Geography Knowledge Organizer: Texas and North America

North America: It is the third largest continent on Earth.

It is made up of 23 countries, which includes the United States of America, Canada, Mexico and Panama as well as the Caribbean islands.

It has coasts on the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.

It is connected to South America by land.

Greenland, the world’s biggest island, is also in North America, although it belongs to the European country of Denmark.

The man-made Panama Canal divides the continents of North and South America.

Countries in North America

Antigua and Barbuda Dominican Republic NicaraguaBahamas El Salvador PanamaBarbados Grenada Saint Kitts and Nevis

Belize Guatemala Saint LuciaCanada Haiti Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Costa Rica Honduras Trinidad and TobagoCuba Jamaica United States of America

Dominica Mexico

The United States of America is a vast country in North America. It borders on Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. It consists of 50 states including Washington, D.C, which is the capital city.

TexasTexas is a large state in the southern U.S. with deserts, pine forest and the Rio Grande, a river that forms its border with Mexico.There are many cities in Texas: Houston, Austin and Dallas are three of the largest.

Texas is made up of three different biomes (desert, grasslands, temperate deciduous forest).

Scientists divide the world into large natural areas called biomes. Each biome is known for certain kinds of plants and animals. But what’s really at the heart of a biome is its climate. Climate is important because it determines the types of plants and animals—the ecosystem—that can survive in a biome.

Most of Texas is made up of grasslands, but there is desert in southwest Texas and temperate deciduous forest in southeast Texas. Population density is high in the urban areas (the cities), lower in the rural areas (the grasslands) and very low in the desert areas.

The temperature within Texas varies depending on which biome you are in. The average desert temperature is 24 degrees. The average deciduous forest temperature is 18 degrees and is often below

freezing. The average grasslands temperature is 21 degrees.

Temperate Deciduous Forest Biome Facts

The temperate deciduous forest biome is characterized by its leaf-shedding trees and its seasons. This biome experiences all four seasons - winter, spring, summer, and autumn.During the autumn season, the leaves of the trees change colour. In winter, the trees shed off and lose their leaves. The four seasons are easily recognizable in the forest and generally last 3 months each.

The temperate in this forest’s name means that temperatures do not reach extreme levels and are generally pleasant during the summer season. 

The deciduous forest biome receives about 70 – 150cm of rain each year putting it second in the rainiest biome next to the rainforest.

(The word “deciduous” [dih-SID-yoo-uhss] comes from a Latin word meaning “to fall.”)

The temperate deciduous forest biome is located in the United States, Canada, Europe, China, and Japan. There are also some parts of Russia that contain this biome.

Desert Biome Facts

Deserts are dry, arid areas that receive very little precipitation (rain,snow or hail). Deserts can be hot or cold. Most hot deserts are found near the equator. Antarctica is the largest desert in the world. It is a cold desert.

Despite the harsh environment in a desert, people manage to live in many hot deserts. One example of people who live in the desert is the Bedouin tribe. They live in desert areas in the Middle East. Their traditional lifestyle has adapted to these extremely arid conditions.

Their nomadic lifestyle means they do not settle in one area for long. Instead, they move on frequently to prevent exhausting an area of its resources.

They have herds of animals which are adapted to living in desert conditions, such as camels.

Their tents are built to allow air to circulate within them, keeping them cool. Animal hair is used to insulate them, to keep the tent cool during the day and warmer at night.

However nobody lives permanently in the cold desert in Antarctica because the conditions are too harsh. Scientists stay there for part of the year using modern technology to keep themselves warm.

Grassland Biomes Facts

Grasslands are wide expanses of land filled with low growing plants such as grasses and wildflowers. They are said to be between a forest and a desert when it comes to rainfall. They do not receive enough rainfall to grow trees like a forest but they contain lots of grass so they receive more rain than a desert.

In North America, they are called prairies.In South America, they are known as pampas.In Russia and the Ukraine, they are called steppes.In Africa, they are called savannahs.

The grasslands biome can be divided up into the temperate grasslands and tropical grasslands.

Tropical grasslands are warmer than temperate grasslands. Tropical grasslands are located between the near the equator, and they stay

pretty hot all year long. Savannahs in Africa are tropical grasslands. Temperate grasslands are located further away from the equator in both the

northern and southern hemispheres. The temperate grasslands have seasons including a hot summer and a cold

winter. There is grassland biome on each continent with the exception of Antarctica. Grassland biomes are normally situated between a forest and a desert. In fact,

grasslands surround every desert in Asia. Grasslands are usually flat and have fertile soil.

Vocabulary

arid Land that is very dry so very few plants can grow there.biome A biome is way to describe a large group of similar

ecosystems.border The border between two countries or regions is the dividing

line between them.climate Climate refers to the average weather conditions in a

particular location based on the average weather experienced there over 30 years or more.

coast The coast is an area of land that is next to the sea.coastal Coastal is used to refer to things that are in the sea or on the

land near a coast.continent A very large area of land that consists of several countriesdeciduous A deciduous tree or bush is one that loses its leaves in

the autumn every year.ecosystem The plants and animals that are found in a particular location

are referred to as an ecosystem. These plants and animals depend on each other to survive.

Environment The natural surroundings in which things live, thinking particularly about the physical conditions or weather.

fertile Land or soli that is fertile is rich and full of nutrients that support growth of a large number of strong healthy plants.

harsh Conditions that are very difficult for people, animals or plants to live in.

nomad A member of a group of people who travel from place to place rather than living in one place all the time

nomadic Living as a nomadPopulation The people who live in an areaPopulation density How people live in an area. High population means lots of

people live in an area. Low population density means very few people live in an area.

prairies A prairie is a large area of flat, grassy land in North America. Prairies have very few trees.

Precipitation Precipitation is rain, snow, or hailRural In the countryside, outside of cities and townssavannah A savannah is a large area of flat, grassy land, usually

in Africa.

semi-arid Quite dry land so not many plants can grow there.shed To shed something means to get rid of it.

When a tree sheds its leaves, its leaves fall off in the autumn. When an animal sheds hair or skin, some of its hair or skin drops off.

temperate Temperate is used to describe a climate or a place which is never extremely hot or extremely cold.

Urban Belonging to a town or cityvegetation Plants, trees, and flowers that grow in an area can

be referred to as vegetation. Spelling check…

desert dessert