North America is located in the western hemisphere of our planet. The total area of ​​the mainland (including islands) is 24.2 million km 2. North America is smaller than Eurasia or Africa. It lies in the subtropical, temperate, northern and subarctic zones. The waters of three oceans wash the continent. All this, combined with the relief, formed the natural areas of North America. The characteristic features of each of them will be discussed below.

It should also be noted that the formation of natural zones was influenced by the gradual movement of heat from north to south. And when moving from east to west, dryness increases in the southern part of the continent. Characteristics of the natural zones of North America comes down to an analysis of their climate, average summer and winter temperatures, amount of precipitation. They also pay attention to the composition of the soil, the types of plants and animals that can be found in the described area.

North America: natural areas of arctic deserts and tundra

The first zone (Arctic deserts) occupies most of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and Greenland. A huge area occupied by glaciers is located in the east of the zone. The western part is occupied by rocky Arctic deserts. Glaciers are practically lifeless space. Neither plants nor animals of the natural zones of North America live here. The exception may be some types of algae. In the rocky part you can find, in addition to algae, bacteria, mosses and crustose lichens. Also on land live lemmings - polar mice, which feed on wolves and arctic foxes.

The tundra zone of the mainland is located in the subarctic climatic zone. It is quite similar to the Asian or European tundra. Soils and soils are characterized by widespread waterlogging due to small amounts of precipitation and low temperatures. There are quite a lot of rivers, lakes and swamps in this area. On peat-gley soils you can find grasses such as cassiopeia, forget-me-nots, polar poppies, and cotton grass. Dwarf birches, wild rosemary and willows also grow here. Huge areas are covered with lichens and mosses. Among the animals you can find wolves, arctic foxes, lemmings, musk oxen and caribou.

Forest-tundra and taiga zones

Compared to Eurasia, the forest-tundra here is more colorful and diverse. The river valleys located closer to the south are covered with forests. The northern border is home to spruce (white and black), mosses and lichens. In the western part you can see larch, but in Labrador you can see balsam fir. The forest-tundra zone extends for 500 km.

North America, whose natural zones are largely located in the temperate climate zone, can boast of a zone of coniferous forests stretching from the Atlantic coast in the east to the Pacific coast in the west. There are a lot of swamps here. The vegetation cover consists primarily of balsam fir, white spruce, and black spruce, but paper birch, American larch, and several species of pine trees can also be found. The trees here are powerful, their height is often 70-100 meters. Animals in the taiga include wood bison, American elk, several species of bears (grizzly, baribal), as well as red fox, raccoon, muskrat, skunk, and beaver.

North America: natural areas of mixed and broadleaf forests

The first of these zones occupies the territory of the Great Lakes. Here, tracts of coniferous trees are wonderfully combined with small-leaved species (poplar, birch) and broad-leaved forests. The soils are brown forest and soddy-podzolic. Here you can find several types of maple (silver, red, sugar), beech, oak, linden, elm, ash. Among coniferous species They distinguish pine, thuja, fir, larch, and spruce.

Broadleaf (Appalachian) forests are located on the south and southeast side of mixed forests. The main forest-forming species of this natural zone are oak (large-fruited, red and white), chestnut, beech, and linden. Magnolias, black walnuts and hickories can be found here. The diversity of vegetation is complemented by vines, forbs and dense undergrowth. This wealth of broadleaf forests is associated with fertile brown forest soils. As for the animal world, it has been preserved only in protected areas, in nature reserves, in which North America is rich.

Natural areas of forest-steppe and prairie

The prairies are located on the territory of the Central and Great Plains, just south of the taiga. They occupy part of the Central Plains (western). They are treeless plains covered with tall grass and cereal vegetation. 80% of the entire plant world is made up of the small and blue bearded vulture. The latter reaches 1.8 m in height. This is due to the chernozem-like soils of this subzone. This area has now become one of the main agricultural areas of the United States, where corn is grown. The forest-steppe subzone runs from west to east across the Great Plains. Vegetable world represented mainly by small aspen groves and meadows (fescue, wheatgrass, reed grass). The soils are meadow-chernozem and gray forest.

