Social Studies

1. The Eight Physical Region
of North America
By Andrew D.

2. Table of Contends
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The Appalachian Region
The Coastal Region
The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Lowland
The Interior Plains
The Western Cordillera
The Canadian Shield
The Intermountain Region
The Arctic Region

3. The Appalachian Region
• Topography
• Vegetation
• Climate
• Economic Activity
• Environmental Concerns

4. Topography
• The Appalachian mountains are made up of many different mountain
ranges
• They are old mountains, formed about 300,000,000 years ago
• Erosion has reduced the mountain’s once sharp, ragged peaks into rolling
mountains and hills
• The Appalachian region also contains rivers and fertile plateaus

5. Vegetation
• The Appalachian region is heavily forested with coniferous and deciduous
trees
• The trees that live by the river have much richer soil, which makes the trees
much healthier
• These can also survive in poor and unproductive soil
• The Appalachian region has a type of rock called Sedimentary
• Sedimentary rock is a type of rock formed by erosion of other rocks

6. Climate
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The Appalachian region’s climate is affected by the two ocean currents
The Labrador Current brings cold water south from the Arctic and causes freezing
The Gulf Stream brings in warm water from the Caribbean and along the coast of
North America
Where the Gulf Stream and the Labrador Current meet is an ideal breeding ground
for fish by encouraging the growth of plankton and microscopic organisms for food
for the fish

7. Economic Activity
• The Appalachian region is a 205,000 square mile region that follows the
spine of the Appalachian Mountains from Southern New York to Northern
Mississippi
• 42% of the region’s population rural, compared with 20 percent of national
population
• The region’s economy, once highly dependant on mining, forestry,
agriculture, chemical industries, and heavy industry, has become more
diversified in recent times

8. Environmental Concerns
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Laurel Branch Hollow was once a small West Virginia mountain valley, with steep,
forested hillsides and a stream
Over the past decade, the Hobet 21 mountaintop removal coal mining operation
has obliterated 25 square miles of the surrounding highlands
When mountains are demolished with explosives to harvest their coal, million of
tons of crushed shale, sandstone, and coal detritus have to go somewhere
Mining operations clear-cut the hillsides and literally “fill” mountain hollows to the
brim

9. Coastal Plains
• Topography
• Vegetation
• Climate
• Economic Activity
• Environmental Concerns

10. Topography
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The Coastal Plains have an average elevation of less than 200 meters above sea
More than half of the Coastal Plains is less than 30 meters above sea level
In the past, the gradual sinking of land allowed the sea to submerge to lower
reaches of many streams across the plains
The Hudson river, for example, can be navigated as far inland as Albany
An important feature of the Gulf Coastal Plains is the Mississippi Delta – where the
Mississippi empties into the Gulf of Mexico

11. Vegetation
• The soils of the Coastal Plains are mainly very sandy
• The natural vegetation has adapted to the sandy soil
• In some areas (Mexico) lush jungles developed
• The original vegetation of the area was pine forests

12. Climate
• In the north, it is characterized by cold and snowy winters and hot, humid
summers
• The southern parts have a sub-tropical climate, with mild to warm winters
• The southern parts of the region also have heavy hurricanes
• Precipitation is high, particularly along the coast and seasonal

13. Economic Activity
• The Coastal Plain’s main economic activities are tourism and recreation,
shipping at the ports, paper-making, commercial fishing, and forestry
• Coastal fisheries and forest resources support a number of industries
engaged in economic activities
• The economic activities of the Gulf Coastal Plains in east Texas is not good
considering all the hurricanes flooding into the gulf in the past

14. Environmental Concerns
• Some warn that unplanned growth could result in traffic jams and sewage
spills and water shortages
• Can be harming to the very ambience that draws so many to the region
• Fragile habitats with endangered species could be threatened

15. The Great lakes-St. Lawrence Lowland
• Topography
• Vegetation
• Climate
• Economic Activity
• Environmental Concerns

16. Topography
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The Great Lakes section of this region have rolling landscape created mainly by
glaciation
The St. Lawrence section consists of flat plains on either side of the river, which
gradually begins to rise into the Canadian Shield and the Appalachian region
Flat plains are broken by hills and deep river valleys
Faults lead to the sinking of the area around the St. Lawrence, which was then
flooded by part of the Atlantic Ocean

