Major Landforms
Bodies of Water
Natural Resources
A Varied Region
Natural Hazards
100
A vocabulary word meaning deep valleys with steep sides.
canyons
100
The longest river in North America. It is 2,350 miles, and is the major waterway for the central part of the region.
The Mississippi River
100
This natural resource is mined in the Appalachian Mountains, Wyoming, and British Columbia.
coal
100
This region is defined by a humid continental climate with cold, snowy winters and hot, humid summers.
The Great Plains
100
A vocabulary word meaning wind systems that form over the ocean in tropical areas and bring violent storms with heavy rains.
hurricanes
200
A vocabulary word meaning a group of mountain ranges that run side by side.
cordillera
200
A vocabulary word meaning a high point that determines the direction that rivers flow.
divide
200
Texas ranks first in what two natural resource reserves in the United States?
Oil and Natural Gas
200
This region is affected by moist ocean winds, it has a marine west coast climate of year-round mild temperatures and abundant rainfall.
The Pacific Coast
200
The central United States sees more tornadoes each year than any other place in the world, for this reason this area has been nicknamed?
Tornado Alley
300
A vocabulary word meaning rolling inland grasslands with fertile soil.
prairie
300
A vocabulary word meaning giant sheets of ice.
glaciers
300
The region has enough coal to supply energy for about ____ years, but it adds to air pollution.
400 years
300
What region is defined by its tundra and subarctic climates?
The Far North
300
A vocabulary word meaning a windstorm in the form of a funnel-shaped cloud that often touches the ground.
tornado
400
A vocabulary word meaning an area of connected urban communities.
megalopolis
400
What is the name of the world's largest group of freshwater lakes-lie in the central part of the United States and Canada. What is the name of the 5 individual lakes?
The Great Lakes Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario
400
Niagara Falls is a major source of what type of power for both the United States and Canada?
hydroelectric power
400
This region is found in two areas of the United States, southern Florida and Hawaii.
Tropical Areas
400
While earthquakes can take place anywhere in the region, most take place where? Why do most occur here?
Most take place along the Pacific coast, this area lies along various fault lines, or areas of weakness in the Earth where two tectonic plates meet.
500
A vocabulary word meaning joined together inside a common boundary.
contiguous
500
A vocabulary word meaning wide and deep enough to allow the passage of ships.
navigable
500
Timber is an important natural resource in this region as well. Forests once covered much of the United States and Canada, however, today what do the statistics look like?
50% in Canada 1/3 in the United States
500
A vocabulary word meaning long periods without rainfall.
droughts
500
A vocabulary word meaning severe winter storms that last several hours and combine high winds with heavy snow.
blizzards