Unit 2, Chapter 5: Physical Geography of the United States and Canada

Notes

• 
  Canada is the world’s second largest country
  

• 
  U.S. is the world’s fourth largest country
  

• 
  U.S. and Canada share an undefended border, topographical features (like mountain ranges), similar governments, economies, and lifestyles
  

• 
  Abundant natural resources
  
  • 
    Fossil fuels – coal, natural gas, oil
    
  • 
    Metals – copper, zinc, gold, silver
    
  • 
    Renewable resources - forests, fishing, fresh water, fertile soil (Canada has 5% arable land, U.S. has 20% arable/farmable land
    

• 
  Continental divide (the Great Divide) – high ridge of the Rockies that determines the direction that rivers flow: East of the Continental Divide, waters flow into the Arctic Ocean, the Hudson Bay, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Atlantic Ocean; West of the Continental Divide waters flow into the Pacific Ocean
  

• 
  Rivers
  
  • 
    Mississippi River
    
  • 
    St. Lawrence River
    
  • 
    Colorado River
    
  • 
    Columbia River
    
  • 
    Rio Grande
    

• 
  Other Water Bodies
  
  • 
    Gulf of Mexico
    
  • 
    Great Lakes (Superior, Huron, Erie, Ontario, Michigan)
    
  • 
    Arctic Ocean
    
  • 
    Pacific Ocean
    
  • 
    Atlantic Ocean
    
  • 
    Hudson Bay
    

• 
  Land forms
  
  • 
    Aleutian Islands (Alaska)
    
  • 
    Hawaiian Archipelago
    
  • 
    Appalachian Mountains
    
  • 
    Pacific Coastal Range
    
  • 
    Basin and range
    
  • 
    Rocky Mountains
    
  • 
    Great Plains
    
  • 
    Interior lowlands
    
  • 
    Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains
    
  • 
    Piedmont
    
  • 
    Canadian Shield
    
  • 
    Grand Canyon
    
  • 
    Niagara Falls
    

• 
  Varied climate regions
  
  • 
    From Tundra climates in northern Alaska and Canada to Tropical Savanna in southern Florida and Tropical Rainforest in Hawaii
    
  • 
    Complete the Climate Regions Chart
    

Physical Geography of the U.S. & Canada (cont.)

• 
  Mountain ranges line both the eastern and western edge
  
  • 
    West Coast to East Coast:
    
    • 
      Pacific Range – line the Western Coast of Canada and the U.S.; includes the Alaskan range (location of Mt. McKinley, the highest peak in North America), the Coast Range, the Sierra Nevadas, and the Cascade Range
      
    • 
      Rocky Mountains – the longest mountain chain in North America; 3,000 miles long; connect Canada and the U.S.
      
    • 
      Plateaus – mountains in the west give way to plateaus; includes the Colorado Plateau and the Grand Canyon in the United States; the Nechako Plateau and the Fraser Plateau in Canada
      
    • 
      Plains – plateaus fall to plains further east and form the Great Plains which spans both the U.S. and Canada; the Great Plains slope even lower near the Mississippi River Valley to form the Central Lowlands
      
    • 
      Appalachian Mountains – span the eastern coast of the U.S.
      
    • 
      Canadian Shield – a giant core of rock centered on the Hudson Bay anchors the continent
      
    • 
      Piedmont – lowlands just to the east of the Appalachian Mountains
      
    • 
      Atlantic Coastal Plain – line the eastern seaboard
      

• 
  Islands are important in the region
  
  • 
    Manhattan Island – part of New York City; on the mouth of the Hudson River; a major U.S. and world economic center
    
  • 
    Hawaiian Archipelago – volcanic island chain forming the state of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean
    
  • 
    Aleutian Islands – Alaskan island chain
    
  • 
    Vancouver Island – western Canada
    
  • 
    Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, Cape Breton Island – eastern Canada
    
  • 
    Ellesmere Island – northern Canada