Social Studies Textbook - Geography of New York

Geography is the study of the earth and of the ways people plants and animals use it. Describing a place by its location on earth is also part of geography. New York State has a global address or an address on earth. Part of new york\'s global address is the United States. The United States has a gl...

Geography is the study of the earth and of the ways people plants and animals use it. Describing a place by its location on earth is also part of geography. New York State has a global address or an address on earth. Part of new york\'s global address is the United States. The United States has a global address too. It is a part of North America which is a continent, one of earth\'s 7 great bodies of land. Landforms are a part of geography too. A landform is a natural feature on Earth\'s surface. The Hudson River valley is a landform in New York. A valley is the lowland between hills or mountains, often with a river. The Finger Lakes are another New York land form. They spread out like fingers on a hand. Another type of landform in New York are mountains. The Taconic and Catskill Mountains are part of the Appalachian mountain range that runs through the state. The Appalachian Plateau is in central New York. A plateau is a large area that rises steeply above the surrounding land. The 3rd mountain range, the largest in New York, is the Adirondack Mountains. About 20,000 years ago, most of the northern United States was covered by giant sheets of ice called glaciers. These glaciers moved slowly across much of the land. This time in history is called the Ice Age. During the Ice Age, almost all of what is now New York was covered with glaciers. The temperature during the Ice Age was so cold that snow did not melt in the summer. As snow kept piling up, it turned into ice, which then turned into rivers of ice or glaciers. Glaciers shaped many of the landforms of New York. Deep trenches, or canyons were carved out in some areas as glaciers moved the rocks and dirt away. This is how the Great Lakes and Finger Lakes were formed. Another landform created by glaciers is called a Moraine. A marine is a line of low hills formed by rocks pushed at the front of the glacier. Glaciers did not cover the entire southwestern part of New York, so part of this region has a different landscape from the rest of the state. Allegheny State Park in this area has gentle, rounded hills. This is how much of New York State may have looked before the Ice Age. New York can be divided into 6 geographical regions. A region is an area with common features such as landforms, rivers, or natural resources. A natural resource is something found in nature that people can use. Different resources create different kinds of jobs. For example, a region with good soil would have jobs in farming. On the other hand, people in northern New York might work at jobs on the many lakes or in the forests found there. Regions have identities or a combination of characteristics that make them different. For example, Western New York is mostly flat. Many people work in transportation because of the region\'s location near Lake Erie. These different land forms and jobs are part of Western New York\'s identity. The Finger Lakes region has rich farmland and many beautiful lakes. Northern New York is a popular vacation spot because of the Adirondack Mountains. Water is a precious natural resource. The people of New York have used water in many ways. Early peoples used waterways such as rivers and streams to move from place to place. Waterways were also used to move goods or products to different locations. The place where a river begins is called its source. As the river flows from its source, smaller rivers may flow into it. These smaller rivers are called tributaries. The end of a river is where it empties into an ocean, lake, or larger river. This place is called the Mouth of the River. The source of the Hudson River is lake Tear-in-the-Clouds in the Adirondack Mountains. The Hudson flows more than 300 miles to its mouth at New York Harbor. The river was named for Henry Hudson. The Mohawk River is a tributary of the Hudson. It was also a highway to the West as European settlers moved into Western New York state. The Saint Lawrence River separates New York from Canada. The Thousand Islands are found at the beginning of this river. The Niagara River begins at Lake Erie and empties into Lake Ontario in Western New York. Niagara Falls, which is about halfway down the river, is one of the most famous waterfalls in the United States. New York has many kinds of lakes. Large lakes, small lakes, even lakes shaped like fingers. Some lakes are the source of important rivers. Others are important transportation routes. Still others helped to form borders between States and countries. A border is a line that people agree on that divides one place from another. Another word for border is boundary. Lake Champlain in northern New York forms part of the border between New York and Vermont. The Great Lakes are five large lakes in the northern part of the United States. From West to east they are called Lake Superior, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. They formed the largest body of fresh water in the world. Lake Erie and Lake Ontario are on the western border of New York. Lake Ontario is the smallest of the Great Lakes. It is connected to many of New York\'s waterways. Lake Erie carries goods to many cities in New York, such as Buffalo. The mouth of the Hudson River opens into New York Harbor. A harbor is a sheltered body of water along a coast where boats can dock. New York Harbor is in the southeast corner of New York State. This is where New York borders the Atlantic Ocean. New York Harbor is one of the finest natural harbors in the world. It has been an important. Harbor for shipping since the 1600s. New York\'s Long Island extends 118 miles east to West. The South Coast of Long Island is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean. A coast is the land along an ocean. Long Island Sound lies between the north side of the island and the coasts of New York and Connecticut. Weather is the condition of the air at a certain time and in a certain place. Wind, rain and snow are all parts of weather. The pattern of weather in a certain place over many years is called climate. Weather and climate may vary in different areas of the same state. Landforms affect the weather of an area. If the land is high, the air is usually cooler. Water can also make an area cooler. Wind blowing over the water carries cooler air. In the winter, the winds of the Great Lakes can bring snow. This is why Buffalo and other regions of upstate Of New York Are said to be in the snow belt. Temperature measures how hot or cold the air is. The temperature of an area changes from season to season. Southeastern New York lies on the Atlantic Ocean at sea level. Sea level is the height of land where it meets the sea. The height of land above sea level is called elevation. Sea level has an elevation of 0 feet. Higher elevations are cooler than lower elevations. So the mountainous regions of New York are usually cooler year round than the areas that are at a lower elevation. Precipitation is another part of the weather and climate of an area. Precipitation is the amount of moisture that falls as rain, snow, sleet, or hail. Location can affect how much precipitation an area will get. You have already read how the areas around Lake Erie and Lake Ontario get a lot of snow in the winter because precipitation comes in over the lakes. Sometimes the weather in New York can be pleasant, but it can also be extreme, with strong winds or heavy precipitation. Blizzards are one example of extreme weather in New York. A Blizzard is a snowstorm with very strong winds. During a Blizzard, schools and businesses might have to close. It may be dangerous for drivers and sometimes airports are closed.