DOCSLIB.ORG

NORTH AMERICA Geography the Continent of North America in The

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
NORTH AMERICA Geography the Continent of North America in The NORTH AMERICA Geography The continent of North America in the Atlas of the World’s Conifers comprises Canada and the continental United States of America, i.e. Alaska and the ‘lower 48’ states, plus Greenland. Of Greenland, only some small ice-free coastal areas in the southern part are relevant to conifers and in the statistics that follow Greenland is not included; no conifer taxa occur there that do not also occur in North America. North America (N of Mexico) has a total land area of 19.27 million km². A large part of this territory is situated in the High Arctic beyond 70° N where no conifers occur; this includes Baffin Island and the Canadian Arctic Islands as well as the Arctic continental coast- line from the Beaufort Sea in Alaska to Hudson Strait between Baffin Island and the N coast of Quebec. The most striking topographical division of North America is the mountainous West, extending from Alaska into Mexico, and the lowland central and eastern parts of the continent, only interrupted in the E by the lower and much more ancient Appalachian Mountains. Hud- son Bay and the large lakes in Canada and the USA, all the result of expansive Pleistocene ice caps, form large bodies of water in the N and NE of the continent. Nearly the whole of Canada is dotted with numerous lakes across a broad boreal forest zone stretching across the continent from the Atlantic to the Pacific. In contrast, and this is the second major division, the SW of the continent is not only mountainous but also dry, with extensive areas classified as deserts. Nearly flat lowlands surround the Gulf of Mexico and extend northwards along the Atlantic coast on the E-side of the Appalachian Mountains. The interior of the continent, from southern Saskatchewan to Texas, was an expanse of treeless plains (before agriculture) dissected by rivers that drain into the Missouri-Mississippi River system, the largest drainage in the continent. Eastwards, the prairies gradually merged with deciduous angiosperm-dominated forests. Westwards they still rise into the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, with the ca. 60 million bison completely replaced (but reintroduced) by European cattle. The Rocky Mountains are a broad and complex system of geologically young mountain ranges rising to 4401 m (Mt. Elbert) with many other summits in Colorado and Wyoming over 4000 m. The highest mountains are situated in Alaska and the Yukon Territory, with Denali (Mt. McKinley) at 6194 m the highest mountain in the continent. Between the Rocky Mountains in the USA and the Pacific Ocean lie a series of N-S oriented mountain ranges and interspersed basins, culminating in the Sierra Nevada of California with Mt. Whitney at 4421 m. In Canada and Alaska, the Rocky Mountains lie adjacent to the Coast Ranges, the latter in part submerged in the Pacific Ocean forming an extensive archipelago. Cli- matically, the continent is diverse, ranging from extreme arctic in N Greenland and the Canadian Arctic to subtropical in Florida and from the cold and wet coasts of Labrador and Newfoundland to one of the hottest and driest spots on earth, Death Valley in California, dropping to 86 m below sea level. Extensive cool temperate rainforests dominated by conifers occur in the Pacific Northwest of the USA (W Oregon, W Washington), coastal British Columbia and the Alexander Archipelago in S Alaska. north america 35 Conifers in North America Families Genera Species Species + infra Countries with Area of occupancy Endemic taxa conifers in km² 3/8 17/70 99/615 126/794 2/2 106,850/19,269,000 113 Numbers after ‘/’ are global or continent totals. Few species occur in the boreal forests of Alaska and Canada, but they are widespread and abun- dant. Herbarium collection data are inadequate to cover the occurrence of these conifer species and as a result there are far too few dots on the map; the white areas between them would be filled too if the specimens had been available. Collections of herbarium specimens are particu- larly few in Quebec and Ontario around Hudson Bay (Larix laricina, Picea glauca, P. mariana) and in N Saskatchewan (the same species + Pinus banksiana). The density in California reflects the high number of species there, not a continuous conifer forest, and the same applies to other areas with many dots on the map. The accuracy of the map is much greater in the contiguous United States, i.e. S of the Canadian border. There are several striking patterns to be observed. The richest areas for conifers are in California around the empty Central Valley, and N into the western halves of Oregon and Washington. Some areas of the Rocky Mountains stand out, in Idaho-W Montana, Wyoming and Colorado into N New