Earth Science 7- North America- Period 1

1 Countries in North America
2 Latitude and Longitude Ranges
3 Elevation Range
4 Large Bodies of Water and Rivers
5 Vegitation
6 Topographical Features
7 Bordering Oceans
8 Climate Zones
9 Average Rainfall
10 Average Temperature
11 Factors That Affect Climate
12 Geology
13 Tectonic Plates
14 Volcanoes
15 Earthquakes
16 References

Countries in North America

The countries in North America are Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic,El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, the Caribbean Islands, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama,Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and United States.

Latitude and Longitude Ranges

The latitude ranges are 15 to 75 degrees North and the longitude lines 180 to 60 degrees West.

Elevation Range

The range of elevation is from 282 feet below sea level to 20,320 feet above sea level. The lowest point in North America is Death Valley located in California,United States,and the highest point is Mount McKinley located in Alaska, United States.

Large Bodies of Water and Rivers

The large bodies of water in North America are the Great Bear Lake, the Great Slave Lake, Lake Winnipeg, Lake Manitoba, Great lakes, and Salt Lake. The Seas are the Gulf of Alaska, the Gulf of California, the Labrador Sea, the Hudson Bay, the Baffin Bay, the Beaufort Sea, the Chukchi Sea, the Gulf of St.Lawrence, the Caribbean Sea, Bay of Fundy, and Gulf of Mexico. The Rivers in North America are the Alsek River, the Apalachicola River, the Chattahoochee River, the Flint River, the Colorado River, the Columbia River, the Okanagan River, the Kettle River, the Pend Oreille River, the Kootenay River, the Canoe River, the Kicking Horse River, the Dean River, the Embudo River , the Fraser River, the Pitt River, the Thompson River, the Chilcotin River, the Quesnel River, the Nechako River, the Liard River, the Mackenzie River, the Slave River, the Peace River, the Athabasca, the Mississippi River, the Missouri River, the Yellowstone River, the Platte River, the Ohio River, the Nass River, the Rio Grande River, the Sacramento River, the Pit River, the Feather River, the Saskatchewan River, the Skagit River, the Skeena River, the Babine River, the Bulkley River, the Morice River, the Kitwanga River, the Zymoetz River, the Squamish River, the St. Johns River, the St. Lawrence River, and the Yukon River.

Vegitation

Main types of vegetation in North America include conifers and other types of common trees wild grasslands that are found in the prairie's plains and everything from flowers to bushes but there are not many jungles or very large rain-forests.

Topographical Features

The Major Mountains include the Rocky Mountains, the Appalachian Mountains, Sierra Madre Occidental, Sierra Madre Oriental, Alaska Range, Cascade Range, and the Sierra Nevada Mountains.The Major Waterfalls are the Niagara Falls and the International Falls. Other Topographical features include the Great Basin, Colorado Plateau, Central Plains, the Grand Canyon Central lowlands, Mississippi Delta, and Canadian Shield.

Bordering Oceans

The bordering oceans are the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean.

Climate Zones

The climate zones for North America are Subtropical Humid, Continental Humid, Mid-latitude Humid, Mediterranean, Desert, Marine West Coast, Subarctic Continental, Tundra, Ice Sheet, and Highlands.

Average Rainfall

The average is 20 cm or 8 in per year.

Average Temperature

The average temperature is 48.8°F.

Factors That Affect Climate

Proximity to water can cause the precipitation levels to rise. North America is located in the Mid-Latitudes and Northern Latitudes so the area located in the Mid-Latitudes is warm while the area located in the Northern Latitudes is cold. Also the area in the Mid-Latitudes is subject to hurricanes. Topography and elevation affect climate because temperature decreases with altitude. The vegetation affects the climate through transpiration. The high and low pressure areas affects the direction of the wind which then affects the direction the air masses and weather travels. The prevailing winds are the Prevailing Southwesterlies and Prevailing Northeasterlies. The warm and cold currents make the coasts of North America colder or warmer.

Geology

Minerals

Minerals that are found in Canada are Cubanite, Polybasite, Hessonite Garnet, Pyromorphite, Lazulite, Tremolite, Wardite, and Vesuvianite.

Minerals from Mexico are Sphalerite, Mimetite, Barthite, Creedite, Ludlamite, Koettigite, Helidor, Amethyst, Arsenopyrite, Endichite, Epidote, Hematite, Adamite, Axinite, Danburite, Manganadamite, Boleite, Silver, Fluoraparite on Quartz, Legrandite, and Hyalite on Topaz.

Minerals found in The United States are Malachite, Autunite, Andradite, Hematite, Smoky Quartz, Millerite, Sphene, Silver, Copper, Cyanotrichite, Rhodochrosite, Ferberite, Stilbite, Endlichite, Hemimorphite, Malachite after Azurite, Hemerkimer Diamond, Orpiment, Ilvaite, Chalcanthite, Gold, Aquamarine, Fluorite, Idocrase, Sulphohalite, Benitoite and Neptunite, Wulfenite, Aurichalcite, Barite, Rutile, Datolite, Tourmaline, Apatite, Inesite, Benitoite, Epidote, Witherite, Chryscolla after Azurite, Bixbyite, Riebeckite, and Linarite.

