According to Mrs. Strotkamp

Mount McKinley (20,320 feet) Highest Point on North America!!!!

Rocky Mountains This range stretches more than 3,000

miles across the US and Canada (from New Mexico to Alaska)

The Great Basin cradles Death Valley, the hottest and lowest place in the US!!!

Record Temperature =134°F on July 10, 1913!

Nechako Plateau/Fraser Plateau in Canada

Are Colder and Narrower than the plateau areas in the US

The Great Plains of the US Located East of the Rockies

Appalachian Mountains- located east of the Mississippi River

North America’s oldest mountain range!!

North America’s second longest range (extends from Alabama to Quebec)!

Canadian Shield- located at the edge of the Canadian Plains

It is a giant core of rock centered on the Hudson and James Bays (it anchors North America!!!)!

Manhattan Island (New York City) Major US and world economic center!!

Greenland---the world’s largest island! It is about the size of Alaska and Texas

combined!!!!

Also known as the Great Divide Divides determine which way rivers

flow!

Colorado River

Rio Grande River

Both have their headwaters (their source) in the Rockies

Mackenzie River Flows from the Great Slave Lake to the

Arctic Ocean---drains much of Canada’s northern interior

The Mississippi River- flows 2,350 miles!!

It begins in Minnesota as a stream (you can jump across it!) and dumps into the Gulf of Mexico.

It is one of the world’s busiest commercial ways!!!!

St. Lawrence River- flows for 750 miles Forms part of the border between the

US and Canada One of Canada’s most important rivers! The cities of Quebec, Montreal, and

Ottawa grew up along the St. Lawrence. These cities depend on it for

transportation!

Forms the border between Ontario, Canada, and New York state

It is a major source of Hydroelectric power!

In Northern Canada glacial dams created Great Bear Lake and Great Slave Lake.

Giant glaciers moved through the land, carving out the land, and leaving holes and allowing for lakes!!!

In the US, the Great Lakes were formed!

Lake Huron, Lake Ontario, Lake Michigan, Lake Eerie, Lake Superior (HOMES)

Rivers have provided links between inland areas and coastal waterways.

This has been crucial to economic development.

Helped make Chicago a powerful trade and industrial center!

Fuels such as oils and natural gas Texas and Alaska have the largest oil

reserves in the US. Texas also has the greatest natural gas

reserve!

Most of Canada’s oil and natural resources lie in or near Alberta

Coal in the Appalachians, Wyoming, and British Columbia have been mined for more than 100 years!

Rocky Mountains- gold, silver, and copper

Parts of the Canadian Shield are rich in iron and nickel.

Forests and woodlands once covered much of the US and Canada.

Today, however, forests cover less than 50% of Canada and about 1/3 of the US.

Commercial lumbering is very lucrative! Positive efforts are being made to

preserve forests such as planting new trees to replace cut down ones.

Very important to the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, and Gulf of Mexico

As these waters have been overfished, fish supplies have decreased, and the Canadian government banned Cod fishing in 1992.

How did glaciers change the physical geography of the US and Canada?

What effects did these changes have on those regions’ developments?

Northern ClimatesLarge parts of Canada and Alaska lie in a

subarctic zone with very cold winters and lots of coniferous trees.

Greenland- has a tundra climate (bitter winters/cool summers) Very few people live in Greenland

Western Climates Marine West Coast

More than 100 inches of rain fall here each year! You’ll find Coniferous forests, ferns, and mosses

here. Southern California has a mild Mediterranean

climate.

Plateaus, Basins, and Deserts The rain shadow effect keep the area between the

Pacific Ranges and the Rocky Mountains hot and dry!

Much has a steppe or desert climate. Think Death Valley and the Mojave! You’ll find cacti and wildflowers!

Mountains Remember, the higher you are, the colder it

gets. (Climate is affected by elevation!!!) Coniferous forests cover the middle elevations of

the western mountains. Timberline= the elevation beyond which trees

cannot grow.

Interior climatesPrairies

Prairies= naturally treeless expanses of grass

In the Great Plains and eastern US, violent Spring and Summer thunderstorms called supercells spawn tornadoes, twisting funnels of air whose winds can reach 300 mph!

When dry weather blanketed the Great Plains in the 1930s, the winds eroded unprotected topsoil, reducing farmlands across several US states to a barren wasteland called the Dust Bowl!

This ruined the farming economy which was made worse by the Great Depression.

Farming has since improved, and the soil has been restored.

Eastern ClimatesHumid Subtropical (southeast; Houston)

Have long, muggy summers and mild winters) Florida Everglades

Wetlands and swampy areas

Hurricane prone coastlines

Eastern Climate (cont.)Humid continental climate

Extends from the northeastern US into southeastern Canada

In Canada, deciduous and mixed deciduous-coniferous forestland sweeps from Newfoundland into subarctic Yukon territory.

In the US, deciduous forests grow at the lower elevations in the south.

Eastern Climates (cont.) In winter, much of northern North America

experiences blizzards with winds more than 35 mph, heavy or blowing snow for 3 or more hours!

Tropical climatesWithin the continental US, only the extreme

southern tip of Florida has a tropical savanna climate.

Hawaii and Puerto Rico have tropical rain forests.

Describe and explain the environmental factors that have affected migration in the US and Canada.Consider climate and land features.