The American West Flashcards
The longest mountain chain on earth
Cordilleran chain
“The backbone of North America”
The Rockies
“The roof of America” (hint: (state) (r__ki_s)
Colorado Rockies
Highest peak in the Rockies (hint: located in Colorado)
Mt. Elbert
Highest point of a mountain range
Summit
What are the meanings of flora and fauna?
Flora - the plants of a specific region
Fauna - the animals of a specific region
What are ponderosa pines prized for?
Their fine lumber
Above the snow line,little grows except for delicate flowers,but what else covers the ground?
Snow and ice
A stretch of high land that divides the river systems of a continent
Continental divide
North America’s divide is so big,it’s called…
The Great Divide
What are begging points for rivers? (Hint: from up to down,where does your body begin?)
Headwaters
What does arid mean?
Dry
The river that flows through the Grand Canyon?
Colorado River
The largest river flowing into the Pacific Ocean from North America (hint: if we’re singing our Canadian song,what’s the first province? Look at the second word of that province)
Columbia River
The oldest national park in the world
Yellowstone
More than (how many?) active geysers are Yellowstone
200
A hot spring is a spring in which the water is above (how much degrees?) Fahrenheit
98 degrees Fahrenheit
What is a geyser?
A hot spring that shoots out boiling water and steam.
What is the most famous geyser?
Old Faithful
When does Old Faithful erupt?
Every 80 mins or so
Why has Old Faithful declined in its frequency of erupting?
An earthquake changed its pattern in 1998
The world’s largest geyser
Steamboat Geyser
The largest high altitude lake in North America (hint: named after the most famous national park)
Yellowstone Lake
The wild sheep of North America
Bighorn
Female bighorns
Ewes
What are rams?
Male bighorns
What do male bighorns have?
Thick curling horns
What’s the difference between between grazing and browsing?
Grazing is eating grass,and browsing is eating shrubs and other things.
What part of a mountain goat helps them climb effortlessly?
Their hooves
Most widely distributed carnivorous animal in the New World which is called by many different names.
Mountain lion
How many names is the mountain lion called by?
4
Which animal’s scientific name is Ursa horribilis?
Grizzly bear
What does the grizzly bear’s scientific name mean?
Horrible bear
Egg-shaped member of the hares sometimes called a cony or whistling hare
Pika
The fat little farmer of the mountain slopes
Pika
The bird that makes its nest behind a waterfall,also known as a dipper
Water ouzel
What does the water ouzel do to protect its feathers?
It’s oil glands produce an oily ‘raincoat’
Largest lava plateau
Columbia Plateau
Which river runs through the deepest canyon in the U.S. ? (Hint:it’s named after the animal a river looks like)
Snake river
How many regions is the North American desert split up into?
5
The largest desert area in the U.S. which also has a plant with a sweet smell and a bitter taste
Great Basin Desert
What is a sagebrush?
A plant with a sweet smell and a bitter taste
What’s the longest living tree?
Bristlecone pine
What name was given to the oldest known living tree?
Methuselah
Largest SALTwater lake in North America
Great Salt Lake
What desert is near the Great Salt Lake noted for its hard salt beds?
Great Salt Lake Desert
What are mesas?
Flat-topped hills
The largest canyon
Grand Canyon
Deepest canyon in the U.S.
Hells Canyon
Colorado River flows through what canyon?
Grand Canyon
What (mostly) formed the Grand Canyon? (Hint:water)
The Great Flood
What Indians lived in the Grand Canyon?
Pueblo Indians
What did the name of Havasupai Indians mean?
People of the blue-green water
Why does the Painted Desert sometimes glow?
A purple or pink dust rises from the desert
The two Indians that lived in the Painted Desert that used the colorful sand to make famous paintings
Navajo and Hopi
The largest and points colorful petrified forest in the world
Petrified Forest National Park
What’s the other spelling of Mojave? (Hint: one letter difference)
Mohave
What are salt flats also called?
Dry lake beds
The hottest and driest part of North America
Death valley
The highest point in the US outside of Alaska
Mount Whitney
Where did the highest temperature recorded in the US occur?
In death valley
The largest cactus in the world
Saguaro cactus
What is the Chihuahuan Desert famous for?
The breeding center for the Chihuahua
The worlds most spectacular limestone caverns (hint: you’ve been there)
Carlsbad caverns
What is the Chihuahua desert known for besides its breeding center?
Huge dunes of dazzling, white sands
What are the two things plants and animals have to cope with in the desert?
Lack of water and extreme heat
The cacti that got named because it looked like a storing unit
Barrel cacti
Most widespread cactus (hint: named after a fruit)
Prickly pear
What time do most desert animals come out at?
Night
One of only two poisonous lizards in the world (hint: named after the thing that hides under your bed)
Gila monster
The horned toad is an actual toad! (T or F and why)
False, it’s a lizard
The most abundant animals of the desert (hint: inside joke)
Rodents
What part of the antelope jack rabbit’s body is used as a cooling system?
It’s ears
What is bats doodoo called? (Hint: sounds Spanish.)
Guano
The largest land bird in North America
California condor
Home of the tallest trees in North America
Intermountain region
Sometimes called the Gooneybird, this bird has the greatest wingspan of any bird (hint: usually seen on beaches)
Wandering albatross
