4 9 landforms and waterways

region desert landform mountain erosion volcano plain wetland prairie waterway glacier Write to It!. 9 ©Jake Rajs/Getty Images 10 ©Digital Vision 13 ©NASA/Corbis 14 ©Getty Images 15 ©Iai

Scott Foresman Social Studies

ISBN 0-328-14842-3

ì<(sk$m)=beiece< +^-Ä-U-Ä-U

AND

Nonfi ction Compare and

Contrast

• Maps

• Captions

Fascinating Facts

of the Mississippi River as “a long, pliant [easily

bent] apple-paring [peeling].”

largest lakes in the world

Pacific coast

by Ann Rossi

Scott Foresman Social Studies

ISBN 0-328-14842-3

ì<(sk$m)=beiece< +^-Ä-U-Ä-U

AND

Nonfi ction Compare and

Contrast

• Maps

• Captions

Fascinating Facts

of the Mississippi River as “a long, pliant [easily

bent] apple-paring [peeling].”

largest lakes in the world

Pacific coast

by Ann Rossi

region desert landform mountain erosion volcano plain wetland prairie waterway glacier

Write to It!

Think about the landforms and waterways you just read about Make a chart to show in which regions they are located Choose one region and write two or three paragraphs describing some of the things you could see if you visited that region

Write your paragraphs on a separate sheet of paper.

ISBN: 0-328-14842-3

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: ©Digital Vision

2 ©David Edwards/NGS Image Collection

6 (T) ©Corbis, (CL) ©DK Images

7 ©Transparencies, Inc.

9 ©Jake Rajs/Getty Images

10 ©Digital Vision

13 ©NASA/Corbis

14 ©Getty Images

15 ©Iain Davidson Photographic/Alamy

Many natural features contribute to the

distinctive quality of the different areas of the

United States In this book you will read about

some of the natural features found in the diverse

areas of our country

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

AND

by Ann Rossi

Regions of the United States

A variety of diverse areas make up the United

States Some people divide the United States into

regions that include the Northeast, Southeast,

Midwest, Southwest, and West Each region has

its own qualities and a unique set of characteristics

Many people often think of the Midwest as having

endless miles of grasses waving in the wind When

people picture the Southwest, they might visualize

a desert or perhaps a dramatic rock formation

The combination of natural features in each region

contributes to the unique character of that region

Dramatic rock formations such as this are common in many

parts of the Southwest.

IA

MN ND MT

WY

CO

NM AZ UT ID

WA

OR

NV CA

SD NE KS

OK

TX

WI

IL IN OH

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 C Y M

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T A IN S

A PP

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M O

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COLORADO PLATEAU

C o lo

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Missouri R.

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Gulf of Mexico

ATLANTIC OCEAN PACIFIC

OCEAN

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PACIFIC OCEAN

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PACIFIC OCEAN

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Northeast Southeast Midwest Southwest West

Key

3

Regions of the United States

This map shows the five regions of the United States.

Despite the distinctive quality of each region, it

may also possess a type of landform that exists in

other regions For example, nearly every region has a

mountain range Each of the regions in the United

States has many different kinds of landforms Some of them will be examined in this book, as will the forces that shape the natural features of the United States

Steep-sloped Landforms

Mountains are landforms that usually have steep

slopes and sharp or slightly rounded peaks Scientists

believe that Earth has an outer layer, or shell, made

up of many pieces called plates These plates float on

a layer of melted rock, which is always moving and

therefore pushes the plates around Sometimes the

plates bump into each other or are pushed a certain

way, causing a particular kind of mountain to form

Once the mountain has formed, other natural forces

such as wind, rain, and erosion begin to shape the

mountain

The Rocky Mountains are the largest mountain

system in North America Made up of several smaller

mountain ranges, this vast mountain system is

more than 3,000 miles (4,800 kilometers) long and

stretches from New Mexico in the Southwest up to

Alaska in the West, passing through Canada 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

Another mountain system in the West is the Pacific mountain system, which runs parallel to the Pacific coasts in California, Oregon, and Washington, for thousands of miles The Cascade Range is one part

of the Pacific mountain system The Sierra Nevada, located in eastern California, is part of the Cascades

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 a volcano that erupted violently in 1980 after being

dormant for more than 120 years After a period of activity, the volcano again went to sleep Then in October 2004, Mount St Helens erupted again

Another part of the West that has active volcanoes is Hawaii, which is made up of 132 islands, all of them formed by volcanoes

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

At Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, visitors can view Kilauea (key-law-WAY-aw), one of Earth’s most active volcanoes Kilauea has been erupting fairly steadily since 1983.

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.

Mount St Helens is located in Washington

Inside a Volcano

Ash cloud

Feeder pipe Lava

Magma chamber

7

Like the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific mountain system, the Appalachian Mountains are part of a large mountain system in North America

Unlike those mountain systems, however, the Appalachians are in the eastern part of the 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, too, are made up of several

mountain ranges that include 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 measures 6,684 feet high (2,037 meters)

The tallest peak of the Appalachians is Mount Mitchell, located

in the Black Mountains.

