The document summarizes the 8 physical regions of North America: Western Cordillera, The Intermountain Range, The Interior Plains, The Coastal Plains, The Appalachian Region, The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Lowland, The Canadian Shield, and The Arctic. Each region is described in terms of its topography, climate, vegetation, economic activity, and environmental concerns. The document provides detailed information on the defining geographic characteristics of each region.
4. Western Cordillera - Topography
• Tall and rough mountain ranges that are
separated by valleys
• Contains mountains that are not weary by
erosion just yet.
• The mountains in the Western Cordillera are
twice as high as the mountains in the
Appalachian Region.
5. Western Cordillera - Climate
• Climate is deeply influenced by the Pacific
Ocean
• Western Cordillera contains some of the
wettest regions on the entire planet
• Slopes with upward wind (Windward Slopes)
are wetter than slopes with downward wind
(Leeward Slopes), because in some areas, they
have very little precipitation.
6. Western Cordillera - Vegetation
• Giant trees grow on the very moist, windward
slopes
• Grasses and cacti grow on the very dry,
leeward slopes.
• Due to the lack of rain in the south,
evergreens don’t grow there.
• At the top of the mountains here, the
vegetation is similar to the vegetation of the
tundra.
8. Western Cordillera – Environmental
Concern
• Silitation (When dirt covers up streams of
water, affecting its wildlife).
• In taking care of marine wildlife, it can result
in pesticide run-off
10. The Intermountain region Topography
• It has bodies of water usually don’t connect to
the sea. These bodies of water become
somewhat salty instead.
• It contains desert like locations where it can
collect water, which makes it so dry.
11. The Intermountain Region - Climate
• Some places here can have an affected climate
due to its location and elevation
• In southern areas, its winters are warm with
little precipitation
• In northern areas, winters are very damp, also
with little precipitation, and summers are very
dry
12. The Intermountain region - Vegetation
• Thin grasslands
• Has plants that are able to live in very hot
desert conditions
13. The Intermountain Region – Economic
Activity
• Growing flowers
• Forestation (Chopping down trees to use as
lumber)
14. The Intermountain Region –
Environmental Concerns
• Due to forestation, the intermountain region
is losing a lot of its forests.
16. The Interior Plains - Topography
• It is divided by the Central lowlands and Great
Plains.
• Flat or gently rolling plains at various
elevations
17. The Interior Plains - Climate
• In the north, winters are long and cold, and
summers are short and cool.
• Its climate is no where near influenced by the
ocean, because it is in the centre of the
continent.
18. The Interior Plains - Vegetation
• Prairie grasses
• It used to be made up of a lot more forests
than it has now.
• In the north, boreal forests are grown, and
become tundra the further north you go
19. The Interior Plains – Economic Activity
• Farming
• Mining
• Oil and natural gas drilling
20. The Interior Plains – Environmental
Concerns
• If there is a spill in the oil and natural gas drilling,
it can get into the water. This can cause any life
that needs water to survive, to die.
• When farmers take care of plants, they use
pesticides. If it gets into the water supply, it can
poison the water.
• When mining, the entire vegetation around
where they want to mine has to be destroyed.
• The interior plains get tornadoes that spin at a
speed of around 650 km/h
22. The Costal Plains - Topography
• Its average elevation is around 200 m above
sea level.
• It contains many swamp like places.
• The gradual sinking of land was allowing the
sea to plunge into streams that cross the
plains.
• In the Mississippi delta, the Mississippi
empties into the Gulf of Mexico, which creates
a wide belt of fruitful and undeveloped land.
23. The Costal Plains - Climate
• In the north, it has cold and snowy winters.
Summers in the north are hot and humid.
• In the south, it has mild or warm winters.
• The southern portion also has a lot of
hurricanes. Mostly they happen around fall.
24. The Costal Plains - Vegetation
• The original vegetation consisted of pine
forests.
• Its soils are mainly very sandy
• Lush jungles in the Mexican area are
developed from the sandy soil
25. The Costal Plains – Economic Activity
• Farming in costal plains is at its strongest on
higher and drier grounds.
• National park services
• Connecting estuaries are important nurseries
for so many marine species.
26. The Costal Plains – Environmental
Concerns
•
Mineral exploration
- They have to search a vast amount of
land to discover what they are looking for.
They don’t do it in one place, they go all
around the vast area to find what they need.
• Hurricanes that can go up to speeds of 120240 km/h
28. The Appalachian Region - Topography
• It is made up of many different mountain
ranges that change every day, due to erosion.
• It consists of low mountain ranges, rolling hills
and river valleys
29. The Appalachian Region - Climate
• Labrador current brings freezing water from
the south of the arctic, which causes cold
winters in the northern part of the region.
• The Gulf stream brings warm water from just
north of the Caribbean.
30. The Appalachian Region - Vegetation
• It at first had a lot of coniferous (Evergreen
like trees) and deciduous trees(Trees that shed
leaves once a year).
• These trees were able to live through poor
and fruitless mountain soil.
• They also grow on flat terrains and in river
valleys, with much more fruitful soil.
31. The Appalachian Region – Economic
Activity
•
•
•
•
Mining
Logging
Fishing
Trade (Usually at sea ports)
32. The Appalachian Region –
Environmental Concerns
• The Hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA) is an
insect that is destroying forests by eating trees
that grow slowly and live long (Hemlock trees)
• The simplest way for people to coal mine now,
is to remove the top of a mountain. This
completely gets rid of all life that once lived at
the top of that mountain.