Zones of steppes, deserts and semi-deserts

The steppe is quite heterogeneous. This zone receives on average up to 600 mm of annual precipitation. The black soil plains are overgrown with fescue, wheatgrass and bearded grass. This area is almost completely plowed and cut up by ravines and gullies. The dry part of the steppes receives up to 400 mm of precipitation per year, which, together with soils with low humus content, does not produce high yields.

Deserts and semi-deserts occupy the driest areas of the Columbia Plateau, as well as the bulk of the Great Basin. No more than 250 mm of precipitation falls here per year. The main vegetation on gray-brown soils is wormwood; quinoa grows on saline soils.

Tropics and subtropics, mixed monsoon forests

The tropical zone has a lot of heat. Natural zones change from east to west, which is associated with different moisture levels in the areas. Monsoon forests grow in the southeast sub tropical zone, on red and yellow earth soils. In addition to coniferous trees, you can see dwarf palms, evergreen oaks and shrubs, and magnolias intertwined with vines. Cypress trees grow in the swamps, and sabal palms and pine trees grow in drier areas. A huge number of birds, turtles and alligators live here.

Also in North America, a narrow strip of hard-leaved forests and shrubs and altitudinal zones are distinguished. For clarity, it is better to put all the information provided in a table, analyzing the natural zones of North America. The table will help organize the information and knowledge received. Generalized material will also be more convenient for memorization.

The climate of the northern continents is very similar, but there are some differences. North America has less harsh conditions than similar areas in Russia. This is primarily due to the fact that the natural zones themselves are located further south.

How is zonation traced in North America?

Zoning in North America can be clearly traced by latitude. Starting from the Great Lakes and further south, nature mixes in a vertical direction - from West to East all the way to the Rocky Mountains. This is due to uneven moisture under the influence of ocean air masses.

Natural areas North America have character traits both Eurasia (in northern latitudes) and South America(in the south).

Rice. 1. Map of natural areas of North America

Let us consider a more detailed description of the natural zones of this continent using the table.

Table "Natural areas of North America"

Zone name	Geographical location		Vegetable world	Animal world
Arctic deserts	Canadian archipelago	Rocky, permafrost zone	Moss, lichens	Lemming, arctic fox, muskox
	Northern Arctic climate zone	Podzolic, permafrost-taiga	Moss, lichen, shrub, grass	Black grizzly bear, elk, wood bison, bobcat, skunk, muskrat
Forest-tundra	Very narrow strip in northern latitudes	Gley, podzolic	Balsam fir, black and white spruce, pine	Wolf, lemming
Mixed and broadleaf forests	Corresponds to the temperate climate zone	Brown forest, sod-podzolic	Maple, beech, yellow birch, tulip tree, red pine	Bison, brown bear, lynx.
Forest-steppe and steppe	Prairies - central part closer to the mountains	Chernozems, chestnut	Cereals, buffalo grass, fescue	Coyote, rodents, rabbit, prairie dog
Variable rain forests	Subtropical climate zone	Yellow soils and red soils	Oak, magnolia, palm, cypress	Wild animals exterminated
Semi-deserts and deserts	Interior of the Cordillera	Gray-brown, gray soils	Wormwood, solyanka, cactus, agave	Reptiles, rodents, armadillo
Tropical savannas and wet rainforests	Central America	Red soils and red-brown soils	Tropical crop plantations	Wild animals exterminated

Characteristics of natural areas

The forest zone is approximately a third of the continent. The most common are mixed and broad-leaved. In North America (Canada), taiga tree species predominate. The forest zone gives way to steppes.

TOP 4 articleswho are reading along with this

Prairies are plains with tall grass and no forests.

The prairies of North America are located in the western part of the Central Plain. Here are the main ones farms for corn cultivation (Iowa, USA). The same situation is observed in the steppe and forest-steppe zone. Since these three regions have the most fertile soil, they are almost completely developed by farmers.

Rice. 2. Prairies

To date wild world animals of the steppe and forest-steppe zones have been practically exterminated. Two hundred years ago, herds of bison and pronghorn lived here, but now you can only find a small prairie dog, similar to a squirrel, and wild coyotes, which often come close to human habitations in search of food.

