Section 3 – Resources & Land Use Chapter 6 Section 3 – Resources & Land Use

Resources of the United States The U.S. has awesome farmland in the Midwest and the South Alluvial soil lies along the Mississippi River and other river valleys Most farms in America were owned by families until the 1900’s when large companies began to take over most of the land (agribusiness) An example of this exists in southern California which is well known for growing vegetables in the Imperial Valley http://education.randmcnally.com/images/edpub/US_Physical_Adv.png

H2O Industry and farms both need water to do what they do Water is also a vital part of the daily needs of all Americans in their homes It can be used to generate electricity too, like the Grand Coulee Dam in the state of Washington http://www.usbr.gov/projects/Facility.jsp?fac_Name=Grand+Coulee+Dam

Forests America’s forests may not be what they were when the first Europeans arrived Today they still provide lumber, wood pulp for paper, and fine wood for furniture to the nation

Energy & Mineral Resources The U.S. produces & consumes more fossil fuels than any other country Most of our oil is imported even though we have reserves in places like Alaska Natural gas must be refined in order to be used to heat homes, and most of it exists in Texas, Alaska, and Louisiana

Coal & Mining Coal is another fossil fuel that we use to power industry, make electricity, & steel We hold about 25% of the world’s resources of coal in WY, KY, WV, PA The U.S. also has valuable deposits of copper, iron, gold, and lead (for batteries, bullets, or solder)

Resources of Canada Less than 10% of Canada’s land is suitable for farming The Prairie Provinces & St. Lawrence Lowlands are where most of this takes place Canada has more lakes than any other country in the world (9% of worlds fresh water) This was very useful for transportation in the past The St. Lawrence Seaway & Mackenzie Rivers are still very important shipping routes http://www.worldmapsonline.com/images/academia/academia_canada_physical_lg.jpg

Minerals & Energy Sources The Canadian Shield is where much of Canada’s mineral wealth is located Iron, gold, zinc, silver, copper, & uranium are all found in this area Oil and natural gas are found in the Prairie Provinces http://www.worldmapsonline.com/images/academia/academia_canada_physical_lg.jpg

Rivers & Forests Canada is very good at using their rivers to create hydroelectricity, especially in Quebec Since almost half of Canada is covered with forests, Canada is a world leader in products like lumber, paper, plywood, and wood pulp British Columbia is known for construction lumber Ontario and Quebec are known for timber too Ontario & Quebec British Columbia http://www.craigmarlatt.com/canada/images/images&downloads/map_pol_colour_blank.jpg