The document is a presentation about the geography of North America that includes sections on landforms, climate, and natural resources of the United States and Canada. It notes that the two countries have similar landforms shaped by geological processes, including high mountains in the west, plains in the center, and older mountains and coastal lowlands in the east. It also discusses the region's variety of climates influenced by factors like latitude, wind, oceans, rainfall, and elevation.

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5. The lower 48 states of the United States
contain a number of active volcanoes. Two of
the best known are in Washington, on the
Pacific coast: Mount Rainier and Mount Saint
Helens. At 14,410 feet (4,392 m), Mount
Rainier is the third-tallest volcano in North
America. It has been dormant for over a
century. Mount Saint Helens, at a height of
8,365 feet (2,550 m), violently erupted in
1980, killing 57 people and damaging an area
of about 70 sq. mi. (180 sq km).

6. Landforms
• They include Alaska’s Mount McKinley,
the highest point on the continent. 
• The Rocky Mountains link the United
States and Canada and stretch
northwest from New Mexico to Alaska.
(pages 115–116)
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• The Western Mountains and Plateaus
The western mountains of North America
are called the Pacific Ranges. 

7. Click the mouse button or press the
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Landforms (cont.)
• Dry basins and plateaus, featuring
Death Valley and the Grand Canyon,
fill the area between the mountain
ranges. 
(pages 115–116)
• Interior Landforms East of the
Rockies, the land falls and flattens into
the Great Plains, which extend across
the center of North America.

8. • Eastern Mountains and Lowlands
North America’s oldest mountain chain,
the Appalachians, extends from
Quebec in Canada to Alabama in the
United States. 
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• The Canadian Shield, a giant core of
rock, makes up the eastern half of
Canada and the northeastern United
States.
Landforms (cont.)
(pages 115–116)

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• The Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific are
volcanic mountaintops. 
• Greenland, the world’s largest island,
is just off the coast of Canada’s
Ellesmere Island.
• Islands North American islands
include Manhattan, home to a major
world cultural and financial center, in
the northeast. 
Landforms (cont.)
(pages 115–116)

10. Which areas of the region would you predict are
the most densely populated? Why do you think
so?
People tend to settle near sources of freshwater
and in mild climates. Mountaintops are too cold
and the deserts are too dry for many people to
live there. People would settle in the Great
Plains because the farmland is rich and
abundant. Some of the islands are probably
crowded, as are most coastal areas where large
cities are located. Other populated areas border
lakes and rivers that serve as transportation
arteries.
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Landforms (cont.)
(pages 115–116)

11. Click the mouse button or press the
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A Fortune in Water
• Water flows west of the Divide toward
the Pacific Ocean and east of the
Divide into the Mississippi River and
the Gulf of Mexico.
• Rivers from the Rockies The high
ridge of the Rockies is called the
Continental Divide. 
(pages 116–119)

12. Click the mouse button or press the
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A Fortune in Water (cont.)
• It begins in Minnesota as a stream and
ends as a broad river that empties into
the Gulf of Mexico. 
• The Mississippi drains all or part of 31
U.S. states and 2 Canadian provinces. It
is one of the world’s busiest commercial
waterways.
• The Mighty Mississippi One of North
America’s longest rivers, the Mississippi
flows 2,350 miles (3,782 km) from its
source. 
(pages 116–119)

13. Click the mouse button or press the
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• The Canadian cities of Quebec,
Montreal, and Ottawa developed
along the St. Lawrence River and
its tributaries.
• Eastern Rivers The St. Lawrence,
one of Canada’s most important rivers,
forms part of the United States-Canada
border. 
A Fortune in Water (cont.)
(pages 116–119)

14. • Niagara Falls, located on a river
connecting Lake Ontario and Lake
Erie, is a major source of
hydroelectric power for Canada
and the United States.
A Fortune in Water (cont.)
(pages 116–119)

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A Fortune in Water (cont.)
(pages 116–119)

16. • The Great Lakes–Lakes Superior, Erie,
Michigan, Ontario, and Huron–are
basins created by glacial activity. 
• The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway
is a network of canals, rivers, and
waterways linking the Great Lakes with
the Atlantic Ocean.
• From Glaciers to Lakes Glacial dams
created Canada’s Great Bear Lake and
Great Slave Lake. 
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A Fortune in Water (cont.)
(pages 116–119)

