The United States is a country that has many different areas and a variety of natural features, such as bodies of water.. In this book you will learn about some of the natural features f
Trang 1Scott Foresman Social Studies
ISBN 0-328-14841-5
ì<(sk$m)=beiebh< +^-Ä-U-Ä-U
Genre Comprehension Skill Text Features
Nonfi ction Compare and
Contrast
• Maps
• Captions
The Shape
of Our Land
by Ann Rossi
Fascinating Facts
• American writer Mark Twain described the shape
of the Mississippi River as “a long, pliant [easily
bent] apple-paring [peeling].”
• Each of the Great Lakes ranks among the
fourteen largest lakes in the world
• Rain forests grow in parts of the West near the
Pacific coast
Scott Foresman Social Studies
ISBN 0-328-14841-5
ì<(sk$m)=beiebh< +^-Ä-U-Ä-U
Genre Comprehension Skill Text Features
Nonfi ction Compare and
Contrast
• Maps
• Captions
The Shape
of Our Land
by Ann Rossi
Fascinating Facts
• American writer Mark Twain described the shape
of the Mississippi River as “a long, pliant [easily
bent] apple-paring [peeling].”
• Each of the Great Lakes ranks among the
fourteen largest lakes in the world
• Rain forests grow in parts of the West near the
Pacific coast
Trang 2ISBN: 0-328-14841-5
Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc
All Rights Reserved Printed in the United States of America This publication is protected
by Copyright, and permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited
reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise For information regarding
permission(s), write to: Permissions Department, Scott Foresman, 1900 East Lake Avenue,
Glenview, Illinois 60025.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 V0G1 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05
Maps
MapQuest, Inc.
Photographs
Every effort has been made to secure permission and provide appropriate credit for photographic material The publisher deeply regrets any omission and pledges to correct errors called to its attention in subsequent editions.
Unless otherwise acknowledged, all photographs are the property of Scott Foresman, a division of Pearson Education.
Photo locators denoted as follows: Top (T), Center (C), Bottom (B), Left (L), Right (R), Background (Bkgd) Opener: ©David Edwards/NGS Image Collection
2 ©David Edwards/NGS Image Collection
4 ©David Muench/Corbis
6 (T) ©Corbis, (C) ©DK Images
7 ©Transparencies, Inc.
8 ©Jake Rajs/Getty Images
10 ©Digital Vision
11 ©Iain Davidson Photographic/Alamy
13 ©NASA/Corbis
14 ©Getty Images
15 ©Scott Smith/Index Stock Imagery
Write to It!
Write a paragraph for a travel brochure persuading people to visit one of the waterways
or landforms in this book Include at least three reasons why people should visit it Use persuasive language and details to make the waterway or landform appeal to others
Write your paragraph on a separate sheet of paper
The United States is a country that has many
different areas and a variety of natural features,
such as bodies of water In this book you will learn
about some of the natural features found in the
regions of the United States
Vocabulary
region prairie desert landform mountain erosion volcano plain wetland waterway glacier
Editorial Offices: Glenview, Illinois • Parsippany, New Jersey • New York, New York Sales Offices: Needham, Massachusetts • Duluth, Georgia • Glenview, Illinois Coppell, Texas • Sacramento, California • Mesa, Arizona
The Shape
of Our Land
by Ann Rossi
Trang 3Dramatic rock formations such as this are common in many
parts of the Southwest.
The Different Areas of
the United States
The United States is composed of many different
regions Some people divide the United States into
the following regions: Northeast, Southeast, Midwest,
Southwest, and West Each region has its own unique
features Say “Midwest” to someone and he or she
often thinks of a prairie stretching toward the horizons
When people think of the Southwest, they might picture a
desert or dramatic rock formations The combination of
landforms in each region helps make that region unique
IA
MN ND MT
WY
CO
NM AZ UT ID
WA
OR
NV CA
SD
NE
KS
OK
TX
WI
PA
VA DC NC SC
KY TN GA AL
FL
MS LA AR MO
WV NY
VT NH ME MA RI CT NJ DE MD MI
C A N A D A
M E X I C O
R O C Y M
U T IN S
A PP
A LA
IA N
M O
N T
A IN S
AT N C O
ST A L
IN
COLORADO PLATEAU
C o
lo ra do
Oh io
Missouri R.
R.
M is
ss ip
p i
R .
Gulf of Mexico
ATLANTIC OCEAN
PACIFIC OCEAN
N
PACIFIC OCEAN
HI
0 100 Miles
0 100 Kilometers
PACIFIC OCEAN
AK
C A N D A
0 400 Kilometers
Northeast Southeast Midwest Southwest West
Key
3
This map shows the five regions of the United States.
