The Physical U.S.

1
The Physical U.S.
2
Pacific Northwest
New England
Midwest
D.C.
Southwest
Mountain West
Mid Atlantic States
South
Hawaii and Alaska are not part of a region
3
Going from East to West

• Starting on the East Coast
• Atlantic Coastal Plain Down east coast from ME ?
  FL
• Major Rivers
• Potomac, Hudson, Savannah, Chattahoochee, etc.
• Appalachian Mountains
• Very old once were as big as Rockies
• Now, more hills than rugged peaks
• Smaller parts Blue Ridge, Pocono, Green,
  Catskills, etc.

4
The Appalachian Trail
5

• New England Mid-Atlantic States
• Northern end of Appalachian Mtns. and Coastal
  Plain
• Erie Canal
• Connects Lake Erie to Hudson River (1825)
• Niagara Falls
• On the Niagara River between Lake Erie and Lake
  Ontario
• Cape Cod/Nantucket/Marthas Vineyard
• Hook end of Massachusetts
• Very elegant, resort areas

6
Niagara Falls
7
(No Transcript)
8
Cape Cod, Nantucket, Marthas Vineyard
9
Fishing Boats in Winter
10

• South
• Southern end of App. Mtns w/ large plains
• Piedmont plateau between App. and ACP
• Cape Hatteras
• Kitty Hawk Wright Brothers
• Gulf Coastal Plain Along Gulf of Mexico
• Hot, humid, very swampy Mississippi River Delta

11
Cape Hatteras Kitty Hawk
12

• Florida
• Very low
• Highest point is 345 ft. above sea level
• Okefenokee Swamp
• Gators!
• Everglades
• Huge wetland (800 mi2)
• Cape Canaveral
• Kennedy Space Center Space Shuttle

13
Okefenoke Swamp
14
Everglades
15
Cape Canaveral
16
Manatees
17

• Midwest
• North of Appalachians Allegheny Plateau
• Higher elevation plains
• Ohio River
• Great Lakes
• Largest freshwater lakes in world
• Created by glaciers
• Connected by rivers
• Access to Atlantic Ocean thru St. Lawrence Seaway

18

• Mississippi River
• Biggest river in US
• Drains half of the US
• Fed by Ohio, Illinois, Missouri, Red
• Northern half
• Narrow and swift
• Southern half
• Wide and slow lazy
• Famous writer
• Mark Twain

19
(No Transcript)
20

• Interior Plains
• Plains between Rocky and Appalachian Mountains
• Western edge Great Plains
• Elevated plains flat and open
• Very fertile
• Wheat Belt Corn Belt
• Wisconsin Dairy Belt
• Cheese!
• South Dakota
• Badlands
• Black Hills Mt. Rushmore gold

21
(No Transcript)
22
Mount Rushmore
23
Chief Crazy Horse Memorial
9 Stories tall
22 Stories
24
(No Transcript)
25
Badlands, SD
26
(No Transcript)
27
(No Transcript)
28

• Mountain West
• Rocky Mountains
• Stretches from N. Canada into Mexico
• Very tall up to 14,000 feet
• Top Continental Divide
• Divides where water flows on continent
• Origin of many rivers
• Colorado, Missouri, Snake, Columbia, Rio Grande
• Colorado Plateau
• Grand Canyon
• 4 corners AZ, NM, UT, CO
• Great Basin
• Low spot in NV between Rockies and Sierra Nevadas

29
Continental Divide
Flows into Atlantic Ocean
Flows into Pacific Ocean
30
(No Transcript)
31
The Grand Canyon is up to a mile deep! Made by
Colorado River
32
(No Transcript)
33

• Southwest
• Sierra Nevada Mtns.
• Western edge of Great Basin
• Very tall blocks rain from Pacific
• Creates dry Great Basin
• Mt. Whitney tallest mtn in continental US
• Mojave Desert Death Valley
• Lowest spot in US 282 ft. below sea level
• Southeast of SN Mtns.
• Hottest spot in Western Hemisphere
• Coast Range Along CA/OR/WA coast

34

• Central Valley
• Between Coast Range and Sierra Nevadas
• Very fertile famous for wine
• San Andreas Fault
• Runs from San Francisco ? Palm Springs into
  Mexico
• Many earthquakes

35
(No Transcript)
36

• Pacific Northwest
• Cascade Mountain Range
• Volcanic mountains
• Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Hood, Mt. Rainier
• Crater Lake Lake in crater of dormant volcano
• Creates rain shadow for Columbia Plateau
• Columbia River
• Largest river flowinginto Pacific
• Nations largestproducer of hydroelectric power

37
Mt. Saint Helens, WA
38
May 18, 1980
39
(No Transcript)
40
(No Transcript)
41
(No Transcript)
42
(No Transcript)
43
(No Transcript)
44
(No Transcript)
45
(No Transcript)
46
(No Transcript)
47
(No Transcript)
48
Mt. St. Helens Eruption Facts

• Killed 57 people
• Blew 1,314 feet off summit
• Removed .67 cubic miles (3.7 billion cubic yards)
  of mountain
• Created 23 mi2 landslide 70150 mph
• Buried a river 150 feet deep (deepest 600)
• Created 230 mi2 blast zone NW of mountain
  reaching 17 miles away 300 mph and 600 F
• Blew down 4 billion board feet of timber
• 300,000 2 bedroom homes

49

• 10 25 mph mudflows
• Destroyed 27 bridges and 200 homes, 185 miles of
  highways and roads
• Reduced Columbia river from 40 ft to 14 ft in
  depth stranded 31 ships upstream
• Eruption cloud rose 80,000 ft in 15 minutes
• Crossed US in 3 days, circled Earth in 15 days
• 22,000 mi2 of ash ½ - 10 inches thick
• 1,300 lava flows, moving at 50 80 mph
• Killed 7,000 big game animals, all birds and most
  small mammals burrowing animals survived 40,000
  baby salmon killed by dams

50
(No Transcript)
51

• Alaska
• Largest state in US
• Very cold winters, warmer summers
• Green in summer!
• Northern half mostly covered in snow/ice/glaciers
• Mt. McKinley tallest mountain in US
• Part above Arctic Circle 24 hours of daylight
  or darkness
• ANWR Alaska National Wildlife Refuge
• Northeastern Alaska wilderness sanctuary
• Controversy Drill for oil?

52

• Size of Texas, California and Montana combined!
• More coastline than all other coastal states
  combined!

53
Mt. McKinley
54
(No Transcript)
55

• Hawaii
• Actually part of South Pacific region
• Over 100 islands
• 8 main islands
• Inside the Ring of Fire
• All islands created by volcanoes
• Many active volcanoes
• Rugged mountains, beaches
• Famous for surfing

56
Mauna Loa Largest volcano in world
57
(No Transcript)