Exploring Mississippi's Diverse Geography: Regions and Landforms

1. Unit 1Ch 1 and 2Mississippi’s Natural Environment

2. Objectives • The learner will: • Be able to locate Mississippi and its border states on a map • Locate the 4 geographical regions of Mississippi • Describe the Mississippi River in terms of size, function, and port cities • Identify Mississippi’s energy and mineral resources • Describe the Delta • MS Framework and Curriculum • 1f DOK 1 • Domestic Affairs • Identify and locate major geographical features of Mississippi and how they contribute to the social and economic development of the state

3. Bellwork #1 • Write a journal entry about living in MS. • What does it mean to be a Mississippian? • What do you like/dislike about our state? • Free write about MS • Turn in bellwork when finished

4. Bellwork #2 • Draw a map of where you live. • What is the place like? • What interactions do you have with people who live in other places? • Describe the movement of people and things to and from where you live and the region of the state that you live in. • In answering these questions you are describing a sense of place for where you live. • We will be using this activity to help introduce the themes in Chapter 1.

5. Bellwork #3 • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ztcxprr6ASM • MS River Documentary • Take 5 notes on the documentary for you bellwork

6. Bellwork #4 • Research an animal native to MS • Give 5 facts about the animal • Ex: population, life span, area in MS they live, what they eat, etc.

7. 5 Themes of Geography • Location • Relative location – a place’s location compared to other places • Absolute location – the exact latitude and longitude of an area • Place- focuses on the physical and human or cultural characteristics of a particular location • Human-Environment Interaction- describes how humans use and interact with the environment • Movement- concerns the ways in which people are linked with regions, cultures, and people beyond our immediate environment • Regions- allows geographers to define an area in terms of one or more characteristics

8. Regions of Mississippi • MS can be divided into 4 main geographic regions • The Delta • Makes up much of the western part of the state • Surrounded by the MS and Yazoo Rivers • Regular flooding from these rivers has helped create rich soil • Large amount of cotton was grown in the Delta • Birthplace of the Blues • The Hills • Makes up most of the northern and central part of the state • Known to have poor soil making it difficult to farm • Main economic activities are livestock, timber cutting, and small factories

9. Regions of Mississippi • The Piney Woods • Makes up most of the southern part of the state • Difficult region for farming therefor timber cutting is big here • Cities and towns formed around the timber industry • The Gulf Coast • Narrow strip of land bordering the Gulf of Mexico • First region settled by Europeans • Main economic activities are shipbuilding and the seafood industry Map 1 Map Skill Page 5

10. Regions of Mississippi

11. Student Activity • Color and Label the four geographical regions (i.e., the Delta, the Hills, the Piney Woods, the Gulf Coast) of the state. • Research the physical differences among the four regions. • Use the map on page 5

12. Natural Environment of MS • MS experiences all of the following throughout the year: thunderstorms, tornadoes, hail storms, hurricanes, high winds, short droughts, lightening, and floods. • Tornado season in MS is between the spring an dearly summer (April-May) • The Gulf Coast is subject to hurricanes from June to October • Hurricane Katrina was the worst natural disaster in U.S. history from an economic standpoint. It is estimated that the total impact in MS and LA reached $150B in damages. • The death toll was 1,800 and it was the 6th strongest hurricane in the history of the U.S.

13. Katrina Video • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZEl94_pPdo

14. Natural Environment of MS • The Mississippi River • Forms most of the western border of the state • Much of the river is navigable (wide and deep enough for ships/barges to travel) • Barges carry agricultural goods, industrial products, and raw materials • The MS river is the 2nd largest river in the U.S.

15. Map Handout • Use previous slide to label the MS river states

16. To Do List 1/4/18 • Chapter 1 Review • Start Ch 2

17. Chapter Review • Page 20-21 • Reviewing People, Places, and Terms: All • Understanding the Facts: 1and 3 • Examining Special Features: 2 and 3

18. Chapter 2 MS’s Natural Environment

19. Landforms of Mississippi • The Tombigbee Hills • The Black Prairie • The Pontotoc Ridge • The Flatwoods • The North Central Hills • The Loess Hills • The Yazoo Basin – Lake Cormorant • The Jackson Prairie • The Pine Hills • The Coastal Meadows • Complete Map 10 page 24

20. Student Activity • It’s Your Turn • Page 28 • Answer both questions on a sheet of paper and turn in with Ch Review

21. Soil • Important for growing cotton • Composed of air, water, minerals, plant particles, and very small animals • Formed through a very complex process and evolve and change through time • Takes thousands of years to develop a “mature soil”

22. Soil Types • Alluvial- soil that is deposited by water • Loams- combination of the three (sand, silt, clay), good for plant growth because they contain enough sand for drainage and enough clay and silt to hold moisture

23. Soil Regions • Four regions- hills, alluvial plain (Delta), Loess Hills and Black Prairie • Alluvial soil • wet and periodically covered in water • very fertile, Cotton, soybeans, and rice are major crops grown here with wheat, corn and sorghum also catfish ponds • Loess soil • Western MS • Soybeans and corn grown and beef production Black Prairie eastern MS difficult to farm cotton plantations

24. Energy and Minerals • MS is not a leading mineral producing state • Petroleum and natural gas are found in the southern part of the state • Gravel and sand are important resources and found throughout the state • It’s Your Turn • Page 32 • Turn in with Ch Review

26. Biota • Describes the flora and fauna • Flora-natural vegetation of the land (ex: forests, grasslands, magnolias) • Fauna-animal life of a particular area (birds, fish, deer)

27. It’s Your Turn • Page 36 • Complete and turn in with Ch Review

28. Chapter 2 Review • Page 42-43 • All Terms • Understanding the Facts 1-6