North AmericaCharacteristics of the USA and

CanadaThis presentation supplied by Mr. Hodges of City of Salem Schools. It was modified by Larry Blodgett—I separated off parts and made them into stand alone presenationsl

Climate

• The climate in the USA and Canada is varied– Tundra (frozen land) in Alaska– Tropical wet in Hawaii– Deserts in the southwestern states– Continental climate in the northeast and central

regions• Climate influenced by land and not water

– Subtropical in southern Florida, southern Texas and southern California

Economic Characteristics

• Major exports (send out of the country)– Technology– Consumer goods– Information systems– foodstuffs

Economic Characteristics

• Characteristics of a developed country– Highly developed infrastructure– Highly diversified economies (people make a

living doing many different things)– Rich supply of mineral, energy and forest

resources

Economic Characteristics

• Rich supply of mineral, energy and forest resources

Economic Characteristics

• Center of world financial markets (New York Stock Exchange)

• This is why the World Trade Center was attacked on 9/11

Economic Characteristics

• Many multinational corporations such as– McDonalds– Coca Cola– Wal-Mart– GE– Caterpillar– And many others

• Multinational corporations have offices and businesses all over the world

Economic Characteristics

• The US exports it’s culture in– Clothing—blue jeans– Food- McDonalds, Krispy Kreme Donuts,

Coca Cola– Music

Economic Characteristics

The USA is a member of NAFTA

North American Free Trade Agreement is an economic alliance between the US, Canada and Mexico.

Countries can trade goods across the border and not pay import or export taxes on the products.

This has caused many American companies to move to Mexico because labor and expenses are cheaper than in the US.

WealthWealth

PovertyPoverty

Cultural Characteristics

• Colonized by the Europeans– Spanish in Florida, Texas and California– English on the east coast.– French in Canada and around New Orleans

Cultural Characteristics

• The US is a multicultural society which means there are many cultures in the US. – Examples of cultures in the US are

restaurants, bilingual signs, music.

• The population of the USA is very diverse-people from many countries live peacefully in the US.

Cultural Characteristics

• Citizens in the US enjoy – High literacy rates-people are educated– High standards of living-people have an easy

life– Highly urbanized-many large cities– Highly mobile population-move around a lot

and travel throughout the country and the world.

Cultural Characteristics

• Canada struggles to maintain a national identity. Quebec identifies with France and many want to leave Canada and become an independent country.

• The US and Canada both have democratic forms of government.

• World’s longest unfortified border is between the US and Canada.

• Arts reflects the cultural heritage of the many cultures that live in the US. This is seen in paintings, movies, music, dance,etc.

Military Alliance

• The US is a member of NATO.– North Atlantic Treaty Organization