Different Kinds of Plains

A plain is a large area of flat or fairly flat land

Plains have different names depending upon their

location or their climate For example, swamps are

low-lying wet plains

Plains can be found in several regions of the United

States The Atlantic Coastal Plain lies along the

East Coast of the United States In segments of the

Northeast, the Atlantic Coastal Plain is fairly narrow

It widens in the Southeast and covers much of North

Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida

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, such as swamps and marshes Rivers

flow from inland areas through the coastal plains to

the ocean, picking up soil and depositing it in the

low-lying plains, making coastal soils more fertile

Barrier Islands

In parts of the Southeast, barrier islands lie off the shore of

the Atlantic Coastal Plain, protecting the mainland from the

force of the ocean waves In Florida alone barrier islands

make up more than seven hundred miles of the coastline

These islands form over time as shifting sands build upon

a sandbar.

9

Another type of plain is the prairie, a fairly flat

plain covered chiefly by tall grasses Prairies stretch across the Midwest and south into Texas

Different grasses grow in different parts of the rich prairie soil In the wetter eastern parts of the prairie, the grasses grow taller than they do in the drier, western part They are about three times as tall, reaching heights of more than 6 feet (1.8 meters)

The Great Plains is a dry grassland in North America that stretches from Texas and New Mexico north into Canada

Shorter grasses grow in the western parts of the Great Plains than in eastern areas.

Water and Waterways

The Mississippi River is the largest river in the

United States From its source in Minnesota, the

Mississippi River snakes its way south, forming 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 a mighty river system

that is an important waterway in the United States.

Although the Rio Grande’s source is in Colorado,

it is an important river in the Southwest, running

through New Mexico and forming the border between

Texas and Mexico Its water is used to irrigate crops in

the dry Southwest

10

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, eventually forming the border between Arizona and California before flowing across the Mexican border

to the Gulf of California Like the Rio Grande, the waters of the Colorado are used to irrigate part of the dry Southwest, but the Colorado River is also a vital source of water for southern California

The Mississippi River is a busy waterway.

11

To A

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ATLANTIC OCEAN

Lake Superior

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Lak e O nta rio

La ke

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Lake Huron

Ill in

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R iv er

St L aw

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M iss iss ip p i Riv er

MI WI

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IL

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WV

KY

VA PA

NY

RI CT MA

VT NH ME

NJ

DE MD

C A N A D A

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Key

National border State border River

12

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 which

form part of the border between the United States

and Canada Long ago, sheets of moving ice called

glaciers created the Great Lakes.

The lakes are part of a major waterway that

connects the Midwest with other areas Because the

Great Lakes are connected, a boat could go from

the St Louis River in Minnesota, through the Great

Lakes, and then continue by other waterways all the

way to the Atlantic Ocean

The Great Lakes

The Great Lakes, rivers, and canals combine to form

a network of waterways.

13

The Finger Lakes are much smaller than the Great Lakes, and unlike the Great Lakes, the Finger Lakes are not linked Long ago the Finger Lakes were actually rivers, but sheets

of ice reshaped the earth, cutting trenches into the river valleys and thereby creating the Finger Lakes

The Finger Lakes in New York State almost look like fingers on

a hand if you see them from above

Bottomless Lakes

Although New Mexico has few natural lakes, the Bottomless Lakes are well known The greenish-blue color of the lakes makes them appear bottomless, but that is just an illusion

The Bottomless Lakes range in depth from

17 feet to 90 feet.

Deserts and More

Deserts, unlike lakes, are dry—yet the Pacific

Ocean once covered the Mojave Desert

(moe-HA-vee) In parts of the Mojave, sandy soil—a souvenir of

the sandy ocean bottom—and extinct volcanoes adorn

the landscape

In the United States, deserts are located in the

West and Southwest regions The Mojave Desert in

southeastern California and parts of Nevada, Arizona,

and Utah is part of a larger desert area called the

North American Desert

15

The Mojave Desert is part of the North American Desert

Although the Mojave is extremely dry—getting only 2 to 6 inches (50 to 150 millimeters) of rain per year—it is not necessarily always hot Frost is not uncommon in the winter

All these landforms and waterways—deserts, volcanoes, rivers, lakes, mountains, plains, islands, and wetlands—provide a sample of the extensive natural features that exist in the varied regions of the United States From the mountain peaks, across the prairies, through the deserts, and down the rivers to the coastal plains, they are part of what makes the United States special and unique

Glossary

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

Vocabulary

region desert landform mountain erosion volcano plain wetland prairie waterway glacier

Write to It!

Think about the landforms and waterways you just read about Make a chart to show in which regions they are located Choose one region and write two or three paragraphs describing some of the things you could see if you visited that region

Write your paragraphs on a separate sheet of paper.

ISBN: 0-328-14842-3

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: ©Digital Vision

2 ©David Edwards/NGS Image Collection

6 (T) ©Corbis, (CL) ©DK Images

7 ©Transparencies, Inc.

9 ©Jake Rajs/Getty Images

10 ©Digital Vision

13 ©NASA/Corbis

14 ©Getty Images

15 ©Iain Davidson Photographic/Alamy

Many natural features contribute to the

distinctive quality of the different areas of the

United States In this book you will read about

some of the natural features found in the diverse

areas of our country