Mexico. In the eastern part of the con- tinent the southern Appalachians, Florida and the Mexican Gulf Coast to the east, and an area from Virginia to New Hampshire stand out as rich in conifer species. The Midwestern states are more thinly populated and conifers are very scarce in the (former) prairie states, with large parts of these states devoid of conifers. North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas; also large parts of E Montana, Minnesota, Iowa and Missouri, as well as S Texas, have few if any conifers. In the western USA, Nevada has large areas without conifers, as do substantial parts of the Mojave Desert in California and the Sonora desert in Arizona. In the eastern USA, the original dominance of deciduous angiosperm forest (now experiencing a come-back with the decline of agriculture especially in New England) limited the extent of conifers, which probably explains the many blank areas. Aridity is the main constraint further west, where tree growth in general, not just conifers, is limited to banks of rivers, or in deserts virtually absent. At high altitudes conifers are more abundant although trees such as aspen (Populus tremuloides) often grow alongside them covering large areas. In the far west the montane forests are nearly pure conifer forests, often with a relatively high number of species. Fire-prone habitats that allow tree growth are also mostly dominated by conifers and are common in California but also in the boreal forests of the N and in certain parts of the Rocky Mountains. Map NA-1. Distribution of conifer species in North America (N of Mexico) and Greenland..
Load more

Recommended publications
  • North America Other Continents
    Arctic Ocean Europe North Asia America Atlantic Ocean Pacific Ocean Africa Pacific Ocean South Indian America Ocean Oceania Southern Ocean Antarctica LAND & WATER • The surface of the Earth is covered by approximately 71% water and 29% land. • It contains 7 continents and 5 oceans. Land Water EARTH’S HEMISPHERES • The planet Earth can be divided into four different sections or hemispheres. The Equator is an imaginary horizontal line (latitude) that divides the earth into the Northern and Southern hemispheres, while the Prime Meridian is the imaginary vertical line (longitude) that divides the earth into the Eastern and Western hemispheres. • North America, Earth’s 3rd largest continent, includes 23 countries. It contains Bermuda, Canada, Mexico, the United States of America, all Caribbean and Central America countries, as well as Greenland, which is the world’s largest island. North West East LOCATION South • The continent of North America is located in both the Northern and Western hemispheres. It is surrounded by the Arctic Ocean in the north, by the Atlantic Ocean in the east, and by the Pacific Ocean in the west. • It measures 24,256,000 sq. km and takes up a little more than 16% of the land on Earth. North America 16% Other Continents 84% • North America has an approximate population of almost 529 million people, which is about 8% of the World’s total population. 92% 8% North America Other Continents • The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of Earth’s Oceans. It covers about 15% of the Earth’s total surface area and approximately 21% of its water surface area.
    [Show full text]
  • Countries and Continents of the World: a Visual Model
    Countries and Continents of the World http://geology.com/world/world-map-clickable.gif By STF Members at The Crossroads School Africa Second largest continent on earth (30,065,000 Sq. Km) Most countries of any other continent Home to The Sahara, the largest desert in the world and The Nile, the longest river in the world The Sahara: covers 4,619,260 km2 The Nile: 6695 kilometers long There are over 1000 languages spoken in Africa http://www.ecdc-cari.org/countries/Africa_Map.gif North America Third largest continent on earth (24,256,000 Sq. Km) Composed of 23 countries Most North Americans speak French, Spanish, and English Only continent that has every kind of climate http://www.freeusandworldmaps.com/html/WorldRegions/WorldRegions.html Asia Largest continent in size and population (44,579,000 Sq. Km) Contains 47 countries Contains the world’s largest country, Russia, and the most populous country, China The Great Wall of China is the only man made structure that can be seen from space Home to Mt. Everest (on the border of Tibet and Nepal), the highest point on earth Mt. Everest is 29,028 ft. (8,848 m) tall http://craigwsmall.wordpress.com/2008/11/10/asia/ Europe Second smallest continent in the world (9,938,000 Sq. Km) Home to the smallest country (Vatican City State) There are no deserts in Europe Contains mineral resources: coal, petroleum, natural gas, copper, lead, and tin http://www.knowledgerush.com/wiki_image/b/bf/Europe-large.png Oceania/Australia Smallest continent on earth (7,687,000 Sq.
