Physical Geo of N. America & Canada

SSWG8a. Describe the location of major physical features and their impact on

Canada and the United States.

Mountains/Highlands

• Rockies, Appalachians, Cascade, Alaska, Brooks, Coastal Range, Sierra Nevadas

• Rockies in US & Canada and divided into 5 sections & 2000 miles long

• Appalachian Mts. created by tectonic plates• California Mountains along fault lines• Alaska Range contains Mt. McKinley—highest

in the United States

Appalachian vs. Rockies

Appalachian• More than 400 million years

old• More rolling hills and gentle

slopes• Shorter peaks• Extends from

Newfoundland to Alabama

Rockies• Relatively young, only 80

million years old• Less erosion• More rugged and higher

peaks• Extends from Alaska to New

Mexico

Mountains/Highlands

Cascade Range Appalachian Mountains

Mountains/Highlands

Coastal Range Sierra Nevada

Plains

• Major Features: Great Plains• Gently rolling hills• Breadbasket of America growing corn, wheat,

etc.• Because of the landscape, area is a magnet for

tornadoes

Plains

Farming on the Plains Great Plains Bison

Rivers

• Major Features: Mississippi, Missouri, Colorado, Rio Grande, St. Lawrence

• Mississippi begins in Minnesota and flows into the Gulf of Mexico

• Missouri flows into Mississippi and begins in the Rockies

• Many dams on Colorado River—Hoover Dam• St. Lawrence River is main river of Canada and

feeds Great Lakes

Rivers

Colorado River Mississippi River

Lakes

• Major Features: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior (HOMES), Great Salt Lake

• Great Lakes created because of glaciers• Lake Michigan only Great Lake completely in

US• Great Salt Lake has no fish, but brine shrimp– 7x as salty as ocean water

The Great Lakes

Lakes

Great Salt Lake Lake Michigan

Additional Water Features

• Main Features: Bering Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Labrador Sea, Hudson Bay, Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean

• Hudson Bay is large inlet that is mostly unpopulated—used mostly for shipping.

• Bering Sea near Alaska and was used for commercial fishing

Additional Water Features

Bering Sea Hudson Bay

Deserts/Valleys

• Main Features: Death Valley, Mojave Desert• Both are found in California• Death Valley called this because during the

California gold rush, people tried to take it as a shortcut and died.– Highest temperature in America in Death Valley

(134F in 1913)• Mojave between Sierra Nevada & Colorado

River

Deserts/Valleys

Death Valley Mojave Desert

Additional Land Features

• Major features: Canadian Shield, Grand Canyon, Aleutian Islands, Hawaii

• Canadian Shield has exposed shield & buried shield—rugged land not good for agriculture– Caused by glaciers

• Grand Canyon carved by the Colorado River • Aleutian Islands & Hawaii are archipelagoes of

the US

Additional Land Features

Canadian Shield Grand Canyon Skywalk