North America is the third largest continent located between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It has diverse geographic features ranging from the Rocky Mountains in the west to the Great Plains in the central region. The climate varies from region to region with more constant temperatures in southern areas and four distinct seasons in the north. North America has a population of over 500 million people concentrated in eastern areas with the United States and Canada being the most economically developed countries.

1. North America
general geographic
features

2. Location
North America is the World's
third-largest continent -
24,474,000 km².
 It is bordered by the Atlantic
Ocean to the east, the Arctic
Ocean to the north and the
Pacific Ocean to the west.
 The eastern side of the
continent is generally lower than
the west which contains the
Rocky mountains.
 The five Great Lakes lie on the
United States Canadian border.
 The highest mountain is Mt
McKinley in Alaska (6,194 m) and
the longest river is the
Mississippi (3,765 km).

3. REGIONS AND SEASONS
 North America has 23
Countries, the largest of which
are the United States, Canada
and Mexico. Central America is
part of North America. If we
include Central America and the
Caribbean, there will be 26
countries overall
 Mexico, Central America and
southern United States have more
constant temperatures throughout
the year but have a wet season -
May to October and a dry season -
November to April.

4. DEMOGRAPHY
North America is the fourth most
populated continent and covers
about 5.5% of the World's
population.
 Eastern United States, Mexico,
Central America and the
Caribbean are the most densely
populated areas.
Canada, Alaska and Greenland
are the least populated areas.
 The United States and Canada
are the most economically
developed countries.
 The countries of central
America and the Caribbean are
less economically developed and
poorer.

5. PHYSIOGRAPHIC DIVISIONS
North America is
divided into 5 parts:-
1) Western Region
2) Great Plains
3) Canadian Shield
4) Eastern Region
5) Caribbean Region

6. WESTERN REGION
 It comprises of young
mountains.
 the most familiar of these
mountains is Rockies, the largest
mountain chain in N.America.
 It also include Brooks
range, Mt.Mackanzee
range, Alaska Range and Sierra
Nevada.
 Rocky Mt. are the part of part of
a system of parallel mountain
ranges called as CODILLERALS.
 A Cordillera is a long series of
mountain range. Although
cordillera exist all over the world
but in USA it means a massive

7. The cordillera extend
from Canada to all the
way to panama.
 The Sierra Madre
Mountains system is a
part of Cordillera. It
stretch from SW USA to
Mexico City.
 Sonoran is the largest
Desert of USA.
 In addition to
mountains western
regions of N America also
has the rich deposits of oil
and natural gas.

8. GREAT PLAINS
 the great plains lie in the middle of
the continent.
 They are deep rich soil blankets in
the large areas of plains in Canada
and N.America.
 Grains are grown in this region so
it is also called as THE BREAD
BASKET OF N.AMERICA.
 Much of the fertile soil is formed
from material deposited during the
glacial period.
 This ice age reached its peak
around 18000 yrs ago. As glaciers
retreated, streams of melted ice form
dropped sediments on land building
layers of productive soil.
 Grassland of prairie region
make up largest biome in
America.

9. CANADIAN SHIELD
The Canadian Shield is
raised but relatively flat
plateau.
 It extend over
eastern, central and north
–western Canada.
 the Canadian Shield is
Characterized by a rocky
landscape poked by an
astonishing no of lakes.

10. EASTERN REGION
APPLACHIAN + COASTAL
PLAINS.
 The Atlantic Coastal Plains
extends from rivers, marsh,
and wetland regions.
 Wetland are the areas of
land whose soil is saturated
with permanent or seasonal
moisture.
 The Eastern region have
been mined for rich deposits
of coal and other minerals for
hundred of year.

11. CARIBBEAN REGION
The Caribbean Region includes more than 7,000 islands
 The region’s islands and smaller islets are varied in their topography;
some have relatively flat and sandy terrain while others are
rugged, mountainous, and volcanic.
The coral reefs and cays of the Caribbean Sea are among the most
spectacular biomes in North America.
Coral reefs are made of millions of tiny animals—corals—that form a
hard shell around their bodies. This hard surface provides a rich
community for algae and plants such as sea grass.

12. GREAT LAKES OF NORTH AMERICA
 The Great Lakes are a chain
of freshwater lakes located in
eastern North America. They are
the largest group of freshwater
lakes on Earth.
 Lake Superior, Lake
Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake
Erie, and Lake Ontario, form
the Great Lakes and make up
the largest group of freshwater
lakes in the world.

13. The Great Lakes contain almost 95 percent of
the surface water in the United States and 20
percent of the earth’s surface fresh water.
 The Great Lakes Basin is home to more than
one-tenth the population of the United States and
over one-quarter the population of Canada, for a
total combined population of over thirty million
people.
 The lakes not only provide water for
consumption but also serve for transportation,
recreation, power generation, and many other
uses.
 Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and
Ontario, along with the connecting rivers and
channels, compose the Great Lakes Basin
system, which is located along the eastern
international boundary between Canada and the
United States.
 The international boundary between Canada
and the United States runs right down the middle
of the Great Lakes, with the exception of Lake
Michigan, which lies entirely within the US.

