Physical Geography of North America

Ch 5.1

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

Landforms• Mountains at eastern and western edges

• Plateaus and rolling plains in the middle

• Rivers and enormous lakes provide freshwater

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

Interior Landforms

• Great plains: 300-700 miles

• Slopes toward central lowlands along Mississippi River

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

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

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

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

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

Natural Resources

• Fuels (petroleum and Natural Gas)– 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

More Resources

• Timber– 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

Climate and Vegetation

Ch 5.2

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

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

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

– 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

Interior Climate

• Great Plains (center of North America)

• Humid continental climate – cold winters, hot summers

• Prairies – naturally treeless expanses of grasses– Avg 10-30 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

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

Tropical Climates

• tropical savanna - Extreme southern tip of Florida

• tropical rainforests - Hawaii and Puerto Rico

Exit Ticket

1. List the major islands of North America

2. Name the tallest mountain peak in NA and what mtn range it is located in?

3. What is significant about the Death Valley?

4. What is a timberline?