The west of the Great Plain is dry steppe, where 500-600 mm falls per year. precipitation. It is practically a desert, so harvest is not guaranteed here. The grasses in this area are used as livestock feed.

There are deserts in the southern part of the continent. These were once the lands of gold miners. Among the sands you can find cemeteries of cities whose life, at times, did not exceed 50 years.

Rice. 3. Forest areas of North America

The subtropical zone ranges from 38° to 20°. This is the territory of the southern United States and northern Mexico. On the Atlantic coast, this area is home to some of the most fashionable tourist resorts. This is not surprising, because the climate here is very warm, there is practically no winter - it only gets a little cooler. The belt change in this area occurs from west to east.

What have we learned?

The natural areas of North America have some features compared to Eurasia. The change of zones here takes place at more southern latitudes, so the climate here is milder. Not only horizontal but also vertical zonality can be traced, which is a consequence of the influence of oceanic air masses.

Test on the topic

Evaluation of the report

average rating: 4.3. Total ratings received: 315.

Arctic deserts

Most of the Canadian Arctic Islands and Greenland.

Climate. Arctic. Negative or near-zero temperatures predominate.

Soils. Poor, rocky and swampy.

Vegetation. Mainly mosses and lichens.

Animal world. Muskox.

Tundra

The northern coast of the mainland with adjacent islands. In the east are the coast of Hudson Bay and the northern part of the Labrador Peninsula.

Climate. Predominantly subarctic (partially arctic).

Soils. Tundra - gley, with excess moisture.

Vegetation. In the northern part there are mosses and lichens; in the southern part - marsh grasses, blueberries and blueberries, wild rosemary bushes, low-growing willows, birches, and alders. Woody vegetation appears to the south.

Animal world. Polar wolf, caribou reindeer, arctic fox, ptarmigan and some others. Diversity migratory birds. In coastal waters there are seals and walruses. On the northern coast there is a polar bear.

Taiga

It stretches in a wide strip from east to west. Difficult coniferous forests.

Climate. Moderate (with increased moisture).

Soils. Podzolics predominate.

Vegetation. Mostly coniferous trees- balsam fir, black spruce, pine, sequoias, American larch. Hardwoods - paper birch, aspen. On the slopes of the Cordillera there are Sitka spruce and Douglas fir.

Animal world. Wolves, bears, deer and elk, foxes, lynxes, sables, beavers, muskrats. In mountain forests there are skunks, grizzly bears, and raccoons. In the rivers there are salmon fish. There are seal rookeries on the islands.

Mixed and broad-leaved forests

South of the tundra zone. (Variable moist forests predominate in the eastern part of the North American continent.)

Climate. Temperate, turning into subtropical.

Soils. Gray forest, brown forest, yellow soil and red soil.

Vegetation. IN mixed forests- sugar maple, yellow birch, white and red pine, linden, beech. In deciduous forests - different types oaks, plane tree, chestnut, tulip tree.

Animal world. Wapiti deer, bears (grizzly), moose, lynx, wolves, wolverines, raccoons, hares, foxes.

Evergreen tropical forests

In the south of the Atlantic and Mississippian and lowlands.

Climate. Subtropical.

Soils. Gray - brown, brown.

Vegetation. Oaks, magnolias, beeches, dwarf palms. The trees are entwined with vines.

Animal world. Diverse.

Forest-steppe

Treeless plains to the west of the forest zone. (In North America they are called prairies).

Climate. Subtropical.

Soils. Chernozems: podzolized and leached. Chestnut, forest gray.

Vegetation. Tall perennial grasses: wheatgrass, feather grass, etc. In river valleys there is woody vegetation. Near the Cordillera there are low cereal grasses (Gram grass and buffalo grass).

Animal world. Diverse and rich.

Desert and semi-desert zone

A significant part of the California coast, the Mexican highlands and the interior plateaus of the Cordillera.

Climate. Moderate (arid).

Soils. Brown and gray desert.

Vegetation. Black wormwood; on salt licks - quinoa solyanka; thorny bushes, cacti.

Animal world. Scarce.

