History

United States:
• The Spanish settled in Florida, Texas, and the present-day southwestern United States.
• English settlers established 13 colonies on the Atlantic coast. After a revolution, these 13 colonies
formed the USA.
• 1803: Louisiana Purchase from France- territory reached the Rocky Mountains.
• 1845: Texas annexed.
• California and a large area of the southwest added because Mexico lost the Mexican-American war.
• 1840’s: US negotiated with Britain to acquire the Oregon Territory.
• 1860’s: Civil war between north and south over slavery.

Canada:
• French founded the French-speaking colony of Quebec.
• Remained closely tied to Great Britain for a longer period of time.

Both:
• Europeans and Africans began to arrive in the 1500’s.
• Democratic governments influenced by Great Britain.
• Expanded westward to the Pacific.
• 1800’s: The Industrial Revolution: switch from human to machine power.
• 1900’s: Assumed leading roles in the world. Fought as allies in 2 world wars. Continue to oppose
oppression in the world; economies remain strong.

Physical Characteristics

United States:
• The Rocky Mountains form the continental divide and separate drainage basins.
• In Arizona and Utah, wind erosion sculpts the dramatic towers of Monument Valley. In the eastern US,
the once-sharp peaks of the Appalachian Mountains have been worn down by erosion.

Canada:
• Less mountainous than US.

Both:
• High mountain chains in the west, plains in the central area, and lower mountains in the east.
• The Great Lakes were formed by glaciers more than 10,000 years ago, creating areas characterized by
striations (polished rocks and scratch marks).

Climates

United States:
• (Arid Climate) Big Bend National Park has little rainfall for most of the year.
• Humid subtropical, Mediterranean, arid.

Canada:
• Lies farther north and is generally colder than most of US, except for Alaska.
• Subarctic, tundra

Both:
• Climate differences between east and west because of the Rocky Mountains.
• (Humid Continental Climate) Vermont has warm summers and cold winters.
 • Marine west coast, highlands, humid continental, semiarid.

Ecosystems

United States:
• Florida Everglades: provide a home for a wide variety of plants and animals such as alligators, Florida
panthers, cypress trees, and palms.
• Desert scrub, chaparral, tropical grassland, temperate grassland and mid-latitude deciduous forest
(some parts of Canada too).

Canada:
• Tundra, ice cap, highlands.

Both:
• In Hawaii, northern Canada, and Alaska, much of the natural vegetation remains.
• Forest Ecosystems: coniferous and deciduous forests.
• Grasslands and Highlands: the dry interior plains are temperate grasslands, found in mid-latitude
zones, such as the Rockies where vegetation and animal life vary with altitude.
• Coniferous forest, mixed forest.

People and Cultures

United States:
• 275 million people
• Language, legal system, and political beliefs are the cultural legacies handed down from English
colonists.
• More than 28 million people born in/from other countries.
• Mostly populated on the east and west coasts, also in major cities on the eastern half.

Canada:
• 31 million people
• Mostly populated along its south-eastern border.

Both:
• ¾ of the people live in urban areas
• Long life expectancies
• Extensive educations systems contribute to high literacy
• Shaped by immigration.
• Growth of suburbs.

Economics, Technology, and Environment

United States:
• In California, windmills produce electricity because in the early 2000’s, power shortages led to
blackouts across the state.
• Economic Activities: Commercial farming from east coast to Rockies, raising livestock from Rockies to
west coast, and some manufacturing and trade in the east coast.
• Resources: Some tungsten, silver, copper, gold, phosphates, and lots of petroleum in Texas area.

Canada:
• Economic Activities: hunting and gathering.
• Resources: Uranium, petroleum, gold, some coal.
Both:
• High standards of living. (Some say economic success is not permanent and should seek new ways to
avoid overuse of resources [tragedy of the commons]).
• Must create dust-free environment in which components are made.
• Technological development has made high-tech industries an influential part of economies.
• Waste disposal continues to be a common problem fro many cities. Many people encourage recycling
to reduce waste materials and resource use.
• Economic Activities: Commercial fishing, forestry.
• Resources: Hydroelectric power west of Rockies, coal from east coast of US all the way up the
Rockies.