Ch1 – Lesson 1

EXPLORING PENNSYLVANIA

 

NICKNAME:  THE KEYSTONE STATE

Pennsylvania -located in middle of 13 colonies.  A keystone is the middle stone that holds the other stones in place. 

 

SHAPE:  Rectangular

_________________________________

 

PLATEAU:  (large area of high, almost level land)

Allegheny Plateau – W & N parts of PA

 

Allegheny Front - eastern slope of the plateau  

MOUNTAINS: (all are part of the Appalachian Mts)

1)        Allegheny Mts. – stretch across middle from SW-NE (look like a spine) W of the Allegheny Front

·      Mt. Davis – 3,213 ft. high

 

 

RIVERS & LAKES

Gorge – deep narrow valley w/steep walls

Majestic Pine Creek Gorge – a.k.a.  “The Grand Canyon of the East”

Three Main Rivers:

1)        Delaware River– eastern border

2)        Susquehanna River- Central PA

3)        Ohio River – Eastern PA

Ø     fed by tributaries (smaller rivers):

1.Allegheny River

2.Monongahela River

Lake Erie – a Great Lake

 

IMPORTANCE OF PA WATERWAYS

 

Ø make us center for transportation & business

Ø Shipping of agriculture & manufactured products

Ø Across Lake Erie & thru Ohio R. to Mississippi R. to Gulf of Mexico

Ø Major Ports connect PA to world –

o  Erie

o  Philadelphia

 

Ch1 – Lesson 2

TAKING CARE OF PENNSYLVANIA

 

NATURAL RESOURCES:  materials found in nature people can use

·      food, water, trees, minerals, fossil fuels

 

1)         Renewable Resources: can be replaced

                  trees

2)        Nonrenewable Resources:  cannot be replaced

Fossil Fuels

 

POLLUTION – anything that makes the environment dirty

      chemicals, fertilizers, industrial waste

In 1992 Pennsylvania started clean-air programs to reduce air pollution

 

CONSERVE – to use resources carefully so they are not wasted or destroyed

 

Rachel Carson

·      Pennsylvania Environmentalist

·      published book in 1962 - Silent Spring  

brought attention to pesticides  & chemicals harming our environment.

 

Ch1 – Lesson 3

CLIMATE, PLANTS & ANIMALS

CLIMATE  - A pattern of weather in a place over a long period of time

Pennsylvania has a temperate climate – there are no extreme highs or lows

 

PRECIPITATION – the water that falls to Earth as rain, snow, sleet and hail

 

Location and elevation affect climate

·      Mountains have harsher winters and shorter summers

 

PA provides various wildlife with different habitats  and has a variety of vegetation -plants and trees located in its mountains, plains and valleys.

John Bartram  - planted America’s first  botanical garden in 1728

Carla Messinger- supervised Lenni Lenape Native American Garden in Allentown