1. Climate and Vegetation
How do climate and vegetation differ across the United States?
Identify the factors that affect climate and vegetation.
Describe the climate regions of the United States.
The climate of an area depends on:
Its distance from the equator
Distance from oceans and large bodies of water
Elevation*
Chapter 1, Lesson 4

2. Earth and the SUN
Earth’s orbit around the sun causes changes in seasons – summer, autumn, winter, and spring. Because Earth is tilted on its axis as it orbits the sun, places get different amounts of sunlight and heat at different times of the year…
…These changes are more noticeable in some places than in others. Some places have four distinct seasons In other places, it is mostly warm all year or mostly cold all year.
Chapter 1, Lesson 4

3. Climate and Vegetation
Earth is covered with different kinds of natural vegetation, or plant life that grows naturally in a place
The U.S. has four main vegetation regions:
Forest
Grassland
Desert
Tundra
* The amount of precipitation in a place is the single most important factor affecting where different kinds of natural vegetation grow.
How might the climate region people live in affect their lives?
The climate region could affect the type of clothes people wear, the type of homes they live in, and the outdoor activities in which they participate. This will become especially true for the Native Americans that we will study next.
Chapter 1, Lesson 4

4. Summary
1.4 – Climate can influence the way people live in the United States. It also affects vegetation. In dry regions, few plants grow. In wet regions. Many trees and other plants grow.
Chapter 1, Lesson 4