3.1.3 Western Mountains & Deserts

3.1.3 Western Mountains & Deserts

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Main Idea

The resources of the western United States and

Canada are rich in some areas, and limited in others.

Notes: Cordilleras

• main landform in the western part of North America is the cordillera

• a system of several mountain ranges, parallel to each other

• North America cordillera includes: Rocky Mountains, Sierra Nevadas

Notes: Great Basin

• The area in between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevadas

• It is a desert: a dry, often sandy, area with little rainfall or plantlife

• It is also marked by smaller mountain ranges and canyons

• Home to the Grand Canyon

Notes: The Rain Shadow Effect

• Warm, moist air flows east from the Pacific Ocean to the mountains

• As this air rises up the mountain, it cools and releases moisture on the western slopes

• The air that eventually reaches the land east of the mountains is dry

Notes: Resources & Conservation

• The Great Basin and mountains contain important mineral deposits

• Southwestern Canada holds reserves of natural gas, and heavy rainfall allows for the use of water power to provide electricity

• In the Southwestern United States, water is in short supply because the population has grown rapidly. The demand for water has increased in an already dry areas. Dams, barriers that control the flow of water, can help solve this problem

Lesson Summary

 A shortage of resources in the West means the people

who live there need to find ways to conserve, or

gain access to sources in other places.