West Geography
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Regions of the United States Lesson Plans: The West
By Lauren Ayube
The five regions of the United States all have many things about them that make them unique. The West region consists of 11 states, including Alaska and Hawaii. It is known for the Rocky Mountains and the Mojave Desert. The West is a wonderful place to visit with popular tourist attractions such as Disneyland and Yellowstone National Park. It’s time to learn all about what makes the West a wonderful place to visit and live!
Storyboard Description
The West region of the US has mountains, forests, and deserts. Create a geography poster!
Storyboard Text
- MountainsThere are 4 mountain ranges in the West: The Rockies, the Sierra Nevada, the Coast, and the Cascades. The Rockies span from Canada all the way to Mexico, and is nearly 3,000 miles long and hundreds of miles wide. The highest mountain in the United States, Mount Denali, is in Alaska and part of the Coast Range; it is 20,320 feet high. The rocks of the Sierra Nevada Mountains are remains of ancient magma chambers from many years ago. There are still active volcanoes, though eruptions aren't frequent. One famous instance is Mount Saint Helens, which erupted in 1980 and caused much damage and death.
- The West Region
- The northern part of Alaska is a tundra. A tundra is a flat, cold, and treeless land.
- Rainforest and RedwoodsThe temperate rainforest in the West region runs along the Pacific Coast all the way to Alaska, and is the largest temperate rain forest in the world. These types of rainforests are very wet and rarely freeze or get very hot. This rainforest is the home of the giant redwood, Sitka spruce, and the western hemlock. Many people travel to the West to visit the Redwood National and State Parks and see the giant redwoods that are over 300 feet tall and 2,000 years old!
- The island of Hawaii is made up of 8 islands, and was formed long ago by volcanic eruptions.
- The Great BasinA basin is a low, bowl shaped landform that is lower than the land surrounding it. The Great Basin, which is located in the West region, is mostly covered by deserts. The Great Basin Desert is the largest in the United States, and the Mojave Desert is where you can find Death Valley: the lowest, hottest, and driest place in the United States. Death Valley is 282 feet below sea level, and the highest temperature recorded there was a whopping 134 degrees!
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