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How do people adapt to where they live?
United States and Canada Geography
Unit 1 United States and Canada Geography
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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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Lesson 1 tundra megalopolis
prairie Continental Divide canyon
Compare and Contrast
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Major Landforms
Vocabulary
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What are some of the major landforms of North America?
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Major Landforms The United States and Canada 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 world’s third largest country.
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Major Landforms Lowlands and Highlands 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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Major Landforms Interior Lowlands 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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Major Landforms Mountains and Plateaus 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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Lesson 2
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Major Waterways
Vocabulary navigable tributary
glacier wetland
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How do people use some of the region’s major waterways?
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Major Waterways The Mississippi River Native Americans were the first to travel and trade on the North American waterways. Mississippi 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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Major Waterways The Great Lakes and the Everglades The Great Lakes are the world’s 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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Lesson 3
Vocabulary renewable resources scarcity economy irrigation
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Natural Resources
hydroelectric power
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How do the United States and Canada use natural resources?
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Natural Resources Mineral and Energy 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 Canada’s Storehouse) has iron ore, copper, nickel, and gold. U.S. uses nearly three times the amount of oil that it produces.
Canada’s 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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Natural Resources Scarce 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 Canada’s southeast coast, were once one of the world’s richest fishing grounds, but because these waters were overfished, the number of fish decreased.
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Natural Resources Soil Resources Canada’s 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 South’s 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.
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.
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Lesson 4 temperate climate current precipitation
drought arid
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Climate Regions
Vocabulary
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How does climate affect how people live?
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Climate Regions Cold Climates 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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Climate Regions Warm Climates 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 area’s 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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Climate Regions The Desert West and Midwest 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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Climate Regions The East North America’s 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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Lesson 5 tornado hurricane blizzard
global warming
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Environmental Challenges
Vocabulary
plate tectonics
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What environmental challenges do people in the region share?
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Environmental Challenges Tornadoes, Hurricanes and Blizzards 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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Environmental Challenges Earthquakes and Volcanoes 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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Environmental Challenges Global Warming Global warming is the overall rise in the temperature of the Earth. Greenhouse effect is heat that is trapped in the Earth’s atmosphere by greenhouse gases (water vapor, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane, and ozone).
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Lesson 6
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Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans
Vocabulary levee water table
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Why was New Orleans heavily damaged by a hurricane?
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Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans The Storm 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 _________. drought 2. A treeless plain where only grasses and mosses can grow is called _______. tundra 3. A ________ levee is a high wall built to protect areas from flooding. 4. A _________ glacier is a giant blanket of ice. 5. _______________ Global warming is the overall rise in the temperature of the Earth. tundra
levee
glacier
global warming
drought
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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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