Although each region has distinct features, it may also have a type of landform that exists in other regions
Almost every region has a mountain range Regions across the United States have many different landforms
This book will explore some of the varied landforms of the United States
Regions of the United States
Trang 4Mount Elbert, Colorado, is the tallest peak in the Rocky Mountains.
Mountains and Volcanoes
Mountains are landforms that usually have steep slopes
and sharp or slightly rounded peaks Forces deep within
Earth cause mountains to form Other natural forces, such
as erosion caused by wind and rain shape them
The Rocky Mountains are more than 3,000 miles
(4,800 kilometers) long and stretch from New Mexico in
the Southwest up to Alaska in the West, passing through
Canada on the way They are the largest mountain system
in North America Several smaller mountain ranges make
up this vast mountain system The highest mountain
peaks in the Rocky Mountains are in Colorado, where
numerous peaks are more than 14,000 feet (4,267
meters) high
5
The Cascade Range is another of the many mountain ranges in the West It is part of the Pacific mountain system that runs parallel to the Pacific coasts in California, Oregon, and Washington for thousands of miles The Sierra Nevada is part of the Cascades This range is in eastern California
Most of the peaks that are part of the Cascade Range are volcanoes Many are dormant, or have not erupted for a long time Mount St Helens, however, is at times active This volcano erupted violently in 1980 after being dormant for more than 120 years After a period
of activity, the volcano again lay dormant Mount St
Helens erupted again in October 2004
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
Visitors to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park can view Kilauea (key-law-WAY-aw), one of Earth’s most active volcanoes Kilauea has been erupting fairly steadily since 1983
Trang 5Mount St Helens is located in Washington
A volcano may erupt when magma, or melted rock,
gathers underground in a magma chamber Pressure
from within Earth forces the magma upward through
the feeder pipe The volcano then erupts, spewing out
lava and clouds of steam, ash, and gases Lava is the
term for magma that erupts onto Earth’s surface
Inside a Volcano
Ash cloud
Feeder pipe Lava
Magma chamber
7
Mount Mitchell is located in the Black Mountains
Like the Rocky Mountains, the Appalachian Mountains are part of a large mountain system in North America
Unlike the Rockies, they are in the eastern part of continent, stretching for about 1,500 miles (2,400 kilometers) from Alabama in the Southeast up through the Northeast and into Canada
Although the Rocky Mountains are the largest mountain system in North America, the Appalachians are the
oldest They are made up of several mountain ranges, including the White Mountains, the Green Mountains, the Catskills in the Northeast, and the Black Mountains and the Great Smoky Mountains in the Southeast The tallest peak of the Appalachians is Mount Mitchell It measures 6,684 feet high (2,037 meters)
Trang 6A plain is a large area of flat or fairly flat land Plains
are part of several regions of the United States The
Atlantic Coastal Plain lies along the East Coast of the
United States In parts of the Northeast the Atlantic
Coastal Plain is fairly narrow, but it widens in the
Southeast and covers much of North Carolina, South
Carolina, Georgia, and Florida
In parts of the Southeast, barrier islands lie off the
shore of the Atlantic Coastal Plain In Florida alone
barrier islands make up more than seven hundred miles
of the coastline and protect the mainland from pounding
ocean waves
The Gulf Coastal Plain curves along the Gulf of Mexico
from Florida to southern Texas Both the Gulf Coastal
Plain and the Atlantic Coastal Plain have many wetlands,
including swamps and marshes Rivers flow from inland
areas through the coastal plains to the ocean water
Along the way the rivers pick up soil and then deposit it
in the low-lying plains, making coastal soils richer
8
9
The Great Plains is a dry grassland in North America that stretches from Texas and New Mexico north into Canada.
A prairie is a fairly flat plain covered mainly by tall grasses Prairies stretch across the Midwest and south into Texas
Different types of grasses grow in different parts of the rich prairie soil The types of grasses that grow in the wetter, eastern parts of the prairie grow taller than the grasses that grow in the drier, western part In the eastern parts of the prairie are grasses that grow more than 6 feet (1.8 meters) high, whereas in the drier western area, the grasses grow only about 2 feet (61 centimeters) high
Trang 7The Mississippi River is a busy waterway.
Bodies of Water
The Mississippi River is the largest river in North
America The Mississippi River begins in Minnesota
and travels south It forms the border between several
states in the Midwest and in the Southeast before
reaching the Gulf of Mexico Along the way the Missouri
and Ohio Rivers feed into the Mississippi River, making
it an important waterway in the United States
11
Although the Rio Grande’s source is in Colorado, it
is an important river used to irrigate, or bring water
to, crops in the dry Southwest The Rio Grande flows through New Mexico and forms the border between Texas and Mexico
Another major river
in the United States is the Colorado River It, too, begins in Colorado
It then cuts through southern Utah and flows into Arizona before forming the border between Arizona and California Like the Rio Grande, the waters
of the Colorado are used to irrigate part of the dry Southwest, but
it is also an important source of water for southern California
The Rio Grande begins in the West and flows to the Southwest.