Savannas and evergreen forests

On the slopes of the Caribbean and Central America.

Climate. There is a distinct change between dry and wet seasons.

Soils. Black, red-brown, brown, gray-brown

Vegetation. Tropical types of hard-leaved grasses. Trees with a long root system and umbrella-shaped crowns predominate.

Animal world. Versatile.

Natural areas of North America.

Up to the latitude of the Great Lakes (the border of the United States and Canada), natural zones replace each other in latitude, and to the south - meridionally. The following natural areas are represented in North America:

1. Arctic desert zone. This zone contains Greenland and most of the islands of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Here, in places freed from snow and ice, on poor rocky and marshy soils, during a short and cool summer mosses and lichens grow.

2. Tundra zone. Occupies the northern coast of North America and the adjacent islands. The southern border of the tundra in the west lies near the Arctic Circle, and as it moves east it enters more southern latitudes, capturing the coast of Hudson Bay and the northern part of the Labrador Peninsula. Here, in conditions of short and cool summers and permafrost, they are widespread. peat bogs. In the northern part of the tundra mosses and lichens grow, and in the southern part there are marsh grasses, rosemary bushes, blueberry and blueberry bushes, low-growing birch, willow, and alder with curved trunks. The North American tundra is home to arctic fox, arctic wolf, caribou reindeer, ptarmigan, etc. In summer, many migratory birds fly here. There are many seals and walruses in the coastal waters of the zone. Polar bears are found on the northern coast of the mainland.

3. Taiga zone. To the south, the tundra gradually turns into forest-tundra, and then into coniferous forests or taiga. The taiga zone extends in a wide strip from west to east. Mostly coniferous trees grow in the taiga - black spruce, balsam fir, pine, American larch; There are also deciduous ones - paper birch with smooth white bark, aspen. In the forests there are predatory animals - bears, wolves, lynxes, foxes; there are deer, elk and valuable fur-bearing animals - sable, beaver, muskrat. There are a lot of rivers salmon fish, there are seal rookeries on the islands.

4. Zone of mixed and deciduous forests starts south from the taiga. In the eastern part of the continent there are variable humid forests that extend all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. Mixed forests are dominated by yellow birch, sugar maple, beech, linden, white and red pine. Broad-leaved forests are characterized by different kinds oaks, chestnut, plane and tulip trees.

5. Evergreen zone tropical forests located in the south of the Mississippi and Atlantic lowlands. The forests consist of oaks, magnolias, beeches and dwarf palms. The trees are entwined with vines.

6. Forest-steppe zone starts west of the forest zone. Herbaceous vegetation predominates here. Steppes with tall grasses, predominantly grasses, reaching a height of 1.5 m, are called prairies in North America. Woody vegetation is found in river valleys and in moist low areas. Closer to the Cordillera, there is even less rainfall and the vegetation becomes poorer; low grasses do not cover the entire ground and grow in separate bunches.

7. Desert and semi-desert zone occupies a significant part of the interior plateaus of the Cordillera, the Mexican Highlands and the Californian coast. Here, on gray and brown soils, there are thorny bushes, cacti and wormwood, and on saline soils, there are saltworts.

8. Savanna and evergreen forest areas located in Central America and on the slopes of the Caribbean Sea.

	|	next lecture ==>

In the north of the continent, natural zones have a latitudinal strike, and in the central part (south of the Great Lakes) they have a meridional strike. At the same time, in the east there are zones of tundra and forests shifted to the south in comparison with its western part and with similar zones of Eurasia. South of the Great American Lakes, with increasing climate aridity, zones change from east to west: from the coast Atlantic Ocean Towards the Rocky Mountains, forests give way to forest-steppe and steppe.

Arctic desert zone occupies most of Greenland and the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Ice deserts in the east and rocky deserts in the west determine the appearance of this zone. The sparse vegetation consists of patches of mosses and lichens. Among the animals there are arctic foxes, wolves and lemmings, but the life of most animals is connected with the ocean.

