Chapter 5 Flip Chart Materials

Chapter 5 Flip Chart Materials:

Section 1

Plains: large, relatively flat areas

Plains near the ocean are coastal plains

Flat, grassy areas used to grow crops are also plains

Plains make up ½ of all the land in the United States

Coastal Plains: broad areas along the ocean’s shore

Often called lowlands because of their low elevations

Elevation: distance above or below sea level

Atlantic Coastal Plain: lines the east Coast of the US- characterized by low rolling hills, swamps, and marshes

Not perfectly flat- low hills and valleys have been carved by rivers

Gulf Coastal Plain: includes lowlands in the Southern US around the Gulf of Mexico

Interior Plains: Large portion of the central US

Extend from the Appalachian Mountains in the east to the Rocky Mountains in the west, to the Gulf Coastal Plain in the south

Includes the rolling hills of the Great Lakes area and Central Lowlands around the Missouri and Mississippi rivers

The area between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains is often referred to as the Great Plains- flat, grassy, dry with few trees

Plateaus: relatively flat, raised areas of land

They look like hills with flat tops

Mountains: rise high above the surrounding land

Highest MountainPeak: Mt.Everest in the HimalayanMountains over 8800 meters above seal level

Highest mountain peaks in US reach about 6000 meters

4 types of mountains:

Folded Mountains: look like a rug has been pushed up against a wall- When rock layers are squeezed from opposite sides, they buckle and fold into folded mountains

Appalachian Mountains are folded mountains that formed 300 million years ago

Oldest mountains in N. America- and one of the longest ranges, stretching from Newfoundland, Canada to Alabama

Upwarped Mountains: Southern Rocky Mountains in Colorado and New Mexico and Black Hills in South Dakota, and Adirondak Mountains in New York

Formed when crust was pushed up by forces in the Earth- sharp peaks and edges

Fault-BlockMountains: Grand TetonMountains of Wyoming and Sierra NevadaMountains of Southern California

Made up of huge tilted blocks of rocks that are separated from surrounding rock by faults

Have sharp jagged peaks

Volcanic mountains: Mt.St. Helens in Washington and Mauna Loa in Hawaii

Molten material reaches Earth’s surface- materials pile up and a cone structure forms

Include in your flip chart for section 1:

PlainsMountainsVolcanic Mountains

Interior PlainsFolded Mountains

Coastal PlainsUpwarpedMountains

PlateausFault-BlockMountains