Chapters 5 and 8Geography of North and South America

Geography of North America• Landforms

– Pacific Ranges caused by collision of tectonic plates. Sierra Nevada, Cascade Range, Coast Range and the Alaska Range. Mt. McKinley 20,320 ft

– Rocky Mountains caused by geological forces pushing land upwards. Link U.S. and Canada. Stretch 3000 miles with peaks reaching 14,000 ft.

– In between dry basins and plateaus. Columbia Plateau- north. Created by lava that came from the cracks in ground. Colorado Plateau- eroded. Flat topped mesas and Grand Canyon. Great Basin has Death Valley. Canada’s plateaus colder and narrower than U.S.

– Great Plains- 300 to 700 miles. Elevations of 6,000 ft. Slopes downward up to 10 ft per mile to Central Lowlands along Mississippi River

Geography of North America• Landforms

– East of Mississippi are Appalachian Mountains. Canadian Shield- giant core of rock centered on Hudson and James Bays anchors the continent.

– Appalachian Mountians- oldest mountains. Second longest range. 1500 miles. Shaped by ice and running water. Coastal lowlands to the east and south. Between is Piedmont- area of roling hills.

– Atlantic Coastal Plain in the Carolinas and the Gulf Coastal Plain in the southeast.

– Volcanic islands- Hawaii. Lava forms and builds. Formed 8 major and 124 minor Hawaiian islands.

– Continential islands- part of continental shelf. Greenland and larger islands. Largest island at 840,325 square miles.

Geography of North America• Water Systems

– Continental Divide- high point in Rockies. Determines direction that rivers flow. East go towards Arctic, Hudson Bay, Atlantic Ocean or Mississippi River System. West go to the Pacific Ocean

– Many rivers including Colorado and Rio Grande have their headwaters (origins) in the Rockies. Tributaries flow into these rivers.

– MacKenzie River drains most of the Canadian Interior. – Mississippi flows 2,350 miles from its source. Longest river.

Width of 1.5 miles. Drains 1.2 million square miles. – Fall line in eastern U.S. prevents ships from traveling

further inland because it makes rivers break into rapids and waterfalls.

– St. Lawrence River forms part of the boundary along the border of U.S. and Canada as does Niagra Falls. Hydroelectric power.

Geography of North America• Water Systems

– Glacial dams created Great Bear Lake and Great Slave Lake. Glaciers also created the Greak Lakes and part of the Continental Sheild.

– Rivers and lakes have provided transportation and economic support for both American and Canadian economies.

Geography of North America• Natural Resources

– Energy resoures like petroleum and natural gas. Texas and Alaska rank first and second in petroleum reserves. Texas has natural gas.

– Coal, petroleum, and natural gas are forms of fossil fuels. Nonrenewable resources.

– Gold, silver, copper, iron, and nickel are plentiful in both areas. 28% of potash is found in Canada, 18% of copper, 14% of gold and 12% if silver.

– Mineral resources are also nonrenewable. Mining can use other natural resources as well as significantly damage the environment.

– Timber is vital resource. Cover less than 50% of Canada and 33% of U.S. renewable resource.

– Coastal waters provide fishing and fisheries. Grand Banks- richest fishing ground. Covers 139,000 square miles. Overfishing. Aquaculture or fish farming popular now.

Climate and Vegetation of North America• Southern Climates

– Warm and wet climates• Southeast- Humid Subtropical. Long, muggy summers and mild

winters. Atlantic Ocean helps this. No dry season. Deciduous forests in LA. Farming along Mississippi River.

• Everglades provide shelter to variety of vegetation and wildlife. • Later summer and early fall hurricanes occur. • Extreme southern tip of Florida has a distinct dry season in winter.

Lush rain forests found in Hawaii and Puerto Rico.

– Warm and dry climates• Rain shadow creates deserts. Keeps plateaus and basins between

Rockies and Pacific Ranges hot and dry. • Steppe or desert climates. Death Valley. Highest temperature ever

recorded at 134°F• Mediterranean climate in southern and central CA. Mild, wet winters

and hot, dry summers. Drought resistent vegetation. Chaparral. Grow best when it can be burned but the dry winds often cause this to turn into wildfires.

Climate and Vegetation of North America• Northern Climates

– Interior climates• Great Plains has humid continental. Cold winters and hot summers.

Moisture blocked from the Rockies but we receive cool winds from the Arctic and moisture from the Gulf. Extends into southern Canada.

