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Landforms and Resources United States & Canada
Chapter 5 Landforms and Resources United States & Canada
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Landscape Influenced Development
US & Canada occupy the Central & Northern 4/5 of North America. Largest countries in the world 1st Russia 2nd Canada 3rd United States
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Landscape Influenced Development
Water that border the US & Canada Atlantic Ocean (East) Pacific Ocean (West) Arctic Ocean (North) Gulf of Mexico (South) US & Canada are Rich in Natural Resources
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US & Canada Share Landforms: Eastern & Western Mountain Range
Interior Plains Water Bodies: Atlantic, Pacific & Arctic Oceans, Great Lakes, Niagara Falls, St. Lawrence River
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Landforms The Eastern Lowlands The Appalachian Highlands
The Interior Lowlands The Western Mountains, Plateaus & Basins The Islands
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Atlantic Coastal Plain
Plains Central Plains Great Basin Atlantic Coastal Plain Gulf Coastal Plains
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Eastern Lowlands Eastern lowlands: flat, coastal plain runs along the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. Atlantic Coastal Plains: begin as lowlands in the northeastern US & widen as it extends into Florida. Piedmont Between plains & Appalachian Mountains Contains rolling hills & fast-flowing rivers and streams.
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Geographic Regions
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Appalachian Highlands
West of the coastal plains Gently sloping Appalachian Mountains. Begin in Newfoundland to Maine to Alabama Extend 1,600 miles More than 400 million years old Have been eroded by the elements 1200 ft ft. elevation
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Appalachian Mountains
Contain these mountain ranges: Green Mountains Catskill Mountains Blue Ridge Mountains Great Smokey Mountains
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Interior Lowlands Mainly level land covers a huge expanse of North America Flattened by huge glaciers thousands of years ago. Divided into 3 sub-regions: The Interior Plains The Great Plains Canadian Shield; largest, 2 million sq.miles
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The Western Mountains Massive, rugged Rocky Mountains (youngest US range) Extends 3,000 miles from Alaska to New Mexico Relatively young = 80 million years old Peaks more than 12,000 ft Highest peak is Mt. McKinley located in 20,320 feet
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The Continental Divide
Line of highest points in the Rockies that marks the separation b/w rivers flowing eastward and westward.
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Interior Plains 1.Between Appalachian Mts. & Mississippi River
2. Known as “America’s Breadbasket” – Most productive soil in the world. 3. Mississippi Drainage Basin – rivers that drain into Mississippi River Ohio River Tennessee River
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Mississippi River Basin
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Rivers St. Lawrence R. Columbia R. Missouri R. Hudson R. Potomac R.
Mississippi R. Platte R. Ohio R. Colorado R. Arkansas R. Brazos R. Rio Grande R. Yukon R.
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Great Plains . Between Mississippi River & Rocky Mountains
Western part of the Mississippi watershed. Contains the Missouri, Platte, Arkansas, & Red Rivers Stretches from N. Montana to Central Texas Treeless region
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The Great Plains
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The Great Plains
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Canadian Shield Lies farther north Rocky & mainly flat
1500 ft above sea level Around Hudson Bay
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Mountains & Plateaus Cascade Mts. Rocky Mts. ^ Mt. Whitney
Adirondack Mts. Cascade Mts. Rocky Mts. Sierra Nevada Mts. ^ Mt. Whitney Appalachian Mts. ^ Pike’s Peak ^ Mt. McKinley Alaskan Range
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Bodies of Water Great Salt Lake Chesapeake Bay Lake Okeechobee
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Great Salt Lake, Utah
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Lake Okeechobee, FL Okeechobee is Swamp Land in Southern Florida
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The Islands Canada’s northernmost lands are islands riding the icy seas near the Arctic Circle 3 islands are: Ellesmere Victoria Baffin US islands created by volcanic activity Aleutian Islands rugged & treeless Off the coast of Alaska Hawaiian Islands
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Resources US & Canada’s most important industries: Agricultural
Industrial
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Great Lakes Huron Ontario Michigan Erie Superior
These lakes & the St. Lawrence river form one of the world’s major shipping routes.
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Ocean’s & Waterways Longest & busiest river system is Mississippi-Missouri-Ohio Mississippi River runs almost the length of the 2,357 miles long. Main tributaries - Ohio & Missouri Rivers. Canada’s longest river = Mackenzie River flows to Arctic Ocean
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The Great Plains
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Land & Forests Land is one of the richest natural resources due to fertile soil. Leading food exporter = North America
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Land & Forests 1/2 Canada & 1/3 of US are covered by woodlands
Major producers of lumber & forest products US has more different trees than Canada b/c of the varied climate.
