Geography of the United States PDF

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...,~USSIA-,._ ~.....:;- ~ V ✓ -~- / 0 Q)- CANADA \) f ~.....-:: \~ ,..._ ~ ~ 200 O 200 400 Kiomott" Albers Equ.,1-Aru P'nJjedion I f PACIFIC OCEAN ~-- ' ~ HAWAII 0 q.Honolulu mllomdm ":~ MCR:OCEAIII h ~ ATLANnc OCEAN ® National capital State capital - National border MEXICO Gulf of Mexico - State border PLACE What is the capital of your state? A region is an area in which many A Nation of 50 States features are similar. The United States is a nation made up The five regions of the United States of 50 states. Forty-eight of them share at are the West, the Southwest, the Midwest, least one border with another state. They the Southeast, and the Northeast. Each are contiguous (kuhn TIH gyuh wuhs), region is based on its relative location in or next to each other. the United States. The relative location Two states, Alaska and Hawaii, are of a place is where it is compared to other separated from the other states. Alaska, places. For example, the Midwest region our northernmost state, shares a border is between the Northeast and the West. with the country of Canada. Hawaii is a The states within each region are alike group of islands in the Pacific Ocean. in many ways. The states often have simi- It is more than 2,000 miles from the lar kinds of land, and the people who 48 contiguous states. live there often earn their living in similar ways. The states in each region may also Regions of the United States share a history and culture. To make it easier to talk about different areas of the country, people often group READING CHECK 6COMPARE AND CONTRAST the 50 states into five large regions. How are the states in a region similar? Chapter 1 11 15  landmasses, or continents. From larg- est to smallest, the continents are AsiaI Africa, North America, South America I Antarctica, Europe, and Australia. The United States is also one of the largest nations in North America. There are two ways to measure the size of a nation. One is to measure its land area. The other is to measure its population, or number of people. In land area, Canada is the largest country in North America. The United States ranks second. In population, the United States is the )) OTTAWA Many government buildings are located largest country. Mexico is second. in Ottawa, Canada's capital. Canada, Our Northern Neighbor Canada is our northern neighbor. It lies A Country in North north of the contiguous 48 states and east of Alaska. Canada and the United America States share similar histories. Both were If someone asked you to describe explored by the French and the British the location of the United States, what and were once under British rule. would you say? You could say that the Fewer people live in Canada than in United States is in North America. North either Mexico or the United States. Much America is one of Earth's seven largest of northern Canada is very cold for > MEXICO CITY is one of the oldest cities in North America.  capital, Mexico City, is one of the world's The Three Largest largest cities. Countries in North America Mexico and the United States also AREA share a history. Long ago, Spain sent COUNTRY (square miles) POPULATION settlers to live in what is now Mexico and the southwestern United States. Canada 3,855,100 33,212,696 READING CHECK 8COMPARE AND CONTRAST United States 3,718,700 303,824,646 How are Canada, the United States, and Mexico similar? Mexico 761 ,600 109,955,400 TABLE What is the largest country in area? in population? The United States has 50 states. They are often grouped into five regions. North most of the year. Few people live there. America's three largest countries are Instead, most Canadians live near the Canada, the United States, and Mexico. country's southern border. Mexico, Our Southern Neighbor In land area, Mexico is smaller than either Canada or the United States. -REVIEW However, Mexico has more people than 1. WHAT TO KNOW How are the 50 states Canada. Its population is also more alike, and how are they different? spread out than Canada's. Mexico's 2. VOCABULARY Write a sentence that uses the word region. 3. GEOGRAPHY What are the three largest countries in North America? 4. CRITICAL THINKING How would you describe the relative location of each of the five regions in the United States? 5. iJll DRAW A MAP Draw a map of North W America. Label the United States and its neighbors. 6. Focus COMPARE AND CONTRAST skm On a separate sheet of paper, copy and complete the graphic organizer below..J.