Guided Reading Activity Lesson 1 Physical Features Essential Question: How does geography influence the way people live? A Vast Land Directions: Read the lesson and use your text to decide whether each statement is true or false. Write T or F in the blank. If a statement is false, rewrite it correctly on the line. 1. Soil in New England is good for farming, so agriculture is a main industry in the Northeast. 2. The Southeast has both large cities and rural areas used for agriculture. 3. So much food is produced in the Midwest that it has earned the nickname The Nation s Breadbasket. 4. The Southwest has few natural resources, so its economy relies on manufacturing. 5. Primary industries in the West include tourism, agriculture, and information technology. 1
Bodies of Water Directions: Label each description with the correct body or bodies of water. 1. Bordering the eastern United States, this ocean has a rocky coastline along its northern shores and a sandy coastline along its southern shores. 2. This body of water borders Louisiana and Texas and includes ports in New Orleans and Houston. 3. These lakes form the largest group of freshwater lakes in the world. 4. This river connects the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean. 5. This river flows from Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico. 6. This is an enormous saltwater ocean that borders the West Coast of the United States and includes ports in San Diego, Long Beach, and Los Angeles, California; Portland, Oregon; Seattle and Tacoma, Washington; Valdez, Alaska; and Honolulu, Hawaii. 7. The largest salt lake in the Americas, this lake changes in size because of evaporation. 8. This lake is located high in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. It is a popular place for boating and other types of water recreation. 2
9. This lake was formed when the Hoover Dam was built on the Colorado River. It is also a popular recreation area. 10. One of the most important rivers west of the Mississippi, this river begins in the Rocky Mountains and flows south and west to empty into the Gulf of California. 11. Located north of the Colorado River, this river flows from the mountains into the Pacific Ocean. 12. These two rivers run westward and feed into the Columbia River. 13. These five rivers flow eastward, and four of them empty into the Mississippi River. 3
Landscape and Resources Directions: As you read the section, use your text to answer the following questions about the landforms that make up the United States. 1. What are some of the natural resources found among the coastal plains near the Atlantic and Gulf coasts? 2. How did the fall line along the Appalachian Mountains affect the growth of settlements in the area? 3. Are the Great Plains flat? 4. What makes the Rocky Mountains a cordillera? 5. What mountain range near the Pacific Coast still has active volcanoes? 4
Climates Directions: Use your textbook to decide whether each statement is true or false. Write T or F in the blank. If a statement is false, rewrite it correctly. 1. Temperatures are more extreme on the East Coast than they are farther inland from the Atlantic Ocean. 2. The Southeast has a humid subtropical climate. 3. Because of the rain shadow caused by coastal mountain ranges, areas to the east are drier than the areas to the west of the mountains. 4. The Great Plains has three different climate types: semiarid, humid continental, and humid subtropical. 5. Alaska has mostly cool and cold climates with temperatures that are warmer in the north and colder in the south. 6. The climate in Hawaii is mostly warm and dry. 7. The Great Plains experiences tornadoes, the Gulf Coast experiences hurricanes, and the West Coast experiences earthquakes. 5