valley
Cincinnati, Ohio: “Queen City of the West”

31. The Missouri River
The Missouri River is the longest in the United States at 2,540 miles
Begins at the confluence of the Madison, Jefferson, and Gallatin rivers in Montana, and flows into the Mississippi north of St. Louis, Missouri.
The combination of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers make the 3rd longest river system in the world
Traveled by Lewis and Clark in 1804 to explore Louisiana Purchase and find a NW Passage

32. The Missouri River Basin
The basin’s elevation drops from 14,000 foot peaks to approx. 400 feet where it joins the Mississippi
The basin is home to about 10 million people from 28 Native American tribes, 10 states and a small part of Canada
High sediment load earned it the nickname, “Big Muddy”
6 dams have been built along Missouri

33. The Missouri River

34. Rio Grande
Begins in the San Juan Mountains (Rockies) and empties in the Gulf of Mexico
Border b/w US and Mexico
Since 1845
Won in the Mexican-American War
US and Mexico share the waters of this river

35. Rio Grande
The Rio Grande in Colorado

36. Tennessee River Largest tributary of the Ohio Cherokee country
652 miles
Cherokee country
Important battleground during Civil War
Crossing over the Tennessee on a 1.2 mile bridge along the Natchez Trace.

37. Potomac River 405 miles long
Forms part of the borders of MD, VA, and Washington DC
Much of our founding history happened along the Potomac
Washington, Civil War, etc.
“The Nation’s River”

38. St. Lawrence River 744 miles long Primarily in Canada
Montreal, Quebec
Provides part of northern border of New York
Connects the Great Lakes to the Atlantic
Primary drainage of the Great Lakes basin
Main route of European explorers into interior N. America

39. Wabash River State River of Indiana 503 miles long
Forms part of IN-IL border
Proposed location of capital of Tecumseh’s Indian alliance
Battle of Tippecanoe, Vincennes
Empties into the Ohio

40. Hudson River 315 miles through eastern NY
Strategic importance in Revolutionary War
West Point
Major commercial Waterway
Especially after Erie Canal
Robert Fulton’s first steamboat
service

41. Columbia River 1,243 miles long
Begins in Canada and empties into the Pacific near Portland, OR
Lewis and Clark followed the Columbia to the Pacific in 1805
Salmon prevalent
very important to early native cultures

42. The Great Lakes

43. Lake Superior Largest freshwater lake in the world (surface area)
fed by over 200 rivers
Lake Superior is the largest, deepest, and coldest of the Great Lakes
The water from all the other Great Lakes would fit in Superior (with room to spare)
Rich in minerals
Copper, iron, silver, gold and nickel
Mining towns

44. Lake Superior Lake Superior is said to never give up her dead.
The water is too cold for bacteria to grow
Bodies never rise to surface
The last major shipwreck on Lake Superior was that of SS Edmund Fitzgerald in 1975.
Gordon Lightfoot song

45. Lake Michigan The only one of the Great Lakes wholly within US borders
Bordered by Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, and Indiana
The southern tip of the lake is heavily industrialized.
Chicago, Gary, Whiting Michigan City, etc.
12 million people
Chicago, Milwaukee,
Green Bay, etc.
Indiana Dunes

46. Lake Huron Lake Huron is the second-largest of the Great Lakes
Connects to Lake Michigan by the narrow Straits of Mackinac
Shared water
Borders only Michigan in the United States

47. Lake Erie
Bordered on the south by the states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York, and on the west by the state of Michigan
Cleveland, Buffalo, Detroit (close)
Primarily fed by the Detroit River and drains via the Niagara River and Niagara Falls into Lake Ontario.
Commercial Fishing

48. Lake Erie
Sunset on Lake Erie near Cleveland Ohio

49. Niagara Falls

50. Lake Ontario Bordered only by New York in the U.S. Smallest Great Lake
Rochester, Toronto
Smallest Great Lake
Its primary inlet is the Niagara River (from Lake Erie) and primary outlet is the St. Lawrence River
Good fruit-growing climate
Commercial orchards

51. Lake Champlain Forms part of border between Vermont and New York
Stretches into Canada
Drains into St. Lawrence River
Connects to Hudson River via Champlain Canal
Heavily fought over in the Revolutionary War and War of 1812

52. Chesapeake Bay Fed by many Appalachian rivers
Potomac, James, Rappahannock, Susquehanna, etc.
Brackish water
Mix of fresh and salt water
Delmarva Peninsula
VA, MD, DE
First English settlements
Important transportation rout
Key battles during Revolutionary War, War of 1812
Known for its fishing, seafood

53. The Great Salt Lake

54. Great Salt Lake
What is left of a much larger prehistoric lake called Lake Bonneville
About the size of Lake Michigan but deeper
Climate change (32,000-14,000 years ago), caused the lake to begin evaporating, leaving Great Salt Lake
Endorheic
no outlet besides evaporation
Saltier than sea water
Pink Floyd the Flamingo, the Great Salt Lake’s solitary flamingo. Pink escaped from a local aviary and lived in the wild from