Major Physical Features/Man-madeBy: Mrs. P

St. Lawrence River 774 miles long Jacques Cartier explored the St.

Lawrence river in 1585 Montreal and Quebec City are major

cities along the St. Lawrence river The most important commercial

waterway in Canada

The Great Lakes Found between the borders of the United States and

Canada Consist of:

Lake Erie—Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and is the fourth largest of the Great Lakes

Lake Ontario—New York, it is the smallest of the Great Lakes and provides passage to the Atlantic Ocean

Lake Huron—Michigan, it is the second largest of the Great Lakes

Lake Michigan—Michigan (is entirely in the US and is not shared with Canada), it is the third largest of the Great Lakes

Lake Superior—Borders Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota it is the largest of the Great Lakes

Atlantic Coastal Region It extends along the coast from New

York state along the entire coast of Florida

The coastal plain is generally wet, including many rivers, marsh, and swampland

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico is one of the largest bodies of water

in the world The entire basin is about 600,000 square miles Most of the basin consists of shallow intertidal areas but

its deepest point is called Sigsbee Deep and has an estimated depth of about 14,383 feet

The first European exploration of the Gulf of Mexico occurred in 1497 when Amerigo Vespucci sailed along Central America and entered the Atlantic Ocean through the Gulf of Mexico and the Straits of Florida (the strip of water between present-day Florida and Cuba).

Great Plains The Great Plains cover parts of ten states in the

western part of the country. Low rainfall - typically less than 20 inches a year -

makes it a dry area. The Great Plains originally were covered with tall

prairie grass.  Today areas that are not planted with farm crops like wheat are usually covered with a variety of low growing grassy plants.

Dozens of Native American tribes also thrived on the Great Plains long before American settlers arrived in the mid-1800s. 

Continental Divide This ridge runs north and south and

separates the flow of water on the continent.

On the eastern side of the divide all streams flow toward the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean.

On the western side all water flows toward the Pacific Ocean.

Great Basin The Great Basin Desert is the largest U.S. desert

at 200,000 square miles. The Great Basin’s 7 to 12 inches of annual

precipitation falls throughout the year, rather than during specific seasons, and occurs primarily as snow.

The Great Basin Desert features trees dating back more than 5,000 years.

The Great Basin Desert contains several smaller deserts within its boundaries, including Black Rock Desert and the Great Salt Lake Desert.

Death Valley Death Valley is a large part of the Mojave Desert

located in California near its border with Nevada. Death Valley is considered the lowest point in the

U.S. at an elevation of -282 feet and is located 76 miles from the highest point in the United States, Mount Whitney measuring 14,505 ft.

The hottest temperature ever recorded in Death Valley was 134°F at Furnace Creek on July 10, 1913.