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what is an important feature of north america cities

Sagot :

Answer:

Geographical treatment of North America, including maps and statistics as well as a survey of its geologic history, land, people, and economy. It occupies the northern portion of the ‘New World.’ North America, the world’s third largest continent

Answer:

There are Different Answers IN the explanation below

Explanation:

Mountain ranges

Young mountains rise in the west. The most familiar of these mountains are probably the Rockies, North America’s largest chain. The Rockies stretch from the province of British Columbia, Canada, to the U.S. state of New Mexico.

The Rocky Mountains are part of a system of parallel mountain ranges known as the Cordilleras. A cordillera is a long series of mountain ranges. Although cordilleras exist all over the world, in North America, “the Cordilleras” indicate the massive mountain ranges in the western part of the continent. The Cordilleras extend from Canada all the way to the Isthmus of Panama.

The Sierra Madre mountain system is part of the Cordilleras. The Sierra Madre stretch from the southwestern United States to Honduras. The Sierra Madre include many high volcanoes (up to 5,636 meters, or 18,500 feet) that stretch across Mexico south of the cities of Guadalajara and Mexico City.

Volcanic mountain ranges in Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama are also considered part of the Cordilleras. Volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur frequently in this region. Volcanic activity can destroy towns and cities. It also contributes to the rich, fertile soils of the region.

Some of the Earth’s youngest mountains are in the Cascade Range of the U.S. states of Washington, Oregon, and California. Some peaks began to form only about a million years ago—a blink of an eye in Earth’s long history. The mountains include temperate rain forest—a biome unique to the area. The temperate rain forest receives an incredible amount of precipitation, between 254 to 508 centimeters (100 to 200 inches) annually. However, its cool winters and mild summers promote the growth of mosses, ferns, fungi, and lichens.

The temperate rain forest supports a wide variety of life. The Sitka spruce, western red cedar, and Douglas fir are trees native to North America’s temperate rain forest. Some of these trees grow to more than 90 meters (300 feet) tall and 3 meters (10 feet) in diameter. Black bears, Roosevelt elk, and marmots are indigenous animal species.

The three major desert regions of North America—the Sonoran, Mojave, and Chihuahuan—are all in the American southwest and northern Mexico. These large deserts are located in the rain shadows of nearby mountains. The mountains block precipitation and accelerate the movement of hot, dry wind over these regions. The Sonoran is in the rain shadow of the Coast Ranges, the Mojave is in the shadow of the Sierra Nevada, and the Chihuahuan is in the shadow of the Sierra Madre.

Notable desert plant species includes the saguaro cactus, Joshua tree, and mesquite. Animal species include the roadrunner, Gila monster, and rattlesnake.

In addition to mountains, deserts, and forests, the northern part of the western region of North America also has the richest deposits of oil and natural gas on the continent. Most of these deposits are located offshore, in the Arctic and Pacific Oceans.

Great Plains

The Great Plains lie in the middle of the continent. Deep, rich soil blankets large areas of the plains in Canada and the United States. Grain grown in this region, called the “Breadbasket of North America,” feeds a large part of the world. The Great Plains are also home to rich deposits of oil and natural gas.

Much of the fertile soil was formed from material deposited during the most recent glacial period. This ice age reached its peak about 18,000 years ago. As glaciers retreated, streams of melted ice dropped sediment on the land, building layers of productive soil.

The grassland or prairie regions of the Great Plains make up the largest biome in North America. Extreme weather prevents the growth of large plants but is perfectly suited to the native grasses that dominate the region.

Native grasses vary in size from 2 meters (7 feet) in tallgrass prairies to only 20 or 25 centimeters (8 or 10 inches) in shortgrass prairies. Native animal species include bison, prairie dogs, and grasshoppers.

Natural Wonders

North America’s varied landscape features many natural wonders. It has deep canyons, such as Copper Canyon in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Denali, the continent’s highest peak, stands at 6,194 meters (20,320 feet) within Denali National Park and Preserve in the U.S. state of Alaska. Yellowstone National Park, in the U.S. states of Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho, has some of the world’s most active geysers. Canada’s Bay of Fundy has the greatest tidal range in the world. The Great Lakes form the planet’s largest area of freshwater. The Mississippi River, at 3,730 kilometers (2,320 miles) long, is one of the longest river systems in the world and drains all or parts of 31 U.S. states.