Geography Starter Use the chart on page 110 to answer the following questions: 1. What is the literacy rate for the USA? 2. What is the population of the United States? 3. What is the population density of the US? 4. What is the life expectancy of a US citizen? 5. What is the national language of the US? 6. What is the GDP of the US? 7. How many televisions per 1000 citizens? State Standard Identify the characteristics that define a region geographically. Identify the location of Earths major landforms and bodies of water REVIEW RIGHT QUICK What is deforestation? What is desertification? What is global warming? What is a cause of urbanization? What is a consequence of urbanization? Size of the United States 1. The US is number 4 in size compared to the rest of the countries in the world. 2. Land area=3,536,855 square miles 3. US borders both Canada and Mexico 4. US also borders the Pacific on the West Coast and the Atlantic on the East Coast Contiguous 5. The Contiguous or Conterminous is made up 48 states. 6. Alaska and Hawaii are not connected to the other states. 7. Alaska is located in the far northwestern corner of North America west of Canada 8. Hawaii is located 2,400 miles southwest of the mainland is located in the northern part of the Pacific Ocean US Highs an Lows 9. The elevation of the U.S. ranges from 282 feet below sea level in California (Death Valley) to 20,320 feet above sea level in Alaska (Mt. McKinley) Political Maps 10. Political Maps show the names and boundaries of countries Physical Maps 11. Physical maps point out landforms and water features. Usually using colors and shading to show different elevations. Contour Maps 12. A Contour Map is kind of physical map that shows elevation, called contour lines, one for each major level of elevation. Nine Physical Regions of the United States 1. Coastal Plans 2. Appalachian Highlands 3. Interior Plains 4. Interior Highlands 5. Rocky Mountains 6. Intermontane Plateaus and Basins 7. Pacific Coast 8. Alaska 9. Hawaii