United States Study Guide

United States Study Guide

1. Types of climate

   • Coastal areas have milder climates. Much of the Southeast has a humid subtropical climate. Summers are rainy and hot. Winters are cooler and drier. Hurricanes, strong ocean storms, can strike along the coast.

2. First European that arrived

   • The Spanish were the first Europeans to come to this region. In 1598 they established the first European settlement in the region near what is now El Paso, Texas.

3. Meaning of Pueblos mission

   • Central to some settlements were missions. The pueblos mission where the ones where the Catholic priests where meant to house native peoples.

4. Major cities

   • New York. Los Angeles. Chicago. Houston. Phoenix. Philadelphia. San Antonio. San Diego.

5. Bodies of water

   • The Ohio River
     • This river begins in Pennsylvania and runs to the Mississippi River. It forms a border that separates Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois on the north and West Virginia and Kentucky on the south.
   • Rivers as Boundaries
     • Rivers make natural boundaries. The Mississippi River forms much of the western border of the states of Wisconsin, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi.
   • The Mississippi River
     • This river runs from Minnesota 2,350 miles south to the Gulf of Mexico. The Mississippi has many tributaries, smaller rivers that flow into it. These rivers are busy waterways.
   • The St. Lawrence Seaway
     • This river carries water from the Great Lakes eastward to the Atlantic Ocean. Make possible for ships to travel from the Great Lakes, through this river, to the Atlantic Ocean.
   • The Great Lakes
     • These 5 lakes are located in the American Midwest and Canada. They are the largest group of freshwater lakes.
   • The Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf Coast
     • Salt-water ocean that borders the states along the East Coast of the United States.