Download US STATES AND REGIONS

US STATES AND
REGIONS
USA STUDIES WEEKLY
USA’S SEVEN NATURAL REGIONS
• Pacific Coastal Plains: Cascade Mountains, Sierra Nevada Mountains, redwood forests in
northern California, San Adreas Fault. The San Andreas Fault is the sliding boundary
between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate. San Diego, Los Angeles and Big
Sur are on the Pacific Plate. San Francisco, Sacramento and the Sierra Nevada are on the
North American Plate.
Death Valley,
California:
edge of Great
Basin..lowest
land in US
WESTERN PLATEAU
• Western Plateau=Great Basin
• Grand Canyon: Grand Canyon is in the northwest corner of Arizona, close to the
borders of Utah and Nevada. The Colorado River, which flows through the canyon, drains
water from seven states, but the feature we know as Grand Canyon is entirely in Arizona.
•
Colorado Plateau: unusual and beautiful
landforms
ROCKY MOUNTAINS
• Longest mountain range in North America
• Mount Elbert highest peak
• Continental Divide: imaginary line which passes through the Rocky Mountains. West
side of the line rivers flow to the Pacific Ocean. East side of the line rivers flow to the
Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean
INTERIOR PLAINS
• Largest region in the United States: center of the country
• Cattle and rich farmland
• Oil and coal deposits
• Mississippi and Missouri Rivers
• Maybe??????once a large sea
ATLANTIC COASTAL PLAINS
• Farms: tobacco, peanuts, cotton
• Oil and natural gas
• Tourist area/vacation area: Everglades National Park in Florida
APPALACHIAN REGION
• Appalachian Mountains: oldest mountains in United States, erosion wearing down the
mountains
• Coal mining
• Faming major activity
• Forest industry
• Great Smoky Mountains National Park
OZARK HIGHLANDS
• Small area: Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas
Plateau area
Forests area
Underground caverns
Vacation areas
Man-made water reservoirs
BODIES OF WATER
• Inlet: water that extends into the land from a larger body of water
• Largest inlands are gulfs: Gulf of Mexico
• Sound: long inlet that separates offshore islands from mainland
• Bays and Sounds provide harbors
• Great Lakes: largest lakes in US/NA: Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake
Erie, Lake Ontario
• Most lakes: fresh water BUT Great Salt Lake
RIVERS…..
• River: source and mouth…empties into a larger body of water…from higher to lower
ground
• Tributary: stream that flows into a larger stream or river
• River system: major river and all its tributaries
• Drainage basin: land drained by a river system
• Mississippi River system: largest
• Cities often built along rivers: NYC/Hudson River St. Louis/Mississippi River
• Mississippi River, Missouri River, Ohio River, Colorado River, Rio Grande River, Snake
River, St. Lawrence River
VEGETATION….
NATURAL RESOURCES
• Natural resource: product found in an area that is there naturally,,,not man-made
• Examples: soil, water, plants, minerals
• Renewable sources: resources that can be used or made again by man or nature: water, trees, energy,
paper, aluminum
• Nonrenewable sources: resources that can not be made again…ores, oil, gas…when its gone,,,it is
gone
• Conservation: wise use of natural resources
• Recycling: reuse of products; aluminum cans, papers
• Other forms of energy: sun/solar…water power, wind power
TAKE A LOOK
MAKING A TIME LINE: IT’S ALL HAPPENING
• Know your times: decade, century, millennium
• BC: before the birth of Christ
• AD: after the birth of Christ
• It starts with a ___________ or
• Mark off the line in date sections,intervals, every 5 years, every 10 years, every 20 years,
etc
• List events that occurred on time line
• Title your timeline
AMERICAN CHARACTER: DIVERSITY
• Diversity: a term meaning difference; unlikeness It means understanding that each
individual is unique, and recognizing our individual differences. These can be along. the
dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender,, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities,
religious beliefs, political beliefs, or other ideologies.
• How does diversity make America a better nation?
• How does diversity cause problems in our country?
• A Salad Bowl of Diversity!
SPOTLIGHT: APOLO ANTON OHNO
• Speedskater
Winter Olympics: 2002, 2006, 2010
8 Olympic Medals
Civic Virtue: Charity Work: Raising money to help fight HIV/Aids, Ronald
McDonald House, Assisting Senior citizens
“True Champion is someone who does good work when nobody is
Watching”
CARAVEL: TRADES AND TECHNOLOGY
• Prince Henry the Navigator: School for sailors in Portugal
• New technology: a better ship
• Caravel: sleeker, faster
• Sails were triangular not rectangular
• Columbus used caravel ships: Nina, Pinta
• Portugal leads the way…….
TWO MORE STARS ON THE FLAG
• 49th. Star: Alaska: 1959: largest state in the union, borders Canada, not part of continental
United States
• 50th. Star: Hawaii: 1959: only state made up entirely of islands: 8 main islands: •Hawaii, Maui,
Oahu, Kauai, Molokai Lanai, Niihau, Kahoolawe, Hawaii is located in the Pacific Ocean