Transcript Geography PP - Mr. Cvelbar`s US History Page

Elevation Map of United States
Appalachian Mountains
• Stretch through many Atlantic
coast states
• 1,500 miles long
– 100-300 miles wide
• The Appalachians are aging
mountains –they have
undergone erosion. (The
process by which the products
of weathering are moved from
one place to another)
– Thought to have been formed
680 million years ago
• Individual Mountains avg.
3,000 ft.
• Highest peak = Mt. Mitchell
(North Carolina, 6,684 ft)
Mt. Mitchell
October in the Appalachian Mountains
Ranges in the Appalachians
• White Mountains
(northern)
• Blue Ridge Mountains
(central)
• Black Mountains,
Great Smokey Mts.
(southern)
Appalachian Mountains
Natural/Economic Resources
• Timber
• Coal, granite, limestone, etc.
• Bears, mountain lions, wild cats, wolves,
foxes, deer and moose
Rocky Mountains
The Rockies
• 3,000 miles long
– from British Columbia, in Canada, to New Mexico
• “Younger” mountains
– (50-100 million years ago)
• A complex mountain system with jagged peaks, flat topped
elevations, woodlands, year-round snow caps, grasslands, etc.
• The highest peak is Mount Elbert (Colorado, 14,440 feet)
Mt. Elbert
Rocky Mountains
The Colorado Rockies
Rocky Mountains
• Runoff and snowmelt from the
peaks sculpt landscape
– Supply one-quarter of the
United States with water
• Rocky Mountains rivers
eventually drain into three
Oceans: the Atlantic Ocean,
the Pacific Ocean, and the
Arctic Ocean
– Arkansas River, Colorado
River, Columbia River,
Missouri River, Rio Grande,
Snake River, Yellowstone
River
The Columbia River carves a deep
gorge through the Cascade Range,
at Crown Point State Park, Oregon.
Rocky Mountains
• The Continental
Divide
– designates the line at
which waters flow
either to the Atlantic or
Pacific Oceans
– located along the
Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
Natural/Economic Resources
▪ Coal, copper, gold, iron ore, lead,
petroleum, natural gas, silver, and zinc
• Timber
– Northern Rockies
• Livestock
– Sheep, Cattle, Bison, etc.
• Recreation and tourism
Alaska Mountain Range
• 400 miles long
mountain range
– Southern
Alaska
• Mount McKinley
(Denali)
– Tallest
mountain in N.
America
– 19,470 ft
Cascade Mountain Range
• Famous for its
Volcanoes
– Part of “Pacific Ring of
Fire”
• 90% of earth’s earthquakes
• over 160 active volcanoes
Cascade Mountains
Natural/Economic Resources
• Farming
– Volcanic rock is rich in minerals creating excellent soil
conditions
• Powerful streams/rivers
– Recreation
– hydroelectric power
– Crop irrigation
• Volcanic steam is used to heat public buildings
– Klamath Falls, Oregon
Cascade Mountains - Mt. Rainier
Mt. Rainier
overlooks
Tacoma, WA
• Mount Rainier highest peak in the Cascades (WA,
14,410 ft)
• Last recorded eruption in the mid 19th century
Mt. Saint Helens
• Catastrophic eruption on May 18, 1980 at
8:32am. That eruption was the most deadly and
economically destructive volcanic eruption in US
history
• 57 people were killed and 250 homes, 47
bridges, 15 miles of railways, and 185 miles of
highway were destroyed.
Mt. Saint Helens
• Became
active again
in 2004
– continues to
erupt in
small doses
• 36,000-foot
plume of
steam and
ash emerged
in 2005
Sierra Nevada
• 400 miles long
– 70 miles wide
– California
Mt. Whitney – largest peak in the
continental US (14,505 ft. - CA)
Sierra Nevada
• Yosemite Valley
– Granite summits
• Half Dome, etc.
• Lake Tahoe
– largest Alpine lake
in N. America
– between Nevada
and California
Mojave Desert
• California, Nevada, Utah,
Arizona
• Avg. less that 13 in of rain
per year
• Joshua Trees
– Native to this desert area
• Sparsely populated
– Few big cities (ex. Las
Vegas)
• Death Valley
– Lowest, Hottest place is
North America
Grand Canyon
• Carved by the Colorado River
into the Colorado Plateau
– Arizona
– 277 miles long, over a mile deep
– Home to many native tribes
• Pueblo (Anasazi) as early as 1200 BC
The Mississippi, Missouri, and Ohio Rivers
Mississippi River
• Mississippi River begins at
Lake Itasca in northwest
Minnesota and runs 2,320
miles to the Gulf of Mexico
– approx. 90 days for a drop of
rain to travel from Lake
Itasca to the Gulf
– 2nd longest river in the US
– Run through 2 states, forms
the border of 8 more
– Drains most of US between
the Rockies and
Appalachians
Lake Itasca
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River near St. Louis
Mississippi River Basin
• Mississippi
River has the
third largest
drainage basin
in the world.
– 41% of the
continental US
– Covers more
than 1 million
square miles
• 31 states
Mississippi River
Mississippi River
traffic near New
Orleans
Mississippi Delta
• Alluvial plain between
Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers
– Not actually a delta
– Low elevation
– Thousands of years of flooding,
sediment between rivers
• flat, fertile land
• Between Memphis and
Vicksburg
• Plantation system filled with
slaves, sharecroppers
• “Birthplace of the Blues”
Ohio River
•
•
•
The Ohio River is the principal tributary of the Mississippi River (by volume &
business)
981 miles long
Begins in Pittsburg at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers
Ohio River
Ohio River
• Many native tribes
lived along river
• Border between
slave and free
states before Civil
War
• Primary
transportation route
• French and Indian
War was fought for
control of the Ohio
River Valley
Cincinnati, Ohio: “Queen
City of the West”
The Missouri River
• The Missouri River is the
longest in the United States at
2,540 miles
• Begins at the confluence of the
Madison, Jefferson, and
Gallatin rivers in Montana, and
flows into the Mississippi north
of St. Louis, Missouri.
