Chapter 1: America’s Land Lesson 1: Land and...
Transcript of Chapter 1: America’s Land Lesson 1: Land and...
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.