Unit 1 United States and Canada Geography

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Unit 1 United States and Canada Geography
Review
Maps
Graphic Organizer
Lessons
How do people adapt to where they live?
United States and Canada Geography
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Lessons
Review
Maps
Graphic Organizer
Lessons
Lesson 1 Major Landforms
Lesson 2 Major Waterways
Lesson 3 Natural Resources
Lesson 4 Climate Regions
Lesson 5 Environmental Challenges
Lesson 6 Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans
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Major Landforms
Lesson 1
Vocabulary
tundra megalopolis prairie Continental
Divide canyon
What are some of the major landforms of North
America?
Reading Skill
Compare and Contrast
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The United States and Canada
Major Landforms
U.S. and Canada share most of North America. In
the north, tundra covers Arctic lands where only
grasses and mosses can grow. In the South, lush
grasses grow on the Gulf of Mexico coast. Canada
is divided into 13 provinces and territories and
is the second largest country in the world after
Russia. U.S is the worlds third largest
country.
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Lowlands and Highlands
Major Landforms
The Atlantic Coastal Plain runs along the coast
of the Atlantic Ocean. The Gulf Coastal Plain
lies along the Gulf of Mexico. Natural harbors
along the Atlantic coast have led to the growth
of shipping ports. The Appalachian Mountains run
from eastern Canada to Alabama and divide the
Northeastern states from the Midwestern states.
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Interior Lowlands
Major Landforms
The Canadian Shield wraps around Hudson Bay. It
has rocky hills, lakes, and evergreen forests,
poor soil, and a cold climate. The Central
Lowland lies south of the Canadian Shield and
west of the Appalachian Mountains. It has grassy
hills, rolling flatlands, thick forests, and
fertile farmland. The Great Plains are west of
the Mississippi River. In some parts, farmers
grow grains in their fertile soil. In other
parts, ranchers raise cattle on the land.
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Mountains and Plateaus
Major Landforms
The Rocky Mountains begin in Alaska and run south
to New Mexico. They are divided into the Canadian
Rockies and Northern Rockies, the Middle Rockies,
the Southern Rockies, and the Colorado
Plateau. The Continental Divide is an imaginary
line in the Rockies. East of the divide, rivers
drain into the Arctic Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean,
and the Gulf of Mexico. West of the divide,
rivers flow into the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf
of California.
In the Colorado Plateau lies the Grand Canyon. It
was carved out by the Colorado River during the
last 6 million years.
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Major Waterways
Lesson 2
Vocabulary
navigable tributary glacier wetland
Reading Skill
Compare and Contrast
How do people use some of the regions major
waterways?
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The Mississippi River
Major Waterways
Native Americans were the first to travel and
trade on the North American waterways. Mississipp
i River Basin drains over 1 million square miles
of land and the surrounding land is suitable for
farming. Products from port cities such as St.
Louis and Memphis are shipped down the river to
other ports because the river is easy to
navigate.
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The Great Lakes and the Everglades
Major Waterways
The Great Lakes are the worlds largest group of
lakes. St. Lawrence Seaway a series of canals
that helps ships navigate from the Great Lakes to
the Atlantic Ocean. It carries raw materials and
manufactured goods from cities like Chicago,
Cleveland, and Toronto to the rest of the
world. The Everglades are a large area of
wetlands in southern Florida that depend on both
water and land to support diverse, sometimes
endangered, plant and animal life including
alligators.
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Natural Resources
Lesson 3
Vocabulary
hydroelectric power renewable resources scarcity e
conomy irrigation
Reading Skill
How do the United States and Canada use natural
resources?
Compare and Contrast
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Mineral and Energy Resources
Natural Resources
Iron ore is used to make steel and is found in
parts of eastern Canada and the northern United
States. The Rocky Mountains have gold, silver,
and copper. The Canadian Shield (also called
Canadas Storehouse) has iron ore, copper,
nickel, and gold. U.S. uses nearly three times
the amount of oil that it produces.
Canadas oil and natural gas reserves lie in or
near the province of Alberta (second largest oil
reserves of oil in the form of oil mixed with
sand). Renewable energy resources include
ethanol (a fuel made from corn), solar energy,
and wind power.
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Scarce Resources
Natural Resources
Renewable resources such as trees and fish can
become scarce resources. Forests used to cover
much of the United States and Canada but today
cover less than half of Canada and about a third
of the United States. Lumber and wood products,
such as paper, are major exports of Canada.
Great Banks, located off Canadas southeast
coast, were once one of the worlds richest
fishing grounds, but because these waters were
overfished, the number of fish decreased.
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Soil Resources
Natural Resources
Central Valley of California is located between
two mountain ranges, the Sierra Nevada and the
Coast Ranges. Irrigation brought water to the dry
land through ditches and pipes.
Canadas heartland is known as the Prairie
Provinces. Wheat is a major farm crop. Dairy
farms are also important. United States produces
corn, soybeans, and grains in the Midwest. Dairy
products and livestock are also important to the
economy of the Midwest. In the Souths warm, wet
climate, farmers in Louisiana and Arkansas grow
rice and sugarcane. Farmers in Florida and Texas
grow citrus fruits such as oranges and lemons.
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Climate Regions
Lesson 4
Vocabulary
temperate climate current precipitation drought ar
id
How does climate affect how people live?
Reading Skill
Compare and Contrast
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Cold Climates
Climate Regions
Climate is mainly determined by latitude, but
also by landforms such as mountains and large
bodies of water. Most people in Canada and the
United States live in a temperate climate. In
Northern Arctic parts of Alaska and Canada,
winters are long and cold while summers are brief
and cool.
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Warm Climates
Climate Regions
Ocean currents in the South and the Pacific
Northwest provide humid, warm, or even tropical
climates. Air over large bodies of water is
warmer in winter and cooler in summer. In the
Pacific Northwest, ocean currents keep this
areas climate mild and wet, whereas southern
California has a climate of warm, dry summers and
mild, wet winters.
Areas near the Tropic of Cancer are warm all year
round.
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How are the arctic and sub arctic different?