    [Show full text]
  • Geography Notes.Pdf
    THE GLOBE What is a globe? a small model of the Earth Parts of a globe: equator - the line on the globe halfway between the North Pole and the South Pole poles - the northern-most and southern-most points on the Earth 1. North Pole 2. South Pole hemispheres - half of the earth, divided by the equator (North & South) and the prime meridian (East and West) 1. Northern Hemisphere 2. Southern Hemisphere 3. Eastern Hemisphere 4. Western Hemisphere continents - the largest land areas on Earth 1. North America 2. South America 3. Europe 4. Asia 5. Africa 6. Australia 7. Antarctica oceans - the largest water areas on Earth 1. Atlantic Ocean 2. Pacific Ocean 3. Indian Ocean 4. Arctic Ocean 5. Antarctic Ocean WORLD MAP ** NOTE: Our textbooks call the “Southern Ocean” the “Antarctic Ocean” ** North America The three major countries of North America are: 1. Canada 2. United States 3. Mexico Where Do We Live? We live in the Western & Northern Hemispheres. We live on the continent of North America. The other 2 large countries on this continent are Canada and Mexico. The name of our country is the United States. There are 50 states in it, but when it first became a country, there were only 13 states. The name of our state is New York. Its capital city is Albany. GEOGRAPHY STUDY GUIDE You will need to know: VOCABULARY: equator globe hemisphere continent ocean compass WORLD MAP - be able to label 7 continents and 5 oceans 3 Large Countries of North America 1. United States 2. Canada 3.
    [Show full text]
  • Appalachian County
    APPALACHIANARC-DESIGNATED REGION DEVELOPMENT DISTRESSED COUNTIES County EconomicHIGHWAYFiscal Year SYSTEM Status2020 in Appalachia, Fiscal Year 2008 (ESeptemberective October 30, 2015 1, 2007 through September 30, 2008) APPALACHIAN REGION NEW YORK WISCONSIN NNEWEW YYORKORK ALBANY MICHIGAN OTSEGO CHENANGO 6-C SCHOHARIE WWISCONSINISCISCONSIONSINN MICHIGAN CORTLAND W SCHUYLER TOMPKINS 6-B ELMIRA T DELAWARE STEUBEN 6-A CHEMUNG TIOGA BROOMEBINGHAMTON M ICHIGAN JAMESTOWNALLEGANY M ICHIGAN CATTARAUGUST CHAUTAUQUA CHICAGO ERIE U-1 SUSQUEHANNA T U-1 UBRADFORD WAYNE ERIE WARREN MC KEAN KEAN TIOGA U POTTER 9-C LACKAWANNA 9-D CRAWFORD WYOMING ASHTABULA CAMERON P ENNSYLFORESTPENNSYLVANIACAMERON V ANIASCRANTON PFORESTENNSYLVANIASULLIVAN PIKE TOLEDO CLEVELAND8-D 9-A ELK VENANGO LYCOMING 9-B CLINTON LUZERNE MERCER WILLIAMSPORT TRUMBULL CLARION COLUMBIA MONROE 9-G MON- CARBON P ENNSYLVANIAP TOUR AKRON CLEARFIELD P ENNSYLVANIAJEFFERSON PUNION CENTRE MAHONING SCHUYLKILL P-1 SCHUYLKILL BUTLER ARMSTRONG O-1 STATE COLLEGESNYDER NORTH-NORTH- LAWRENCE O-1 STATE COLLEGEUMBERLAND UMBERLAND COLUMBIANA O BEAVER ALTOONA 9-E O MIFFLIN INDIANA CARROLL M M BLAIR JUNIATAM HARRISBURG M PERRY HOLMES CAMBRIA NJ ALLEGHENY HANCOCK HANCOCK JOHNSTOWN MM HUNTINGDON PITTSBURGHPITTSBURGH13-K WESTMORELAND A LLINOIS NDIANA HIO COSHOCTON VANI I TUSCARAWAS I O JEFFERSON HARRISON BROOKE I LLINOIS I NDIANA O HIO BROOKE 9-F O PENNSYL EW ILLINOIS INDIANA OHIOOHIO WASHINGTON COLUMBUS 8-C OHIO BEDFORD INDIANA GUERNSEY SOMERSET INDIANAPOLIS BELMONT FULTON ILLINOIS WHEELING GREENE FAYETTE
    [Show full text]
  • Educators Guide
