Chapter 5 - U.S. and Canada Physical Geog.
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Created by:
MrJonesPHS on November 5, 2010
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25 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Rocky Mountains | 3,000 mile mountain range stretching from New Mexico to Alaska |
| Mount McKinley | Highest point in North America at 20,320 feet. |
| Appalachian Mountains | North America's oldest mountains. They stretch from Alabama to Quebec. |
| Canadian Shield | A giant core of rock centered on the Hudson Bay |
| Fall line | A boundary that marks the place where the higher land of the Piedmont drops to the lower Atlantic Coastal Plain. |
| divide | a high point or ridge that determines the direction in which rivers flow. |
| Headwaters | the source of a river |
| tributaries | smaller rivers or streams that connect with larger rivers |
| Mississippi River | One of North America's largest rivers - it flows from Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico |
| Great Lakes | Glacial lakes in the northern central area of the United States |
| fossil fuels | Coal, petroleum, and natural gas. These are nonrenewable resources used for energy |
| fisheries | places for catching fish and other sea animals. The Grand Banks is one of the world's richest. |
| aquaculture | fish farming |
| Everglades | Wetlands and swamps located in Florida that shelter a variety of vegetation and wildlife |
| Hurricanes | ocean storms hundreds of miles wide with winds of 74 miles per hour or more |
| Death Valley | The lowest and hottest place in the United States. |
| chaparral | Mediterranean scrub vegetation found in southern California. |
| Great Plains | the center of the North American continent - it has a humid continental climate with very cold winters and hot summers. |
| Prairies | naturally treeless expanses of grasses, spread across the Great Plains |
| supercells | Violent spring and summer thunderstorms that often can spawn tornadoes. |
| timberline | the elevation above which trees cannot grow, area in which only lichens and mosses can grow |
| chinook | A warm, dry wind that blows in spring down the eastern slopes of the Rockies, melting the snow |
| Blizzard | Winter storms that include winds over 35 miles per hour, heavy snow, and low visibility |
| Great Salt Lake | Naturally salty lake in Utah because there is no output for the water. |
| Lake Okeechobee | Large lake located in Florida. |
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