· , a Map and Globe Skills ~f. ~ 'f. Use Latitude and Longitude Why It Matters Maps and globes can help you find the location of a place. > LEARN Mapmakers ·u se a system of imaginary lines to form a grid system on maps and globes. You can use this grid system to find the absolute location, or exact location, of a place. The lines that run east and west are called lines of latitude, or parallels (PAIR uh lelz). They are measured in degrees north and south of the equator. The equator is labeled 0°, or zero degrees. Lines north of the equator are marked N for north lati- tude. Lines south of it are marked S for south latitude. The lines that run north and south from the poles are called lines of longitude, or meridians. They are measured in degrees east and west of the prime meridian. The prime meridian is labeled 0°. Lines west of the prime meridian are marked W for west longitude. Lines east of it are marked E for east longitude. Latitude and Longitude North Pole Equator - - - - --+---...,__.- ~ o South Pole South Pole 20 Unit 1  Landform Regions A Long Journey In the late 1800s, a well -kno wn w riter The Unit ed State s is a land of many nam ed Robert Loui s Stev enso n trave led d iffere nt kind s of place s. To bette r stud y acros s the Unit ed State s. Steve nson w as the land, geog raph ers often divid e it into livin g in Scot land whe n he received landf orm regio ns. A landform region word that Fann y Osbo urne, his swee t- is a regio n that has simil ar landf orms heart , was ill. Osbo urne lived in the throu ghou t. Land form s are phys ical Unit ed State s, and Stev enso n decid ed featu res such as plain s, moun tains , to go there. plate aus, hills, and valle ys. He did not reali ze how muc h his trip Each land form regio n is uniq ue, or acros s the Unit ed State s wou ld teach him unlik e the other s, beca use of the shap e abou t the natio n's land form s and clim ate. of its la1:1~ rm~ an~ the way they came Clim ate is the kind of weat her a place has to b~. Divi ding the coun try into land- over a long time. form regio ns make s it easie r to comp are and contr ast diffe rent parts of the coun- iil!il )IWJB@H:t 8COMPARE AND CONTRAST try. Ther e are man y diffe rent landf orm What makes landform regions in the United regio ns in the Unit ed State s. States different? > NEW YORK HARBOR This photograph shows New York Harbor in the 1890s. Robert Louis Stevenson (right) arrived in New York City. ◄ I. New York & Lak ·11 1. ON l ~ l~._, ,>", '. I '\ lerfng \\ :o. ARCTIC OCEAN ~ \\ SN.. ~'\. '-i I~~ Mountains ~~ ~ ( ~-~ · Beaufort Sea , ,;J ~\.)1 ~ ~- ~ ~ Ban ~' \:_1~-;~ 0 Plateaus □ Hills 1,:~~~~~ '-t ~ Plains. :, "".:~~\;j ! ~ PACIFIC A/ask ~ Jr \.. , ~.,;... Grtot s-1\ Lah Cr,atS/ave Lakt CANADA lit~~ ~~ ·..r , Hudso~ ,. ", Labrador f ~ Sea ~ OCEAN ' , LAKE MICHIGAN The city of Chicago lies on the shore of Lake Michigan. People in the United States use more than 40 billion gallons of water from the Great Lakes every day. ~:::----== ==;;.;iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii Chapter 1 31  Major Bodies of Water in the United States '-- - ~(C::, \ \ 0 200 t===.:~==---=400Miit, CANADA '\ 0 200 400 Kilom,t,n , --...,~ Albers Equ ~"'" Plojttt10n , l. it 1.' ~(' ,I-...,o '- L~-~ ~ ~ "..,, ::- ~ ·\ ' -.4'.f-. '" ' Ontario -; Lake"1 'S< l "~ 1 f :,! , ~ On ~. !:, ~ ~ York Ctty.. ~ t~ 1 ladelphia.· " De/awort Bay ngton, D.C. Cht iapeak, Boy Albemarle ) Sound ATLANTIC OCEAN l'. N - 160'W , Q PACIFIC l>S'W OCEAN wJ,tl Q. s I HAWAII ":~ Tampa Boy , -.,;;? ) 0 r,o1iklTHE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE runs through separates rivers that flow into the Atlantic Yellowstone 'National Park. from rivers that flow into the Pacific. -- REVIEW 1. WHAT TO KNOW What are some of the 5. ~ DRAW A POSTER Find out what river is different bodies of water in the United W located nearest to where you live. States? Make a poster showing the river and its 2. VOCABULARY Write a sentence that surrounding landforms. Label nearby explains how the terms tributary and cities and any tributaries the river may drainage basin are related. have. 3. GEOGRAPHY Which countries do the Great 6. Focus GENERALIZE Lakes border? Skin On a separate sheet of paper, copy and complete the graphic organizer 4. CRITICAL THINKING Why do you think it below. is important to have a waterway that connects the Midwest and the Atlantic Ocean? 34 ,, Unit 1  The Four Seasons MARCH-20 or 21 Spring in the ~orthern Hemisphere DECEMBER 21 or 22 · Winter in the Northern Hemisphere SEPTEMBER 22 or 23 Autumn in the Northern Hemisphere JUNE 21 or 22 ILLUSTRATION Seasons change as Earth orbits the sun. Summer in the When does winter begin in the Northern Hemisphere? Northern Hemisphere Elevation affects climate, too. Elevation Climate is the height of the land in relation to sea The climate of a place can affect what level. For every 1,000 feet above sea level, people wear, what kinds of activities they the temperature drops about 3° F. do, and how they earn their living. Earth and the Sun Factors Affecting Climate Earth's orbit around the sun causes The climate of a place depends partly changes in seasons-summer, autumn, on its distance from the equator. Places winter, and