Physical Geography of The United States and Canada

Physical Geography of The United States and Canada Chapter 5, Section 1: The Land

North America

Important Vocabulary • Divide: is a high point or ridge that determines the direction in which rivers flow. Ex: the Rocky Mountains. • Headwaters: a source of water for rivers. Ex: the Rockies to the Colorado River and Rio Grande. • Tributary: small rivers or streams connecting with a large river. • Fall Line: in the eastern United States, marks the place where the higher Piedmont drops to the lower Atlantic Coastal Plain.

Vocabulary (Cont’d) • Fossil Fuel: natural resources such as coal and petroleum (oil). They are not renewable. • Fishery: coastal waters (Atlantic and Pacific) along with the Gulf of Mexico that are rich with fish and shellfish. • Aquaculture: a growing economic activity of fish farming.

Landforms • The Pacific Ranges include: Sierra Nevada, the Cascade Range, the Coast Range, and the Alaska Range. • The Rocky Mountains link the United States and Canada.

Alaska Range & The Rockies

Landforms (Cont’d) • Dry basins and plateaus between the Pacific Ranges and the Rockies. The Grand Canyon is the steepest. • Flat land mass – the Great Plains to the Mississippi River. • The Appalachian Mountains – Quebec to Alabama. • The Canadian Shield is on the Hudson and James Bays.

Grand Canyon & Great Plains

Appalachian & Canadian Shield

Water Systems • Niagara Falls – border between the United States and Canada. • Another water boundary are the Great Lakes.

Niagara Falls & Great Lakes

Mississippi River

Fossil Fuels and Minerals • Natural resources: oil, timber, coal, and natural gas. • The Rockies have: gold, silver, and copper. • Other mineral resources: iron ore and nickel.

Physical Geography of The United States and Canada Chapter 5, Section 2: Climate and Vegetation

Important Vocabulary • Hurricane: Ocean storms hundreds of miles wide with wind speeds over 74 mph. • Chaparral: a drought-resistant woodland of twisted, hardleafed trees. • Prairie: naturally treeless expanses of grasses spread along the Great Plains. • Supercell: violent spring and summer thunderstorms in the Great Plains and eastern United States.

Vocabulary (Cont’d) • Timberline: the elevation above which trees cannot grow, lichens and mosses grow. • Chinook: a warm, dry wind (in the early spring) that blows down the eastern slopes of the Rockies, melting snow. • Blizzard: during the winter winds, over 35 mph, blowing or heavy snow.

Southern Climates • Humid, subtropical climate. • Wetlands and swamps (The Everglades) provide vegetation and wildlife. • Rain shadow effect creates desert areas (Death Valley). • Hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters.

Northern & Coastal Climates • Northern climates experience changing seasons. • The interior has very cold winters and hot summers. • The upper west coast has an overcast, rainy winter. Summers are cloudless and cool.

1930 s Dust Bowl

High-Latitude Climates • Canada and Alaska have very cold winters. • The northern parts are vast wilderness and inhospitable. • Mixed forests from Newfoundland into the subarctic Yukon Territory (Canada).

Newfoundland & Yukon Territory