September 1, 2006

Natural Environments of North America

Landforms—

: port cities, major source for trading and commerce, low lying region that begins below sea level and gradually rises.

: natural barrier caused major difficulties when Americans decided to move west to fulfill the dream of Manifest Destiny.

: thousands of lakes, fertile soils, and lots of rivers; when settling, we skipped over this region; we skipped this region due to the Indian threat and less favorable conditions.

: composed of very old rock; Arctic Ocean east to the Atlantic Ocean.

: high, rugged mountain ranges; Death Valley is the lowest point on North America at 282 ft below sea level.

: 1. Cascade Mountains—many high volcanoes; , Mt.Hood, , and Mt.Saint Helens. 2. —Northern California, Oregon, and Washington state.

: series of valleys; Puget Sound (lowland in Washington), WillametteRiverValley (Oregon), and Central Valley in California.

North America sits on the ; the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate are rubbing against each other laterally; causes deep faults in both plates, the San Andreas Fault in California is the work of this process.

: found on a hot spot, composed of magma from the Earth’s core that has built up over many years; tops of these volcanoes are active.

: Sub-duction Zone; Aleutian Islands are found crossing towards Russia; home to America’s highest peak, MountMcKinley at 20,320 ft.

Continental Divide—

Definition:

EASTERN FLOWING RIVER SYSTEMS:

 —drains most of the water on the eastern half of the United States.

 —drain the Great Lakes into the Atlantic Ocean

Mackenzie River System—found in the ; several CanadianLakes drain into the Mackenzie River System; LakeAnthabasca, , and Great Bear Lake.

WESTERN FLOWING RIVER SYSTEMS:

Colorado and ColombiaRivers—flow to the Pacific Ocean

 —flow to the Gulf of California

Yukon River—flow to the .

THESE RIVERS PROVIDE HYDROELECTRICITY FOR THE AREA

Climates of North America—every climate type except for Ice Cap Climates can be found in the United States!!

Four Major Factors Influence Climate:

  • 5

Climates of North America

  • Southeastern United States—humid, , summers are hot/humid; mild winters, thunderstorms are common, warm waters of Gulf of Mexico and Gulf Stream
  • Northeastern United States— , from Atlantic Coast to Kansas; four distinct seasons; humid summer, cold snowy winters, Great Lakes influence precipitation.
  • West of 100 degrees west longitude—Great Plains— ; vast grasslands, scattered trees, violent storms; natural hazards (hail, lightning, tornados, and flash flooding)
  • Just east of the Rocky Mountains— —mountains block the moist westerly winds; creates a rain shadow, very hot summers and mild winters.
  • Rocky Mountain Region— —temperature and rain vary, pending on elevation and local geography.
  • —southeast Alaska down to Northern California; mild summers, cool, wet winters
  • —southern California; mild winters and long dry summers.
  • Hawaii—tropical climate; falls in easterly trade wind belt; they host both and pending what side of the islands you are talking about.
  • Far North America—Canadian Shield— , permafrost, south of this area is a sub-arctic climate, covers most of Canada and Alaska.

Plants & Animals—

In general, forests dominate humid areas, while grasslands or scrubs cover more arid regions; however, due to human and environmental interaction, the natural biomes have been greatly altered.

Page 156—discusses all the plants and animals that are natural to the area…

  • Semi-Arid Biome
  • Desert Biome
  • Grassland Biome
  • Boreal Forest Biome
  • Tundra Biome
  • Tropical Biome
  • Savanna Biome
  • Tropical Rainforest Biome

 —very distinct biomes that are located in rural areas; Hawaii is isolated and therefore, has developed a very specific indigenous set of plants and animals.