| A | B |
|---|
| Appalachian Mountains | one of two major mountain chains in the US and Canada. Runs north to south. 1,600 miles long. More than 400 million years old. |
| Great Plains | west of the Mississippi. largely treeless area. |
| Canadian Shield | north, rocky, mainly flat area covers nearly 2 million square miles around Hudson Bay. |
| Rocky Mountains | west of the plains, other major mountain system of the US and Canada. They are young, only 80 million years old. |
| Continental Divide | is the line of highest points in the Rockies that makes the separation between rivers flowing eastward and westward. |
| Great Lakes | Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior. Eight of the world’s 15 largest lakes. With the St. Lawrence River form one of the4 world’s major shipping routes. |
| Mackenzie River | Canada’s largest River. Flows to the Arctic Ocean |
| permafrost | permanently frozen ground, Found along the arctic coast of Alaska and Canada. |
| prevailing westerlies | winds that blow from west to east in the middle of the latitudes. Found along the Pacific coast from northern California to Southern Alaska. |
| Everglades | a huge swampland that covers some 4000 square miles. Found in southern Florida |
| nomad | first inhabitants of the US and Canada. People who move from place to places |
| Beringia | a land bridge that once connected Siberia and Alaska. Scientists believe nomads migrated from Asia to US using the bridge. |
| St Lawrence Seaway | North America’s more important deepwater ship route. Completed in the 1950s. |
| lock | sections of a waterway with closed gates where water levels are raised or lowered. Enables huge, oceangoing vessels to sail into the industrial and agricultural heartland of North America. |
| New England | six northern states of Northeast US. Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut |
| megalopolis | a region in which several large cities and surrounding areas grow together. |
| Midwest | 12 states of north-central US. Called the American heartland. 1/5 of land, ¼ of people live there |
| The South | ¼ of land area of US. 1/3 of population. 16 states. Bottom part of the state |
| West | 13 states. Great plains to the Pacific Ocean. includes Alaska and Hawaii. ½ of land, 1/5 population |
| metropolitan | large cities and nearby suburbs and towns. |
| providence | political units in Canada; Started with 2 (North French, South English), now have 10 |
| Dominion of Canada | had self-government, but remained part of British Empire. Done to lessen tension between French and English speaking providences. |
| confederation | political union |
| parliamentary government | a system (in Canada & Britain) which legislative and executive functions in a legislature |
| parliament | a type of legislature in Canada |
| prime minister | head of government in Canada |
| First Nations | Canada’s Native American people |
| Métis (may TEES) | people of mixed French and native heritage |
| reserve | public land set aside for natives by the government. |
| Atlantic Providences | Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. 8% of Canada’s population, rugged terrain, severe winter |
| Quebec & Ontario | Canada’s heartland, 3 out of 5 Canadians live here. In area called Core Providences. One providence is French the other English. |
| Prairie Providences | Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, Part of the Great Plains of North America. Center of nation’s agriculture. |
| British Columbia | westernmost providence, within Rocky Mountain range. |
| Nunavut | eastern half of the Northwest Territories. Home to Canada’s Inuit. Rugged land and severe climate. |
