UNIT 9

A Brief Survey of the American

Physical Geography
 General Features
A federal republic of 50 states:

- 48 conterminous

- 2 others situated respectively in the

tropical part of the Pacific Ocean
 The 3th largest country in the world
 Topography
 A tremendous variety in physical features
 Mount McKinley in Alaska – the highest

 Death Valley in California – the lowest

 Three main parts:

- Eastern part

- Central part

- Western part
 Mount McKinley
 In Alaska
 6,194 meters
 The highest point in the U.S
 is also characterized by an
unusually severe risk of
altitude illness and extremely
cold weather due to its high
latitude and its proximity to the
stream
 Death Valley
 In California
 89 meters below sea
level
 long, low depression set
in largely barren and
unpopulated country of
desert plains and rocky
ridges
 The eastern part
 The coastal plains:
- long, rolling lowland area
- stretch from Maine to Texas
- flat and swampy
- soil is very poor except in the fertile southern part
 The Appalachian Mountains
- A chain of low, unbroken mountains
- Stretch from Maine to Alabama
- Contain enormous quantities of accessible coal and iron
 Appalachian Mountains
 are a vast system of
Northern American
mountains, partly in
Canada, but mostly in the
United States
 form a zone, from 100 to
300 miles wide
 including areas in the states
of Kentucky, Tennessee,
Virginia, West Virginia, and
North Carolina
 The central part
 a vast plain
 good soil
 divided into :
- The Central Plains
- The Great Plains
CENTRAL PLAINS
GREAT PLAINS

North Dakota, South

Dakota, Nebraska,
Kansas, Oklahoma,
Texas, parts of New
Mexico, Colorado,
Wyoming and
Montana
 The western part
 a general name for this part is Cordillera
 accounts for 1/3 of the US

 a region of tremendous variety

 subdivided into:

- The Rocky Mountains

- The Sierra Nevada and the Cascades

- The Coastal Ranges along the western coast

 Rocky Mountain
 are a broad
mountain range in
Western North America
 stretch more than 3,000
miles (4,800 kilometers)
from British Columbia,
in Canada, to New
Mexico, in the United
States
 highest peak is Mount
Elbert
The Cascades

 Across central
Washington, Oregon
and northern California
 160 – 240 km
 Serial volcanic peaks
The Sierra Nevada

 Northern
California
 Spanish word
meaning ‘Snowy
Mountain’
 The Coastal Ranges

The trough between

the Cascades along
with Sierra Nevada
and the Coast
Ranges
 River system in the US
 Immense long rivers
 A large number of rivers in the eastern part
 Mississippi-Missouri-Red Rock system
 The Ohio and Tennessee are two tributaries of
the Mississippi
Mississippi
 is one of the world's
major river systems in
size, habitat diversity,
and biological
productivity
 is an Ojibwa (Chippewa)
Indian word meaning
great river or gathering
of waters
 Mississippi
 is the longest and largest river in North
America, flowing 3,705 kilometers from its
source at Lake Itasca in the Minnesota North
Woods
 ranks third in length, second in watershed area,
and fifth in average discharge of the world's
rivers
 Weather and Climate
 Every type of climate
 Not generally temperate

 Landmass heightens the extreme

variations in temperature and
precipitation
 A humid continental climate with hot
summers and cold winters
 Weather and Climate
 The hottest and most arid region: The
southwest of the Great Plains
 The Pacific coast is rainless but foggy in
summer and warm and dry in winter
 The eastern part is moderately rainy with
humid summers
 The USA is subject to a range of climate-
related calamities
 Natural Resources
 possesses vast non – fuel natural
resource: iron, zinc, copper, silver and
phosphate rock
 produces 1/4 of the world’s coal, 1/7
of its petroleum
 nuclear power
 Comprehension Check
2.
 In North America
 Alaska and Hawaii
 Pacific and Atlantic
 The country presents a tremendous variety in physical
features
 Appalachian mountains
 Central Plains and Great Plains
 The Sierra Nevada, the Cascades and the Coastal
Ranges.
 3
Weather features
Climate not generally
temperate
Spectacular
weather in Great Plains
and Midwest
Southwest part of Great
Plains very arid
Causes
The tremendous size of N.
America heightens extremes
variations.
The lack of natural barriers
either to the north or the
south.
The rain shadow created by
the West Pacific range and
the Sierra Nevada.