14. FLORA
The plant life of North America is
characterized according to climatic region.
The coniferous forest region contains
trees such as pine, fir and spruce.
 The deciduous forest region has a
wealth of plant life and includes tall and
short trees, shrubs and small plants
 Due to the cold during the winter
months, only short grasses and shrubs can
survive in the tundra and alpine/mountain
regions.
 The grassland region is characterized
by large open areas of tall or short
grass.(e.g. prarie)
 The rainforest areas are jungles of
dense, wet forests.
 The desert regions are home to those
plants that can survive the arid conditions
and include varieties of cactii.

15. FAUNA
 North America is home to
a range of wild animals
including the bobcat, sea
otter, raccoon and the
mountain lion.
 Polar bears and wolves
live in the arctic regions of
Canada and Greenland.
Bobcat-America female Cat

16. SOUTH AMERICA

17. INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
The physical
environments of South
America range from the
Atacama Desert of Chile
where years pass
without measurable
precipitation, to the
dense Amazonian rain
forest and from snow
capped volcanoes of the
Andes Mountain
Range to hot vast
subtropical grasslands.

18. •4th largest
continent, includes (12)
independent countries.
• The continent contains the
world's highest waterfall
Angel Falls in Venezuela;
the largest river (by volume)-
the Amazon River; the
longest mountain range-the
Andes, and the driest place
on earth, the Atacama
Desert in Chile.
• It includes the largest
rainforest, the Amazon
Rainforest.
GENERAL GEOGRAPHY

19. PHYSIOGRAPHIC DIVISIONS
South America is
physiographically
divided into various
divisions:-
Mountains and
Highlands
River Basins
Coastal Plains

20. MOUNTAINS AND HIGHLANDS
ANDES MOUNTAIN
The most prominent physical
feature in South America is probably
the Andes Mountains. The Andes
occupy the western part of the
South American continent and run
generally from north to south.
hundreds of peaks over 15,000 feet
many volcanic peaks
In North America there are also
prominent mountains--the Rockies--
in the western portion of the
continent. When compared with the
Rockies, though, the Andes for the
most part are significantly higher in
elevation. The Andes also tend to be
narrower from west to east than the
Rockies in North America.

21. HIGHLANDS
South America the eastern
highlands are divided into two
main pieces. To the north are
the Guiana Highlands, and
to the south are the Brazilian
Highlands.
Brazilian Highlands
elevations: 1,500-6,000 ft.
 Guiana Highlands
Venezuela, Guyana, Surinam
e
separated from Andes by
Orinoco River
separated from Brazilian
Highlands by Amazon River

22. RIVERS
1.Orinoco River
2. Amazon River
S. America's most extensive lowland
area
world's largest river
1/5 of world's fresh water
basin of 2 million square miles
rainy season flooding of forest
3. Paraguay/Parana River
empties into Rio de la Plata
Iguazu Falls, Parana River- world's
largest
Pampas of Argentina and Uruguay
either side of Rio de la Plata
was mainly grazing land
now much is cropland

23. COASTAL PLAINS
west of the Andes dry
because of the cold
ocean current
narrow
escarpment on the
east corresponds to the
escarpment on the west
coast of Africa [created
when South America
broke away from Africa]

24. REGIONS & SEASONS
South America is not divided into regions.
South America is located in the southern
hemisphere. Those countries to the south of the
continent have four distinct seasons.
Spring - September, October, November
Summer - December, January, February
Autumn - March, April, May
Winter - June, July, August
The countries in the north of the continent
have more constant high temperatures and high
rainfall throughout the year.

25. CLIMATE
The climate of South America can be
broadly divided into seven different
climate types:
Desert - Warm to high temperatures
with very little rainfall.
Grassland - Hot summers and cold
winters with above average rainfall.
Deciduous- Four distinct seasons
with warm summers and cold, wet
winters. The trees shed their leaves in
autumn.
Rainforest - High temperatures and
high rainfall throughout the year.
Savanna - This region has very high
temperatures all year and rain during
the summer season only.
Mediterranean - Warm to high
temperatures with rainfall in the autumn
and winter months.
Alpine/mountain - Cold, windy and
snowy.

26. South America is the fifth most
populated continent .
The north-west coastal region
and the eastern coast of Brazil
are the most densely populated
areas while the Amazon
rainforest area is the least
populated. The countries with
the highest populations (to the
nearest million) are:
Brazil – 188 million
Colombia – 43 million
Argentina - 40 million
Peru - 28 million
Venezuela - 26 million
Brazil is the most economically
developed country but the
economies of Argentina,
Venezuela, Peru and Uruguay
are growing the most quickly.
Throughout South America
there is a wide gap between the
rich and poor.
DEMOGRAPHY

27. NATURAL VEGETATION MAP
The rainforest areas are jungles of
dense, wet forests.
The desert regions are home to those
plants that can survive the arid conditions
and include varieties of cacti.
The deciduous forest region has a
wealth of plant life and includes tall and
short trees, shrubs, small plants and
mosses.
Due to the cold during the winter
months, only short grasses and shrubs
can survive in the alpine/mountain
region.
The grassland and savanna regions
are characterized by large open areas of
tall or short grass.
Plants found in the Mediterranean
region have adapted to the differences in
rainfall and temperature between winter
and summer and include, palm trees,