34. The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence
Lowlands - Topography
• Flat plains, rolling hills and deep river valleys
• Several steep hills
• Its rolling landscape is mostly created by
glaciation (Process of being completely
covered in ice sheets and glaciers)
35. The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence
Lowlands - Climate
• Its climate is not subjective to the ocean, but
it’s subjective to the great lakes.
• The presence of the great lakes makes this
area humid. It also cools the temperature
during the summer, and warm the area during
winter by storing heat.
36. The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence
Lowlands - Vegetation
• Fertile soils
• Mixed deciduous and coniferous forests
37. The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence
Lowlands – Economic Activity
•
•
•
•
Farming
Logging
Manufacturing
Urban economic activity
38. The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence
Lowlands – Environmental Concerns
• Great lakes are getting polluted
• Exhaust from manufacturing plants cause air
pollution
• From hot and humid weather, it can help
pollution develop, and even cause
thunderstorms or even floods.
40. The Canadian Shield - Topography
• Rock surfaces with no life
• It has an approximate elevation on 100 m
above sea level in north, and 500 m above sea
level in the south
• Lots of lakes and wetlands
• Areas near Hudson and James bay are covered
with clay
41. The Canadian Shield - Climate
• Winters are long and cold and summers are
short and cool.
• Around 250 mm of rain in summer, and 1375
mm of snow during winter
42. The Canadian Shield - Vegetation
• Arctic forests
• Deciduous trees
• North of where trees grow, there is not
enough precipitation for trees to grow
• Thin soil makes it out of place for agriculture
44. The Canadian Shield – Environmental
Concerns
• The Canadian shield has acid rain, which can
destroy life in Canadian shield. This threatens
human life in this area.
• Air pollution from acid rain
• When mining, it can cause great damage to
the area around it
46. The Arctic - Topography
• Very flat
• Near the ocean
• Contains mountains
47. The Arctic - Climate
• Winter is 10 months in the far north. Summers
aren’t very warm, and are very short
• Arctic has very little precipitation. It’s basically
a cold desert.
48. The Arctic - Vegetation
• Shrubs, mosses and lichens are usually the
only things that grow there.
• Too cold and dry for trees to grow
49. The Arctic – Economic Activity
• Mining
• Oil and natural gas drilling
• Fishing
50. The Arctic – Environmental Concerns
• Climate change causes can cause rises in
temperature and severe weather
• Arctic tree line is moving more towards the north,
causing the tundra to grow more trees.
• Melting permafrost could make well drained
lands wetlands.
• Vascular plants are becoming more dominating
over the regular plants. Lots of animals eat the
regular plants, so this is lowering their food
supply.
51. Bibliography
• Cranny, Michael. Crossroads - A meeting of nations. 1st ed.
Toronto: Pearson Education Canada Inc., 1998. 164-179. Print.
(Cranny 164-179)
• Chater 1: Geogaphy of canada. Informally published
manuscript, UBC word press 2010, UBC, Vancouver, BC.
Retrieved from http://www.dlcubc.ca/wordpress_dlc_mu/jeff1/files/2010/07/Geography-ofCanada.pdf
• Chang, L. (2011, May 09). [Web log message]. Retrieved from
http://prezi.com/s6yz8ae9ud6f/intermountain-regions/
• [Print Photo]. Retrieved from
http://bestclipartblog.com/clipart-pics/compass-clip-art-4.gif
52. Bibliography
• [Web Drawing]. Retrieved from
http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/namerica/naoutl.
gif
• Agriculture in the western cordillera. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.angelfire.com/d20/scottnotes/farmingcordillera.html
• Seabrook, J. (2006, October 13). Lower costal plains and cstal
islands. Retrieved from
http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/geographyenvironment/lower-costal-plain-and-costal-islands
• Thomson, I. (2000, August 17). Mineral exploration and the
challenge of community relations. Retrieved from
http://www.pdac.ca/docs/default-source/publications--communique/mineral-exploration-and-the-challenge-ofcommunityrelations.pdf?sfvrsn=6
53. Biblography
• Moyer, B. (n.d.). Saving hemlocks. Retrieved from
http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/united
states/pennsylvania/explore/saving-hemlocks.xml
• Clendinning, K. (2012, August 14). Where mountains once stood:
Coal mining in the appalachians. Retrieved from
http://earthreform.org/where-mountains-once-stood-coal-miningin-the-appalachians/
• Pollution. (2002). Retrieved from
http://partner.galileo.org/schools/gibson/45_fp/geography/issue/st_lawrence_i/st_lawrencei_1.htm
• Bryan and Josh. (2003, December). Canadian shield region.
Retrieved from
http://projects.cbe.ab.ca/ict/2learn/kdwajda/alberta/studentwork/
shield.htm
54. Bibliography
• Milz, P. (2002). Acid rain in the canadian
shield. Retrieved from
http://partner.galileo.org/schools/gibson/45_fp/geography/issue/canadianshield_i/canad
ianshieldi_2.htm
• Cote, F. (2008, October 24). The arctic:
Environmental issues. Retrieved from
http://www.parl.gc.ca/content/lop/researchp
ublications/prb0804-e.htm