    EDUCATORS GUIDE 02 | Supervolcanoes Volcanism is one of the most creative and destructive processes on our planet. It can build huge mountain ranges, create islands rising from the ocean, and produce some of the most fertile soil on the planet. It can also destroy forests, obliterate buildings, and cause mass extinctions on a global scale. To understand volcanoes one must first understand the theory of plate tectonics. Plate tectonics, while generally accepted by the geologic community, is a relatively new theory devised in the late 1960’s. Plate tectonics and seafloor spreading are what geologists use to interpret the features and movements of Earth’s surface. According to plate tectonics, Earth’s surface, or crust, is made up of a patchwork of about a dozen large plates and many smaller plates that move relative to one another at speeds ranging from less than one to ten centimeters per year. These plates can move away from each other, collide into each other, slide past each other, or even be forced beneath each other. These “subduction zones” are generally where the most earthquakes and volcanoes occur. Yellowstone Magma Plume (left) and Toba Eruption (cover page) from Supervolcanoes. 01 | Supervolcanoes National Next Generation Science Standards Content Standards - Middle School Content Standards - High School MS-ESS2-a. Use plate tectonic models to support the HS-ESS2-a explanation that, due to convection, matter Use Earth system models to support cycles between Earth’s surface and deep explanations of how Earth’s internal and mantle. surface processes operate concurrently at different spatial and temporal scales to MS-ESS2-e form landscapes and seafloor features.
    [Show full text]
  • Historical Significance of American Chestnut to Appalachian Culture and Ecology
    Davis, D.E. 2005. Historical significance of American chestnut to Appalachian culture and ecology. In, proc. of conf. on restoration of American chestnut to forest lands, Steiner, K.C. and J.E. Carlson (eds.). HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF AMERICAN CHESTNUT TO APPALACHIAN CULTURE AND ECOLOGY Donald E. Davis Social Sciences Division, Dalton State College, Dalton, GA 30720 USA ([email protected]) Abstract: This paper explores the significance of the American chestnut on the ecology and culture of Appalachia. Until the third decade of the 20th century, the tree was the crowning glory of the Appalachian hardwood forest, in some isolated areas comprising half of the hardwood tree population. The wildlife of the region, particularly black bears, heavily depended on the tree for both sustenance and shelter. Native Americans in the mountains frequently made use of the nut, mixing chestnut meal with corn to make bread. White mountaineers gathered the nuts to sell or trade, and sometimes used parched chestnuts as a coffee substitute. The American chestnut played a major role in the economy of the Appalachian region, providing timber for dwellings and tannic acid for the leather industry. Finally, it is argued that the decline of Appalachian subsistence culture is directly linked to the loss of the American chestnut. INTRODUCTION Few single events in North American environmental history compare with the loss of the American chestnut. “The devastation of the American chestnut by the chestnut blight," wrote William MacDonald more than two decades ago, "represents one of the greatest recorded changes in natural plant population caused by an introduced organism." MacDonald, a professor of plant pathology at West Virginia University and the current acting treasurer of the American Chestnut Foundation, estimates that chestnut-dominated forests once covered 200 million acres of land from Maine to Mississippi (MacDonald 1978; Brown and Davis 1995).
