The Geography of the United States

1. The Geography of the United States

2. US Geography Basics • Third largest country in the world. • Half the size of Russia. • One third the size of Africa. • Half the size of South America. • 2 ½ times the size of Western Europe.

3. Regions & Time Zones of the U. S.

4. Topography

5. Topography of the US

6. The Contour of the US

7. Bodies of Water Great Salt Lake Chesapeake Bay LakeOkeechobee

9. Rivers St. Lawrence R. Columbia R. Hudson R. Missouri R. Mississippi R. Potomac R. Ohio R. Colorado R. Arkansas R. Rio Grande R. Yukon R.

10. The Mississippi: America’s Great River Road • The “Big Muddy”. • 2,350 miles. • Draining all or part of 31 states & 2 Canadian provinces. • Covers 40% of the U. S.

11. Mississippi Riverboat

12. Great Salt Lake • 2000 square miles. • 10’ – 28’ deep. • 6 times saltier than the oceans.

13. The Gulf of Mexico

14. Mountains Appalachian Mts. Cascade Mts. Rocky Mts. Appalachian Mts. Sierra Nevada Mts. ^ Mt. Whitney ^ Pike’s Peak Rocky Mts. ^ Mt. McKinley Alaskan Range

16. The Contour of the US

17. The Continental Divide

18. Grand Canyon

19. Plains GreatBasin Great Plains Atlantic Coastal Plains Gulf Coastal Plains

20. The Great Plains

21. Plateaus Columbia Plateau Colorado Plateau Ozark Plateau

22. Cumberland Plateau & ‘Gap’ • AL, KY, TN, VA, WV • 24,640 sq. mi. • Natural passage [Gap] through the Cumberland Mts.

23. Deserts Death Valley Mojave Desert

24. Mojave Desert – 3,000’

25. Death Valley, CA • 3.3 million acres. • 95% wilderness.

26. Completed Map Columbia Plateau St. Lawrence R. Columbia R. Appalachian Mts. Cascade Mts. Hudson R. Missouri R. Rocky Mts. Great Basin Potomac R. Great Salt Lake Great Plains Mississippi R. Chesapeake Bay Appalachian Mts. Sierra Nevada Mts. ^ Mt. Whitney Ohio R. Colorado R. Colorado Plateau ^ Pike’s Peak Death Valley Atlantic Coastal Plains Arkansas R. Mojave Desert Ozark Plateau Gulf Coastal Plains LakeOkeechobee Rio Grande R. Yukon R. ^ Mt. McKinley Alaskan Range

28. Climate

31. Demographics

33. U. S. Population as of February 18. 2011 310,844,149 US World Clock • One birth every 8 seconds. • One death every 13 seconds. • One international migrant (net) every 22 seconds. • Net gain of one person every 10 seconds.

34. White: 221,331,507 (73.9% of pop.) • Hispanic/Latino: 44,252,278 (14.8% of pop.) • Black: 37,051,483 (12.4% of pop.) • Asian: 13,100,095 (4.4% of pop.) • American Indian and Alaska Native: 2,369,431 (0.8% of pop.) • Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander: 426,194 (0.1% of pop.)

35. Simple Population Stats • Median age: 36.4 • Urban : 225,981,679 (2000) • Rural: 55,440,227 (2000)

37. Geographic Problems

38. Seismography Data: 1977-1997 Earthquakes!

39. Tornadoes Per Year: 1950-1997

40. Hurricane Camille: The Storm of the Century • August 17, 1969 • Category 5 • Killed 412 people

41. Andrew: The Most Expensive Hurricane • August 24, 1992 • Category 5 • Killed 65 people • Cost $30,000,000,000

42. The Geographic Diversity of America!

43. National Parks

44. US National Parks (1) Grand Teton National Park, WY Glacier National Park, MT Mt. Rushmore National Park, SD

45. US National Parks (2) Everglades National Park, FL Yellowstone National Park, MT Grand Canyon National Park, AZ

46. US National Parks (3) Yosemite National Park, CA Acadia National Park, ME Natural Bridges National Park, UT