u.s. and canada: landforms, climate, and vegetation

CHAPTER 5 – SECTIONS 1 & 2

TEKS: 3B, 4A, 4B, 6A, 8C, 9A, 21A, 21C, 21D, 22B, 22C, 22D

U.S. and Canada:Landforms, Climate, and

Vegetation

U.S. and Canada – Vast Lands

Total area of any country:1. Russia

2.Canada 3.United States4. China5. BrazilTogether, they fill 1/8 of the land

surface on the earth.

APPALACHIAN MOUNTAINS

•Eastern Mountain Chain•1,600 miles from Newfoundland to Alabama•Includes, Green, Catskill, Blue Ridge, and Smoky Mountains•400 million years old

INTERIOR LOWLANDSThe Great Plains

Mostly treeless area

4,000 feet above sea level

Runs from southern Texas up through southern Canada.

Tornado Alley

CANADIAN SHIELD

Rocky, but mainly flat region

Lies far north in Canada

Covers about 18 million square miles

Encircles Hudson Bay

ROCKY MOUNTAINS

Western mountain chain

Extend 3,000 miles from Alaska to New Mexico

Line of highest points makes up Continental Divide

80 million years old

Tundra and Subarctic

Frigid winter temperatures are common.Winters - long and bitterly cold Summers - brief and chillyTreeless plains in tundra, evergreens in

subarctic.

Iqaluit, Nunavut (CAN) Barrow, Alaska (USA)

Rocky Mountains and Pacific Ranges

Highland climate and vegetation

The mtns. influence temp. and precip.

Western Mtns. trap Pacific moisture.

Moderate Climates:Humid Continental

The north-central and NE United States and southern Canada.

Winters are cold and summers are warm.Very productive agriculture area.

Des Moines, Iowa (USA)Winnipeg, Manitoba (CAN)

Moderate Climates: Marine West Coast

San Francisco, California (USA)

Vancouver, British Columbia (CAN)

•Ranges from northern California to southern Alaska.•Affected by Ocean currents, coastal mtns., and prevailing westerlies – winds that blow from W-E in middle latitudes.

Tropical Climates

Hawaii Florida

Everglades – A huge swampland that covers about 4,000 sq. miles.