• The arctic is so cold that it prevents the growth
  of most trees and other plants, while in the sub
  arctic there are dense forests of evergreens that
  have adapted to the cold weather.

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The Desert West and Midwest
Climate Regions
The desert of the southwestern United States gets
less than 10 inches of precipitation each
year. The Great Plains receive moisture from the
Gulf of Mexico and from the Arctic. The Dust
Bowl was caused by poor farming methods and
drought.
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The East
Climate Regions
North Americas climate is divided into arid and
humid areas of precipitation. Northeast
experiences a humid continental
climate. Southeast has a humid subtropical
climate. Forests in the Northeast have two types
of trees broadleaf trees that change color in
autumn and needleleaf evergreens that stay green
all year.
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Environmental Challenges
Lesson 5
Vocabulary
tornado hurricane blizzard plate tectonics global
warming
What environmental challenges do people in the
region share?
Reading Skill
Compare and Contrast
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Tornadoes, Hurricanes and Blizzards
Environmental Challenges
Tornado Alley is an area where tornadoes are
common from Texas north to Nebraska. Hurricanes
generally develop from June to September and
often strike along the southeastern Atlantic
coast and the Gulf of Mexico. Blizzards are
severe winter storms that last for hours and
combine high winds with heavy snow that limits
how far people can see.
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Earthquakes and Volcanoes
Environmental Challenges
Plate tectonics is a theory that states that the
surface of the Earth is made up of moving parts.
Movements take place along faults, and shifts can
cause earthquakes or volcanoes to erupt. Along
the coast, earthquakes can cause huge waves
called tsunamis. Volcanoes are found in the
Pacific Coast Mountains, southern Alaska, and
Hawaii.
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Global Warming
Environmental Challenges
Global warming is the overall rise in the
temperature of the Earth. Greenhouse effect is
heat that is trapped in the Earths atmosphere by
greenhouse gases (water vapor, carbon dioxide,
nitrous oxide, methane, and ozone).
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Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans
Lesson 6
Vocabulary
levee water table
Reading Skill
Compare and Contrast
Why was New Orleans heavily damaged by a
hurricane?
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The Storm
Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans
On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the
Gulf Coast of the United States. Wind, waves,
and rain caused flooding from Louisiana to
Mississippi and Alabama. Katrina killed 1,800
people and caused 81 billion of property
damage. Katrina is considered one of the worst
natural disasters in U.S. history.
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Review
Vocabulary

1. A long period without rain is a _________.
2. A treeless plain where only grasses and mosses
   can grow is called _______.
3. A ________ is a high wall built to protect areas
   from flooding.
4. A _________ is a giant blanket of ice.
5. _______________ is the overall rise in the
   temperature of the Earth.

drought
tundra
levee
glacier
Global warming
drought
global warming
glacier
levee
tundra
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Review
6. Name two ways in which the United States and
Canada are alike.   7. Why did the U.S. and
Canada build the St. Lawrence Seaway?   8. Name
two renewable resources and why they are
renewable.   9. Name two nonrenewable resources
and why they are nonrenewable.   10. What causes
earthquakes and volcanoes to occur?
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Maps
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Graphic Organizer
Compare and Contrast
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view and enter content.