Chapter 5-1 pgs 130-137

USA and Canada

Map of the USA

Facts about the USA

• Capital: Washington, D.C.Largest city: New York City 19,006,798 (area)

• Population - 2010 est. 309,770,000• Area - 3,794,101 sq mi• The Interstate Highway System extends

46,876 miles

The Geography of the USA– Extreme points of the United States: • Highest: Mount McKinley (Denali), Alaska at

(20,322 ft)• Lowest: Death Valley, California at (−282.2 ft)• Longest River: The Mississippi River 2350 miles• Largest Lake (all inside the USA): Lake Michigan

22,300 sq mi

USA and its Territories

Appalachian Mountains

• The range is mostly located in the United States

• 100 to 300 miles wide• The highest of the

group is Mount Mitchell in North Carolina at 6,684 feet which is the highest point in the United States east of the Mississippi River.

Appalachian Mountains

• Old, short, and Weathered

• covered with vegetation

• Rounded tops• Was the

“Western” edge of the 13 Colonies

The Rocky Mountains• stretch more than

3,000 miles• The range's highest

peak is Mount Elbert located in Colorado at 14,440 feet

• The Rockies vary in width from 70 to 300 miles

The Rocky Mountains

• Young, tall, and sharp peaks

• The Continental Divide is located in the Rocky Mountains and designates the line at which waters flow either to the Atlantic or Pacific Oceans.

Death Valley

Mt Denali

• Used to be called Mt McKinley

• Native American for "The High One"

• in Alaska• is the highest mountain

peak in North America and the United States, with a summit elevation of 20,322 feet

The Great Lakes

The Great Lakes

• Superior, Michigan, Huron, Ontario, Erie

• Formed by glaciers• The largest Freshwater

system in the world• You can take a large

ship from the Atlantic Ocean to Minnesota using the St Lawrence Seaway

Niagara FallsLocated on the Niagara River, which drains Lake Erie into Lake Ontario,

the combined falls form the highest flow rate of any waterfall in the world

vertical drop of more than 165 feet

The Great Lakes

• The Great Lakes contain roughly 22% of the world’s fresh surface water

• This is enough water to cover the 48 contiguous U.S. states to a uniform depth of 9.5 feet

• The Great Lakes coastline measures approximately 10,500 miles

• Can change the weather with Lake Effect

• The Lake-effect • snow is produced during cooler atmospheric

conditions when cold winds move across long expanses of warmer lake water, providing energy and picking up water vapor, which freezes and is deposited on the leeward shores.