1. Physical Geography of the U.S. & Canada Chapter 5 Section 1

2. - U.S. & Canada cover 7 million sq. miles - 12% of Earth

3. Western Features  Pacific Ranges  Formed by colliding plates (Pacific & N.A.)  Sierra Nevada, Cascade Range, Alaska Range, and Coastal Mountains (in Canada)

4. Mt. McKinley (Alaska Range) = tallest peak in N.A. at 20,320 feet—collision between Pacific and North American plates

6. Western Features  Great California Valley  alluvial valley  FERTILE area formed of sediments deposited by streams during flooding  out produces any other region in fruit & vegetable production

7. In Between Landforms  Dry basins and plateaus fill area between Pacific Ranges and Rockies – Why?  rain shadow effect from Pacific Ranges

8. In Between Landforms  Great Basin Region: area of low land surrounded by mts.  Great Basin, Mojave, Sonoran, & Chihuahuan Deserts

9. In Between Landforms  Death Valley:  hottest & lowest (282 ft. below sea level) place in N. Am.  dancing rocks phenomenon

10. In Between Landforms  Columbia Plateau-  Created by lava seeping thru cracks  Aka: Flood basalt— eruptions  lava coating landmass  Eventually part of crust sank into space left by lava

12. In Between Landforms  Colorado Plateau-  Created by tectonics and erosion (Colo. River)  Grand Canyon @ southern end  Walls as steep as 6,000 ft

13. Hoover Dam  Built on Colorado River b/w Arizona and Nevada (1931- 1935)  What is purpose of building dam?  to provide irrigation, flood control, and hydroelectric- power

14. Rocky Mountains  Formed by collision of N. A. & Pacific plates  Stretch more than 3,000 miles from New Mexico to Alaska  Some peaks are more than 14,000 ft tall  Series of ranges (cordilleras)

17. Rockies in Alberta, Canada

18. Continental Divide  Divide = high point or ridge that determines the direction that rivers flow  E - toward Arctic Ocean & Atlantic Ocean  W - into the Pacific Ocean

20. Rivers  Main rivers that have headwaters (source) in Rockies  Colorado, Columbia, Rio Grande, Mackenzie, Missouri

21. Interior Landforms  US: between Rockies and Appalachian  Canada: between Rockies and Canadian Shield

22. Interior Landforms  Great Plains (aka Interior/High Plains*)  Start at 6,000 ft  gradually slope down about 10 ft/mile from W to E  E of Rockies: extend 300-700 miles across center of region  “Breadbasket” of the US (Wheat Belt) *depends on source*

24. Interior Landforms  High Plains: primarily W of the 100th meridian  W of meridian= 10-20 inches of rain (semi-arid); good for rangeland  Rain shadow from Rockies  E of meridian= 20+ inches of rain

26. Interior Landforms  Eastern Interior Plains: region most positively affected by glaciers  Typically east of 100 th Meridian  20-40 inches of rain  Mostly flat w/ some rolling hills  Most fertile soil in world: Corn Belt

27. Interior Landforms  Interior Highlands  Ozarks : Surface is limestone  Sinkholes, caves, and springs

28. Canadian Shield  Giant core of bedrock (millions of yrs. old)  Negatively affected by Glaciation: scraped down to bare rock/thin soil  Good soil deposited in Great Plains  Only veg. is forests in south  Great for minerals (ores, gold, silver, copper, etc.)

29. Exposed Precambrian bedrock

30. Eastern Mountains  Appalachians: formed 300 million yrs ago  Oldest mts; eroded to 5,000-6,000 ft  Eastern NA plate collided with African plate  From Quebec to central Alabama  Valleys great for agriculture

33. Piedmont & Lowlands  Piedmont: E of Appalachians  Plateau region that drops (Fall line) into the coastal lowlands  Many 1 st cities originated here: Philadelphia, Richmond, Baltimore, D.C…. WHY?  Rapids/waterfalls = hydroelectric power and blocked from moving inland

35. Lowlands  Atlantic Plain- Carolinas, narrower as move North  Gulf Coastal Plain- west toward TX

36. Water  US/Canada wealthy b/c of abundant water- power, transportation

37. Water  Mississippi: 2,350 miles  Starts as stream in Minnesota  Gets to width of 1 ½ miles & empties into Gulf of MX  Affects all/part of 31 states and 2 provinces  One of world’s busiest waterways

38. Water  St. Lawrence River: one of Can. most impt. Rivers  From Great Lakes to Atlantic, forms country border Niagara Falls: –Tourist attraction, and major source of hydroelectric power –Form border of Ontario and NY

41. Water  Glacial Lakes  Great Bear Lake & Great Slave Lake formed by glacial dams  Great Lakes (Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior) formed by glacial gouges  St. Lawrence Seaway- series of canals & rivers  Helped build industry in NE  area allowed to industrialize quickly

42. Islands  NYC’s Manhattan Island: impt. economic center  Hawaii: volcanic island state, big tourism  Newfoundland, P.E.I., Vancouver I.: Canada’s most impt.  Greenland: world’s largest island, Denmark territory (Alaska + TX)

43. Resources  Fuels  petroleum & nat. gas: TX and Alaska, & Alberta lead  Coal: Appalachians, Wyoming, & British Columbia  Many Appalachian towns are now struggling because coal is becoming more expensive to use and is therefore being used less  Minerals  Gold, silver, copper: Rockies  Iron & nickel: Canadian Shield

44. Resources  Timber  Today cover <50% of Canada & 1/3 of US  Conservation of forests and animals is high priority  Fishing  Grand Banks (Can.), Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf of MX  Cod fishing banned in Grand Banks in ’92 due to overfishing