North American Regions- Textbook Questions

The Appalachians Northern Influenced by the Labrador Current – brings cold water from the Arctic Warmer in the summer months Less precipitation in the summer months Temperatures drop below 0 in the winter months Southern Overall warmer temperatures in summer and winter months Hottest in the summer months Sporadic rainfall Lowest precipitation in fall months Highest rainfall in spring – especially March

Why would the Appalachians act as a barrier to colonization? Mountain region difficult to get across! Act as a natural barrier for Westward expansion Heavy forest Rough terrain Steep slopes

Appalachians in History! Remember Proclamation of 1763?? After the Seven Years War, the Proclamation of 1763 restricted settlement for Great Britain's thirteen original colonies in North America to east of of the mountains. Another reason why The 13 colonies rebelled against Britain

The Coastal Plains 1. What are the main differences between the Appalachians and the Coastal Plains? Coastal plains are flat, marshy and swampy Dry winter months Hurricane season!

2. What are the similarities? Divided into North and South Cold snowy winters in the north Temperature increase in the summer months Rivers for transport forests

3. Compare the climate graphs, what are the differences? Appalachians Larger temperature range Seasonal precipitation in the north Cooler summers (under 20 degrees) in the north Coastal Plains Warm all year round in the south between 20 and 30 degrees humid summer and drier winter in the south

4. Why is Florida an important tourist centre? Low precipitation in the winter Warm winter temperatures Canadians from the east want to escape the cold winter and travel South

Homework Page 168 -169 Questions 1 and 2 Page 170-171 Questions 1-3

The Great Lakes Why has the Great Lakes region become the most populous even though it is the smallest? Strong economy Farming – fertile soil Lumbering Tourism/urban economic activity

Great Lakes lakes moderate the climate fertile soil Lakes provide natural transport routes for people and goods Rolling topography means there was little barriers for settlement unlike the Appalachians and Canadian Shield

2. Why is the region most favourable in Canada for agriculture? Very fertile soil Long growing season ideal conditions for a large variety of crops

The Interior Plains 1. Explain why there is so much diversity in the Interior Plains region? Huge size Flat topography Wide range of climate conditions that allow different types of vegetation

2. Why do farmers need to use irrigation in the Interior Plains Irrigation: watering system for agriculture There is little precipitation even in the summer Irrigation is needed to grow crops that require water

3. What is Dryland farming 3. What is Dryland farming? What areas would farmers need to use Dry Land techniques? Dryland farming: growing of crops, particularly grain crops such as wheat and rye, that do not requires extensive supplies of water The Great Plains, with their natural grass vegetation are easily adapted to growing grain crops

The Canadian Shield How did glaciation affect the Canadian Shield? Completely removed the ground’s natural covering of vegetation and soils Exposed bedrock Deposits of glacial debris altered natural drainage leaving lakes and rivers

Because of this glacial activity, Canada has more lakes than any other country on earth!

2. Why is the Canadian Shield referred to as a ‘mineral storehouse”? Has vast deposits of valuable minerals: Lead Copper Gold Zinc Nickel

3. Apart from forestry, what other important industry is found in the Canadian Shield? Mining During the Ice Age, glaciers stripped the ground making minerals easy to detect. This has attracted many mining companies to the region.