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Intro to Physical Geographyand North America
Regional Physical Geography
Today: North AmericaFirst regions Unit 2 and Unit 3: North
and South AmericaNext class: Quiz over North America
notes, learn about South AmericaFollowing class: MAP TEST, begin new
unit.
Introduction to Physical Geography
Ch 2 and 3 in textbook
•p. 34 in textbook shows landforms (similar to this) for reference
Tectonic Plates p. 37
p. 37 textbook reference map
p. 61 in textbook has climate region map for reference
Vegetation Map p. 66 in textbook for reference
External Forces Shaping the Earth
Weathering vs. ErosionWeathering - physical and chemical
processes that change the characteristics of rock on or near the earth’s surface. The final result of weathering is sediment.◦Mechanical weathering - changes in physical composition…drilling and blasting to build roads.
◦Chemical weathering - changes in chemical composition…bike left outside in the rain
Erosion
Erosion occurs when weathered material (sediment) is moved by wind, water, ice, or gravity.
Glaciers, waves, running water, or blowing winds cause erosion by grinding rock into smaller pieces.
Types of erosion:◦Water◦Wind◦glacial
End Result?
What do the processes of weathering and erosion contribute to? Forming soil! ◦Soil is the loose mixture of weathered rock,
organic matter, air, and water…fertile soil is a certain mixture of these ingredients, along with climate and time.
Seasons
What causes changes in the seasons?◦The tilt of the earth’s axis as it revolves
around the sun
Solstices - summer and winterEquinox - spring and autumn
Weather vs Climate
What is weather?
What does the weather report consist of on the nightly news?
Weather
Weather is the condition of the atmosphere at a particular location and time.
What causes weather?◦Water vapor◦Cloud cover◦Landforms and bodies of water◦Elevation◦Air movement
Climate
Climate is the term for weather conditions at a particular location over a long period of time…weather patterns.
Specific temperature and rainfall or average temperature and rainfall?
p. 61 in textbook has climate region map for reference
What affects Climate?
Wind and Ocean currents - help distribute the sun’s heat
Zones of latitude - low or tropical, middle or temperate, and high or polar
Elevation - as altitude increases, the air temperature drops about 3.5˚F for every 1,000 feet…Mt. Kilimanjaro
Topography - landforms and bodies of water can facilitate and serve as barriers in distributing heat, moisture, etc.
Can climates change over time?
Yes! Some climate changes are natural and others are a result of human activity on earth.◦El Nino - a natural change in climate◦Global Warming – may be the result of
human activity…the greenhouse effect
Physical Geography of US and Canada
Landscape Influenced Development
What about the landscape of the US and Canada has influenced our development?
Vast lands – total square miles: 9,365,000 Sq. Miles, 16.3% of world’s total land mass
Natural Resources
Varied Landforms
Coastal Plains
Appalachian MountainsGreat Plains
Rocky Mountains
Continental Divide – line of highest points in the Rockies that marks the separation between rivers flowing eastward and westward.
The Great Plains The Great Plains covers nearly one-
fifth of the continental United States. A vast stretch of prairie where few trees
grow, these grasslands used to be tall grass prairie before it was noticed they would support dry field crops like wheat.
It now serves as the western part of America's "Breadbasket." This is the Wheat Belt and the limited rainfall in the region is perfect for wheat cultivation.
• The Interior Lowlands includes the Nashville Basin, the "Hill Country" of Texas, the Midwest, and vast stretches of flat to rolling land in Canada. A large part of this area is the "Breadbasket" of the United States - the Corn Belt. However, most of the corn grown here isn't for human consumption.• Rather it is used as animal fodder.
Interior Lowlands: Grain Belts
The Canadian Shield
The Canadian Shield has experienced glacial scouring from the last ice age 11 to 13 thousand years ago. Notice all the glacial lakes of this area (e.g. Great Lakes, Lake Winnipeg, Great Bear Lake, Great Slave Lake, etc.) and the fjords of the island north. The islands of the Arctic realm (e.g. Baffin Island, Ellesmere Island, and Victoria Island) are all inscribed with former glacial troughs.
Pacific Mountains and Valleys
^ Yukon River
Mt. McKinley or Denali >
Appalachian Mountains
These mountain extending 1,600 miles north and south gently sloping are very old 400 million years.
IslandsThe Aleutian Islands and Hawaiian Islands-
Volcanic in origin.Arctic Islands- Largest are Ellesmere,
Victoria and Baffin.
Climates and Vegetation
Huge mixture of climates
◦Why?
Climate Zones
Rocky Mountains:
The Rocky Mountains are the dominant mountain range for North America. It contains the continental divide, where water will drain either to the east (e.g. the Mississippi River, or Rio Grande watersheds), or to the west (to the Colorado, Columbia, or Yukon River watersheds).
Natural Resources
Oceans and Waterways
Land and Forests
Minerals and Fossil Fuels
Vegetation Map
How did we get here?
Migration from Asia over Beringia – a land bridge that once connected Siberia and Alaska
Migrants were nomads, hunting and gathering game and wild plants
Where were the first settlements? What prompted the move from a nomadic
to a sedentary lifestyle?
Expansion of the U.S.
Overcoming distances Trails and inland waterwaysOregon TrailSanta Fe TrailSt. Lawrence Seaway – connects Great Lakes
to the Atlantic OceanErie CanalRailroads – Transcontinental Railroad
completed in 1869Highways 1950’s interstate initiative under
President D. Eisenhower
Assignments:
Using the textbook:Complete North America Resource ActivityRead chapter 5 section 1 and section 2. Take notes/outlines as you read.
Open-notes quiz next class period over class notes and chapter notes.
Work on mapslizardpoint.comilike2learn.com
Work on vocabulary and Climate packet
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