PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE UNITED STATES

Created by Karen HirschfieldImages from Microsoft ClipArt

Identify physical characteristics as features that are found in nature, either made of land or water.

Identify major types of physical characteristics.

Locate physical characteristics on a map of the United States.

Objectives

They are not made by humans.

Physical characteristics can be made of land, called landforms, or are bodies of water.

Physical Characteristics are found in nature.

Landform

Body of Water

Microsoft ClipArt

Microsoft ClipArt

Connecting Back to What You Already Know

Landforms: Mountain Hill Peninsula Mountain Range Sand Dunes Islands

Bodies of Water: Ocean Lake Pond River Waterfalls

Microsoft ClipArt

2 Categories of Physical Characteristics

Desert Valley Mountain Range Plain Coastal Plain Plateau Basin Canyon

Ocean Lake River System Gulf

LAND WATER

Microsoft ClipArt

Answering Geographic Questions

The 5 major themes of geography:

1 – Location

2 – Place

3 – Human and Environment Interactions

4 – Movement

5 – Regions

When studying Physical Characteristics it helps us understand the PLACE.

Remember, PLACE is one of the 5 major themes of geography.

We can answer the following questions: What is it like there? What are its physical characteristics?

Literacy Connection: Noticing Physical Characteristics in Song Lyrics

“This land is your land, this land is my land

From California, to the New York Island

From the redwood forest, to the gulf stream waters

This land was made for you and me

 

As I was walking a ribbon of highway

I saw above me an endless skyway

I saw below me a golden valley

This land was made for you and me!”

 

“O beautiful for spacious skies,

For amber waves of grain, For purple mountain majesties Above the fruited plain! America! America! God shed his grace on thee And crown thy good with

brotherhoodFrom sea to shining sea!”

This Land Is Your Land America the Beautiful

By: Woody Guthrie By: Katharine Lee Bates

The following slides contain physical characteristics that may be new to you.

Notice the definition, examples, and photos to understand each!

Remember: Physical characteristics are not made by humans, instead they are found in nature!

Physical Characteristics

Mountain Range

Definition:

A row of connected mountains

Examples:

Appalachian Mountains

Rocky Mountains

All images from Microsoft ClipArt

Plains

Definition: Low-lying stretch of flat or rolling land

Example: The Great Plains

Definition: Low land that lies near the ocean

Example: The Coastal Plain along the Atlantic Ocean

Plains Coastal Plains

Microsoft ClipArt Microsoft ClipArt

Definition: Flat land with higher elevation than a plainExample: Ozark Plateau

Plateau

Microsoft ClipArt

Basin

Definition: Low land surrounded by higher landExample: Death Valley

By Ansel Adams By David Hiser

Valley

Definition:

Low land between hills or mountains

Example:

San Joaquin Valley

Microsoft ClipArt

Microsoft ClipArt

Definition: A deep, narrow valley with steep sidesExample: The Grand Canyon

Canyon Taken by Karen Hirschfield

Taken by MariannaBolognesi

Bodies of Water

Definition: A river and all the rivers and bodies of water it connects to

Example: The Mississippi River System

Definition: Part of the ocean that cuts into a large piece of land

Example: The Gulf of Mexico

River System Gulf

Microsoft ClipArt

Microsoft ClipArt

Desert

Definition: A region that gets very little rainExamples: Mojave Desert, Sonoran Desert,

Painted Desert

Microsoft ClipArt

Microsoft ClipArt

Where are some of these physical characteristics located?

Gulf of Mexico

Coast

Pla

ins

Appal

achia

n M

ts.

Mississippi River System

Grand

Canyon

Death Valley Ozark Platea

u

Great Plain

s

RO

CK

Y M

TS.

Cascad

e M

ts.

Sonoran

Desert

Map courtesy of FreeRoamSoul

There are many characteristics of the United States that ARE made by humans.

What can you think of that is made by humans?

Are these human characteristics near physical characteristics? Why?

Thinking Ahead…Microsoft ClipArt

Adams, Ansel. “Looking across desert toward mountains, "Death Valley National Monument," California.” 1941. Online image. Flickr. 8 May 2012. <http://www.flickr.com/photos/usnationalarchives/4309054797/>

"America the Beautiful." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 05 Aug. 2012. Web. 08 May 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/America_the_Beautiful>.

FreeRoamSoul. “The 50 State Challenge.” October 1, 2009. Online Image. Flickr. 8 May 2012. <http://www.flickr.com/ photos/freeroamsoul/3973489446/in/set-72157623170857124/>

Hiser, David. “Rifle, Southeast of the Piceance Basin.” 1972. Online Image. Flickr. 8 May 2012. <http://www.flickr.com/photos /usnationalarchives/3815838332/>

MariannaBolognesi. “grand canyon.” August 9, 2009. Online Image. 7 May 2012. <http://www.flickr.com/photos/ mariannabolognesi/3853169156/in/set-72157622040761507>

"This Land Is Your Land." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 05 June 2012. Web. 08 May 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/This_Land_Is_Your_Land>.

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