17. What is the importance of the Mississippi
River in U.S. history and economics?
Explain.
The river stretches almost the full length
of the country’s interior, so it provides a
means for transporting people and goods.
European explorers used the Mississippi
to venture into new territories.
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A Fortune in Water (cont.)
(pages 116–119)

18. Click the mouse button or press the
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Natural Resources
• Fuels An abundance of resources,
such as fossil fuels and minerals, has
contributed to the prosperity of the
United States and Canada.
(pages 119–120)

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• Minerals Gold, silver, and copper are
found in the Rocky Mountains. Nickel
and iron are mined in parts of the
Canadian Shield. 
(pages 119–120)
Natural Resources (cont.)
• Deposits of low-grade iron ore exist
in northern Minnesota and Michigan. 
• Canada supplies much of the world’s
potash, copper, and silver.

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Natural Resources (cont.)
(pages 119–120)

21. • Commercial loggers face the challenge
of harvesting trees while preserving the
remaining forests.
• Timber Today forests cover less than
50 percent of Canada and just 30
percent of the United States. 
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Natural Resources (cont.)
(pages 119–120)

22. • Because of overfishing, however, the
Grand Banks, off Canada’s southeast
coast, are now off limits to cod fishers.
• Fishing The coastal waters of the
Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and the
Gulf of Mexico are important sources
of fish and other sea animals. 
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Natural Resources (cont.)
(pages 119–120)

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Natural Resources (cont.)
(pages 119–120)

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26. Tornadoes are a common phenomenon in
the Great Plains region. “Tornado” comes
from the Spanish word for thunderstorm.
Tornadoes are usually brief, but they are
very destructive. During the 1990s alone,
378 people lost their lives in tornadoes in
the United States.

27. A Varied Region
• Most of the continental United States
and the southern one-third of Canada
enjoy temperate climates, depending
on elevation. 
• Hawaii, in the South Pacific, has a
tropical climate.
• Two-thirds of Canada and the U.S. state
of Alaska experience long, cold winters
and brief, mild summers. 
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(page 121)

28. Which climate regions in the United
States and Canada do you think attract
the greatest number of people?
Explain.
Possible answer: Many people prefer
living in mid-latitude and tropical
climates because of relatively mild or
warm temperatures and the variety of
ways of earning a living.
A Varied Region (cont.)
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(page 121)

29. Click the mouse button or press the
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Northern Climates
• Winter temperatures can fall as low as
-70ºF (–57ºC).
• Large parts of Canada and Alaska lie in
a subarctic climate zone with very cold
winters and extensive coniferous
forests. 
(page 122)

30. Click the mouse button or press the
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Northern Climates (cont.)
• Greenland boasts only a few ice-free
areas with some extremely hardy trees.
• Bitter winters and cool summers in the
tundra along the Arctic coastline make
the area unsuitable for most plants or
people. 
(page 122)

31. What everyday effects does climate have on
people who live in subarctic and tundra climate
zones?
They probably spend a lot of their time indoors.
They must wear layers of warm clothing and
heavy socks and boots. For travel, they need
vehicles that function in icy conditions. They
must take precautions against frostbite. They
need to keep their kitchens stocked with
supplies for the times when they are snowed in.
Many fresh fruits and vegetables are expensive
or unavailable. Occupational opportunities are
limited.
Northern Climates (cont.)
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(page 122)

32. Click the mouse button or press the
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Western Climates
• This amount of precipitation, combined
with cool temperatures, is ideal for
coniferous forests, ferns, and mosses.
(pages 122–124)
• Marine West Coast A marine west coast
climate brings nearly 100 inches (254
cm) of rainfall every year to the Pacific
coast from California to southern Alaska.


33. Western Climates (cont.)
- The region between the Pacific Ranges and
the Rocky Mountains includes deserts and
steppes. 
- The weather is hot and dry. Cacti and
wildflowers bloom during the brief spring
rains. 
- Elevation gives the higher reaches of
the Rocky Mountains and Pacific
Ranges a highlands climate.
• Plateaus, Basins, and Deserts 
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(pages 122–124)

34. Western Climates (cont.)
- In the spring, the warm, dry chinook wind
thaws the snows at the base of
the eastern slopes of the Rockies.
- Beyond the timberline, coniferous forests
give way to only lichens and mosses. 
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(pages 122–124)