– The combination of the
Mississippi and Missouri
Rivers make the 3rd longest
river system in the world
• Traveled by Lewis and Clark in
1804 to explore Louisiana
Purchase and find a NW
Passage
The Missouri River Basin
• The basin’s elevation
drops from 14,000 foot
peaks to approx. 400 feet
where it joins the
Mississippi
• The basin is home to
about 10 million people
from 28 Native American
tribes, 10 states and a
small part of Canada
• High sediment load
earned it the nickname,
“Big Muddy”
• 6 dams have been built
along Missouri
The Missouri River
Rio Grande
• Begins in the San
Juan Mountains
(Rockies) and
empties in the Gulf of
Mexico
• Border b/w US and
Mexico
– Since 1845
– Won in the MexicanAmerican War
• US and Mexico share
the waters of this river
Rio Grande
The Rio Grande in Colorado
Tennessee River
• Largest tributary of
the Ohio
– 652 miles
• Cherokee country
• Important
battleground during
Civil War
Crossing over the Tennessee on
a 1.2 mile bridge along the
Natchez Trace.
Potomac River
• 405 miles long
• Forms part of the borders
of MD, VA, and
Washington DC
• Much of our founding
history happened along
the Potomac
– Washington, Civil War, etc.
• “The Nation’s River”
St. Lawrence River
• 744 miles long
• Primarily in Canada
– Montreal, Quebec
– Provides part of northern
border of New York
• Connects the Great Lakes
to the Atlantic
• Primary drainage of the
Great Lakes basin
• Main route of European
explorers into interior N.
America
Wabash River
•
•
•
•
State River of Indiana
503 miles long
Forms part of IN-IL border
Proposed location of capital of
Tecumseh’s Indian alliance
• Battle of Tippecanoe,
Vincennes
• Empties into the Ohio
Hudson River
• 315 miles through eastern NY
• Strategic importance in Revolutionary War
– West Point
• Major commercial Waterway
– Especially after Erie Canal
– Robert Fulton’s first steamboat
service
Columbia River
• 1,243 miles long
– Begins in
Canada and
empties into the
Pacific near
Portland, OR
• Lewis and Clark
followed the
Columbia to the
Pacific in 1805
• Salmon
prevalent
– very important to
early native
cultures
The Great Lakes
Lake Superior
• Largest freshwater lake in
the world (surface area)
– fed by over 200 rivers
• Lake Superior is the
largest, deepest, and
coldest of the Great Lakes
– The water from all the other
Great Lakes would fit in
Superior (with room to
spare)
• Rich in minerals
– Copper, iron, silver, gold
and nickel
– Mining towns
Lake Superior
• Lake Superior is said
to never give up her
dead.
– The water is too cold
for bacteria to grow
• Bodies never rise to
surface
• The last major
shipwreck on Lake
Superior was that of
SS Edmund
Fitzgerald in 1975.
– Gordon Lightfoot song
Lake Michigan
• The only one of the Great
Lakes wholly within US
borders
• Bordered by Wisconsin,
Michigan, Illinois, and Indiana
• The southern tip of the lake is
heavily industrialized.
– Chicago, Gary, Whiting Michigan
City, etc.
• 12 million people
– Chicago, Milwaukee,
Green Bay, etc.
– Indiana Dunes
Lake Huron
• Lake Huron is the
second-largest of the
Great Lakes
• Connects to Lake
Michigan by the narrow
Straits of Mackinac
– Shared water
• Borders only Michigan in
the United States
Lake Erie
• Bordered on the
south by the states of
Ohio, Pennsylvania,
and New York, and
on the west by the
state of Michigan
– Cleveland, Buffalo,
Detroit (close)
• Primarily fed by the
Detroit River and
drains via the Niagara
River and Niagara
Falls into Lake
Ontario.
• Commercial Fishing
Lake Erie
Sunset on Lake Erie near Cleveland Ohio
Niagara Falls
Lake Ontario
• Bordered only by New
York in the U.S.
– Rochester, Toronto
• Smallest Great Lake
• Its primary inlet is the
Niagara River (from
Lake Erie) and primary
outlet is the St.
Lawrence River
• Good fruit-growing
climate
– Commercial orchards
Lake Champlain
• Forms part of border
between Vermont and
New York
– Stretches into Canada
• Drains into St.
Lawrence River
• Connects to Hudson
River via Champlain
Canal
• Heavily fought over in
the Revolutionary War
and War of 1812
Chesapeake Bay
• Fed by many Appalachian
rivers
– Potomac, James,
Rappahannock, Susquehanna,
etc.
– Brackish water
• Mix of fresh and salt water
– Delmarva Peninsula
• VA, MD, DE
• First English settlements
– Important transportation rout
• Key battles during
Revolutionary War, War of
1812
• Known for its fishing, seafood
The Great Salt Lake
Great Salt Lake
• What is left of a much
larger prehistoric lake
called Lake Bonneville
– About the size of Lake
Michigan but deeper
• Climate change (32,00014,000 years ago),
caused the lake to begin
evaporating, leaving
Great Salt Lake
• Endorheic
– no outlet besides
evaporation
– Saltier than sea water
Pink Floyd the Flamingo, the Great
Salt Lake’s solitary flamingo. Pink
escaped from a local aviary and
lived in the wild from 1987-2006.