CLASS 6TH | NORTH AMERICA: LOCATION, AREA, POLITICAL AND PHYSICAL FEATURES | REVISION NOTES

POINTS TO REMEMBER

• North America has been named after Amerigo Vespucci, an Italian explorer. However, Christopher Columbus is credited with the discovery of this continent.
• The continent lies in the northern and the western hemispheres surrounded by the Arctic, the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans. The Isthmus of Panama joins North America to South America.
• The United States of America and Canada occupy three fourths of North america.
• NorthAmerica can be divided into four major physical divisions— the Canadian or Laurentian Shield, the Western Mountain System or Western Cordilleras, the Eastern Highlands or Appalachian Mountains and the Central Lowlands or Great Central Plains.
• The Canadian Shield is composed of some of the oldest known hard rocks of the world. The surface of the Shield consists of many deep depressions formed by scraping and scouring out by moving ice. These depressions have been filled up with meltwater to form many freshwater lakes such as the five Great Lakes.
• The Western Cordilleras are a series of young fold mountain ranges which have many active and extinct volcanoes, earthquake-prone regions and hot springs. The Cordilleras consist of several parallel ranges such as the Alaska Range and the Brooks Range. The highest point in North America, Mt McKinley, lies here. .
• The Appalachians are lower than the Western Cordilleras. The eastern slopes of these highlands are very steep.
• The edge of the Piedmont Plateau (located at the foot of the Appalachians or the Eastern Highlands) has many waterfalls along its length. It is referred to as the Fall Line.
• The Great Central Plains have the largest river system in North America—the Mississippi-Missouri river system.
• North America has several large rivers such as the Mississippi, Missouri, Mackenzie, Nelson, St Lawrence, Hudson, Yukon, Columbia and Rio Grande.
• Lumbering is an important activity in the coniferous or taiga forests of Canada, carried out by lumbermen or lumberjacks.
• Lumbering involves several stages of work such as cutting, skidding and hauling.

IMPORTANT TERMS

Gorge : A deep narrow valley with near vertical sides. Intermontane plateau: a plateau surrounded by mountains on all sides.
Lumbering : The cutting down of trees and the processes leading to the manufacture of products like paper, newsprint, synthetic fibres, etc.
Lumberjacks : Workers engaged in lumbering.
Meltwater : Water derived from the melting of glacier ice and/or snow.

VALUES AND LIFE SKILLS

All occupations are important. Every job has dignity and deserves our respect.