spring. Because Earth is tilted closer to the equator tend to be warmer on its axis as it orbits the sun, places get than places farther away. That is because different amounts of sunlight and heat at the sun shines more directly on Earth at different times of the year. These changes the equator. In the United States, states are more noticeable in some places than farther south, such as Florida and Texas, in others. Some places have four dis- are usually warmer than states farther tinct seasons. In other places, it is mostly north, such as Michigan and Montana. warm all year or mostly cold all year. Distance from oceans and other large bodies of water also affects climate. READING CHECK 6COMPARE AND CONTRAST Places are warmed by the water in winter Why are northern states usually colder than and cooled by it in summer. southern states? Chapter 1 37  I 'i D Tropical wet (hot and rainy all year) O Mediterranean (hot dry summer, mild rainy winter) D Subpolar jshort cool summe O 200 400 Miles II Tropical wet and dry D Humid subtropical ongcoldwinter) r, (hot; rainy ilnd dry seasons) (hot rainy summer, mild rainy winter) Polar "o \ 400 \(\\omders Iii (dry,eltherhotorcold) Desert O Marine (coolilndwet) □ (coldallyear) Highland ,,.- lRU'.._ t7o·v/"' ILO':.V 110 W 14 ' W ~ O · Semiarid (short rillny season) D Continental (hot summer, cold winter) (cllmatevarieswilh elevation) f' ,~ ' -~~ PACIFIC. OCEAN.. harleston I \ ~ Jo N I \ ~ ,,10 120' W ~I ',- , --- ~ E 160'W 11\'W , ' Q PACIFIC OCEAN :\i 41f I W I s:..ttgiolulu MEXICO s HAWAII '"'°- ✓) o1- 100 ~. 20"N~ '"" 1 t======:::::;---' Q Gulf ofMexico 200 ~Kllomtters o s Equal- I go w REGIONS What climate region do you live in? Vegetation also varies because of temperature and precipitation. In fact, the amount of pre- Weather in the 48 contiguous states cipitation in a place is the single most generally moves from west to east. important factor affecting where different Mountains block clouds that carry rain. kinds of natural vegetation grow. In many places, the western slopes of the mountains receive lots of rain. The Vegetation Regions eastern slopes are dry. Most of the United States can be Earth is covered with different kinds divided into four main vegetation of natural vegetation, or plant life that regions. These are forest, grassland, des- grows naturally in a place. The natural ert, and tundra. Forest regions extend vegetation that grows in a place varies across large areas of both the eastern and depending on the soil. The vegetation western United States. 38 Unit 1  Trees need lots of water, but grasses Tundra regions are covered by snow can survive in much drier areas. The larg- more than half the year. Yet there is not est grassland region in the United States enough water for trees to grow because stretches across the middle of the country. the water in the soil is frozen year-round. It includes the western part of the Central READING CHECK SUMMARIZE Plains and all of the Great Plains. What four main vegetation regions cover the Only plants that can grow in an United States? arid, or dry, climate can grow in deserts. These plants include short grasses, low bushes, and cactuses. Summary Small hardy plants such as mosses, herbs, and low shrubs grow in tun- Climate can influence the way dra regions. A tundra is a cold, dry people live in different parts of the region where trees cannot grow. United States. It also affects vegeta- tion. In dry regions, few plants grow. :, DRY CLIMATES Only plants that can In wet regions, many trees and other hold a lot of water can survive in a dry plants grow. climate like the desert. REVIEW 1. WHAT TO KNOW How do climate and 5. '-. WRITE A POEM Write a poem about vegetation differ across the United ~ the climate and vegetation of the States? region in which you live. 2. VOCABULARY Write a sentence using the 6. Focus COMPARE AND CONTRAST word arid. skm On a separate sheet of paper, 3. GEOGRAPHY How does the geography of copy and complete this graphic different regions affect climate? organizer. 4. CRITICAL THINKING How do you think climate affects life in different parts of the Desert United States? Chapter 1 39  Patterns of Settlement At first, most people avoided settling in desert, tundra, or mountainous regions. In Today, more than 300 million people such areas it can be difficult to build shel- live in the United States. However, many ters, find food and water, and meet basic areas are not crowded. Thousands of peo- human needs. During the 1800s and 1900s, ple do live close together in and around people began to use tools and inventions large cities. But very few people live in to live in those areas. As a result of air- some parts of the country. conditioning and irrigation, some of the fastest-growing cities in the United States Factors Encouraging Settlement are now in the desert regions of the West. Physical features, such