vocab us and Canada

continental divide

On the crest of the Rocky Mountains, it divides the major river systems into those flowing east and those flowing west

interior lowlands

Area between the Appalachian & Rocky Mtns.

pacific coastal ranges

Made up of 2 major mtn. systems which run along the west coast of the US and Canada; a highly volcanic area

\-Mount Rainier -Mount Hood -Mount St. Helens

coastal plains

A flat, low-lying land adjacent to a sea coastal plain which runs along the East Coast of the US at a distance of about 500 miles (800 km).

Aleutian Islands

A volcanic archipelago off the coast of Alaska that extends in the Pacific Ocean

basins

A lower area of land generally surrounded by mountains

range

An extensive area of open land on which livestock wander and graze.

Great Plains

The broad expanse of prairie and steppe which lie east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada

Canadian Shield

An arc of ancient rock covering nearly half of Canada which is centered around the Hudson Bay; scraped by glaciers

Appalachian mountains

A mountain range in North America which stretches from Alabama to southeastern Canada

\-Blue Ridge -Catskill -Green Mountain

Grand Canyon

One of the 1st national parks created by Theodore Roosevelt, it is a colorful steep-sided gorge carved by the Colorado River in Arizona

Silicon Valley

The southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California which specializes in technology

Mackenzie river

The largest and longest river system in Canada which flows in a northerly direction to the Arctic Ocean

Niagara Falls

The collective name for three waterfalls that straddle the international border between Canada and the United States

Great Lakes

A series of interconnected freshwater lakes located primarily on the Canada-United States border (Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior) connected to the Atlantic Ocean through the St. Lawrence River

baby boomer

A person born in the years following WWII, when there was a temporary marked increase in the birth rate.