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Geographic Regions
Geographic Regions and Water Features of North America USI.2
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Coastal Plain | Broad lowlands along the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico providing many excellent harbors |
| Appalachian Highlands | Old, eroded mountains west of the Coastal Plain, extending from eastern Canada to Western Alabama, includes the Piedmont |
| Canadian Shield | Horseshoe shape wrapping around Hudson Bay; hills worn by erosion and hundreds of lakes carved by glaciers. |
| Interior Lowlands | Rolling flatlands with many rivers, broad river valleys and grassy hills located west of the Appalachian Highlands and east of the Great Plains |
| Great Plains | Flat grasslands that gradually increase in elevation westward and are located west of the Interior Lowlands and east of the Rocky Mountains |
| Rocky Mountains | Rugged mountains, containing the Continental Divide, located west of the Great Plains and east of the Basin and Range |
| Basin and Range | Varying elevations containing isolated mountain ranges, canyons, and deserts, including Death Valley, the lowest point in North America, and located west of the Rocky Mountains and east of the Coastal Ranges |
| Coastal Range | Rugged mountains and fertile valleys located along the Pacific Coast, stretching from California to Canada |
| Tributaries | Smaller bodies of water that flow into larger bodies of water, such as a spring into a river or a river into a lake |
| Atlantic Ocean | East of North America, this served as a highway for explorers, early settlers, and later immigrants sailing from Europe |
| Pacific Ocean | West of North America, this was and early exploration destination since it provided access to the markets of Asia |
| Gulf of Mexico | Along much of the southern coast of North America, this body of water provided the French and Spanish with exploration routes to Mexico and other parts of America |
| Great Lakes | inland port cities ( Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, etc... ) grew in the Midwest along these large bodies of fresh water |
| St. Lawrence River | Part of the northeastern border with Canada is formed by this river that connects the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean |
| Ohio River | river known as the gateway to the west |
| Mississippi River | used to transport farm and industrial products to the port of New Orleans, this river links the interior of North America to ports around the world |
| Missouri River | used to transport farm and industrial products beyond the Mississippi, this river was explored by Lewis and Clark |
| Columbia River | flowing through the Pacific Northwest, this river was explored by Lewis and Clark as they traveled to the Pacific Ocean |
| Rio Grande | this river forms part of the United States border with Mexico |
| Colorado River | flowing through the Basin and Range region of the southwest, this river was explored by the Spanish |
| parallels of latitude | imaginary lines used to specify the north-south position of a point on the earth |
| meridians of longitude | imaginary lines used to specify the east-west position of a point on the earth |
| equator | given the value of zero degrees latitude, north and south are measured from this imaginary line around the center of the earth |
| prime meridian | given the value of zero degrees longitude, east and west are measured from this imaginary line |
| Eurasia | large land mass containing the continents of Europe and Asia |
Created by:
rwimer
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