as climate, Today, people live in cities that spread out water, and landforms, can affect where over large areas. Big cities are often found people settle. More than 5,000 years ago, along transportation routes such as rivers or Native Americans began farming. They a coast. No matter where people live, they settled in areas where the soil was rich. change the land on which they build. Later settlers set up communities where there was farmland and fresh water. READING CHECK 8COMPARE AND CONTRAST People also needed to live near transpor- How do different climates encourage and tation routes, such as rivers. discourage settlement?.......,....... II  Using the Land Much of the mining in the United States takes place in mountain regions. People use Earth's surface in a vari- However, mining may take place wher- ety of ways. They divide land into ever there are minerals to gather. nations, states, and other government Cities also occupy large areas of the units. They build communities, trans- United States. Cities are identified by portation systems, and businesses. human features. A human feature is People also get natural resources from something created by people, such as a the land. building or a road, that alters the land. How People Use the Land In cities, most of the land is used for Landforms and climate can influence housing, transportation, and businesses. land use, or how the land is used. In Most manufacturing takes place in or the UnHed States, about half of the near cities. land is used as farmland. Most farm- Natural Resources ing takes place on the Coastal Plain, on The United States is a land rich in the Interior Plains, and in valleys in the natural resources. A natural resource is West. In those regions, the land is fertile something found in nature that people and there is enough water for crops to can use. Natural resources include soil, grow. plants, water, and minerals. > LAND USE People use the land around them to grow food and to get natural resources.  iii Manufacturing I> Fishing iii Farming l Oil or natural gas db Silver f O Grazing.Coal Q1 Limestone Forest.Iron 0 Uranium D Little-used land (I Copper t Zinc CANADA Lo ATLANTIC PAC OCEAN OCE Jo- 160"W , " ~- OCEA Honolulu - i - -.2o N 0, 100Mlles IF100~ REGIONS What natural resources do people use where you live? There are two kinds of natural resources. People use these types of resources to Renewable resourc~~are resources that heat homes and fuel cars. One resource, can be made ag➔jpeople or nature. oil, is the source of every product that is These include w a1'}&ees, and sources of made of plastic. energy such as light and wind. For many years, Americans did not Nonrenewable resources are resources worry about using up resources. During that cannot be made again by people, the last century, people began to real- or resources that would take thousands ize that the supply of nonrenewable of years for nature to replace. These resources is limited. Today, people often resources include ores, minerals, oil, and make choices to conserve, or save, the gas that people remove.kom the earth. resources for future generations. They were formed by nature over thou- READING CHECK tscoMPARE AND CONTRAST r sands of years. Once gone, it would take just as long for nature to replace them. How are renewable resources different from nonrenewable resources'? l Chapter 1 u 43  use of cana ls, ditc hes, or pipe s to move Changing the wat er. Irrig atio n allo ws farm ers to grow Environment crop s in dry area s, such as the Southwest. How ever, irrig atio n can som etim es have Americans modify, or change, the land. nega tive effects. It can caus e pollution in They modify the land so that they are able wate rwa ys or use up wat er before it can to live on it and meet their needs. reac h othe r peop le. Using Water Peop le also mod ify wate rwa ys such Peop le dig wells and buil d dam s as rive rs and harb ors. The y dig out the across rive rs. Dam s form reservoirs bott oms of rive rs to mak e deep channels. (REH zuh vwarz) behi nd them. Water These chan nels allo w larg e ship s to travel held in reservoirs can be used for drin k- man y mile s inla nd. Peo ple also fill in ing wate r. It can also be used to mak e part s of harb ors or bay s with dirt. electricity. Water runn ing thro ugh the Using the Land dam turn s larg e mac hine s called gene ra- Peop le mod ify the envi ronm ent in tors that mak e electricity. How ever, the othe r way s. The y cut dow n trees to make dam redu ces the amo unt of wate r that lum ber and pap er prod ucts. The y dig flows dow nstr eam in the river. wells to pum p oil out of the earth. They Irrig atio n syst ems allow peop le to also buil d min es to.gather min eral s and brin g wate r to dry areas. Irrigation is the plow land to plan t new crop s. r]ll{fijiidi ,t\11... __,,,. - ------ ~ /'' ---::.?:~_, -. / -. ~ - ~~~-- 1 I