Chapter 1: America’s Land

Lesson 1: Land and Climate

Geography: Describe landforms and other physical features of the United States.

Geography: Explain how and why climate varies throughout the United States.

Is it easy to walk to school or would you have to huff and puff to come up the street?

Land around us affects what we do every day!

MAIN IDEA: The United States has many different landforms. Sandy beaches, high mountains, wide-open plains, thick

forests, and strong rivers to name a few

To learn about these we learn about geography Geography – the study of the world and the people and things

that live there. Geographers – think about the Earth and the way people

make it their home.

Geographers ask questions about the land Where is it?

What is it like?

How does the land affect people?

How do people use the land?

Geographers get answers to help us understand the past, present and future.

Landforms give the country its special appearance

Landform – a feature on the surface of the land, such as a mountain, valley, or plain.

Let’s take a trip across the United States and look at our landforms.

From the Pacific Ocean you climb into mountain ranges Coast Ranges Sierra Nevada Ranges

Next is the Basin and Range area Bowl-shaped basins and mountain ranges Plateaus are common in this area

Plateau – a high, steep-sided area rising above the surrounding land.

Canyons are formed when water flowing over the plateaus wears away the rock Canyon – a long, deep gap cut into the earth, like Bryce Canyon

National Park and Zion National Park

After the Basin and Range area you come to the Rocky Mountains Also known as the “Rockies” Get their name from their sharp, rocky peaks Some of the highest mountains in the country.

Moving east are wide, flat plains Slope down to the Mississippi River East of the Mississippi River they slope back up to meet

the Appalachian Mountains

Appalachian Mountains run from Maine to Alabama

Older, lower, and more rounded than the Sierra Nevada range or the Rockies.

They pass near us!

East of the Appalachians, the land drops into the Atlantic Coastal Plain to meet the Atlantic Ocean

Our country’s climate is as varied as its landforms

Climate – the type of weather a place has over a long period of time

Climate includes temperature and the amount of precipitation an area gets

Precipitation is rain, snow, sleet, and other moisture that falls to earth.

The southern half of the country is generally warmer

One reason is they are closer to the equator than us in Connecticut Equator – the imaginary line around the middle of the Earth

Sunlight shines most directly at the equator causing warmth

Landforms, especially mountains, affect the climate

Lower places warmed by the Earth’s surface

As you get higher in the mountains the air is cooler

Plants and trees affect the climate, too

Leaves release water and create shade and can make an area cooler.

The U.S. has many kinds of landforms, including mountains, canyons, plains, and plateaus.

Climate in the U.S. differs according to the place.

Climate can be affected by distance from the equator, landforms, and plant life.

Both the land an climate of the United States affect every person in the country.

Would you put the Sierra Nevada in the category of mountains or plains?

mountains What are three landforms you might see if you took a trip

across the U.S.? Mountains, canyons, plateaus, plains, etc. Why are places closer to the equator warmer than places

farther from the equator? Places closer to the equator receive more direct sunlight.

Compare the Rocky Mountains with the Appalachian Mountains. How are they similar? How are they different?

Similar: they are both mountain land forms. Different: The Rockies are higher and more rugged than

the Appalachians. The Rockies have sharp peaks and the Appalachians are rounded. The Appalachians are older than the Rockies.

What questions do geographers ask? Where a place is, what it’s like, and how people and the

land affect each other.