35. Why are trees unable to grow on high
mountaintops?
At high altitudes, the temperatures are
too cold for trees to grow. Soils are
generally shallow, rocky, and frozen,
so seeds do not germinate.
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Western Climates (cont.)
(pages 122–124)

36. Interior Climates
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• Some prairie grasses grow up to 12
feet high (3.7 m) as a result of rainfall
ranging from 10 to 30 inches (26 to 76
cm) every year.
• Prairies Prairies, or naturally treeless
expanses of grasses, spread across
North America’s midsection. 
(pages 124–125)

37. Interior Climates (cont.)
• During the 1930s, several seasons of
drought and dry winds blew the soil
away, and the area was nicknamed the
Dust Bowl.
• The Dust Bowl When farmers settled
the Great Plains, they plowed up the sod
formed by prairie grasses, leaving the
soil without protection. 
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(pages 124–125)

38. Click the Speaker button
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(pages 122–124)
Interior Climates (cont.)

39. What steps have farmers today taken to
prevent future dust-bowl disasters?
Farmers have planted shelter belts of
trees to moderate wind damage, rotated
crops, allowed some areas to remain in
grass, adopted no-till farming practices,
contour plowed to conserve moisture,
and planted cover crops. Many
participate in government-sponsored
conservation programs.
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Interior Climates (cont.)
(pages 124–125)

40. Eastern Climates
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• Much of the original deciduous forest
has been cleared for agriculture. 
• Wetlands and swamps shelter a great
variety of plants and animals. 
• Every summer, the region prepares for
hurricanes.
• The southeastern United States, with
a humid subtropical climate, has mild
winters and long, muggy summers. 
(page 125)

41. Click the mouse button or press the
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Eastern Climates (cont.)
• Much of this area is prone to winter
blizzards–snowstorms with high winds,
heavy or blowing snow, and little
visibility.
• The northeastern United States and
southeastern Canada have a humid
continental climate with bands of
deciduous and mixed forestland. 
(page 125)

42. Click the Speaker button
to listen to the audio again.
Eastern Climates (cont.)
(page 125)

43. Click the mouse button or press the
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In which region would you prefer to
live? Why?
Possible answers: The Northeast,
because the climate changes during
each of the four seasons, or the South,
because the winters are mild.
Eastern Climates (cont.)
(page 125)

44. Click the mouse button or press the
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• Southern Florida has a tropical savanna
area, and both Hawaii and Puerto Rico
have tropical rain forests.
• Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the southern
tip of Florida have tropical climates. 
Tropical Climates
(page 125)

45. Tropical Climates (cont.)
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Why is southern Florida the only place in
the continental United States to have a
tropical climate, and what kind of tropical
climate exists there?
Florida’s southern tip lies in the low
latitudes. The rest of the continental
United States is too far north to have
tropical climates. Florida’s tropical
savanna climate zone has seasonal rains,
vast grasslands, and high temperatures
year-round. (page 125)

47. • Canada and the continental United States
have similar landforms, shaped by similar
geologic processes. 
Section 1: The Land (pages 115–120)
• Both have high, sharp mountains and dry
plateaus in the west; rolling, grassy plains in
the center; and lower, older mountains and
coastal lowlands in the east. 
• The region’s waterways, including rivers, lakes,
coastal waters, and intracoastal channels,
played a vital role in settling the land and
continue to serve as commercial highways.
Key Points
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48. • The Continental Divide divides the region into
two large drainage areas. 
Section 1: The Land (pages 115–120)
• To the east of the Divide, waters flow to the
Arctic Ocean, to Hudson Bay, to the Atlantic
Ocean, or to the Gulf of Mexico. To the west,
they flow into the Pacific Ocean. 
• Glacial movement shaped much of the North
American landscape. 
• The geologic factors that shaped the United
States and Canada also provided the region
with a wealth of natural resources.
Key Points
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49. • The region encompassing the United States
and Canada experiences a great variety of
climates. 
• Some climate regions of the United States and
Canada are influenced primarily by latitude. 
• Wind, ocean currents, rainfall patterns, and
elevation moderate the effects of latitude in
other climate zones of the United States and
Canada.
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Key Points
Section 2: Climate and Vegetation
(pages 121–125)

50. • Climatic factors cause hazardous seasonal
weather patterns in the United States and
Canada, including spring and summer
tornadoes, and summer and fall hurricanes,
and winter blizzards. 
• The region’s natural vegetation reflects its
climatic variety, but human interaction with the
environment has greatly altered natural
vegetation.
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Key Points
Section 2: Climate and Vegetation
(pages 121–125)

