North America - Its Plains And Plateaus

Plains are broad level to hilly lowland areas plateaus are Highlands with broad surfaces interrupted by deep valleys the Plains and plateaus form most of the land surface of North America North America has two basic regions of plains the coastal plain along the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico and the interior plain which extends almost the entire length of the continent the Appalachian Mountains on the east separate the two Plains the Rocky Mountains part of the Western cordilla border the interior plane North America also has broad surfaced Highlands plateaus the plateaus and plains of North America contain the densest populations on the continent let's see how land surface soil and climate are related to the places where North Americans live on the Plains and plateaus the Atlantic Coastal plane was one of the first regions settled in the new world the coastal plane is narrow at its North End toward the South it extends farther Inland most of the southern land is rolling sloping gently down to the Atlantic Ocean portions of the coast near the sea are almost level creating swampy marshes but most of the Atlantic Coastal Plain is warm non-s swampy land with Rich well- drained soil it's ideal for the growth of to tobacco and cotton the broad nearly level land allows for machine cultivation in the 1700s settlers moved Westward up the river valleys of the Fertile Atlantic Coastal Plain until they came to a region of waterfalls and Rapids these changes in the rivers clearly marked the western edge of the Atlantic Coastal Plain because of the Falling Waters this Edge is known as the fall line early factories and Mills were built along the fall line to harness the water power around many such Mills industrial cities grew their location clearly marks the fall line west of the line is the pedmont a region of gently Rolling Hills that slope gradually upward toward the Appalachian Mountains the pedmont soil like that of the coastal plain has long been used for growing tobacco North in Virginia and Pennsylvania apples are a major crop in the southern portion of the pedmont cotton is the major crop in the rich Southern Cotton Belt cotton textile producing cities have grown the largest is Atlanta Georgia over 3,000 different products are manufactured here from the Atlantic Coastal plane and the pedmont region some settlers moved westward in to the Gulf Coastal plane the Gulf Coastal plane is mostly fertile level land easy to cultivate the spring and summer rainfalls are heavy producing the climate that cotton needs to thrive the Western end of the Gulf Coastal plane located in Mississippi Louisiana and Texas is Rich with black gold petroleum over half the petroleum produced in the United States States comes from the Gulf Coastal plane the Southern and southeastern United States is not all a broad plane in Missouri Arkansas and Oklahoma is the Ozark Plateau a region of hilly land with many parts too steep for farming however fruit farming is carried out within the valleys the southern margin of the Ozarks is high and edged with mountains which are heavily forested this Timberland is a valuable resource another natural resource is the rich mineral deposits in the Ozarks east of the Ozark Plateau is the massive mineral Rich Appalachian Plateau Pioneers Reach This Plateau when they cross through the Appalachian Mountains they found the plateau a region of steep-sided valleys in the South the Appalachian Plateau is known as the Cumberland Plateau the first settlers of the region found valuable resources Timber iron ore and coal and plentiful water power farther north the Appalachian Plateau is higher in elevation and is known as the alagan Plateau migrating Pioneers once struggled AC cross the deep valley alagan plateau in their wagons today modern roads crossed the plateau and Link the coastal plane with the interior of the United States Transportation has always played an important role in the settlement of the alagan plateau one of the first pioneer developments was Fort pit now Pittsburgh Pennsylvania many resources have helped Pittsburgh grow but coal and River Transportation were among the most important coal helped make Pittsburgh a great steel producing Center West of the Appalachian Plateau is the interior plane which extends north to Canada and South into Mexico the interior plane can be divided into the Great Plains on the west and the central L land on the East the first settlers into the central L lands found Ohio and Indiana thickly covered with Forest the land had to be cleared before the fertile soil could be plowed the timber was used to build homes Furniture fences and for cooking and heating as the best lands were being settled other Pioneers pushed farther west into Illinois and I Iowa they found a rolling plane where trees were scarce and the grass grew High the Prairies of North America today in the eastern part of the central lowlands corn grows well in the dark rich soil the summers are hot and the rainfall is plentiful the gently Rolling Land makes it easy to use machinery for planting cultivating and harvesting in the far western region of the lowlands Kansas Nebraska and the dtas there is less rain not enough for plentiful crops of corn but sufficient for wheat the level land retains The Limited rain and allows it to sink into the soil in the rolling hilly terrain of the northern lowlands Wisconsin Minnesota and Michigan the soil is St sty and less fertile Dairy farming is the big business in the hilly region where grassy pastures and crops of hay and Alfalfa grow very well the central lowlands include a small portion of Canada the St Lawrence Great Lakes Lans it is home for over half the population of Canada the small region is an area of large industrial cities and of fertile farmlands from the fertile Farms of the central lowlands Pioneers moved Westward west of the 100th Meridian they found the rainfall less than 20 in in an average year this drier region with sparse vegetation and vast Open Spaces is the Great Plains it was the historic land of cowboys and Indians of sodbusters and homesteaders today it is the land of Cattlemen and cattle drives ranching and grain farming are the big businesses the Great Plains are vast winds move freely over the land and the temperature varies from extremely hot to extremely cold the intense climatic extremes and the scarcity of water slowed early settlement and even today the population is sparse the Great Plains extend North into Canada where wheat ranches stretch endlessly in every direction the Great Plains Rim another region of Canada the Great Canadian Shield it is a vast area that covers almost half of Canada it is a huge evergreen forest called the TAA many regions of the shield are difficult to explore because of the summer swamps and winter snows much of the Canadian Shield is a forested Wilderness thinly populated by Indians fur Traders and Prospectors far north in Canada is a low treeless plain this is the tundra region swamps and low vegetation Tundra dominates the northernmost portion of the Interior Plaine of North America the southern portion of the Interior region is the coastal plains of Mexico the Arid Northern portion of the Mexican Coast is a land of low thorny bushes and trees farther south the coastal plane becomes a tropical rainforest much of the land area of Mexico consists of the Mexican plateau the southern base of the plateau is a series of volcanic mountains the volcanic soils of the rugged region are fertile and there is ample rainfall for corn and beans north of the volcanic region in the center of the plateau is Mexico City the country's capital and leading center of culture industry and transportation the city contrasts with the northern half of the Mexican plateau the Mesa Del Norte a dry and desolate region farming is possible with irrigation the Mexican plateau merges in the north with the interm montine plateaus of the United States a portion of this is the Colorado Plateau this highland is a semiarid region of butes and maces isolated table lands and vast Canyons the Colorado Plateau has few people but there are ranchers who graze cattle and sheep on the grasslands farmers who raise a variety of crops in The Valleys in its colorful past the plateau is the home of several American Indian tribes navajos living here are members of the largest Indian tribe in the United States north of the Colorado Plateau within the Highland interm Montaine Plateau system is the Colombia Plateau the Columbia Plateau has fertile but dry soil great wheat Fields thrive on the lofty Plateau with irrigation fruits and vegetables are grown streams and rivers have cut deep Canyons producing areas of great natural beauty separating the Columbia and Colorado plateaus is the Great Basin a section of the interm montine plateaus where most of the land has little agricultural value the dry extremely hot Great Basin Desert extends Westward to the Pacific mountain system today parts of the desert have become Resort country with cities like Las Vegas Nevada easily accessible by highways and air transportation the and plateaus of the continent are the regions most highly developed for working and living by the people of North America for