Download Chapters 5 and 8

Chapters 5 and 8
Geography of North and South America
Geography of North America
• Landforms
– Pacific Ranges caused by collision of tectonic plates. Sierra
Nevada, Cascade Range, Coast Range and the Alaska Range.
Mt. McKinley 20,320 ft
– Rocky Mountains caused by geological forces pushing land
upwards. Link U.S. and Canada. Stretch 3000 miles with
peaks reaching 14,000 ft.
– In between dry basins and plateaus. Columbia Plateaunorth. Created by lava that came from the cracks in ground.
Colorado Plateau- eroded. Flat topped mesas and Grand
Canyon. Great Basin has Death Valley. Canada’s plateaus
colder and narrower than U.S.
– Great Plains- 300 to 700 miles. Elevations of 6,000 ft. Slopes
downward up to 10 ft per mile to Central Lowlands along
Mississippi River
Geography of North America
• Landforms
– East of Mississippi are Appalachian Mountains. Canadian
Shield- giant core of rock centered on Hudson and James
Bays anchors the continent.
– Appalachian Mountians- oldest mountains. Second longest
range. 1500 miles. Shaped by ice and running water.
Coastal lowlands to the east and south. Between is
Piedmont- area of roling hills.
– Atlantic Coastal Plain in the Carolinas and the Gulf Coastal
Plain in the southeast.
– Volcanic islands- Hawaii. Lava forms and builds. Formed 8
major and 124 minor Hawaiian islands.
– Continential islands- part of continental shelf. Greenland
and larger islands. Largest island at 840,325 square miles.
Geography of North America
• Water Systems
– Continental Divide- high point in Rockies. Determines
direction that rivers flow. East go towards Arctic, Hudson
Bay, Atlantic Ocean or Mississippi River System. West go to
the Pacific Ocean
– Many rivers including Colorado and Rio Grande have their
headwaters (origins) in the Rockies. Tributaries flow into
these rivers.
– MacKenzie River drains most of the Canadian Interior.
– Mississippi flows 2,350 miles from its source. Longest river.
Width of 1.5 miles. Drains 1.2 million square miles.
– Fall line in eastern U.S. prevents ships from traveling
further inland because it makes rivers break into rapids and
waterfalls.
– St. Lawrence River forms part of the boundary along the
border of U.S. and Canada as does Niagra Falls.
Hydroelectric power.
Geography of North America
• Water Systems
– Glacial dams created Great Bear Lake and Great Slave Lake.
Glaciers also created the Greak Lakes and part of the
Continental Sheild.
– Rivers and lakes have provided transportation and
economic support for both American and Canadian
economies.
Geography of North America
• Natural Resources
– Energy resoures like petroleum and natural gas. Texas and
Alaska rank first and second in petroleum reserves. Texas
has natural gas.
– Coal, petroleum, and natural gas are forms of fossil fuels.
Nonrenewable resources.
– Gold, silver, copper, iron, and nickel are plentiful in both
areas. 28% of potash is found in Canada, 18% of copper,
14% of gold and 12% if silver.
– Mineral resources are also nonrenewable. Mining can use
other natural resources as well as significantly damage the
environment.
– Timber is vital resource. Cover less than 50% of Canada and
33% of U.S. renewable resource.
– Coastal waters provide fishing and fisheries. Grand Banksrichest fishing ground. Covers 139,000 square miles.
Overfishing. Aquaculture or fish farming popular now.
Climate and Vegetation of North America
• Southern Climates
– Warm and wet climates
• Southeast- Humid Subtropical. Long, muggy summers and mild
winters. Atlantic Ocean helps this. No dry season. Deciduous forests
in LA. Farming along Mississippi River.
• Everglades provide shelter to variety of vegetation and wildlife.
• Later summer and early fall hurricanes occur.
• Extreme southern tip of Florida has a distinct dry season in winter.
Lush rain forests found in Hawaii and Puerto Rico.
– Warm and dry climates
• Rain shadow creates deserts. Keeps plateaus and basins between
Rockies and Pacific Ranges hot and dry.
• Steppe or desert climates. Death Valley. Highest temperature ever
recorded at 134°F
• Mediterranean climate in southern and central CA. Mild, wet winters
and hot, dry summers. Drought resistent vegetation. Chaparral. Grow
best when it can be burned but the dry winds often cause this to turn
into wildfires.
Climate and Vegetation of North America
• Northern Climates
– Interior climates
• Great Plains has humid continental. Cold winters and hot summers.
Moisture blocked from the Rockies but we receive cool winds from
the Arctic and moisture from the Gulf. Extends into southern Canada.