Rock Types

Sedimentary, Igneous, and Metamorphic rocks rocks can be found in many places in North America. There are three types of sedimentary rocks, which are chemical, organic, and clastic. Sedimentary rocks are placed into these types due to how the sedimentary rocks are formed. How the rock forms can also determine where the rock is formed. Clastic sedimentary rocks are formed from sediments that are deposited by a river, streams, or other bodies of water. Then the sediments are cemented together by minerals in the water forming sedimentary rocks. Organic sedimentary rocks are formed from animal and plant remains. Chemical sedimentary rocks are formed when minerals combine in the water to form sedimentary rocks or the water evaporates. One example of where sedimentary rocks can be found in North America is the Grand Canyon. Sedimentary rocks found in North America include coal, limestone, sandstone, shale, and conglomerate. Igneous rocks form when magma cools. The magma can cool underground or the magma can cool at the surface. One example where igneous rocks can be found is at the volcano Popocatepetl. The igneous rocks found in North America include obsidian, andesite, granite, and rhyolite. Metamorphic rocks form through metamorphism which is when there is a huge amount of heat and pressure being put on an already formed rock beneath the surface of the earth. Metamorphic rocks can from other metamorphic rocks, igneous rocks, and sedimentary rocks. There are two types of metamorphism which are regional and local metamorphism. Regional metamorphism occurs over large areas, and local metamorphism occurs over smaller areas. One example of where metamorphic rocks can be found is the Rocky Mountains. Metamorphic rocks found in North America include gneiss, marble, schist, and quartzite.

Mining Resources

In Mexico the main Mining operations are for Silver, Sulfur, Iron and Zinc, and Iron. Oil and Gas depositories are very common on the gulf coast and Ignite and Coal mining operations are scattered in different parts of Mexico.

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Mines found in Canada include Diamonds, uranium, gold ,copper, zinc, nickel, cobalt, iron, aluminum, niobinum, lead, gypsum, chrystolite, magnesium, Potash, salt, coal, molybdenum, and oil sands.

Mining operations in the US include cola, gold, magnesium, zinc, sand and gravel, Portland cement, nickel, boron, silver, coal, clay, copper, limestone, helium, soda ash, Potash, molybendum, salt, gems, Iodine, sulphur, dimension stone, iron ore, gypsum, lead, feldspar, zircon concentrates, lithium minerals, phospate rock, and Masonry cement.

Tectonic Plates

The tectonic plates which North America is located within are the North American Plate and the Caribbean Plate. The boundary between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate is convergent and transform. The boundary between the Juan de Fuca Plate and the North American Plate is convergent. The boundary between the Cocos Plate and the North American Plate is convergent. The boundary between the Caribbean Plate and the North American Plate is convergent and transform. The boundary between the Caribbean Plate and the Cocos Plate is convergent. The boundary between the Caribbean Plate and the South American Plate is convergent. The boundary between the North American Plate and the Eurasian Plate is divergent. The boundary between the North American Plate and the African Plate is divergent. The west coast of North America is an active margin, while the east coast is a passive margin.In North America the type of rock is related to the movement of the tectonic plates. This relationship can be found at the west coast of North America due to convergent boundaries. The rock found there is igneous due to the volcanoes that form from the convergence of the boundaries.

Volcanoes

There are many volcanoes in North America. Most of them are located along the western side of the North American border. The United States is home to 50 active volcanoes (defined as having erupted sometime in the last 200 years). The Aleutian Islands are located on the coast of Alaska. They consist of 14 volcanic islands. They form part of the Aleutian Arc in the Northern Pacific Ocean. This arc is a result of a subduction boundary at the Aleutian Trench. they are all composite and contain andesitic magma. Its most recent eruption was in 2001.

The Cascade Volcanoes (also known as the Cascade Volcanic Arc or the Cascade Arc) are a number of volcanoes in a volcanic arc in western North America, extending from southwestern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. The arc has formed due to subduction along the Cascadia subduction zone. the volcanoes are mostly composite and consist of andesitic magma. Mount St. Helen's is part of the Cascade Range and is located in southeastern Washington. it is composite and contains basaltic and andesitic magma. Mount St. Helens is most notorious for its catastrophic eruption on May 18, 1980, at 8:32 the deadliest and most economically destructive volcanic event in the history of the United States. Fifty-seven people were killed; 250 homes, 47 bridges, 15 miles (24 km) of railways, and 185 miles (298 km) of highway were destroyed.

The Hawaiian islands are all volcanic islands that are shield volcanoes that consist of basaltic magma. They are almost always non-explosive. Hawaiian volcanoes erupt at their summit calderas and from their flanks along linear rift zones that extend from the calderas. They islands form from a hot spot that the plate moves over. Mauna Loa, one of Hawaii's biggest volcanoes last erupted in 2003.

