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Geography Lesson
Mrs. Bennett
8 grade American History
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Why do we talk about Geography in American History?
History and geography are tightly connected.
What is geography?
It is the study of the earth in all of its variety.
Geography describes:
• the earth’s land
• water
• plant
• animal life
United States
• A land of amazing physical differences
• A nation of diverse groups of people
Geography will help us understand how the United States acquired its
diversity.
U. S. landscapes
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Forests
Deserts
Grassland
Snow-capped mountains
Geography themes
• Location: Where is it?
Absolute location and relative location
• Place: What is like?
Physical characteristics: landforms, climate, plant and animal life.
Cultural characteristics: language, religion, music and architecture.
• Human/Environment Interaction
How people use and affect the environment.
• Movement
People, ideas, goods, and information move from one place to another.
• Regions
Characteristics typical of a certain area.
A region is an area that can have same: climate, physical features, cultural
features (i.e. language, religion) and government.
The land
• Coastal Plains ( the region along the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of
Mexico)
Geographer divide this region in:
1) Atlantic Coastal Plain
It stretches from Massachusetts to Florida.
It is the land of the first settlers and of the megalopolis.
2) The Gulf Coastal Plain
It stretches from Florida to Texas
The Mississippi River (the longest river in the United States)
drains most of the gulf plains.
• Appalachian Highlands
They stretch from Canada to Alabama (about 1500 miles).
The Appalachian Mountains are the oldest range in North America.
• Interior Plains and Lakes
(The central region of the United States)
It is divided in:
1) Central Lowlands (the eastern part).
It is characterized by thick forests, river valleys and grassy hills.
The Great Lakes are part of this region.
2) Canadian Shield
It stretches from Central Canada, to Minnesota, Michigan and
Wisconsin.
It is characterized by rocky low hills.
3) Great Plains (West).
It is characterized by fields of grains and grassy pasturelands.
 Mountains and Basins
1) Rocky Mountains
They are the largest mountain range in North America
They stretch from Alaska to Mexico.
2) West of the Rocky Mountains we find plateaus, basins and deserts.
• Pacific Areas
Part of this region are: the Sierra Nevada, the Coastal Ranges and the
Alaska’s Mountains.
Climate
 Middle latitude Climates (midway between the Equator and the
North Pole): it has a humid continental climate with moist winters
and hot and long summers.
1) Subtropical climate (Southeastern states): the winters are mild
and cold and the summers are hot and humid.
2) Marine climate (Pacific coast): temperatures are mild yearround with plenty of rainfall.
3) Mediterranean (Southern California): it has dry warm
summers with rainy dry winters.
 Dry climates:
Plateaus and basins between the Pacific mountain ranges and the
Rocky Mountains.
1) Deserts: Death Valley
2) Steppe: west part of the Great Plains
 High latitude climates ( polar):
1) Tundra south of the Arctic Circle. It is characterized by large
treeless plains. It has very cold winters and summers.
2) Alaska’s subarctic climate region. It has very cold winters but
the temperatures in the summer reach above the freezing point.
• Tropical climates (South Florida and Hawaii). It is characterized by
hot summers and warm winters. It has high humidity and abundant
rainfall.