week 10 - unit 9 - us physical geography

8/8/2019 Week 10 - Unit 9 - US Physical Geography

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UNIT 9A BRIEF SURVEY OF THE

AMERICAN PHYSICALGEOGRAPHY

General Geography of the UK & the US ULIS-VNU | Lecturer: Nguyen Dieu Hong


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GENERAL FEATURES

A federal republic of 50 states:

- 48 conterminous

- 1 in the tropical part of the PacificOcean & 1 near the Arctic Circle

The 3rd largest country in the world

Extends for 4,500km from the

Atlantic coast to the Pacific coast

6 time zones


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= GMT - 5

EDT = GMT 4Eastern Daylight Time

= GMT - 8

PDT = GMT 7Pacific Daylight Time

= GMT - 9

= GMT - 10= GMT - 10


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TOPOGRAPHY

A tremendous variety in physical features

(from moist rain forest to arid desert &bald mountain peaks)

Mount McKinley inAlaska the highest

Death Valley in California the lowest

Three main parts:

- Eastern part

- Central part

- Western part


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MOUNT MCKINLEY

Also called Denali(The Great One)

In Alaska

6,194 meters

The highest point inthe U.S

extremely coldweather


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DEATH VALLEY

In California

89 meters below sealevel

long, low depressionset in largely barrenand unpopulatedcountry of desert

plains and rockyridges


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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, partly inCanada, but mostly in the United States

- Stretch from Maine to Alabama

- Contain enormous quantities of accessible coaland iron

Highest point : Mt. Mitchell (2,037 m)


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THE CENTRAL PART

a vast plain

good soil

divided into :

- The Central Plains

- The Great Plains


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CENTRAL PLAINS


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GREAT PLAINS

North Dakota, South

Dakota, Nebraska,

Kansas, Oklahoma,

Texas, parts of New

Mexico, Colorado,

Wyoming and

Montana


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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:- Eastern border :The Rocky Mountains

- Western edge

The Coastal Ranges along the western coast

A large plateau region between these two sets

of mountains

The Sierra Nevada and the Cascades


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Rocky Mountains

great chain of ruggedmountain ranges in westernNorth America

stretch more than 3,000miles (4,800 kilometers)from British Columbia, inCanada, to New Mexico, inthe United States

highest peak is Mount Elbert(4,402 m)


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The Cascades

Across centralWashington, Oregonand northern

California lie from about 160 to

240 km inland fromthe Pacific Ocean

Serial volcanic peaks Highest point : Mt.

Rainier (4,392 m)


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The Sierra Nevada

Northern

California Spanish word

meaning SnowyMountain


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The Coastal Ranges

The trough between

the Cascades along

with Sierra Nevada

and the Coastal

Ranges


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Hawaii

A chain of 20 islands,only 7 of which areinhabited.

Mountain islandsformed by volcanicactivity


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RIVER SYSTEM IN THE US

Immense long rivers

A large number of rivers in the eastern part

Mississippi-Missouri-Red Rock systemextends for 6,176 km before entering the

Gulf of Mexico

The Missouri, Ohio and Tennessee are

tributaries of the Mississippi


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Mississippi

is one of the world'smajor river systemsin size, habitatdiversity, and

biologicalproductivity

is an Ojibwa(Chippewa) Indianword meaning greatriveror gathering ofwaters


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Mississippi

is the 2nd longest river inNorth America, flowing3,730 km from its sourceat Lake Itasca in theMinnesota North Woods

Missouri - Mississippiriver system ranks fourthin length of the world's

rivers

(Source : US GeologicSurvey,1990)

The source of the Mississippi River at Lake Itasca


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WEATHER AND CLIMATE

Every type of climate, from artic tosubtropical.

Not generally temperate.

Tremendous size of NA landmass heightensthe extreme variations in temperature andprecipitation, esp. in the central regions.

A humid continental climate with hot

summers and cold winters.


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Hot and very humid

summers, less rainfall to

the west

moderately rainywith humid

summers

Extremely humid

summers

Hottest and

most arid region

Rainless, foggy in

the summer

Warm & dry in the

winter


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WEATHER AND CLIMATE

The hottest and most arid region: Thesouthwest 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


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NATURAL RESOURCES

possesses vast non fuel natural resources:iron, zinc, copper, silver and phosphate rock

produces 1/4 of the worlds coal, 1/7 of its

petroleum nuclear power


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Comprehension Check

2. In North America

Alaska and Hawaii

Pacific and Atlantic

The country presents a tremendous varietyin physical features

Appalachian mountains

Central Plains and Great Plains

The Sierra Nevada, the Cascades and theCoastal Ranges.


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3

Weather features

Climate not generally

temperate

Spectacular weather inGreat Plains andMidwest

Southwest part of GreatPlains very arid

Causes

The tremendous size of N.

America heightens extremesvariations.

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.

week 10 - unit 9 - us physical geography

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