Geography of North America- 2 | Famous Books for UPSC Exam (Summary & Tests) PDF Download

Gulfs of North America

A gulf is a large inlet of the sea that penetrates the land and is usually larger and more deeply indented than a bay. Gulfs commonly provide sheltered waters that are suitable for harbours, support rich fisheries, and are often sites for ports and coastal industries. They may also be important for offshore oil and gas extraction and for biodiversity.

• Gulf of Mexico
• Gulf of Alaska
• Gulf of California
• Gulf of St. Lawrence

Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico lies between the United States, Mexico and the island of Cuba. It is one of the largest gulfs in the world and has an extensive coastline of about 5,000 kilometres. The gulf is economically important for shipping, fisheries and offshore oil and gas production. Major ports and coastal cities are located on its shores.

Gulf of Alaska

The Gulf of Alaska is located off the south coast of Alaska in the extreme north-east of the North Pacific. It receives cold, nutrient-rich waters and freshwater from numerous rivers and glaciers, resulting in strong productivity and distinctive water coloration where lighter glacial meltwater meets darker ocean water.

Gulf of California

The Gulf of California (also called the Sea of Cortez) separates the Baja California Peninsula from the Mexican mainland. It has a long coastline, often quoted around 4,000 kilometres (about 2,600 miles), and is recognised for its high marine biodiversity; many microinvertebrate and fish species are found there.

Gulf of St. Lawrence

The Gulf of St. Lawrence is the outlet of the Great Lakes via the Saint Lawrence River into the Atlantic. It is a semi-enclosed sea covering about 236,000 square kilometres and containing approximately 35,000 cubic kilometres of water, giving an average depth near 148 metres. It is an important route for shipping to inland ports and supports fisheries and coastal communities.

Islands of North America

North America includes many significant islands and island groups. These islands vary in size, climate, ecology and human settlement, and several are important for tourism, fisheries, natural resources and strategic location.

Vancouver Island

Vancouver Island lies off the Pacific coast of Canada and is separated from the British Columbia mainland by the Strait of Georgia and Queen Charlotte Strait, and from the US state of Washington by the Strait of Juan de Fuca. It is known for a mild maritime climate, extensive forests and a vibrant arts and cultural scene.

Greenland

Greenland is a very large island between the Atlantic and Arctic oceans. It is predominantly ice-covered - roughly 80% of its surface is covered by the Greenland Ice Sheet - and its climate and landscape are dominated by Arctic conditions.

Prince of Wales Island

Prince of Wales Island is part of the Alexander Archipelago in the Alaska Panhandle. It is one of the larger islands in that archipelago and features coastal fjords, temperate rainforests and small settlements.

Hawaii (Big Island)

Hawaii Island, commonly called the Big Island, is the largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago. It displays diverse volcanic landscapes, beaches and ecosystems, and supports tourism, agriculture and cultural heritage.

Cuba (Greater Antilles)

Cuba is the largest island of the Greater Antilles and has historically been called an important sugar-producing region. Its mineral resources include cobalt, nickel, iron ore, chromium and copper; it also has timber, limited petroleum, silica and salt, as well as arable land supporting agriculture.

Bermuda

Bermuda is a British Overseas Territory in the North Atlantic noted for its subtropical climate and distinctive pink sand beaches such as Elbow Bay and Horseshoe Bay, which make it a major tourist destination.

Drainage Pattern of North America

Rivers in North America are commonly grouped by the ocean or sea into which they drain. Drainage patterns influence regional settlement, agriculture, transport and industry.

• Rivers draining into the Gulf of Mexico
• Rivers draining into the Atlantic Ocean
• Rivers draining into the Arctic Ocean
• Rivers draining into the Pacific Ocean

Rivers draining into the Gulf of Mexico

The Mississippi-Missouri river system is the major drainage of the central United States and drains much of the Central Lowlands and adjacent areas. The Missouri River rises in the Rocky Mountains and is the chief tributary of the Mississippi. Important tributaries such as the Ohio and Tennessee Rivers drain areas of the Appalachian region before joining the Mississippi downstream. This river network has been central to inland navigation, agriculture and the development of cities along its course.

Rivers draining into the Atlantic Ocean

The Saint Lawrence River is the principal river of this group; it connects the Great Lakes with the Atlantic and supports major seaports and inland navigation. Smaller coastal rivers and those arising along the fall line also drain eastwards into the Atlantic.

Arctic Ocean drainage

The Mackenzie River drains a vast area of north-western Canada, flowing from the Canadian Shield and many shallower lakes northwards into the Arctic Ocean. The Nelson River system drains toward Hudson Bay and is another important northern drainage.

Pacific Ocean drainage

Major rivers flowing to the Pacific include the Yukon (in Alaska and north-western Canada), the Columbia, the Fraser and the Colorado among others. The Colorado River is notable for cutting across the Colorado Plateau and forming deep gorges such as the Grand Canyon, which in places reaches depths approaching one kilometre.

Seas in North America

Caribbean Sea

The Caribbean Sea is a sub-basin of the Atlantic Ocean bordered to the south by the coasts of Venezuela, Colombia and Panama; to the west by the Central American countries (Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala and Belize and the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico); to the north by the Greater Antilles (Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica and Puerto Rico); and to the east by the chain of the Lesser Antilles, an island arc extending from the Virgin Islands in the northeast to Trinidad in the south. It is an important region for shipping lanes, tourism and marine biodiversity.

Beaufort Sea

The Beaufort Sea lies north of Alaska and Canada and forms a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. It covers an area of roughly 184,000 square miles and has an average depth in the order of 1,000 metres (about 3,239 feet). It is characterised by sea ice for much of the year and supports Arctic marine ecosystems.

Hudson Bay

Hudson Bay is one of the largest bays in the world, encompassing about 1,230,000 square kilometres. It is a large inland sea-like body of salt water connected to the Atlantic via the Hudson Strait and influences the climate and ecology of surrounding regions.

Labrador Sea

The Labrador Sea lies between the Labrador coast of Canada and Greenland. It is bounded by continental shelves and deep basins and plays a role in North Atlantic circulation and climatic interactions between the Arctic and the Atlantic.

Bering Sea

The Bering Sea separates the eastern extremity of Asia from the western limit of North America. It is a productive sub-oceanic basin that links the Arctic and Pacific oceans and is important for fisheries and marine transport between the continents.

Inland Drainage Systems

An inland drainage system refers to areas where rivers do not reach the sea but terminate inland, typically in lakes, marshes or salt pans. In North America a classic example is the Great Basin.

The Great Basin (interior region of the western United States, in the area of the Rockies and surrounding ranges) contains rivers that are endorheic - they flow into basins and saline lakes rather than the ocean. Rivers here are typically small, seasonal and often terminate in playas or salt lakes; these waters tend to be saline due to evaporation exceeding outflow.

Lakes in North America

• The lakes of the Canadian Shield are predominantly freshwater and include a very large number of lakes formed by glacial action.
• The Great Salt Lake (between the Rockies and the Wasatch/Sierra region) is a terminal lake with high salinity and is an example of inland drainage.
• Lake Erie lies between Ontario (Canada) and the US states of Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York.
• Lake Huron lies between Ontario (Canada) and Michigan (USA).
• Lake Ontario lies between Ontario (Canada) and New York (USA).
• Lake St. Clair lies between Ontario (Canada) and Michigan (USA) and forms a link in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence system.
• Lake Superior borders Ontario (Canada) and the US states of Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin; it is the largest of the Great Lakes by surface area.