Regional Geography of

The United States

An Interactive Presentation

Name That Continent

6
Africa
2

Europe

North America

South America

Asia

Australia

Antarctica

The Four Oceans

Arctic

Pacific

Atlantic

Indian

Large Bodies of Water

The location of the United States, with its Atlantic
and Pacific coasts, has provided access to other
areas of the world.
The Atlantic Ocean served as the highway for
explorers, early settlers, and later immigrants.
The Pacific Ocean was an early exploration route.
The Gulf of Mexico provided the French and Spanish
with exploration routes to Mexico and other parts of
America.
Bodies of water support interaction among regions,
form borders, and create links to other areas.

Name That Region

Canadian

Shield

Basin Rocky
And Mountains Great
Coastal
Range(CONTINENTAL DIVIDE) Plains
Range

7
8

Interior
Appalachian
Lowlands
Highlands

4 2

Coastal
Plain

Beringia: the
Land Bridge
between Asia
and America

The Big Question

Question:
Where did the Native
Americans come from?

MIGRATION

Migration: The act of moving from one place

to another with the intent to live in another
place permanently or for a longer period of
time.

Early Human Migration

5 Migration Theories
Two migration theories suggest humans
crossed the Pacific Ocean to get to America.
Two migration theories suggest humans
crossed the Atlantic Ocean to get to
America.
One migration theory suggests humans
crossed dry land or ice-covered land to get
to America.

The Last Ice Age

c. 35,000 years ago the last ice age
began
Earths temperatures dropped
glacier ice grew larger and thicker
sea levels fell because water was sucked
up and frozen into the glaciers exposing
a land bridge- Bering Land Bridge

Migration
c. 30,000 years ago people began to travel
back and forth between Asia and America
probably following animal herds for food
people who move from place to place are
called nomads
Hunter-gathers- people who hunted
animals and gathered wild plants for food

Push vs. Pull Factors

Push factors: Negative reasons for
wanting to leave a place (emigrate).
Examples of push factors are a lack of food
or water, natural disasters, a lack of jobs,
and wars.
Pull factors: Positive reasons for wanting
to move to a place (immigrate). Examples
of pull factors are more food and water, a
better climate, higher wages, and freedom.

Early Humans Adapt to New

Environments

Why did humans build

shelters?
Because they
migrated to colder
climates.
Types of shelters?
Caves, underground
pit houses, tents
made of animal
skins and bones,
wooden, stone
structures

cave

Pit
house

More Early Human Houses

Early Human Clothing

How did people adapt
to new environments?
They made new
clothing and new
types of tools.
How did they make
clothing?
They sewed animal
skins together to
make clothing for
protection.

RAFT Activity
Complete for homework, if needed
Role, Audience, Format, Topic
R = you are an early human writing a journal entry in
the year 15,000 B.C.E.
A = your relatives or archaeologists that will dig up your
journal thousands of years from the time you write it
F = journal entry (Dear Journal, Dear Diary, etc.)
T = explain where you live and why you and your family
might migrate based on push and pull factors (include
where you would go, how you would get there, why its
a smart idea to migrate, how you would have to adapt
to your new environment etc.)