I Physical Features United States of America Washington

I. Physical Features • United States of America = Washington D. C. • Canada = Ottawa • A. Major Landforms – 1. The U. S. and Canada form a region that covers most of North America. • • a) b) c) d) Arctic Ocean to the north. Atlantic Ocean to the east. Pacific Ocean to the west. Gulf of Mexico to the southeast. – 2. Canada occupies most of the northern part of North America.

I. Physical Features • a) Second largest country in area. • b) U. S. is the third largest in area. • c) The 48 contiguous, or joined together inside a common boundary, states are south of Canada. • B. Eastern Lowlands and Highlands – 1. The US and Canada have a variety of landforms. • a) Lowlands along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts. • b) In the Northeast, the thin and rocky soil constrains, or limits, farming.

I. Physical Features • c) The piedmont, a hilly fertile area stretches in from the coast. • d) Harbors on the Atlantic coast promote good shipping. – 2. The cities of Halifax, Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington D. C. form a megalopolis. – 3. The Gulf of Mexico coastal plain is wider than the Atlantic Coast. • a) Soils are better than the Atlantic Coast. • b) New Orleans and Houston

I. Physical Features – 4. West and north of the Atlantic coastal plain spread a number of highland areas. • a) Appalachian Mtns. Are the oldest mtns. in North America. • b) Rich coal deposits are located here. • C. Interior Lowlands – 1. West of the eastern highlands are the interior lowlands. • a) To the north lies the Canadian Shield. • b) The Canadian Shield is not good for farming but the land yields huge mineral deposits.

I. Physical Features – 2. South of the Canadian Shield and west of the Appalachian Mtns. lie the Central Lowlands. • a) Good farmland thick forests. • b) Important waterways like the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River. – 3. The Great Plains stretch west of the Mississippi River. • a) Prairie, or rolling inland grasslands with fertile soil cover this area. • b) Great farms and deposits of coal, oil, and natural gas. • D. Western Mountains and Plateaus

I. Physical Features – 1. West of the Great Plains is a cordillera, which is a group of mountain ranges that run side by side. • a) Eastern edge is the Rocky Mountains. • b) Then the Sierra Nevadas, the Cascades and the Coast Ranges. • c) To the south of these ranges lie deep canyons, or deep valleys with steep sides. – 2. To the Pacific Ocean lies the Hawaiian Islands. • a) They were made from volcanoes from the ocean floor.

I. Physical Features • E. The Great Lakes – 1. The Great Lakes – the world’s largest freshwater lakes – lie in the central part of this region. • a) Thousands of years ago, glaciers, or giant sheets of ice, formed Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario. (HOMES) – 2. The St. Lawrence River is one of Canada’s most important rivers. • a) The Canadian cities of Quebec, Montreal, and Ottawa developed along the St. Lawrence River.

I. Physical Features – 3. For many years, rapids, waterfalls, and other obstructions kept ships from navigating the entire route, or journey, from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean. • a) In the mid 1900 s, the United States and Canada built the St. Lawrence Seaway. • b) Great Lakes Atlantic Ocean • c) Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Toronto • F. The Mississippi River – 1. The Mississippi River is the longest river in North America. • a) Memphis, St. Louis, and New Orleans

I. Physical Features – 2. The river system is the major waterway for the central part of the region. • a) 31 states and parts of Canada. • G. The Continental Divide – 1. Many rivers like the Colorado and the Rio Grande, flow from the Rocky Mountains. • a) The high ridge of the Rockies is called the Continental Divide. • b) A divide is a high point that determines the direction that rivers flow. – 2. Northeast of the Rockies, the Mackenzie River flows from the Great Slave Lake to the Arctic Ocean.

I. Physical Features • H. Energy and Mineral Resources – 1. The US and Canada have major energy resources, such as oil and gas. • a) Texas ranks first in the US. • b) The US uses more oil than it produces. – 2. Canada exports both oil and natural gas. • a) Oil and natural gas can be found mostly in the province of Alberta. • b) Oil is mixed with sand. – 3. The US and Canada have huge coal deposits. • a) Appalachian Mtns. , Wyoming, and British Columbia.

I. Physical Features – 4. Hydroelectric power can be found along streams and rivers near the coast. – 5. Mineral resources are also plentiful in the US and Canada. • a) Eastern Canada and the northern US have iron ore deposits. • b) Rocky Mtns. yield gold, silver, and copper. • c) The Canadian Shield is full of minerals which have spawned manufacturing in the province of Quebec and Ontario.

I. Physical Features • I. Soil, Timber, and Fish – 1. Rich soil in parts of the US and Canada are excellent for farming. • • a) b) c) d) corn = central lowlands wheat = great plains dairy, fruits and vegetables = OR and WA 200 crops = CA valleys – 2. Timber is another important resource in the region. • a) Canada, Washington, Oregon

I. Physical Features – 3. Coastal waters are important to the region’s economies. • a) Overfishing has harmed the Atlantic fishing industry especially off the Grand Banks.