Physical Geography of the United States and Canada

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Physical Geography of the United States and Canada

• Climate and Vegetation

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Climate Regions

• There are eleven climate regions in the United
  States and Canada.
• Which one is not found in the US and Canada?
• The temperatures in these areas go from over
  100F to -70F.
• Explain how each climate is formed from West to
  East.

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• Marine West Coast
• Winds, ocean currents and the Pacific ranges
  combine to create a Marine West Coast Climate
  from N. California to British Columbia and into
  southern Alaska

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Mediterranean is found in Southern California.
It is created by the lower latitude and slightly
different wind and ocean currents.
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The Pacific Ranges create a rain shadow for the
intermontane region. This makes for mostly
desert and steppe climate. Some highland exists
from the Pacific Ranges, through the intermontane
to the Rockies.
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Most of Alaska and Canada lie in a sub-arctic
zone due largely to high latitude. This also
fosters the cold temperatures of the upper middle
US. Farther north is the tundra zone.
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The Great Plains are somewhat dry because of the
mountains to the west, but do receive moisture
from the Gulf of Mexico creating a humid
continental climate. Prevailing westerlies
prevent much moisture from moving in from the
Atlantic Ocean.
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The southeast is Humid Sub-tropical due to high
pressure and humidity from the ocean. Westerlies
bring moisture off the Gulf of Mexico. The
southern tip of Florida is far enough south to
have a Tropical Savanna climate. Tropical
Rainforest is found only in Hawaii.
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Weather Conditions

• Blizzards- snow with visibility less than 500ft.,
  wind more than 35mph, freezing temp.
• Tornadoes- unpredictable swirling wind storms
• hurricanes- ocean storms with74mph wind
  (typhoons).
• Chinook- a warm wind that blows down the Rockies
  in spring.

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Vegetation

• Before settlers appeared the U.S. and Canada was
  estimated to have 3 million square miles of
  forest. Humans, however, have cleared over
  one-half million square miles.

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Vegetation

• The Great Plains are in the middle of the U.S. --
  excellent farmland.
• Sod- cleared for agriculture ( Dust Bowl)