17. Vegetation
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Originally this region, which has very fertile soils, was heavily treed
The Great Lakes section once had Canada’s largest broad-leafed forest, because its
soil and climate conditions allowed maple, beech, hickory, and black walnut trees
to thrive
In other parts, the vegetation was mixed forest of both deciduous and conifers,
such as maple, beech, oak, ash, birch, spruce, fir, pine, and cedar
As well as, tobacco plants, peaches, cherries, grapes, apples, hay, and many other
vegetables

18. Climate
• The climate is a humid, continental climate, that is a dry climate with very
cold winters and very hot summers
• During the summer, the Great Lakes tend to lower the temperature
• The Great Lakes also raise the temperature in the surrounding areas in the
winter
• The Great Lakes tend to cool the temperature during the summer by
releasing the heat out of the area

19. Economic Activity
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Swimming, hockey, lacrosse, badminton, soccer and many other sports are
examples of some activities
As well as, fishing and boating
Some popular attractions is the Niagara Falls in Ottawa and the CN Tower in
Toronto
Poultry, dairy, meat and specialty crop farming; car, steel and iron manufacturing;
and copper, silver, lead zinc, and coal mining are all economic activities

20. Environmental Concerns
• Since 1960, there has been an awakening of magnitude caused from
pollution, habitat loss and exotic species
• There has been a downfall in water quality and habitat began with modern
settlement
• Agricultural development, forestry, and urbanization caused streams and
shoreline marshes to silt up and harbour areas to become septic

21. Interior Plains
• Topography
• Vegetation
• Climate
• Economic Activity
• Environmental Concerns

22. Topography
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In the US, Interior Plains are divided into the Central Lowland and the Great in
Plains
The northern border of the Central Lowland is formed by the Canadian Shield, the
Great Lakes, and the St. Lawrence River
The Great Plains are higher elevation than the Central Lowland, rising from about
600 meters to 1500 meters above sea level in the west
In Canada’s prairie provinces, the Interior Plains contain three different elevation,
which are separated by escarpments

23. Vegetation
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Once the Central Lowland east of the Mississippi was covered with mixed
deciduous trees and scattered evergreens
West of the Mississippi, in the Great Plains, prairie grasses grew as tall as a person
The natural vegetation was also grassland – trees grew only in the river valleys
In the northern portion of the Interior Plains, boreal forests grows, gradually
becoming tundra towards the Arctic Ocean

24. Climate
• The climate of the Interior Plains is a continental climate, affected by its
location in the heart of the continent
• It is a climate of extremes, including long, hot summers, cold winters, and
little precipitation
• Farther north, the winters are colder and longer, and the summers are
shorter and cooler

25. Economic Activity
• The Interior Plains have a couple of major economic activities such as,
agriculture and mining
• The agriculture is split into 2 parts; livestock and vegetable
• The livestock grown in the in the Interior Plains are cattle, pigs, poultry, etc.
• Vegetables grown in the Interior Plains are; wheat, barley, oats flax, canola,
mustard, potatoes, corn, and sugar beets

26. Environmental Concerns
• Farm pollutants seeping into the ground and/or operating off into the river
and lake programs
• Incorporated industries and other human activities such as; driving
automobiles, disposing waste into landfills and lumber harvesting

27. Canadian Shield
• Topography
• Vegetation
• Climate
• Economic Activity
• Environmental Concerns

28. Topography
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During the Ice Age, glaciers removed most of the soil, leaving a barren rock surface
in many places
The retreat of the glaciers affected the drainage of the Shield to significant degree
Debris deposited by the glaciers damned up rivers, or forced them to flow in
different directions
The average elevation of the Shield is about 100 metres above sea level in the
north, rising to about 500 metres in the south

29. Vegetation
• Boreal forests covers most of the Shield, since evergreens, such as spruce,
pine, and fir
• North of the tree line, no trees are able to grow; the growing season is too
short, there is little rain, and there is permafrost
• Some deciduous trees, such as poplar and white birch, are small and weak,
more suited to the pulp and paper industry than to lumbering

30. Climate
• The climate varies throughout the vast area covered by the Canadian Shield
• As you travel north, the winters become increasingly longer and colder; with
the summers becoming shorter and cooler

31. Economic Activity
• The Canadian Shield is Canada’s largest physiographic region, which
stretches from the north-east of the Northwest Territories to the south of
Ontario
• The Canadian Shield produces significant economic activity through its
lumber industry and mining operations
• The Shield is one of the richest areas in terms of mineral ores

