North American Geography Quiz 9

Intermontane

Located literally between two major mountain ranges of North America (Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevada/Cascades)

Terra incognita

“land unknown”, unrecorded or blank spades on early maps depicting unexplored places

Columbia Plateau

\-A province enveloped by one of the worlds largest accumulations of lava

\-Dominated by geographically young lava flows that inundated the countryside with amazing speed, all within the last 17 million years

Colorado Plateau

\-Sculptured beauty and brilliant colors of sedimentary rock layers

\-Step-like plateaus

\-Vast region of plateaus, mesas, and deep canyons whose walls expose rocks ranging in age from billions to just a few hundred years old.

Great basin

\-Earth’s crust (and upper mantle) has been stretched up to 100% of it’s original width.

\-The entire region has been subjected to extension that thinned and cracked the crust as it was pulled apart, creating large faults.

The great Missoula flood

\-Gigantic dam created by a buildup of glacial rubble collapsed 15,000 years ago

\-Created an inland sea “Lake Missoula”

\-Scoured landscape

>Carved out canyons and forced rivers to run backward (Snake and Willamette Rivers)

Basin and range physiographic region

\-Topography is characterized by alternating narrow faulted mountain chains and flat arid valleys or basins.

\-Region witnessed major geomorphic forces including:

>Tectonic uplift

>Volcanism

>Faulting

>Erosion

>Glaciation

Fault block mountains

Mountains produced when normal (near vertical) faults fracture a section of continental crust. They can then lead to high escarpments.

Downfaulted valleys

\-Death Valley

\-Salton Sea

\-Lowest Point in North America: 282 ft. below sea level

\-Arid landscape including salt flats, sand dunes and faults.

Physiographic subregions

\-Columbia Plateau

\-Colorado Plateau

\-Great Basin

Erosion and layering

Alluvial fans

Fan-shaped deposition at the foot of mountain slopes

Arid and semi-arid climates

Air moving from the Pacific is dominate influence

>Rain shadow and orographic lifting

Settlement patterns

Very sparsely settled, but a few population centers

Federal lands in the intermontane west

\-(Rugged topography, dry climate) large areas unsuited to agriculture, thus, less populated. “no man’s land”.

Agencies of federal landholdings

\-National Parks

\-Bureau of Land Management

\-Military

\-Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Specific federal land locations

\-Yucca Mountain

\-Area 51

\-Los Alamos

\-Hanford AFB

Yucca Mountain

\-Underground storage facility for spent nuclear waste.

\-U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Area 51

\-Military Installation

\-Test flights

\-Conspiracy Theorists

>Aliens

>Government cover-ups

Los Alamos

Center for atomic bomb research

Hanford Air Force Base

\-Richland, WA

\-Research into nuclear energy

Indigenous settlements

\-Pop. centers near rivers & sources of water

\-In the south – irrigated agriculture (Phoenix)

\-Further north – semi-nomadic hunting & gathering

Spanish and Mexican settlements

\-Some parts of the region influenced by Spanish exploration & settlement in Mexamerica

\-First mining and ranching in the region

\-Cultural imprints: architectural styles, restaurants, place names, Catholic churches

Migration of Mormons from the east

Church defined settlement patterns

\-Small villages surrounded by farm fields

\-Houses in the Greek Revival style

\-Irrigation ditches border streets

\-Wide streets

Joseph Smith

\-Founded Mormonism

\-Killed in the east

Brigham Young

Led Mormon settlers to Salt Lake Valley & then Founded Salt Lake City with people.

Water management and reservoirs

\-Hoover Dam built in 1935 to control the Hoover Dam, Lake Mead Colorado River, provide water for the Southwest and hydro-electric power.

\-Water for Phoenix, Los Angeles and Las Vegas

Recreation and tourism in the region

\-Donkey mountain hikes

\-Dirt biking

\-Skiing

\-Water rafting

\-Hualapai Grand Canyon Sky walk

Tourism in Las Vegas

\-Gaming

\-Shopping

\-Shows

\-Spectacle

\-The Venetian

\-New York, New York

Gaming in Las Vegas and the “border effect”

\-The pop. of Nevada concentrated near borders

\-Liberal laws encourage travel across the border to gambling & liquor

\-Nearby states provide much of the visitors (Arizona & California)

Liquor laws in Utah

\-Strict laws

\-Heavy beer (over 3.2%) may be served from 11:30 AM to midnight. Beer (3.2%) is available from 11:30 AM to 1:00 AM. Patrons must be dining in the restaurant in order to be served an alcoholic beverage.

\-Sold at 44 full-service state liquor stores

\-dispense no more than 1.5 ounces of primary liquor in a mixed drink

British Columbia, Canada

Washington

Oregon

Idaho

Nevada

Utah

Arizona

Colorado

New Mexico

Kamloops, BC

Spokane, WA

Boise, ID

Reno, NV

Las Vegas, NV

Palm Springs, CA

Salt Lake City, UT

Flagstaff, AZ

Los Alamos, NM (map)

Albuquerque, NM

Columbia Plateau (map)

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Great Basin (map)

Colorado Plateau (map)

Death Valley and NP

Mojave Desert

Snake River

Grand Canyon and NP

Bryce Canyon NP

Zion NP

Canyonlands NP