Download United States Map

United States Map
• Physical Map: Label the following:
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Appalachian Mountains
Gulf Of California
Rocky Mountains
Gulf of Mexico
Mt. McKinley
Great Basin
Great Lakes- Label Each one
Great Plains
Mississippi River
Coastal Plain
Colorado River
Rio Grande
• Political Map
• Label all states
and color (using
at least 5-6
colors)
North America
Physical Features
Landform Regions
• United States and Canada make up 80% of the
continent
• Major landform regions of the United States and
Canada generally stretch from North to South
– Eastern Coastal plain
– Piedmont (area at or near foot of a mountain region)
– Appalachian Mountains
– Canadian Shield
– Rocky Mountains
– Pacific Coast Region
Dividing Up America!!
Three main features
• Appalachian Mountains were created by the
collision of the North American plate with the
African plate
– Highest peak in the Appalachian Mts.- 6,000 feet
• Interior Plains
– Mississippi River and its tributaries drain this region
– Includes the Great Lakes-formed by glaciers
• Rocky Mountains-From New Mexico to Canada
– Some of the highest peaks reach 14,000!
The Ring of Fire!!!!
• A Tectonically active region around
the edges of the pacific
• Many active volcanoes and
earthquake faults
• Most of United States is on the
North American plate except for
some places in California (on the
pacific plate)
• Alaska and Hawaii are also in a
geologically active area
– Hawaiian Islands are the tops of
submerged volcanoes
Bodies of Water
• Continental Divide-Created by
the Rockies, divides rivers
flowing east and west
• Major River Systems
– Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio (Flow
East)
– St. Lawrence System
– Western Rivers- Colorado,
Columbia, Yukon (Flow West)
• Major Lakes
– Great Lakes in US
– Great Bear and Great Slave in
Canada
Climates
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Tropical Wet and Dry- Southern tip of Florida and parts of Hawaii
Humid Subtropical- Most of Southeastern US
Humid Continental- Northeast US and Southern and SE Canada
Semi-Arid-Great Plains, parts of MT. regions
Highland- Rocky mountains
Marine West Coast- Southeast Alaska and Northern California
Mediterranean- South and Central California
Tropical Humid- Parts of Hawaii
Tundra- Far North America
Subarctic- Most of Canada and Alaska
Natural Resources
• Farming– Variety of soils and climates
– Abundant crops and livestock
• Forests– Leading producers of wood and paper
• Water– Plentiful supplies
– Irrigation and Hydroelectric power
Resources of the United States
• US is the world’s leading agricultural producer
• Only about 3% of the population farms
– But we still feed our people and have enough to
export!!!
• Great Plains region- great for corn, soybeans,
and wheat
• The US has 25% of the world’s coal reserves
and is a major coal exporter
– Appalachians, Rockies, and Interior Plains
• US is a major oil producer but uses more than
it produces
– Gulf Coast, California, and Alaska
• We have valuable mineral resources:
– Iron, copper, lead, zinc, gold, and silver