Points to remember: North America | Geography for UPSC CSE PDF Download

North America

• North America is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean in the east, the Gulf of Mexico in the south, the Pacific Ocean in the west and the Arctic Ocean in the north.
• To the north, it is separated from the easternmost tip of Siberia by the Bering Strait.

Size: Third largest continent after Asia and Africa.

Important Seas, Bays and Gulfs

Important Straits

Important Lakes of North America

1. Great Bear Lake: Lake of North West Territories through which Arctic Circle pass. At Port Radium valuable deposits of pitchblende exist.
2. Great Slave Lake: Lake lies in the North West Territories of Canada. On the shore copper and gold are worked.
3. Athabasca Lake: Uranium city lies on the north shore of the lake, where pitch-blende is found.
4. Reindeer Lake: Water flows north-eastwards to Hudson Bay via the Churchill River.
5. Lake Winnipeg: Lake of Manitoba is a remnant of glacial Lake Agassiz Saskatchewan River drains into the lake. Also, the water flows north-eastwards and Hudson Bay via the Nelson River.
6. Great Lakes (HOMES)
(i) L. Superior (S)
(ii) L. Michigan (M)
(iii) L. Huron (H)
(iv) L. Erie (E)
(v) L. Ontario (O)

Information: Connected to the Atlantic Ocean by the St. Lawrence Seaway, to the Gulf of Mexico via the Illinois waterway and the Mississippi River, and to New York through the Hudson River

Important Rivers of North America

Rivers of Canada

Rivers of USA

Important Mountain Ranges of North America

Brook’s Range

• Located in Northern Alaska. Extends in the east-west direction and is a continuation of the Rocky.

The Alaska and Aleutian Ranges

• Terminate in the Aleutian Islands, are part of the Pacific Mountain Systems.
• Mount McKinley (6194 m) is the highest peak of North America is in the Alaska Range.

Western Cordillera

They are made up of three almost parallel ranges, running north to south.

(i) The Coast Mountains

• Mount Logan (6050 m) in the Yukon Territory (Canada) is the second-highest peak in North America.

(ii) (a) Cascade Range

• East of Coast Mountain, running from northern California to Washington.
• Mount Whitney (4418 m) is the highest peak of the USA.

(b) The Sierra Nevada

• From south of Cascade Range to southern California along the Pacific coast.

(iii) The Rocky Mountains

• Lies east of the Cascade Range and the Sierra Nevada, running from Alaska to Mexico and is over 4000 m.
• It is the easternmost and is the highest range among the western Cordilleras.
• West of the Rockies lies a region of tablelands, basins, canyons and deserts.

Important Plateaus and Basins

Distribution of North American Plateau Indians