52. Click the mouse button or press the
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Reviewing Key Terms
Insert the key term that best completes each of the
following sentences.
chinook fall line fisheries
prairies supercell timberline
tributary headwaters divide
1. ___________________ supply great quantities of
fish and other sea animals to North America.
2. The warm, dry wind, or ___________________
melts snow at the base of the Rockies.
3. Lichens and mosses grow above the
___________________.
4. Spring and summer tornadoes are spawned by a
violent thunderstorm called a(n)
___________________.
Fisheries
chinook
timberline
supercell

53. Click the mouse button or press the
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5. Farmers on the wide grasslands, or
___________________ of the Great Plains broke
up sod to grow crops.
6. Many North American rivers have their
___________________, or source, in the Rocky
Mountains, where a(n) ___________________
determines the direction of the rivers’ flow.
Reviewing Key Terms
prairies
divide
Insert the key term that best completes each of the
following sentences.
chinook fall line fisheries
prairies supercell timberline
tributary headwaters divide
headwaters

54. Click the mouse button or press the
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7. Important cities grew up along the
___________________, where the Piedmont
drops to the Atlantic Coastal Plain.
8. A(n) ___________________ of the Mississippi
River may be a stream or small river.
Reviewing Key Terms
fall line
tributary
Insert the key term that best completes each of the
following sentences.
chinook fall line fisheries
prairies supercell timberline
tributary headwaters divide

55. Click the mouse button or press the
Space Bar to display the answer.
How were the Pacific Ranges formed?
The Pacific Ranges were formed by
collisions between the Pacific and the
North American tectonic plates millions
of years ago.
Reviewing Facts
Section 1: The Land

56. Click the mouse button or press the
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What effect does the Continental Divide
have on the direction rivers flow?
Waters west of the Continental Divide flow
into the Pacific Ocean. Waters east of the
divide flow into the Mississippi River
system and then into the Gulf of Mexico.
Reviewing Facts
Section 1: The Land

57. Click the mouse button or press the
Space Bar to display the answer.
What kind of climate is common in most of
the United States and southern Canada?
Climates typical of mid-latitudes that vary
with elevation are common in most of the
United States and southern Canada.
Reviewing Facts
Section 2: Climate and Vegetation

58. Click the mouse button or press the
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Name two types of vegetation in this region.
Mixed deciduous-coniferous forest and
grasslands are found in the United States
and southern Canada.
Reviewing Facts
Section 2: Climate and Vegetation

59. Click the mouse button or press the
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Critical Thinking
Analyzing Information What geologic
processes shaped much of this region?
Collision of tectonic plates and the
movement of glaciers shaped much of
this region.

60. Click the mouse button or press the
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Critical Thinking
Drawing Conclusions Why should the
United States and Canada protect their
natural vegetation?
Possible answer: The United States and
Canada should protect their natural
vegetation to prevent massive erosion and
loss of topsoil such as that which occurred
during the Dust Bowl era.

61. Click the mouse button or press the
Space Bar to display the answers.
Locating Places
Match the letters on the map with the physical features of
the United States and Canada. Write your answers on a
sheet of paper.
__1. Rocky Mountains
__2. Great Plains
__3. Appalachian
Mountains
__4. Canadian Shield
__5. Great Lakes
__6. Mississippi River
J
F
K
L
A
C

62. Click the mouse button or press the
Space Bar to display the answers.
Locating Places
Match the letters on the map with the physical features of
the United States and Canada. Write your answers on a
sheet of paper.
__7. Hudson Bay
__8. Great Bear Lake
__9. Pacific Ranges
__10. Mackenzie River
__11. Rio Grande
__12. Great Slave Lake
G
D
B
I
H
E

63. Click the mouse button or press the
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Why is vegetation in the United States
more varied than that in Canada?
The United States has more climate
zones, from subarctic to tropical. These
zones help determine what types of
vegetation will grow in a certain area.

65. Explore online information about the topics
introduced in this chapter.
Click on the Connect button to launch your browser and go to the
Glencoe World Geography Web site. At this site, you will find
interactive activities, current events information, and Web sites
correlated with the chapters and units in the textbook. When you
finish exploring, exit the browser program to return to this
presentation. If you experience difficulty connecting to the Web
site, manually launch your Web browser and go to
http://geography.glencoe.com

66. Choose the best answer for the following multiple-
choice question. If you have trouble answering the
question, use the process of elimination to narrow
your choices.