    [Show full text]
  • THE FORGOTTEN CONTINENT Fossil Finds in China Are Challenging Ideas About the Evolution of Modern Humans and Our Closest Relatives
    NEWS FEATURE THE FORGOTTEN CONTINENT Fossil finds in China are challenging ideas about the evolution of modern humans and our closest relatives. n the outskirts of Beijing, a small BY JANE QIU government is setting up a US$1.1-million limestone mountain named Dragon laboratory at the IVPP to extract and sequence Bone Hill rises above the surround- spread around the globe — and relegated Asia ancient DNA. Oing sprawl. Along the northern side, a path to a kind of evolutionary cul-de-sac. The investment comes at a time when palaeo- leads up to some fenced-off caves that draw But the tale of Peking Man has haunted anthropologists across the globe are starting to DEAGOSTINI/GETTY 150,000 visitors each year, from schoolchildren generations of Chinese researchers, who have pay more attention to Asian fossils and how to grey-haired pensioners. It was here, in 1929, struggled to understand its relationship to they relate to other early hominins — creatures that researchers discovered a nearly complete modern humans. “It’s a story without an end- that are more closely related to humans than ancient skull that they determined was roughly ing,” says Wu Xinzhi, a palaeontologist at the to chimps. Finds in China and other parts of half a million years old. Dubbed Peking Man, Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Ver- Asia have made it clear that a dazzling variety of it was among the earliest human remains ever tebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology Homo species once roamed the continent. And uncovered, and it helped to convince many (IVPP) in Beijing.
    [Show full text]
  • Ecological Zones in the Southern Appalachians: First Approximation
    United States Department of Ecological Zones in the Southern Agriculture Forest Service Appalachians: First Approximation Steve A. Simon, Thomas K. Collins, Southern Gary L. Kauffman, W. Henry McNab, and Research Station Christopher J. Ulrey Research Paper SRS–41 The Authors Steven A. Simon, Ecologist, USDA Forest Service, National Forests in North Carolina, Asheville, NC 28802; Thomas K. Collins, Geologist, USDA Forest Service, George Washington and Jefferson National Forests, Roanoke, VA 24019; Gary L. Kauffman, Botanist, USDA Forest Service, National Forests in North Carolina, Asheville, NC 28802; W. Henry McNab, Research Forester, USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Asheville, NC 28806; and Christopher J. Ulrey, Vegetation Specialist, U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Blue Ridge Parkway, Asheville, NC 28805. Cover Photos Ecological zones, regions of similar physical conditions and biological potential, are numerous and varied in the Southern Appalachian Mountains and are often typified by plant associations like the red spruce, Fraser fir, and northern hardwoods association found on the slopes of Mt. Mitchell (upper photo) and characteristic of high-elevation ecosystems in the region. Sites within ecological zones may be characterized by geologic formation, landform, aspect, and other physical variables that combine to form environments of varying temperature, moisture, and fertility, which are suitable to support characteristic species and forests, such as this Blue Ridge Parkway forest dominated by chestnut oak and pitch pine with an evergreen understory of mountain laurel (lower photo). DISCLAIMER The use of trade or firm names in this publication is for reader information and does not imply endorsement of any product or service by the U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • WGBH/NOVA #4220 Making North America: Origins KIRK JOHNSON
    WGBH/NOVA #4220 Making North America: Origins KIRK JOHNSON (Sant Director, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History): North America, the land that we love: it looks pretty familiar, don’t you think? Well, think again! The ground that we walk on is full of surprises, if you know where to look. 00:25 As a geologist, the Grand Canyon is perhaps the best place in the world. Every single one of these layers tells its own story about what North America was like when that layer was deposited. So, are you ready for a little time-travelling? 00:38 I’m Kirk Johnson, the director of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, and I’m taking off on the fieldtrip of a lifetime,… 00:50 Look at that rock there. That is crazy! …to find out, “How did our amazing continent get to be the way it is?” EMILY WOLIN (Geophysicist): Underneath Lake Superior, that’s about 30 miles of volcanic rock. KIRK JOHNSON: Thirty miles of volcanic rock? How did the landscape shape the creatures that lived and died here? Fourteen-foot-long fish, in Kansas. That’s what I’m telling you! 01:14 And how did we turn the rocks of our homeland… Ho-ho. Oh, man! …into riches? This thing is phenomenal. In this episode, we hunt down the clues to our continent’s epic past. 01:26 You can see new land being formed, right in front of your eyes. Why does this golf course hold the secret to the rise and fall of the Rockies? What forces nearly cracked North America in half? And is it possible that the New York City skyline… I’ve always wanted to do this.
