Missouri Geography

Missouri Unit

Location

• Relative and Absolute Location• Relative - General description of a location.• Absolute - Exact Location using latitude and

longitude• Latitude lines measuring North and South

from the Equator.• Longitude lines measuring East and West from

the Prime Meridian.

5 Themes of Geography

• Location• Place• Human and Environment Interaction• Movement• Regions

Location

• Description of a place using Absolute or Relative Location.

• Example your house• The School• Describe the location for Relative.• Give Lat and Long to describe Absolute.

Place

• Describe somewhere using Physical or human characteristics.

• Physical - naturally occurring ex. Mountains• Human - man made ex. Roads and bridges.

Human and Environment Interaction

• Interaction between humans and their environment.

• Question?• Do we adapt to our environment or do we

adapt our environment to us?• Anyone cold?

Movement

• Movement of goods, services, ideas, and people throughout the world

• Examples…• Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.• New Movements?

Region

• Areas with similar characteristics.• Not restricted by their proximity to each

other.• Deserts, Tundra, Plains, etc...

Regions of Missouri

• Glaciated Plains• Osage Plains• Mississippi Alluvial Plains• Ozark Plateau

Glaciated Plains

• Northern part of Missouri.• Once covered in glaciers during the Ice Age.• Melted and left very fertile soil.• Farming and Agriculture.

Osage Plains

• Eastern extension of the Great Plains• Soil is dryer and rockier.• Some agriculture, but not nearly as fertile as

the Glaciated Plains.

Mississippi Alluvial Plains

• Bootheel used to be covered in swamps and wetlands.

• The state and farmers have built levees and canals that allow the water flow to be controlled.

• This allows farming of the rich soil.• Tobacco, rice, and cotton

Ozark Plateau

• Old worn down mountains.• Along with the Appalachian Mountains they

are the oldest in the country.• Most of the central and south west portion of

the state.• Mt. Taum Sauk in St. Francois County 1772 Ft.

Geology

• Most of MO is made up of Igneous Rock - or liquid that cooled and was compressed until it formed rock.

• Granite and Rhylite• Much of the rock runs 4000 ft. under the

surface.• Rivers both above and under ground have

eroded this rock.

Caves

• Missouri has over 3000 caves.• Stalactites - Long icicle like formations forming

from the top of a cave.• Stalagmites Long icicle like formations from

the bottom of a cave.• Both caused by water dripping and combining

with minerals.

Plotting Latitude and Longitude

• All Latitude and Longitude are measured in Degrees - Minutes - Seconds

• 60 Seconds = 1 Minute• 60 Minutes = 1 Degree• Max of 180 Degrees E,W,N, &S

Convert

• 90º 71’ 80” W• 91º 12’ 20” W

• 120 º 119’ 61”• 122 º 1”

Plot

• 39 degrees North 76 degrees West.

• Washington DC• 33 degrees North, 117 Degrees West• San Diego

New Madrid Earthquake

• December 1811• The New Madrid Fault awakened and began a

series of earthquakes and tremors that lasted 3 Months

• Felt in Boston, MA and Toronto, Ontario, CN.

Earthquake

• Plates rub along each other creating ground movements.

• The Mississippi River ran BACKWARDS for a time after the earthquake.

• The water level raised 12 ft in minutes.• Huge waves destroyed whole town like

Caruthersville, MO• No Deaths!

Climate

• Average weather over a measured period of time.

• Continental Humid - The weather is variable based on the seasons.

• Transitions• Winter - Cold/Wet = Snowfall• Winter - Cold/Dry• Summer - Hot/Dry• Summer - Hot/Wet

Borders

• MO covers 70,000 sq. miles.• Both natural and manmade borders.• Major natural borders– MO River– MS River– St. Francois River

Borders

• Manmade– 40°30” N– 36° N– 36° 30” N Bootheel

Waterways

• Aquifer - Underground H20 system filters through rock and soil used for manmade wells

• Pollution - Runoff from fertilizers can pollute the aquifers

• Rivers - 11,000 miles of streams and rivers• Borders• What else can rivers be used for.

Water...

• Lakes• MO does not have any natural large lakes.• Created by damming rivers.• Taneycomo Bull Shoals• Smithville L of O• Table Rock Mark Twain