Ch 4 Section 1

Ch. 4, Section 1 From Sea to Shining Sea

A Vast, Scenic Land • 48 states are said to be contiguous. • What does that mean?

Relative Size • The U.S. is the 4th largest country (depending on definition) • Russia (1), Canada (2), and China*(3) are larger

Lowlands • Eastern lowlands = Atlantic Coastal Plain • Boston, NY City, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington D.C. are all found here This kind of huge urban Area is called a megalopolis

Lowlands • Appalachian Mtns. Run along the western edge of the Atlantic Coastal Plain.

Lowlands • Lowlands in the southeast boarder of the Gulf of Mexico = Gulf Coastal Plain

Interior Plains • Interior Plains are located west of the Appalachian Mtns.

Interior Plains Eastern Central Lowland Area

Western Great Plains

East of the Mississippi River Great Lakes Fertile soil Grassy hills, rolling flatlands, and thick forests.

Rich grasslands Native Americans and buffalo lived there. Today farms and ranches

Mountains and Plateaus • West of the Great Plains are the Rocky Mountains - the longest Mtn. range in North America.

Continental Divide • The ridge that separates rivers that flow west - toward the Pacific Ocean - from those that flow east - toward the Mississippi river.

The Pacific Coast Cascade range and Sierra Nevada Range Nevada means snow covered in Spanish

Alaska Mountain ranges also cover parts of Alaska. Mt. McKinley, the tallest Mtn. in North America is located here. (20,320ft.)

Hawaii

• 8 large islands and 120 smaller islands • Volcanoes formed them • Some of the islands have coral reefs formed by skeletons of small sea animals.