Post on 20-May-2015
transcript
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE UNITED STATES
Created by Karen HirschfieldImages from Microsoft ClipArt
Identify physical characteristics as features that are found in nature, either made of land or water.
Identify major types of physical characteristics.
Locate physical characteristics on a map of the United States.
Objectives
They are not made by humans.
Physical characteristics can be made of land, called landforms, or are bodies of water.
Physical Characteristics are found in nature.
Landform
Body of Water
Microsoft ClipArt
Microsoft ClipArt
Connecting Back to What You Already Know
Landforms: Mountain Hill Peninsula Mountain Range Sand Dunes Islands
Bodies of Water: Ocean Lake Pond River Waterfalls
Microsoft ClipArt
2 Categories of Physical Characteristics
Desert Valley Mountain Range Plain Coastal Plain Plateau Basin Canyon
Ocean Lake River System Gulf
LAND WATER
Microsoft ClipArt
Answering Geographic Questions
The 5 major themes of geography:
1 – Location
2 – Place
3 – Human and Environment Interactions
4 – Movement
5 – Regions
When studying Physical Characteristics it helps us understand the PLACE.
Remember, PLACE is one of the 5 major themes of geography.
We can answer the following questions: What is it like there? What are its physical characteristics?
Literacy Connection: Noticing Physical Characteristics in Song Lyrics
“This land is your land, this land is my land
From California, to the New York Island
From the redwood forest, to the gulf stream waters
This land was made for you and me
As I was walking a ribbon of highway
I saw above me an endless skyway
I saw below me a golden valley
This land was made for you and me!”
“O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain, For purple mountain majesties Above the fruited plain! America! America! God shed his grace on thee And crown thy good with
brotherhoodFrom sea to shining sea!”
This Land Is Your Land America the Beautiful
By: Woody Guthrie By: Katharine Lee Bates
The following slides contain physical characteristics that may be new to you.
Notice the definition, examples, and photos to understand each!
Remember: Physical characteristics are not made by humans, instead they are found in nature!
Physical Characteristics
Mountain Range
Definition:
A row of connected mountains
Examples:
Appalachian Mountains
Rocky Mountains
All images from Microsoft ClipArt
Plains
Definition: Low-lying stretch of flat or rolling land
Example: The Great Plains
Definition: Low land that lies near the ocean
Example: The Coastal Plain along the Atlantic Ocean
Plains Coastal Plains
Microsoft ClipArt Microsoft ClipArt
Definition: Flat land with higher elevation than a plainExample: Ozark Plateau
Plateau
Microsoft ClipArt
Basin
Definition: Low land surrounded by higher landExample: Death Valley
By Ansel Adams By David Hiser
Valley
Definition:
Low land between hills or mountains
Example:
San Joaquin Valley
Microsoft ClipArt
Microsoft ClipArt
Definition: A deep, narrow valley with steep sidesExample: The Grand Canyon
Canyon Taken by Karen Hirschfield
Taken by MariannaBolognesi
Bodies of Water
Definition: A river and all the rivers and bodies of water it connects to
Example: The Mississippi River System
Definition: Part of the ocean that cuts into a large piece of land
Example: The Gulf of Mexico
River System Gulf
Microsoft ClipArt
Microsoft ClipArt
Desert
Definition: A region that gets very little rainExamples: Mojave Desert, Sonoran Desert,
Painted Desert
Microsoft ClipArt
Microsoft ClipArt
Where are some of these physical characteristics located?
Gulf of Mexico
Coast
Pla
ins
Appal
achia
n M
ts.
Mississippi River System
Grand
Canyon
Death Valley Ozark Platea
u
Great Plain
s
RO
CK
Y M
TS.
Cascad
e M
ts.
Sonoran
Desert
Map courtesy of FreeRoamSoul
There are many characteristics of the United States that ARE made by humans.
What can you think of that is made by humans?
Are these human characteristics near physical characteristics? Why?
Thinking Ahead…Microsoft ClipArt
Adams, Ansel. “Looking across desert toward mountains, "Death Valley National Monument," California.” 1941. Online image. Flickr. 8 May 2012. <http://www.flickr.com/photos/usnationalarchives/4309054797/>
"America the Beautiful." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 05 Aug. 2012. Web. 08 May 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/America_the_Beautiful>.
FreeRoamSoul. “The 50 State Challenge.” October 1, 2009. Online Image. Flickr. 8 May 2012. <http://www.flickr.com/ photos/freeroamsoul/3973489446/in/set-72157623170857124/>
Hiser, David. “Rifle, Southeast of the Piceance Basin.” 1972. Online Image. Flickr. 8 May 2012. <http://www.flickr.com/photos /usnationalarchives/3815838332/>
MariannaBolognesi. “grand canyon.” August 9, 2009. Online Image. 7 May 2012. <http://www.flickr.com/photos/ mariannabolognesi/3853169156/in/set-72157622040761507>
"This Land Is Your Land." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 05 June 2012. Web. 08 May 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/This_Land_Is_Your_Land>.
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