Difference between revisions of "Earth science 7-4 north america"
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Revision as of 18:12, 28 February 2012
Contents
North America
Countries
Canada, North America, and Mexico
Latitude and Longitude
Latitude 46° 4' 23" N
Longitude Range 100° 32' 48" W[1],
North America: Canada, United States of America, Mexico, Greenland, Antigua, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago
Elevation Range
Elevation Range Highest Point: Mt. McKinley, 6193.536 m. Alaska, United States Lowest Point: Death Valley, California, United States, 85.9536 m. below sea level [2],
Large Bodies of Water
- Rivers - Mississippi River, Rio Grande River, Churchill River, The Colombia River, St. Laurence River, The Colorado River, The Yukon River, The Brazos River
- Lakes - The Great Bear Lake, Great Slave Lake, Lake Winnipeg, Lake Ontario, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan, Lake Erie, Lake Superior, Lake Manitoba, Salt Lake,
- Oceans - North Pacific Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean
- Bays/Gulfs - Baffin Bay, The Gulf of Alaska, The Gulf of Mexico, The Gulf of California, Hudson Bay, The Gulf of St. Lawrence, The Bay of Fundy
- Seas - The Beaufort Sea, The Chukchi Sea, The Caribbean Sea, The Labrador Sea, The Hudson Strait
[3],
Topographic Features
Major Topographic Features
- Mountain Ranges - Appalachian Mountains, The Sierra Madre Oriental, Sierra Madre Occidental, Sierra-Cascade Range, Rocky Mountains, Continental Divide
- Basins - North American Cordillera
- Highlands/Lowlands - Cordilleran Highlands, Mississippi Valley System, Great Plains
[4],
Average Monthly Precipitation and Temperature High/Low=
Average Monthly Precipitation (in November)
- Calgary, Canada - 0.50 inches
- Houston, TX, USA - 4.32 inches
- Mexico City, Mexico - 0.20 inches
Average Monthly Temperatures (in November)
- High
-Calgary, Canada - 37 degrees F
-Houston, TX, USA - 72 degrees F
-Mexico City, Mexico - 72 degrees F
- Low
-Calgary, Canada - 16 degrees F
-Houston, TX, USA - 54 degrees F
-Mexico City, Mexico - 47 degrees F
[5],
Climate Zones
Location and size are two factors that affect the climate of North America. There climates are ET (Polar Tundra), Dsc (dry, cool, short summer), Csb (warm, dry summer, cool, wet winter), Dfa (humid, hot summer, no dry season), BSk (cool, dry, semiarid), and Cfa (warm, no dry season, hot summer, wet winter). [6], [7],
Factors that affect the Climate of North America:
The Atlantic and Pacific Oceans surround North America, which stretches from right inside the Arctic Circle to 15°North, relatively close to the Equator. Because North America spans over so much land, there is a wide range of climates.
