Download Utah History - Lakeridge Jr High

Utah History Chapter 1 Utah’s Geography In this chapter we will study Utah’s three very different land regions and the relationships people have with the environment. Utah is 3,000 to 7,000 feet above sea level making it one of the highest states above sea level in America. We are inland about 800 miles from the ocean. We have four distinctive seasons: 1) Cold Winters 2) Warm springs 3) Hot summers 4) Long warm autumns Geography is the study of the earth and its life. Fundamental Themes of Geography The five often used themes are: location place relationships within places movement regions of geography 1) Location: Position of the Earths Surface Absolute Location­ Exact location of a place is measured by longitude and latitude. Example: Salt Lake City 41 o North Latitude and 112 o West Longitude (Global Address) Relative Location­ Where a place is located in connection with some place Example: Where is Salt Lake City­ near the Great Salt Lake 2) Place: Physical and Human Characteristics. The physical features of a place include things that are material to the environment such as climate, mountains, desert, soil, plant and animals and bodies of water. 3) Relationships: Environment and Human Interaction. People have adapted to and changed the environment. People have interacted with their environment to meet their needs. Example: Minor earthquakes happen quite often. How do we deal with it? 4) Movement: People travel from place to place sharing their knowledge and ideas, and trading goods with other people. 5) Regions: Places that have similar characteristics. Sometimes geographers divide large areas of the world into smaller parts. The parts are called regions. Examples: Voting districts, counties, states and countries.
Utah’s Land Regions In Utah, we have three major landform regions. These major landforms are: Basins Plateaus Mountains 1) Basins: Are very large, low and flat areas 2) Plateaus: high, wide and flat areas 3) Mountains: are very high land formations with large bases and small peaks. Utah’s 3 Geographical Provinces 1) The Great Basic Region­ large flat bowl 2) The Middle Rocky Mountain Region 3) The Colorado Plateau Regions­ Covers most of Utah All five of Utah’s national parks are in the Colorado Plateau Region. Zion’s (NP) Canyon Lands (NP) Bryce Canyons (NP) Arhces (NP) and Capitol Reef (NP) Utah’s Climate and Water Like its landforms, Utah’s climate varies greatly from location to location around the state. Several factors affect Utah’s climate: 1) Our Latitude­ How far north of the equator we are located. 2) Altitude­ How high we are above sea level 3) Distance from an ocean 4) Tall California mountains Our growing season varies greatly in Utah. Growing Season is the time between the lasting frost of spring and first frost of fall. St. George averages 200 frost free days. Heber City has only 77 days. Where does the Rain Fall? Utah has two major drainage systems: Bonneville Drainage Region Colorado Drainage Region 1) Bonneville Drainage Region is a system of rivers that drain or flow from the mountains into the Great Basin. 2) The Colorado River Drainage drains Colorado Plateau­ two sources of water­ The Green and Colorado Rivers. Where does the Great Salt Lake get its water? The Bear River, the Ogden and Weber Rivers all flow into the Great Salt Lake and the Jordan River.
Utah’s Plant and Animal Life Plant life is an important part of Utah’s natural world and is just as diverse as the landforms and weather. Some plants are indigenous or natural to the state and some are brought in by other people. Utah’s State Symbols Tree: Colorado Blue Spruce Flower: Sego Lily Bird: California Seagull Animal: Elk Fish: Cuthroat Trout State Symbol: Beehive