    [Show full text]
  • Cracked Plates
    Cracked plates MAPEARTH SKILLS from the Esri GeoInquiries™ collection for Earth Science Target audience – Earth Science learners Time required – 15 minutes Activity Investigate dynamics in the earth’s crust that explain multiple phenomena. Science Standards NGSS:MS-ESS2-1 – Develop a model to describe the cycling of Earth’s materials and the flow of energy that drives this process. Learning Outcomes • Students will explain the pattern of earthquakes globally to gain insight about the driving forces that cause them. • Students will differentiate ways that large plates of the crust interact when they meet. Map URL: http://esriurl.com/earthgeoinquiry6 Engage Can earthquakes occur anywhere on the earth? ʅ Click the URL above to launch the map. ? Where have you heard of earthquakes occurring? [Answers will vary.] ? Is there a pattern to the quakes that students have heard about? [Many will think of “The Ring of Fire.”] ʅ With the Details button underlined, click the button, Show Contents of Map (Content). ʅ Turn on the layer, Global Quakes Of Large Magnitude 5.8 Or Greater. ? What patterns are visible where quakes occurs? [A common misconception is that quakes occur just around continents or oceans. Help students recognize that quakes define plates around both sections of continents and oceans together. There are exceptions, of course (for example, the Pacific).] ? What is happening to the area within a ring of earthquakes? [This area moves as one piece, so no collisions are happening inside a single piece of crust called a plate.] Explore How many different ways can you crash your car? ʅ Turn on the layer, Relative Motion At Plate Boundaries.
    [Show full text]
  • Geography Resources and Environment of Latin America Defining Latin America
    Geography Resources and Environment of Latin America Defining Latin America • Term “Latin America” originally used by French geographers to differentiate between Anglo and Romance (Latin based) languages. • Latin America has further been divided by language and location – Spanish and Portuguese speaking portions of Central and South America in the Latin America Region – The French, Dutch, and English speaking parts of Central and South America in the Caribbean Region Boundaries of • On the West The western boundary of Latin Latin America America is defined by the Pacific Ocean. There are few islands in the eastern Pacific. The major ones controlled by Latin American countries are the Galápagos Islands (Ecuador) and Easter Island (Chile). Although Spain controlled the Philippines and considered it part of its New World holdings, only recently has Latin America looked across the Pacific. Boundaries of • On the South Latin America The southern border of Latin America is Cape Horn, (actually the island of Hornos). Latin American countries claim Antarctica as well, but since 1959 claims for this region have been suspended by the Antarctic Treaty, which now has 25 signers and 14 observers. Peru, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil have bases on the continent and Chile and Argentina have major claims. Boundaries of • On the East Latin America The eastern border of Latin America is marked by a string of British possessions in the Atlantic. These include the Falkland Islands (Malvinas), Tristan da Cunha, St. Helena, and Ascension. Boundaries of Latin America • On the North Many of the islands in the Caribbean (including the small islands of the lesser Antilles, plus Jamaica and western Hispaniola) have become non Spanish or Portuguese in culture.
    [Show full text]
  • Australia and Oceania: Physical Geography
    R E S O U R C E L I B R A R Y E N C Y C L O P E D I C E N T RY Australia and Oceania: Physical Geography Encyclopedic entry. Oceania is a region made up of thousands of islands throughout the South Pacific Ocean. G R A D E S 6 - 12+ S U B J E C T S Biology, Earth Science, Geology, Geography, Human Geography, Physical Geography C O N T E N T S 10 Images For the complete encyclopedic entry with media resources, visit: http://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/oceania-physical-geography/ Oceania is a region made up of thousands of islands throughout the Central and South Pacific Ocean. It includes Australia, the smallest continent in terms of total land area. Most of Australia and Oceania is under the Pacific, a vast body of water that is larger than all the Earth’s continental landmasses and islands combined. The name “Oceania” justly establishes the Pacific Ocean as the defining characteristic of the continent. Oceania is dominated by the nation of Australia. The other two major landmasses of Oceania are the microcontinent of Zealandia, which includes the country of New Zealand, and the eastern half of the island of New Guinea, made up of the nation of Papua New Guinea. Oceania also includes three island regions: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia (including the U.S. state of Hawaii). Oceania’s physical geography, environment and resources, and human geography can be considered separately. Oceania can be divided into three island groups: continental islands, high islands, and low islands.
    [Show full text]