PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE UNITED STATES Created by Karen Hirschfield Images from Microsoft ClipArt
May 20, 2015
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
OF THE UNITED STATES
Created by Karen Hirschfield Images 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.
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 brotherhood
From 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 plain
Example: Ozark Plateau
Plateau
Microsoft ClipArt
Basin
Definition: Low land surrounded by higher land
Example: 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 sides
Example: 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 rain
Examples: Mojave Desert, Sonoran Desert, Painted Desert
Microsoft ClipArt
Microsoft ClipArt
Where are some of these physical
characteristics located?
Mississippi River System
Death Valley Ozark
Plateau
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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