Transcript The Land of Georgia - PSSocialStudiesDepart

Providence Canyon
Brasstown Bald
Chapter 2
The Land of Georgia
Can you identify some of the regions
in Georgia?
Stone Mountain
Chattahoochee River
Physical Geography of Georgia
• Georgia Landforms
– Landforms - is a land formation found on the earth’s
surface
– Erosion – the wearing away of soil and rock by natural
forces such as wind or rain.
• Mountains, Hills, and Plains
– Elevation – the height of a land formation above sea level
– Precipitation – water which reaches the earth from the
atmosphere in either solid or liquid form
– Relief – the difference in elevation with a landform from
base to top.
– Slope – the steepness of a landform, measured in degrees
of a circle.
Physiographic Regions
• Physiographic
provinces – is a region
defined on the basis of
similarities in physical
geography, such as
land formations,
elevation, rocks,
minerals, and soils.
Coastal Plain
• Coastal Plain – Georgia’s largest physiographic
province covering all of Georgia south of the Fall
Line (60%).
– Upper Coastal Plain
– Lower Coastal Plain
– Sediment – settled deposits of earth and rock caused by
water erosion
– Fall Line – the line (zone) that marks the farthest inland
shoreline of the prehistoric ocean.
– Zone – a region several miles wide that separates one
geographic region from another.
Characteristics of Coastal Plain
• Covers all of Georgia south of the Fall Line (60%)
• Fall Line is interior boundary, and the Atlantic
Ocean is the southeastern boundary.
– River travel is possible to Fall Line
• Flat, low relief; no steep hills or rocks; some
wetlands; clay, sand, and limestone soil.
• Pine Barrens and the Okefenokee Swamp found
here
• Peanuts, peaches and pecans – agricultural
products of the Coastal Plain
The Piedmont
• Piedmont - Georgia’s physiographic province
that lies between the Fall Line to the south
and the three mountain provinces of North
Georgia. This hilly region stretches from
central Alabama to southern New York.
• Bedrock – large areas of solid rock found just
below the earth’s surface.
Characteristics of the Piedmont
• Located between Coastal Plain and mountains in
the north (30%)
• Rolling hills and valleys; about 500 feet above
sea level
• Areas of solid rock; red clay soil; many streams
and rivers cross the region
• Cotton, soybeans, wheat, beef and dairy, cattle,
poultry, and pine trees – agricultural products
Blue Ridge
• Blue Ridge – physiographic
province stretching from
northern Georgia to
southern Pennsylvania that
includes the highest
mountains in the
Appalachian Highlands.
Characteristics of the Blue Ridge
• Located in northeast Georgia
• Mountainous
• High amounts of rainfall; numerous rivers start
here; high erosion rates; short growing season
• Less than 1 percent prime farmland.
• Brasstown Bald and beginning of the
Appalachian Trail are here.
• Apples, corn, vegetables, hardwood timber
such as oak and hickory.
Ridge and Valley
• Ridge and Valley – the physiographic province
located in northwest Georgia, noted for long,
often parallel ridges, separated by valleys. This
province extends from central Alabama
northward into Canada.
Characteristics of Ridge and Valley
• Located in northwest Georgia between the
Blue Ridge Mountain and the Appalachian
Plateau regions
• Long parallel ridges of sandstone overlooking
valleys; elevation from 700 to 1,600 feet
above sea level
• Corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, hardwoods
and pine – agricultural products.
Plateau
• Appalachian Plateau – physiographic province
of high plateaus separated by valleys,
stretching from northern Alabama to central
New York. About 300 square miles of
northwest Georgia lie in the Plateau region.
Characteristics of the Plateau
• Smallest region in the far northwest corner of
Georgia
• Flat or gently sloping land with high relief over
valleys.
• Sand Mountain and Lookout Mountain are
here.
• Small amounts of corn and soybeans grown
here; hardwoods and pasture land –
agricultural products.
Georgia’s Coast
•
•
•
– Estuaries – the area around a river’s mouth where fresh and salt water mix.
– Tides – the daily rise and fall of the ocean caused principally by the gravitational pull
Coastal Wetlands
– Wetland – Low-lying land covered by water all or party of the time, in which special
types of plant and animal life are found. Also known as marshes and swamps.
– Ecosystem – short for ecological system, it refers to a distinct, natural community of
living and nonliving things and their environment
– Food Chain – a feeding pattern for living organisms where by one organisms serves
as food for another, which in turn becomes food for another, and so on.
Barrier Islands
– Barrier Islands – Chain of sea islands off Georgia’s coast that form a barrier, helping
block ocean waves and wind from the mainland.
– Atlantic Intracostal Waterway – the 1,000-mile-long coastal water highway that
stretches from New York to Miami, used for navigation by smaller boats.
Continental Shelf
– Continental Shelf – Large flat underwater ledge from the ocean’s shoreline to a
major drop-off, about 70 to 80 miles from the coast of Georgia.
– Gulf Stream – the current of warm ocean water that flows from the Gulf of Mexico
northward along the east coast of the North America, then northeastward across the
Atlantic Ocean
Georgia’s Natural Resources
• Water Resources
– Reservoirs – an artificial lake built to store and control water for such
purposes as public water supply, hydroelectric production, flood
control, and recreation.
– Ground Water – water that lies underground
– Aquifers – water-saturated layers of the earth below the surface
– Water Table – the upper limit of water-saturated soil
– Artesian Aquifer – a deep aquifer in which water is trapped and held
under great pressure by denser layers of earth above and below the
aquifer
– Surface Water – aboveground water stored in rivers, streams, and
lakes
• Georgia’s Rivers and Streams
– Characteristics of Georgia’s Rivers
• Shoals – shallow river areas where the bottom is made up of sand or layers of
rock
• Georgia’s Lakes
Rocks and Minerals
• What are the three
largest mineral
resources found in
Georgia
• What colors are used to
identify them?
• What region of Georgia
are they found in?
More info on minerals
• Georgia is the world’s leading producer of Kaolin.
• Before the American Revolution Kaolin was shipped to
England’s Wedgewood factory to produce pottery
• Today it is used to make to make the glossy print on
books and magazines.
• Georgia ranks number one in marble production – the
world’s largest open pit quarry is at Tate in Pickens
County
• Marble can be used in many ways – it is crushed to be
used for agricultural lime, as a filler for toothpaste and
gum, cemetery headstones and monuments
– One of the most famous monument is the Lincoln
Memorial in Washington D.C.
Photos of Georgia’s Minerals
Kaolin Mine in Sandersville, GA
Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Georgia’s Weather and Climate
– Weather – conditions in the atmosphere on any
given day.
– Climate – Average weather conditions over a time
period of at least 25 years.
• Climate and Georgia’s Development
– Precipitation
• Water Cycle – the journey of water from ocean to
rainfall, its use and reuse on land, and then its return to
sea.
– Hurricanes
– Tornados
• http://climate.engr.uga.edu/tornado/index.html
Georgia’s Average
Annual
Temperature
Air and Ocean Currents
– Current – the steady flow or movement of a large
body of air or water along a particular path
• Air Currents
– Trade Winds – constant air currents at sea caused by
high and low pressure areas attempting to equalize.
Important for sailing ships across the Atlantic.
– Prevailing Westerlies – A pattern of winds that blow
from the west to northeast. Important for sailing
ships across the Atlantic.
– Jet Stream – A rapid current of air flowing between
30,000 and 40,000 feet above sea level.
• Ocean Currents