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Appalachian Mountains• Stretch through many Atlantic
coast states • 1,500 miles long
– 100-300 miles wide
• The Appalachians are aging mountains –they have undergone erosion. (The process by which the products of weathering are moved from one place to another) – Thought to have been formed
680 million years ago
• Individual Mountains avg. 3,000 ft.
• Highest peak = Mt. Mitchell (North Carolina, 6,684 ft) Mt. Mitchell
October in the Appalachian Mountains
Ranges in the Appalachians
• White Mountains (northern)
• Blue Ridge Mountains (central)
• Black Mountains, Great Smokey Mts. (southern)
Appalachian MountainsNatural/Economic Resources
• Timber
• Coal, granite, limestone, etc.
• Bears, mountain lions, wild cats, wolves, foxes, deer and moose
The Rockies• 3,000 miles long
– from British Columbia, in Canada, to New Mexico • “Younger” mountains
– (50-100 million years ago)• A complex mountain system with jagged peaks, flat topped
elevations, woodlands, year-round snow caps, grasslands, etc. • The highest peak is Mount Elbert (Colorado, 14,440 feet)
Mt. Elbert
Rocky Mountains
• Runoff and snowmelt from the peaks sculpt landscape – Supply one-quarter of the
United States with water
• Rocky Mountains rivers eventually drain into three Oceans: the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, and the Arctic Ocean– Arkansas River, Colorado
River, Columbia River, Missouri River, Rio Grande, Snake River, Yellowstone River The Columbia River carves a deep
gorge through the Cascade Range, at Crown Point State Park, Oregon.
Rocky Mountains
• The Continental Divide – designates the line at
which waters flow either to the Atlantic or Pacific Oceans
– located along the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains Natural/Economic Resources
▪ Coal, copper, gold, iron ore, lead, petroleum, natural gas, silver, and zinc
• Timber – Northern Rockies
• Livestock – Sheep, Cattle, Bison, etc.
• Recreation and tourism
Alaska Mountain Range• 400 miles long
mountain range – Southern
Alaska
• Mount McKinley (Denali)– Tallest
mountain in N. America
– 19,470 ft
Cascade Mountain Range• Famous for its
Volcanoes – Part of “Pacific Ring of
Fire”• 90% of earth’s earthquakes • over 160 active volcanoes
Cascade MountainsNatural/Economic Resources
• Farming– Volcanic rock is rich in minerals creating excellent soil
conditions
• Powerful streams/rivers – Recreation– hydroelectric power – Crop irrigation
• Volcanic steam is used to heat public buildings – Klamath Falls, Oregon
Cascade Mountains - Mt. Rainier
• Mount Rainier highest peak in the Cascades (WA, 14,410 ft)
• Last recorded eruption in the mid 19th century
Mt. Rainier overlooks Tacoma, WA
Mt. Saint Helens• Catastrophic eruption on May 18, 1980 at
8:32am. That eruption was the most deadly and economically destructive volcanic eruption in US history
• 57 people were killed and 250 homes, 47 bridges, 15 miles of railways, and 185 miles of highway were destroyed.
Mt. Saint Helens• Became
active again in 2004 – continues to
erupt in small doses
• 36,000-foot plume of steam and ash emerged in 2005
Sierra Nevada
Mt. Whitney – largest peak in the continental US (14,505 ft. - CA)
• 400 miles long – 70 miles wide – California
• Yosemite Valley – Granite summits
• Half Dome, etc.
• Lake Tahoe – largest Alpine lake
in N. America – between Nevada
and California
Sierra Nevada
Mojave Desert
• California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona
• Avg. less that 13 in of rain per year
• Joshua Trees– Native to this desert area
• Sparsely populated – Few big cities (ex. Las
Vegas)
• Death Valley – Lowest, Hottest place is
North America
Grand Canyon • Carved by the Colorado River
into the Colorado Plateau – Arizona – 277 miles long, over a mile deep– Home to many native tribes
• Pueblo (Anasazi) as early as 1200 BC
The Mississippi, Missouri, and Ohio Rivers
Mississippi River• Mississippi River begins at
Lake Itasca in northwest Minnesota and runs 2,320 miles to the Gulf of Mexico– approx. 90 days for a drop of
rain to travel from Lake Itasca to the Gulf
– 2nd longest river in the US – Run through 2 states, forms
the border of 8 more– Drains most of US between
the Rockies and Appalachians
Lake Itasca
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River near St. Louis
Mississippi River Basin
• Mississippi River has the third largest drainage basin in the world. – 41% of the
continental US– Covers more
than 1 million square miles
• 31 states
Mississippi River
Mississippi River traffic near New Orleans
• Alluvial plain between Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers – Not actually a delta – Low elevation – Thousands of years of flooding,
sediment between rivers • flat, fertile land
• Between Memphis and Vicksburg
• Plantation system filled with slaves, sharecroppers
• “Birthplace of the Blues”
Mississippi Delta
Ohio River• The Ohio River is the principal tributary of the Mississippi River (by volume &
business)• 981 miles long• Begins in Pittsburg at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers
Ohio River
Ohio River
Cincinnati, Ohio: “Queen City of the West”
• Many native tribes lived along river
• Border between slave and free states before Civil War
• Primary transportation route
• French and Indian War was fought for control of the Ohio River Valley
The Missouri River• The Missouri River is the
longest in the United States at 2,540 miles
• Begins at the confluence of the Madison, Jefferson, and Gallatin rivers in Montana, and flows into the Mississippi north of St. Louis, Missouri. – The combination of the
Mississippi and Missouri Rivers make the 3rd longest river system in the world
• Traveled by Lewis and Clark in 1804 to explore Louisiana Purchase and find a NW Passage
The Missouri River Basin• The basin’s elevation
drops from 14,000 foot peaks to approx. 400 feet where it joins the Mississippi
• The basin is home to about 10 million people from 28 Native American tribes, 10 states and a small part of Canada
• High sediment load earned it the nickname, “Big Muddy”
• 6 dams have been built along Missouri
The Missouri River
Rio Grande• Begins in the San
Juan Mountains (Rockies) and empties in the Gulf of Mexico
• Border b/w US and Mexico– Since 1845– Won in the Mexican-
American War
• US and Mexico share the waters of this river
Rio Grande
The Rio Grande in Colorado
Tennessee River • Largest tributary of
the Ohio – 652 miles
• Cherokee country• Important
battleground during Civil War
Crossing over the Tennessee on a 1.2 mile bridge along the
Natchez Trace.