67. 1. Given the information shown in the bar graph on page 129 of your
textbook, which city is most likely located east of the fall line in the
eastern United States?
A City 1
B City 2
C City 3
D City 4
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Test-Taking Tip To determine which city is east of the fall line,
remember that the fall line is where the higher land of the Piedmont
drops to the lower Atlantic Coastal Plain to the east. Eliminate those
choices that do not indicate a city on the coast, near sea level.

68. The Appalachian Trail
The National Geographic Society Tree
Click on a hyperlink to view the corresponding slide.

69. The Appalachian Trail is a 2,000 mile (3,200 km)
hiking path through some of the most beautiful
scenery in the eastern United States. Earl V. Shaffer
distinguished himself by being the first person to hike
the entire trail in 1949, the first to hike the trail in both
directions, and, in 1999 at the age of 80, the oldest
person to complete the trek from Mount Katahdin in
Maine to Springer Mountain in Georgia.

70. The National Geographic Society Tree, a coast
redwood growing in California’s Redwood National
Park, is a leading contender for the world’s tallest
living tree. Measured in 1995 at 365.5 feet (111 m),
the tree has branches that sweep in 50-foot (15-m)
arcs.

71. Geology The Canadian Shield is a horseshoe-
shaped expanse of rock that covers half of Canada.
Some of the rock formations in the Canadian Shield
are 2 billion to 4 billion years old, making them some
of the oldest formations in the world.

72. The Dust Bowl Writer John Steinbeck chronicled
the plight of those who lost their farms in the
Dust Bowl in his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel,
The Grapes of Wrath, written in 1939.

73. Reading a Relief Map
When you plan a walk, do you prefer an easy stroll along flat
ground, or do you look for a challenging hike up and down
steep hills? By using a relief map, you can determine the
elevation of the terrain you are going to cover.

74. Learning the Skill
A relief map is a special purpose map that shows variation in
height, or elevation, of land areas. All elevation is measured
from sea level, the average level of water in the world’s
oceans. Mapmakers label this elevation level zero feet (0 m).
The actual elevation of some places is shown as a negative
number because they lie below sea level. 
It is not possible for a relief map to show the elevation of
every single inch of land. As a result, areas are grouped
together. A map may show all areas with an elevation
between sea level and 1,000 feet (305 m) colored green.
Within that area no hill will be higher than 1,000 feet (305 m)
and no valley lower than sea level.
Click the mouse button or press the
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Reading a Relief Map

75. Follow these steps to read a relief map: 
Learning the Skill
Click the mouse button or press the
Space Bar to display the information.
• Note the title of the map. 
• Study the map key. Relief maps generally use colors or
shaded areas to identify elevation. 
• Compare the relief map with other maps. Observe how
elevation affects climate, population distribution, and
economic activity in an area.
Reading a Relief Map

76. Practicing the Skill
Refer to the relief map on page 126 of your textbook to
answer the following questions.
1. What is the color of the map’s highest elevation?
2. What elevation range does the color green indicate in
feet? In meters?
The color of the highest elevation is orange.
Click the mouse button or press the
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The color green indicates 0 to 1,000 feet, or 0 to 300
meters.
Reading a Relief Map

77. Click the mouse button or press the
Space Bar to display possible answers.
Practicing the Skill
3. What color is the elevation range of 2,000 to 5,000 feet
(600 m to 1,500 m)?
4. At what elevation is the state of Mississippi?
The color of the elevation range is light orange.
The elevation of Mississippi is 0 to 1,000 feet.
Refer to the relief map on page 126 of your textbook to
answer the following questions.
Reading a Relief Map

78. Click the mouse button or press the
Space Bar to display possible answer.
5. What are the elevation levels as you travel west from New
Jersey to Ohio?
Practicing the Skill
The elevation levels are from 0 to 5,000 feet.
Refer to the relief map on page 126 of your textbook to
answer the following questions.
Reading a Relief Map

79. Maps
The United States and Canada: Physical-Political
The United States and Canada: Climate Regions
The United States and Canada: Natural Vegetation
Click on a hyperlink to view the corresponding slide.

84. Click the mouse button or press the
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85. Click the mouse button or press the
Space Bar to display the answer.
Latitude; the average
temperature
decreases as
latitude increases.

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