1. Landforms and Resources United States & Canada
Chapter 5
Landforms and Resources
United States & Canada

4. 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

5. 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

6. US & Canada Share Landforms: Eastern & Western Mountain Range
Interior Plains
Water Bodies:
Atlantic, Pacific & Arctic Oceans,
Great Lakes, Niagara Falls, St. Lawrence River

7. Landforms The Eastern Lowlands The Appalachian Highlands
The Interior Lowlands
The Western Mountains, Plateaus & Basins
The Islands

8. Atlantic Coastal Plain
Plains
Central Plains
Great Basin
Atlantic Coastal Plain
Gulf Coastal Plains

9. 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.

10. Geographic Regions

11. 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

12. Appalachian Mountains
Contain these mountain ranges:
Green Mountains
Catskill Mountains
Blue Ridge Mountains
Great Smokey Mountains

13. 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

14. 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

15. The Continental Divide
Line of highest points in the Rockies that marks the separation b/w rivers flowing eastward and westward.

16. 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

17. Mississippi River Basin

18. 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.

19. 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

20. The Great Plains

21. The Great Plains

22. Canadian Shield Lies farther north Rocky & mainly flat
1500 ft above sea level
Around Hudson Bay

23. 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

25. Bodies of Water
Great Salt Lake
Chesapeake Bay
Lake Okeechobee

26. Great Salt Lake, Utah

27. Lake Okeechobee, FL
Okeechobee is Swamp Land in Southern Florida

28. 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

29. Resources US & Canada’s most important industries: Agricultural
Industrial

30. Great Lakes Huron Ontario Michigan Erie Superior
These lakes & the St. Lawrence river form one of the world’s major shipping routes.

31. 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

32. The Great Plains

33. Land & Forests
Land is one of the richest natural resources due to fertile soil.
Leading food exporter = North America

34. 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.

35. The American Landscape

36. 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

37. 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)

39. 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.

41. 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

42. 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.

44. 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

45. 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.

47. Deserts
Death Valley
Mojave Desert
Sonovan Desert

48. Mojave Desert – 3,000’

49. Death Valley, CA
3.3 million acres.
95% wilderness.

50. Climate – Semi-Arid - Arid

51. Grand Canyon, Arizona

52. 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.

53. Settlement The 1st inhabitants of N. America were Nomads from Asia
Beringia was a land bridge connecting Siberia & Alaska

54. 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

55. Settlement
Early American vegetables like corn, beans, & squash are now food staples around the world. Agriculture remains a huge activity in Canada & US.

56. 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

57. 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

58. Montréal, Quebec

59. 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.

60. Los Angeles: The City of Angels?

61. 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.

62. National & Wilderness Trail

63. Oregon Trail
Sante Fe Trail

64. 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

65. 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

66. Railroads Today, the US has the world’s largest railway system
The 1st transcontinental railroad was completed across the US in 1869.

68. Highways The development of automobiles spurred road building.
The US has about 4 million miles of roads

69. Highways Canada has about 560,000 miles of roads
The Canadians built their roads going East to West to connect principal cities.

70. Austin, Texas 1958
1950

71. 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.