1. Physical Regions in North America
Basic Overview
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2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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