Chapter 1
The United States and Canada
Physical Geography

Section 1: Land and Water

A. As You Read
Directions: As you read Section 1, answer the following questions in the space provided.

1. On which continent are the Untied States and Canada located?

North America

2. Which country, the United States or Canada, has more land? Which has more people?

Canada has more land; the United States has more people

3. What are the two largest mountain systems in North America? What lies between them?

The Rocky Mountains and the Appalachian/Laurentian Mountains.
A huge plains area called The Interior Plains in Canada, and the Great Plains and the Central Plains in the United States lies between the Rocky and Appalachian Mountains.

4. What are the names of two western mountain ranges in the United States?

The Sierra Nevada Mountains and the Cascade Mountain Range

5. Where is the Canadian Shield located? Why do very few people live there?

East of the Interior Plains.
Few people live here because the land is very rocky and rugged.

6. In which area does more than half of the Canadian population live? Why?

More than half the people in Canada live in the St. Lawrence Lowlands
This region is Canada's manufacturing center, and has fertile land that is good for farming.

7. What formed the Great Lakes? When did this take place?

Glaciers
Glaciers formed during the last great ice age approximately 20,000 to 30,000 years ago.

8. What are the two major rivers in Canada?

The Mackenzie and the St. Lawrence Rivers.

9. Why is the St. Lawrence River so important?

The St. Lawrence River is important because it is one of North America's most used transportation routes.
It connects the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean and opens the interior of Canada to the sea.

B. Reviewing Key Terms
Directions: Complete each sentence by writing the correct term in the blank provided.

10. The Missouri River is a tributary of the Mississippi, because it is smaller and flows into it.

11. The Great Lakes were formed by glaciers during an ice age.

12. The Continental Divide is formed by the Rocky Mountains and separates rivers flowing east and west in North America.