• Pairies- treeless. 10-30 inches of rain. Supercells occur in the spring
and summer. Tornadoes.
• Dust Bowl created by bad conservation habits. Caused many people
to leave the area. Great Depression. Conservation efforts helped
restore land.
• West of Great Plains is a steppe climate. Mixture of vegetation.
Transitional climates between desert and humid continental.
• Higland climate in Rockies. Timberline. Chinooks melt the snow.
– Coastal climates
•
Pacific coast gets a marine west coast climate. Some parts get over
100 inches of rain. Winters are rainy and summers are cool. Ferms,
mosses, and coniferous forests.
Climate and Vegetation of North America
• Highland Climates
– Large parts of Alaska and Canada have subarctic climates.
-70°F.
– Northern American get blizzards.
– Confierous and deciduous forests. Along the Arctic coast
have a tundra climate. Bitter winters and cool summers.
– Greenland has little vegetation and almost no ice free
parts. Interior has ice cap climate. 2 mile thick layers of ice
and snow that constantly cover land.
Geography of Latin America
• Landforms
– 8 million square miles. 16% of earth’s land surface. Middle,
Caribbean and South America (largest)
– Begins as Rockies and extends to the southern tip of South
America. Sierra Madre in Mexico, Central Highlands in Central
America and the Andes in South America.
– Landscape caused by Pacific Ring of Fire.
– Mountains cooler climates and rich natural resoures draw settlers.
Isolated these communities.
– Sierra Madres surround densly populated Mexican Plateau. Mild
climate, fertile volcanic soil, and rainfall.
– Central Highlands- volcanic peaks. Caribbean islands
– Andes strech 4, 500 miles. Longest mountain chain as well as the
highest. Peaks over 20,000 ft. Cordilleras. Isolated settlements.
– Peru and Bolivia surround altiplano. Patagonia- plateau in
Argentina- dry, barren and windy because of the Andes.
– Mato Grosso Plateau- Brazil, Peru and Bolivia. Not populated.
– Brazilian Highlands- livestock.
– Escarpment on eastern edge into the Atlantic Ocean.
Geography of Latin America
• Water Systems
– Transport people and goods. Most of the world’s major
river systems here.
– Amazon River flows about 4,000 miles. Western
Hemisphere longest river and second in the world. Carries
ten times the water volume of the Mississippi River.
– Amazon River basin- hundreds of tributaries. Drains over 2
million square miles.
– Paraná, Paraguay, and Uruguay Rivers form second largest
river system. Drains eastern half of South America.
– Hydroelectic power is a key ingredient.
– Panama Canal- important.
– Lake Titicaca- 12,500 ft above sea level.
– Lake Maracaibo- largest lake. Inlet of Caribbean Sea. Oil
fields of Venezuela.
Geography of Latin America
• Natural Resources
– World’s leading produces of energy resources. Oil and
natural gas.
– Mineral resources: gold, emeralds, copper, and bauxite.
– Not all of the areas have the same resources.
Predominately in Venzuela and Mexico.
– Resources not evenly distributed. Geographic
inaccessibility, lack of capital for development, and deep
political and social divisions keep many of natural resources
from being fully developed.
Climate and Vegetation of Latin America
• Elevation and Climate
– Five vertical climate zones found in the highlands of Middle
America and western Southern America.
– Tierra helada and puna climate zones are from 12-16,000 ft.
Frozen land. Puna is a cold zone.
– Tierra fría climate zone is from 6-12,000 ft. Cold land.
Winter frosts. Middle America’s highest climate. Potatoes
and barley.
– Tierra templada climate zone is from 2500-6000 ft. Broad
leafed evergreens and needle leafed evergreens. Densley
populated areas. Coffee and corn.
– Tierra caliente- hot land. Sea level to 2500 ft. Rain forests.
Bananas, sugar, rice and cacao
Climate and Vegetation of Latin America
• Climate and Vegetation Regions
– Tropical Wet: tropical rain forests dominates. High
temperatures and lots of rainfall. Amazon rain forests
blankets the Amazon River Basin. World’s wettest tropical
plain.
– Tropical Dry: coast of southwestern Mexico, most
Caribbean islands and north-central South America. High
temps and lots of rainfall. Extended dry season.
– Humid Subtropical: southeastern South America. Winters
short with cool to mild temps. Summers are long, hot and
humid.
– Dry: northern Mexico, coastal Peru and Chile, and
southeastern of Argentina have desert climates. Atacama
Desert- some areas had no rainfall at all. Some areas
recieve little rainfall and have steppe climates.