The hotspot region within the North American plate, which has created Yellowstone Caldera and the world's largest known hydrothermal system is a super volcano that's magma is rhyolitic. It last erupted 70,000 years ago, but it often spews geysers, boiling hot springs, and mud pots.

The Mono-Inyo Craters are a 29-km (18 mi) long chain of silicic lava domes, lava flows, and explosion craters found along the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada range between Mono Lake and Long Valley Caldera. Mono Craters comprise the northern portion of the chain and form an arcuate, 17-km (10.5 km) long group of 30 or more dike-fed eruption centers. Explosive eruptions at Mono Craters began more than 50,000 years ago from now-buried vents, but almost all of the exposed domes and flows are of Holocene age. The Inyo Craters are a 12-km (7.5 mi) long chain of volcanic features similar to the northern-lying Mono Craters. The latest eruptions at Mono-Inyo Craters took place about 600 years ago when explosive eruptions and lava flows produced tephra deposits and obsidian lava domes. It is made of rhyolitic magma.

Mexico's volcanoes are part of the Pacific Ring of Fire and formed on the North American continental tectonic plate under which the oceanic Pacific and (in the south) Cocos plates are being subducted. The most active volcanoes of the country are Popocatepetl, Colima and El Chichon, which had a major eruption in 1982 that cooled the world's climate in the following year. There are all different kinds of volcanic formations from cinder cones to stratovolcanoes to volcanic fields. Most active volcanoes in this region occur in belts produced by subduction of Pacific oceanic crust beneath the southern edge of the North American Plate and the western edge of the Caribbean Plate. Large stratovolcanoes and silicic calderas are found here, but the region also contains many basaltic volcanic fields, particularly in the central valley of Mexico and along the Guatemala-El Salvador border. A few other active volcanoes in northern Mexico are related to extensional tectonics of the Basin and Range Province, which split the Baja California peninsula from the mainland. There are all different types of magmas around the country.

Volcanism of Canada has produced lava flows, lava plateaus, lava domes, cinder cones, stratovolcanoes, shield volcanoes, submarine volcanoes, calderas, diatremes, and maars, along with examples of more less common volcanic forms such as tuyas and subglacial mounds. It has a very complex volcanological history spanning from the Precambrian period at least 3.11 billion years ago when this part of the North American continent began to form. The countries volcanism continues to occur in Western and Northern Canada where it forms part of an encircling chain of volcanoes and frequent earthquakes around the Pacific Ocean called the Pacific Ring of Fire. But because volcanoes in Western and Northern Canada are in remote rugged areas and the level of volcanic activity is less frequent than with other volcanoes around the Pacific Ocean, Canada is commonly thought to occupy a gap in the Pacific Ring of Fire between the volcanoes of western United States to the south and the Aleutian volcanoes of Alaska to the north. However, the mountainous landscape of Western and Northern Canada includes more than 100 volcanoes that have been active during the past two million years and have claimed many lives. Volcanic activity has been responsible for many of Canada's geological and geographical features and mineralization, including the nucleus of North America called the Canadian Shield. Volcanism has led to the formation of hundreds of volcanic areas and extensive lava formationacross Canada, indicating volcanism played a major role in shaping its surface. The country's different volcano and lava types originate from different tectonic settings and types of volcanic eruptions, ranging from passive lava eruptions to violent explosive eruptions. Canada has a rich record of very large volumes of magmatic rock called large igneous provinces. They are represented by deep-level plumbing systems consisting of giant dike swarms, sill provinces and layered intrusions. The most capable large igneous provinces in Canada are Archean age greenstone belts containing a rare volcanic rock called komatiite.

Earthquakes

The main earthquake areas in north America are along the pacific plate and the North American plate in the California region and off the coast of western mexico.

Also at the southern most point of Alaska experiences a lot of earthquakes. In Canada there are mild earthquakes along the coast of western Canada also. A mild earthquake region is located on the eastern coast of the United States.

For California the San Andreas fault has some major earthquake activity. For Alaska the southern point experiences the most earthquakes. The overall tension between the pacific plate and the north American plate create a lot of earthquakes in Mexico.

The largest earthquakes in the U.S. are-9.2 Alaska 1964, Cascadian Subduction zone 1700 9, Alaska 8.7 1965, Alaska 8.6 1957, Alaska 8.2 1938, Alaska 8.1 1946, Alaska 8 1899, Alaska 7.9 2002, Alaska 7.9 1987, Alaska 7.9 1986, Alaska 7.9 1899, Hawaii 7.9 1868, California 7.9 1857, Alaska 7.8 2003, Alaska 7.8 1996, California 7.8 1906, California 7.8 1892, Missouri 7.7 1811, and more.

The largest earthquakes in Canada are-1700 9.0 Cascadian subduction zone, British Colombia 8.1 1949, British Colombia 7.4 1970, Northwest Territories 7.3 1933, British Colombia 7.3 1946, Newfoundland 7.2 1929, British Colombia 7 1929, Quebec 7 1663, Northwest Territories 6.9 1985, British Colombia 6.9 1918.