Geography North America and the

USA During  this  topic,  you  will  have  the  chance  to  learn  about  some  of  the  key  

physical  and  human  features  of  North  America  and  the  USA.  You  will  have  the  opportunity  to  study  some  places  in  more  detail,  for  example  New  York  and  

The  Grand  Canyon.  You  will  also  look  at  the  different  climates  that  exist  across  the  USA,  including  floods,  droughts  and  tornadoes.  

 

CLIMATES WITHIN THE U.S.A The  overall  climate  in  the  U.S.A  is  temperate,  with  3  main  excepGons:    Ø In  Alaska  there  is  an  arcGc  tundra  Ø Hawaii  and  South  Florida  have  a  tropical  climate  Ø The  ‘Great  Plains’  are  dry,  flat  and  grassy,  turning  into  arid  desert  in  the  West.  

 Temperate  =  Generally  moderate  spread  rainfall  throughout  the  year  with  mild  to  warm  summers  and  cool  to  cold  winters.    

See if you can find out what the following phrases mean:

           

ArGc  tundra  

Tropical  climate  

Arid  desert  

Extremes of weather: droughts

•  Some  parts  of  North  America  experience  ‘mega  droughts’  and  there  is  a  desperate  shortage  of  water.    

•  These  droughts  have  been  linked  to  climate  change  and  warmer  temperatures,  coupled  with  less  precipitaGon  (snow  and  rain)  in  the  winter.  

Some  parts  of  North  America  experience  ‘mega  droughts’  (lasGng  2  decades  or  longer)  and  there  is  a  desperate  shortage  of  water.    These  droughts  are  linked  to  climate  change  and  warmer  temperatures,  couples  with  less  precipitaGon  (snow  and  rain)  in  the  winter  season.  Click  on  the  link  below  to  find  out  more…  

hVps://ediGon.cnn.com/2015/02/14/us/nasa-­‐study-­‐western-­‐megadrought/index.html  

Extremes of weather: hurricanes A  hurricane  is  a  type  of  tropical  cyclone  –  a  powerful,  rotaGng  storm  that  begins  in  warm,  tropical  oceans  and  creates  strong  winds  and  heavy  rain.    The  Saffir-­‐Simpson  Scale  is  used  to  measure  how  severe  a  hurricane  is.  This  is  based  on  wind  speed.  A  Category  1  hurricane  (wind  speed  up  to  90  mph)  would  cause  minor  damage  whereas  a  Category  5  hurricane  (wind  speed  more  that  150  mph)  would  cause  catastrophic  damage.  

No other state gets hit by hurricanes more frequently than Florida (approximately 40%)

• The  state  of  Louisiana  experienced  a  devastaGng  hurricane  in  2005.  Hurricane  Katrina  was  a  Category  5  hurricane,  with  winds  of  175mph.    

• 1836  people  died  and  80%  of  New  Orleans  was  completely  under  water.  

Watch a short video about Hurricane Katrina by clicking on the link below: • hVp://www.coolgeography.co.uk/A-­‐level/AQA/Year%2013/Weather%20and%20climate/Hurricanes/Hurricane_Katrina.htm  

And finally…!

•  See  if  you  can  find  out  how  hurricanes  get  their  names  –  who  choses  and  what  are  the  criteria?  

•  If  you  would  like  some  help  with  this,  try  clicking  on  the  link  below:      hVps://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=DCWOVCe1TlM