Eastern United States

By Elisa Lawson Laxmi Rodulfo

Location

• • • Northern Hemisphere, between the Arctic Circle and the Tropic of Cancer 65-100 degrees W 30-45 degrees N

Time Zones

• • • Eastern Time Zone Mississippi, Alabama, Wisconsin, Illinois, and some parts of Tennessee and Kentucky are in the Central Time Zone.

Northern area has longer days • New York- 1 more hour daylight than Florida

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Rocks and Minerals

Most abundant minerals are Calcite, Flourite, Quartz, Celestine, and Apophillyte Coal, some found in the Appalachian Mountains Granite, found in Smoky mountains Limestone, mostly along Florida Eastern Seaboard Salt, in Mississippi

Plate Tectonics

• North American Plate • • • East of Mid-Atlantic Ridge Continental and Oceanic Crust Easterly side is divergent with Eurasian Plate

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Geographic Features

Mostly flat coastal plains in southern areas Hills and farm land in the Northwestern areas Not many earthquakes, but more common around the areas of the Appalachian Mountains.

Geographic Features

The Mississippi River QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture.

QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture.

Geographic Features

• The Great Lakes • Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron (or Michigan-Huron), Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth.

Geographic Features

• Appalachian Mountains

Carbon Dioxide Levels

• Air in the Eastern United States contains an additional 2.7 parts per million of carbon dioxide from fossil fuel sources.

• In Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia there was twice as much additional carbon dioxide in the air at 4.3 parts per million.

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Wind Patterns and Air Pressure

O verall wind patterns and the movement of fronts in North America are almost always from west to east Westerly Winds QuickTi me™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture.

High Pressure in the Northern Area Low Pressure in the Southern Area.

Climate

• • • • Southern area is hot and humid Central area is temperate and humid • Warm summers Northern area is cool and humid • Cool summers Because of the Gulf Stream along the coast and the Atlantic Ocean, the area is mostly temperate.

Climate

• • • Because of the Appalachian Mountians this area has the second highest annual rainfall On the western side of the mountians the air rises and then descends on the eastern side. The air warms as it decreases in altitude creating warm currents and an effect called the “ chinook winds.

” This along with the low elevation and latitude creates higher temperatures in cities closer to the eastern side of the mountains.

The presence of the Atlantic ocean near the Appalachian mountains makes the eastern side of the mountains not so dry. It causes the eastern side to have more precipitation.

Atlantic Ocean

• • The saltiest of all the major oceans in the world The salinity ranges from 33 to 37 parts per thousand

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Weather Disturbances

Hurricanes • • They form with the warm air and low pressure in the Atlantic ocean.

Occur mostly during late summer towards the southern area.

Floods occur because of heavy rainfall.

• The most severe occurred in the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee. Ice Storms in the Northeastern area.

• New York, northern New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine.

Biomes

• • • Mostly Temperate Deciduous Forests • Hardwood trees There are some evergreen forests The tip of Florida is made up of Savannahs

Biomes

QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture.

QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture.

Population

• Reproductive population • Area is growing at a steady rate.