Page 12 - Key to Social Studies 6

The Central Plains
North America
• The Central Plains region lies between the Central Cordilleras and the Eastern Highlands, stretching
The continent of North America is divided into ve physical regions:
from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Gulf of Mexico in the south. This area is also known as the

The Western Region Great Plains.
• This region has the Western Cordillera, which is a series of mountain ranges, or long lines of
• The Great Plains is an area of great agriculture and cattle ranching.
mountainous landforms, made up of young fold mountains. These ranges are about 6,500 km long and

stretch along the western coast from Alaska in the north to Panama in the south. They also extend into The Canadian Shield
South America as the Andes. The Cordillera reaches a width of 1,500 km in the middle, becoming • The northern part of North America, near the Hudson Bay, is known as the Canadian Shield. The Canadian

narrower towards the north and south. Shield is a raised but relatively at plateau. It extends over eastern, central, and northwestern Canada.

The Canadian Shield is characterized by a rocky landscape with an astounding number of lakes.
• The Western Cordillera consists of several parallel ranges running north to south. The highest range is
the Rocky Mountains, which forms the easternmost part of the Western Cordillera. • The Canadian Shield was covered with thick ice during the Ice Age 18,000 years ago. Upon melting, the

• Mount McKinley is the highest peak in North America; it is about 6,200 m high and lies in the Alaska thick ice formed the Great Lakes of North America.

Range in the far north of the continent. Many rock climbers try to scale this famous mountain each year. • Many rivers pass through the Great Plains, like the Mississippi, one of the longest rivers in the world. The

• The Alaska Range, located in the north, has many beautiful peaks. Mississippi River is famous for its history of exploration and transportation.

• The Cascade Range is in the middle, and the Coastal Range follows along the coast. The Eastern Region

• The Coastal Range rises steeply from the coast, while the Sierra Nevada Range is parallel to the Coastal • This region has some of the oldest mountains in
Range. A sierra is a long, jagged mountain chain. The Sierra Madre stretches from the southwestern the United States, which are the Appalachians,

United States to Honduras. and Atlantic Coastal Plain.

• Between the Rocky Mountain Range and the Paci c Coast lies a series of intermontane plateaus. They • The Appalachian Mountains stretch from the

are the Columbia Plateau, the Colorado Plateau, valley of the St. Lawrence River down through

and the Mexican Plateau. Many of these plateaus most of eastern United States, while the Atlantic

have rivers that ow across them, like the Coastal Plain stretches from Cape Cod,

Colorado River. Massachusetts, to beyond the Mexican border.

• The Western Cordillera has many peaks exceeding • This region is known for being rich in coal and

4,000 m above sea level. A number of quiet but other minerals.
active volcanoes, where magma, or hot liquid Appalachian Mountains, Tennessee and
The Caribbean Region North Carolina
rock, from deep within the earth comes to the
• This region is southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and the North American mainland. It consists of 700
surface, still exist in this area. This region is also
islands that are bordered by the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean.
known for earthquakes, or movements within the
• Its islands are highly visited by tourists from around the world.
Earth's crust that cause sudden, violent shaking of
Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming,
the ground. United States
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