Physical Regions in North America Basic Overview Socials 9

Eight Physical Regions in North America Appalachian Region Coastal Plains Great Lakes - St. Lawrence Lowlands Interior Plains Canadian Shield Western Cordillera Intermountain Region Arctic Region

Appalachian Region It extends mainly down the Eastern USA seaboard This area is comprised of mainly just mountains and valleys It is very old (up to 300 million years) There tends to be a heavy forest cover of coniferous and deciduous trees

Coastal Plains Are a lowland area that goes from Cape Cod and all the way along Mexico There are many swamps and marshes They tend to have several hurricanes every year The soil is mainly sandy Sink Holes (limestone) is a major issue

Great Lakes - St. Lawrence Lowlands This is the smallest geographical region in Canada The longest amount of Canadian history has happened here The landscape is mainly rolling hills and river valleys The soils tend to be very fertile (excellent farmland) It is a major shipping lane

Interior Plains These are the biggest area in N.A. There are many different aboriginal cultures who live here Tornados are the natural danger Summers tend to be very dry and winters are very cold The landscape is flat

Canadian Shield Another very old area as it is more than 2 billion years old During the last ice age the receding glaciers removed most of the soil There are huge deposits of minerals such as copper, gold, zinc & nickel The Boreal Forest covers most of the mountain range This area is located in Central Canada

Western Cordillera It goes through the west coast of N.A. P.R.S. is in this region It covers most of the land west of the Rocky Mountains The mountain ranges are very young meaning they are still growing There is a huge diversity in climate zones

Intermountain Region This area is found between the Coastal and Rocky Mountain Ranges It tends to be dry because it’s located in the Rain shadow The area vegetation can be from sparse grass lands to thin pine forest BC Central Interior is located in this

Arctic Region It is located way up in the north This is where the Northwest Passage is located There are mountains and lowlands The Inuit live here It is very cold and in some spots very dry Hundred of thousands of birds migrate to here during the summer mating season