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The American Landscape
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Minerals & Fossil Fuels
Canadian shield has rich deposits of: Iron ore Nickel Copper = $$ for US Gold = $$ for US Uranium Coal - Appalachian Highlands & northern Great Plains Oil & Natural Gas - Great Plains, Alaska, & along the Gulf of Mexico
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Minerals & Fossil Fuels
The US is the Largest consumer of energy resources 60% of energy is imported from middle eastern countries (OPEC> Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries)
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Climate & Vegetation Most of the US lies in the mid-latitudes
Climate are moderate Canada is colder b/c it lies far north (high latitudes) Canada & US share similar climates along the joint border, Alaska & Yukon or Northwest Territories.
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Colder Climates A sub arctic climate (tundra) is along the coast of Alaska & Canada Permafrost would be found in Alaska Rocky Mountains & the Pacific ranges have highland climate & vegetation. See map on page 125
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Moderate Climates A humid continental climate can be found in central & northeastern US & southern Canada. Most of Canada’s population is found in the humid continental climate.
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Milder Climates Milder, dry and tropical climates of N. America are found south of 40* latitude. Much of the US is located here. Most southern states have a humid subtropical climate Great plains & northern parts of the Great Basin have Semiarid climate Houston has a Humid Subtropical climate
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Milder Climates Southern California has a Mediterranean climate
Mojave and the Sonoran are large desert areas of the Southwest. Only Hawaii and southern Florida have tropical climates. Mount Waialeale on Hawaii is one of the wettest spots on earth. It receives about 460 inches of rain per year. Canada has no desert, humid subtropical, Mediterranean, or tropical climates.
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Deserts Death Valley Mojave Desert Sonovan Desert
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Mojave Desert – 3,000’
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Death Valley, CA 3.3 million acres. 95% wilderness.
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Climate – Semi-Arid - Arid
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Grand Canyon, Arizona
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Extreme Weather An area of extreme weather in the Great Plains is called “Tornado Alley” Violent thunderstorms, tornadoes and blizzards are caused by warm air from the Gulf of Mexico meeting the cold Canadian air masses.
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Settlement The 1st inhabitants of N. America were Nomads from Asia
Beringia was a land bridge connecting Siberia & Alaska
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Settlement Most early Americans settled along coastlines and near rivers and streams About 3000 years ago agriculture replaced hunting & gathering as the primary method of food production
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Settlement Early American vegetables like corn, beans, & squash are now food staples around the world. Agriculture remains a huge activity in Canada & US.
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Building Cities Early cities built mainly around water sources.
Other factors that affect where cities are build include: Climate Weather Landscape Availability of natural resources Jamestown established in May 1607
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Building Cities Canada’s 2nd largest city is Montréal, Quebec
It’s located on a large island where the St. Lawrence & Ottawa rivers meet In order to make living easier in here, much of the city has been developed underground
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Montréal, Quebec
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Building Cities Los Angeles expanded into valleys & desert like foothills to handle all the people pouring in the area Large populations caused air pollution, inadequate water supplies and construction on earthquake-threatened land Los Angeles’ metropolitan area spreads over 4,060 square miles. Los Angeles settled in 1781 by Spain.
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Los Angeles: The City of Angels?
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Overcoming Distances Obstacles faced by early settlers in moving across N. America were huge distances, large bodies of water, difficult landforms, & harsh climates. Early settlers carved overland trails in order to move inland called: National & Wilderness roads Oregon trail Sante Fe Trail They also used inland waterways such as the Mississippi & Ohio Rivers.
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National & Wilderness Trail
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Oregon Trail Sante Fe Trail
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Inland Waterways They built a network of canals to connect bodies of water The Erie canal was the 1st navigable waterway b/w the Atlantic & the Great Lakes was built in 1825 N. America’s most important deepwater ship route—the St. Lawrence Seaway It was a joint project of the US & Canada
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Great Mississippi Flood, 1993
St. Louis, MO before the flood St. Louis, MO during the flood Mississippi River floods due to weather. St. Louis, MO after the flood
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Railroads Today, the US has the world’s largest railway system
The 1st transcontinental railroad was completed across the US in 1869.
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Highways The development of automobiles spurred road building.
The US has about 4 million miles of roads
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Highways Canada has about 560,000 miles of roads
The Canadians built their roads going East to West to connect principal cities.
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Austin, Texas 1958 1950
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Highways Canada’s primary roadway is called The Trans-Canada Highway & stretches about 4,860 miles The US interstate highway system began in the 1950’s and is a network of more than 46,000 miles of roads.
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