Potomac River • 405 miles long • Forms part of the borders
of MD, VA, and Washington DC
• Much of our founding history happened along the Potomac– Washington, Civil War, etc.
• “The Nation’s River”
St. Lawrence River
• 744 miles long • Primarily in Canada
– Montreal, Quebec– Provides part of northern
border of New York
• Connects the Great Lakes to the Atlantic
• Primary drainage of the Great Lakes basin
• Main route of European explorers into interior N. America
Wabash River • State River of Indiana • 503 miles long• Forms part of IN-IL border • Proposed location of capital of
Tecumseh’s Indian alliance • Battle of Tippecanoe,
Vincennes • Empties into the Ohio
Hudson River• 315 miles through eastern NY • Strategic importance in Revolutionary War
– West Point
• Major commercial Waterway – Especially after Erie Canal – Robert Fulton’s first steamboat
service
Columbia River • 1,243 miles long
– Begins in Canada and empties into the Pacific near Portland, OR
• Lewis and Clark followed the Columbia to the Pacific in 1805
• Salmon prevalent – very important to
early native cultures
The Great Lakes
Lake Superior• Largest freshwater lake in
the world (surface area) – fed by over 200 rivers
• Lake Superior is the largest, deepest, and coldest of the Great Lakes – The water from all the other
Great Lakes would fit in Superior (with room to spare)
• Rich in minerals– Copper, iron, silver, gold
and nickel – Mining towns
Lake Superior• Lake Superior is said
to never give up her dead. – The water is too cold
for bacteria to grow • Bodies never rise to
surface
• The last major shipwreck on Lake Superior was that of SS Edmund Fitzgerald in 1975.– Gordon Lightfoot song
Lake Michigan• The only one of the Great
Lakes wholly within US borders
• Bordered by Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, and Indiana
• The southern tip of the lake is heavily industrialized. – Chicago, Gary, Whiting Michigan
City, etc. • 12 million people
– Chicago, Milwaukee, Green Bay, etc.
– Indiana Dunes
Lake Huron
• Lake Huron is the second-largest of the Great Lakes
• Connects to Lake Michigan by the narrow Straits of Mackinac– Shared water
• Borders only Michigan in the United States
Lake Erie• Bordered on the
south by the states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York, and on the west by the state of Michigan– Cleveland, Buffalo,
Detroit (close)• Primarily fed by the
Detroit River and drains via the Niagara River and Niagara Falls into Lake Ontario.
• Commercial Fishing
Lake Erie
Sunset on Lake Erie near Cleveland Ohio
Niagara Falls
Lake Ontario• Bordered only by New
York in the U.S.– Rochester, Toronto
• Smallest Great Lake• Its primary inlet is the
Niagara River (from Lake Erie) and primary outlet is the St. Lawrence River
• Good fruit-growing climate – Commercial orchards
Lake Champlain• Forms part of border
between Vermont and New York– Stretches into Canada
• Drains into St. Lawrence River
• Connects to Hudson River via Champlain Canal
• Heavily fought over in the Revolutionary War and War of 1812
Chesapeake Bay• Fed by many Appalachian
rivers – Potomac, James,
Rappahannock, Susquehanna, etc.
– Brackish water • Mix of fresh and salt water
– Delmarva Peninsula • VA, MD, DE
• First English settlements – Important transportation rout
• Key battles during Revolutionary War, War of 1812
• Known for its fishing, seafood
The Great Salt Lake
Great Salt Lake• What is left of a much
larger prehistoric lake called Lake Bonneville– About the size of Lake
Michigan but deeper
• Climate change (32,000-14,000 years ago), caused the lake to begin evaporating, leaving Great Salt Lake
• Endorheic– no outlet besides
evaporation– Saltier than sea water
Pink Floyd the Flamingo, the Great Salt Lake’s solitary flamingo. Pink escaped from a local aviary and lived in the wild from 1987-2006.