Trang 8To A
an tic
n
ATLANTIC OCEAN
Lak e Superior
M ic ig n
Lak e O nta rio
La ke
Er ie
Lake Huron
Ill in o
R iv er
St L aw
re n ce
Ri ve r
M iss iss ip p i Riv er
MI WI
IA
MN
IL
MO
WV
KY
VA
PA
NY
RI CT MA
VT NH ME
NJ
DE MD
C A N A D A
N
Key
National border State border River
12
The Great Lakes, rivers, and canals combine to form
a network of waterways.
Rivers are one important kind of waterway and lakes
are another The Great Lakes are a chain of five lakes in
the northern United States Four of the lakes form part
of the border between the United States and Canada
Sheets of moving ice called glaciers created these lakes
long ago
The lakes are part of a major waterway that connects
the Midwest with other areas For example, the Great
Lakes could be part of a boat’s route from the St Louis
River in Minnesota to the Atlantic Ocean
The Great Lakes
13
The Finger Lakes in New York State as seen from above almost look like fingers on a hand.
The Finger Lakes are much smaller than the Great Lakes Unlike the Great Lakes, the Finger Lakes are not linked Long ago the Finger Lakes were actually rivers
Sheets of ice then reshaped the earth, cutting deep holes in the river valleys and creating the Finger Lakes
Bottomless Lakes
There are few natural lakes in New Mexico, but the Bottomless Lakes are well known The greenish-blue color of the lakes makes them appear bottomless, but they really range in depth from 17 feet to 90 feet
Trang 9The Mojave Desert is part of the North American Desert
Deserts
Unlike lakes, which are wet, deserts are dry In the
United States, deserts are located in the West and
Southwest regions The Mojave (moe-HA-vee) Desert in
southeastern California and parts of Nevada, Arizona,
and Utah is part of a larger desert area called the North
American Desert Although the Mojave is extremely
dry—getting only 2 to 6 inches (50 to 150 millimeters)
of rain each year, the weather is not always hot Frost
occurs in the winter
15
The Atlantic Coastal Plain is located on the East Coast
Long ago the Pacific Ocean covered the Mojave Desert The soil is sandy, and extinct volcanoes are some of the landforms in this area
All these landforms and waterways—deserts, volcanoes, rivers, lakes, mountains, plains, islands, and wetlands—are just a small number of the
extensive natural features that are found in the varied regions of the United States From the mountain peaks
to the coastal plains, they are part of what shape the United States
Trang 10Glossary
desert an area that gets very little rain
erosion the wearing away of rock by water and wind
glacier huge sheets of ice that cover land
landform a natural feature of the earth’s surface
mountain a very high landform, often with steep sides
plain an area of flat land that often is covered with
grass or trees
prairie an area where grasses grow well, but trees are rare
region an area in which places share similar
characteristics
volcano a mountain with an opening through which ash,
gas, and lava are forced
waterway a system of rivers, lakes, and canals through
which ships travel
wetland land that is covered with water at times
ISBN: 0-328-14841-5
Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc
All Rights Reserved Printed in the United States of America This publication is protected
by Copyright, and permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited
reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise For information regarding
permission(s), write to: Permissions Department, Scott Foresman, 1900 East Lake Avenue,
Glenview, Illinois 60025.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 V0G1 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05
Maps
MapQuest, Inc.
Photographs
Every effort has been made to secure permission and provide appropriate credit for photographic material The publisher deeply regrets any omission and pledges to correct errors called to its attention in subsequent editions.
Unless otherwise acknowledged, all photographs are the property of Scott Foresman, a division of Pearson Education.
Photo locators denoted as follows: Top (T), Center (C), Bottom (B), Left (L), Right (R), Background (Bkgd) Opener: ©David Edwards/NGS Image Collection
2 ©David Edwards/NGS Image Collection
4 ©David Muench/Corbis
6 (T) ©Corbis, (C) ©DK Images
7 ©Transparencies, Inc.
8 ©Jake Rajs/Getty Images
10 ©Digital Vision
11 ©Iain Davidson Photographic/Alamy
13 ©NASA/Corbis
14 ©Getty Images
15 ©Scott Smith/Index Stock Imagery
Write to It!
Write a paragraph for a travel brochure persuading people to visit one of the waterways
or landforms in this book Include at least three reasons why people should visit it Use persuasive language and details to make the waterway or landform appeal to others
Write your paragraph on a separate sheet of paper
The United States is a country that has many
different areas and a variety of natural features,
such as bodies of water In this book you will learn
about some of the natural features found in the
regions of the United States
Vocabulary
region prairie desert landform mountain erosion volcano plain wetland waterway glacier