Canada
- Latitude: 60 degrees 00' North
- Elevation: Canada is at around 550 feet above sea level, which contributes to it's cold temperatures slightly
- Topography: It is colder than normal above Canada's mountains
- Proximity to water: Canada is sandwiched between two oceans
- Prevailing winds: Prevailing Southwesterlies blow up into Canada
- Vegetation: Much of Canada is Tundra, where there is a short growing season and low temperatures, or Boreal Forest, characterized by it's cold and it's coniferous forests
- Ocean currents: The North Pacific Current blows around the west coast of Canada
USA
- Latitude: 38 degrees 0' North
- Elevation: The elevation ranges all over the different states, from sea level, to 6700 feet above
- Topography: There are a few main mountain ranges across the US. It is very cold and snowy there
- Proximity to water: The US has oceans on two of it's sides, which can make it warmer
- Prevailing winds: Prevailing Northeasterlies blow down into the US
- Vegetation: The United States has a great variety of vegetation areas and plants
- High or low pressure zone: There is a low pressure zone over some of the states on the coast where there are many hurricanes
- Ocean currents: The Gulf Stream blows around the United States' east coast
Mexico
- Latitude: 23 degrees 00' North
- Elevation: It gets much cooler over Mexico's mountains
- Topography: Mexico has mountains and the Valley of Mexico is a highlands plateau in central Mexico
- Proximity to water: The two oceans on two of Mexico's sides contribute to Mexico's heat and humidity
- Prevailing winds: Prevailing Northeasterlies flow down into Mexico
- Vegetation: Much of Mexico is made up of dessert, where plant growth is limited. One popular plant is the cactus, only 1% of land is used for crops
- High or low pressure zone: There is a low pressure zone over Mexico, which is responsible for hurricanes
Geology
[8],
Canada
Rocks: Majority of the rocks are Sedimentary East/ South-East has all three types of rock, igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary East- mainly intrusive igneous South East- mainly metamorphic Around the country boarders volcanic rock are the only type of rock Central/ West- 100% sedimentary
Minerals: North: Uranium, Zinc, Lead and Iron South/ West: Oil, Coal, and Copper South: Coal, Iron, Gold and Silver
Mining: Canada mines the most Uranium in the world Canada produces and exports the most Potash Canada produces the second most Asbestos and Sulfur (17% of world output and 38% of world trade)
Sources: http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Americas/Canada-MINING.html#b
Mexico
Rock Types
Sedimentary, metamorphic, volcanic, and plutonic. Sedimentary rocks are found on the east coast because of the Rio Grande and other rivers depositing sediments that over time become sedimentary rocks. Metamorphic are found in the very southern tip off Mexico because of mountain building. Volcanic rocks are found in central and the west coast of Mexico. These extrusive rocks are found on the east coast due to volcanic activity. Plutonic rocks are found on the east coast because of plutons rising from the mantle. Sedimentary and volcanic rocks are most commonly found.
Minerals Graphite and gypsum are the two minerals in Mexico. Graphite is found on the west coast and gypsum is found on the east coast.
Mining Copper, Silver, and Iron are mined in Mexico. These minerals are mined in central Mexico.
USA
Rock Types
- Sedimentary rocks are found all over the USA, especially the eastern side. They are found here because of the deposition and cementation of sediments over the years.
- Metamorphic rocks are found down the Appalachian Mountains, on the California coast, and in the Rocky Mountains because of the mountain building in these areas.
- Volcanic rocks are found on the eastern side of the Appalachian Mountains, down the western coast and a little further in, especially in the Cascade Range. There is a little in the Rocky Mountains, but not much. They are found here because there are volcanoes nearby.
- Plutonic rocks are found in the eastern coast of New York and a little in the Appalachian Mountains, a little in the Rocky Mountains, and down the eastern coast. They are found at the bottom of old volcanoes or volcanic mountain ranges. They are the rock resulting from the magma that didn't erupt.
[9],
Minerals
- Some major minerals found in this area are iron, coal, silver, oil, and copper.
- Iron is found up north near the great Lakes and in the Appalachian Mountains.
- Coal is found in the central eastern strip of land in the middle of the USA.
- Silver is located in the upper left corner of the US, near Washington state.
- Oil is located at the bottom of California and near the bottom of Texas.
- Copper is found near the middle of California and Nevada.
[10],
Mining
- There is a lot of coal mined in the USA, especially in the northeast.
- Copper is mined in the bottom parts of New Mexico and Arizona and in parts of Nevada
- Sulfur is mined all over the US, but mostly the southern half.
- There is some gold found in the southwestern part of the US, mostly California and Nevada. There is also some gold found in Alaska.
- Talc and Pyrophylite are mined all over the USA.
- Dimension Stone is mined all over the United States.
- Industrial Sand and gravel is mined a lot on the eastern side of the USA.
- Salt is mined in the south of the USA, mostly in Texas and Louisiana.
[11],