• Pairies- treeless. 10-30 inches of rain. Supercells occur in the spring and summer. Tornadoes.

• Dust Bowl created by bad conservation habits. Caused many people to leave the area. Great Depression. Conservation efforts helped restore land.

• West of Great Plains is a steppe climate. Mixture of vegetation. Transitional climates between desert and humid continental.

• Higland climate in Rockies. Timberline. Chinooks melt the snow.

– Coastal climates• Pacific coast gets a marine west coast climate. Some parts get over

100 inches of rain. Winters are rainy and summers are cool. Ferms, mosses, and coniferous forests.

Climate and Vegetation of North America• Highland Climates

– Large parts of Alaska and Canada have subarctic climates. -70°F.

– Northern American get blizzards. – Confierous and deciduous forests. Along the Arctic coast

have a tundra climate. Bitter winters and cool summers. – Greenland has little vegetation and almost no ice free

parts. Interior has ice cap climate. 2 mile thick layers of ice and snow that constantly cover land.

Geography of Latin America• Landforms

– 8 million square miles. 16% of earth’s land surface. Middle, Caribbean and South America (largest)

– Begins as Rockies and extends to the southern tip of South America. Sierra Madre in Mexico, Central Highlands in Central America and the Andes in South America.

– Landscape caused by Pacific Ring of Fire. – Mountains cooler climates and rich natural resoures draw settlers.

Isolated these communities. – Sierra Madres surround densly populated Mexican Plateau. Mild

climate, fertile volcanic soil, and rainfall. – Central Highlands- volcanic peaks. Caribbean islands– Andes strech 4, 500 miles. Longest mountain chain as well as the

highest. Peaks over 20,000 ft. Cordilleras. Isolated settlements. – Peru and Bolivia surround altiplano. Patagonia- plateau in

Argentina- dry, barren and windy because of the Andes. – Mato Grosso Plateau- Brazil, Peru and Bolivia. Not populated. – Brazilian Highlands- livestock. – Escarpment on eastern edge into the Atlantic Ocean.

Geography of Latin America• Water Systems

– Transport people and goods. Most of the world’s major river systems here.

– Amazon River flows about 4,000 miles. Western Hemisphere longest river and second in the world. Carries ten times the water volume of the Mississippi River.

– Amazon River basin- hundreds of tributaries. Drains over 2 million square miles.

– Paraná, Paraguay, and Uruguay Rivers form second largest river system. Drains eastern half of South America.

– Hydroelectic power is a key ingredient. – Panama Canal- important. – Lake Titicaca- 12,500 ft above sea level. – Lake Maracaibo- largest lake. Inlet of Caribbean Sea. Oil

fields of Venezuela.

Geography of Latin America• Natural Resources

– World’s leading produces of energy resources. Oil and natural gas.

– Mineral resources: gold, emeralds, copper, and bauxite. – Not all of the areas have the same resources.

Predominately in Venzuela and Mexico. – Resources not evenly distributed. Geographic

inaccessibility, lack of capital for development, and deep political and social divisions keep many of natural resources from being fully developed.

Climate and Vegetation of Latin America• Elevation and Climate

– Five vertical climate zones found in the highlands of Middle America and western Southern America.

– Tierra helada and puna climate zones are from 12-16,000 ft. Frozen land. Puna is a cold zone.

– Tierra fría climate zone is from 6-12,000 ft. Cold land. Winter frosts. Middle America’s highest climate. Potatoes and barley.

– Tierra templada climate zone is from 2500-6000 ft. Broad leafed evergreens and needle leafed evergreens. Densley populated areas. Coffee and corn.

– Tierra caliente- hot land. Sea level to 2500 ft. Rain forests. Bananas, sugar, rice and cacao

Climate and Vegetation of Latin America• Climate and Vegetation Regions

– Tropical Wet: tropical rain forests dominates. High temperatures and lots of rainfall. Amazon rain forests blankets the Amazon River Basin. World’s wettest tropical plain.

– Tropical Dry: coast of southwestern Mexico, most Caribbean islands and north-central South America. High temps and lots of rainfall. Extended dry season.

– Humid Subtropical: southeastern South America. Winters short with cool to mild temps. Summers are long, hot and humid.

– Dry: northern Mexico, coastal Peru and Chile, and southeastern of Argentina have desert climates. Atacama Desert- some areas had no rainfall at all. Some areas recieve little rainfall and have steppe climates.