32. Environmental Concerns
• Coal-burning factories, cars, and trucks release chemicals that pollute the
air
• High levels of acids in rain can damage or kill trees and pollute lakes enough
to kill fish
• Blasting and digging with heavy machinery causes the land around mines to
be damaged and the environmental is often ruined

33. Western Cordillera
• Topography
• Vegetation
• Climate
• Economic Activity
• Environmental Concerns

34. Topography
• The Western Cordillera is comprised of new mountains not yet worn down
by erosion
• They are more than twice as high as the Appalachian Mountains in the east
• They are many different mountain ranges in this region; such as the Rocky
Mountains, and the Continental Divide
• All the rivers east of the Rockies flow east, finding their way into the Gulf of
Mexico

35. Vegetation
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Western Cordillera vegetation varies from one side of a mountain to the other
On the moist side, windward slopes evergreens, such as the Douglas fir, western
hemlock, and western red cedar, grow to tremendous age and size on the lower
slopes
The giant sequoia, the largest tree in the world, grows near Yosemite
At the very top of the mountains, the vegetation becomes similar to the tundra, or
it ceases entirely

36. Climate
• The west coast has a marine time climate
• The west coast is mild and moist, and parts of it are among the wettest
regions on Earth
• Moderated by the water of the Pacific Ocean, winters are usually above
freezing
• Summers are cooler than the Interior of the continent

37. Economic Activity
• Farming, Mining, and fishing are examples of economic activities
• Tourism would be also an economic activity since many tourists come to see
the beautiful scenery in the towns of Banff and Jasper

38. Environmental Concerns
• There are some types of birds, squirrels and asparagus going endangered
• The timber industry cutting out large pieces of forests

39. Intermountain Region
• Topography
• Vegetation
• Climate
• Economic Activity
• Environmental Concerns

40. Topography
• In many areas, the streams and rivers of the Intermountain Region’s
mountains and plateaus never reach the sea
• They flow into brackish lakes, such as the Great Salt Lake in Utah
• In this region, there are areas that can be made productive by irrigation
• The Intermountain region covers many various areas between the ocean
coast and the Rocky Mountain; its many wetlands, rivers, and lakes provide
habitats for many birds

41. Vegetation
• The vegetation of the Intermountain region generally ranges between
sparse grassland to plants that can survive in semi-desert or desert
conditions
• The higher areas are covered by thin pin forests

42. Climate
• The climate of the Intermountain region is affected by its location and by its
elevation
• Winters can be cool and wet or hot and dry, depending what part it is
• In the southern part, winters are short and warm with very little rain
• In the northern part, the climate is more moderate, with moist winters and
hot, dry summers

43. Economic Activity
• The main economic activities are forestry and agriculture
• Some of the flowers grown include the Western Yallow, Blue Camas and the
Arrow leaf Balsamroot
• Forestation is a very important economic activity; trees such as pine and
cedar are grown in the Intermountain region

44. Environmental Concerns
• Global Warming has a massive effect on the Intermountain region
• It has increased the severity of droughts, winter flows and floods
• Global warming has endangered many of Intermountain region’s wildlife;
such as the sage, grouse, and the Northern salmon

45. The Arctic
• Topography
• Vegetation
• Climate
• Economic Activity
• Environmental Concerns

46. Topography
• Most of the Arctic near the ocean is very flat
• The mountains of the north were formed by folding and are presently
covered by glaciers

47. Vegetation
• Very few plant life can survive here; can grow on the mountains of the Arctic
• Trees cannot grow in the tundra, because the climate is too cold and dry,
and only thaws a bit in the summer
• Small shrubs, mosses, and lichens are the only things that grow
• They cling to the ground and absorb any warmth and moisture

48. Climate
• Very few plant life can survive here; can grow on the mountains of the Arctic
• Trees cannot grow in the tundra, because the climate is too cold and dry,
and only thaws a bit in the summer
• Small shrubs, mosses, and lichens are the only things that grow
• They cling to the ground and absorb any warmth and moisture

49. Economic Activity
• A main economic activity is the search for oil, gas and other minerals in the
Arctic Sea
• In 2008, the Americans discovered 90 barrels of oil, and 44 barrels of natural
gas liquids in the Arctic Circle
• This represents 13% of the world’s undiscovered oil and natural gas

50. Environmental Concerns
• The Arctic continues to rise, and has caused a significant increase in sea
level
• As the ice melts, the Arctic waters continuously to get warmer, because it
allows more solar energy to be absorbed by the oceans