For tundra zones characterized by widespread waterlogging, an abundance of swamps, lakes and small rivers. Mosses and lichens, shrubs and grasses grow on tundra-gley soils. Characteristic animals of the American tundra are: caribou reindeer, arctic fox, wolf, musk ox and lemming. In the forest-tundra there are coniferous trees - these are black and white spruce, balsam fir, and in the south, larch.

Due to higher average annual temperatures, the American taiga richer in species than the European one. Black and white spruce, balsam fir, several species of pine and larch dominate. For the coast Pacific Ocean Sitka spruce, Douglas fir, hemlock and other types of large trees reaching a height of 80-100 m, like Sitka spruce, are characteristic. Many animals live in the American taiga: black bear, gray grizzly bear, moose, wood bison, Canadian lynx , raccoon, skunk, muskrat, red fox, etc.

Mixed forest zone , which occupies the Great Lakes region, is represented by tracts of coniferous, small-leaved (birch, poplar) and broad-leaved forests on podzolic, soddy-podzolic and brown forest soils. In the coniferous-deciduous forests of the coast, in addition to conifers, several types of maple (sugar, red, silver), beech, linden, oak, elm and ash grow. To the west, these forests are replaced by coniferous-small-leaved forests, in which the forest-forming species, along with conifers, are white (paper) birch, balsam poplar and various types of aspens.

To the south and southeast of mixed forests is located deciduous forest zone , from which only small areas. These so-called Appalachian forests also have a rich species composition tree species: several types of oak (white, black, northern, red), linden, beech, sycamore, chestnut, hickory (trees of the walnut family), tulip tree and deciduous magnolias, lianas. The dominant soils are brown forest soils. Wild animals (buffalo, brown bears, lynxes) are preserved only in nature reserves.

North American forest-steppe and prairie almost completely plowed. The central plains were once a prairie kingdom. Once upon a time, a continuous herbaceous cover dominated here with a predominance of tall (up to 150 cm) grasses on chernozem-like soils. It was home to many rabbits and prairie dogs, bison and pronghorn antelope, wolves and cougars. On the Great Plains, prairies gave way to steppes on black and chestnut soils. They are also mostly plowed or occupied by pastures.

In the subtropical climate zone, almost all the land is occupied by agricultural land: fields of cotton, tobacco, and peanuts. In the past, also from east to west alternately succeeded each other:

variable-humid forests (oak, magnolia, beeches, dwarf palms, in wetlands - swamp cypress) on yellow earth and red earth soils of the Mississippi and Atlantic lowlands, prairies and shortgrass steppes on red-black and red-chestnut soils of the central part of the continent, tough-leaved evergreen forests Mediterranean type of the Pacific coast (evergreen oaks, pines, sequoias). Redwoods belong to the “living fossils”, as they were distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere in pre-glacial times. Average age these trees reach 3-4 thousand years, and the record holder turned out to be one cut down tree - counting the growth rings gave an age of 4830 years! Redwood trees reach gigantic size: heights over 100 m and several tens of meters in girth. There are known cases when souvenir shops and garages were set up in the hollows of sequoia trees. Inside a part of a sequoia trunk with a girth of 75 m, a hall with 150 seats was equipped in one of the museums in New York.

In the interior of the Cordillera (highlands Big Pool, Colorado Plateau, northern part of the Mexican Highlands) is located

semi-desert and desert zone subtropical zone. The sparse vegetation cover consists of black wormwood and quinoa. The appearance of the deserts of the Mexican Highlands is determined by cacti and yuccas from the agave family. The animal population is represented by numerous reptiles and rodents, and sometimes armadillos are found.

The high plateaus of Central America were occupied in the past tropical savannas, and the islands and Gulf Coast - tropical savannas And tropical rainforests on red soils and red-brown soils. Nowadays plantations of various tropical crops dominate here.

Altitudinal zone It is best expressed in the Cordillera; its features are determined by the height of the mountains and the position of their individual parts in different climatic zones.

Natural areas of America - geographical zonation South and North America are very diverse, which is explained by the fact that America stretches across the entire hemisphere, from the far north to the south. Therefore, there are almost all the natural areas of the planet here.

Natural areas of North America. Up to the latitude of the Great Lakes (the border of the United States and Canada), natural zones replace each other in latitude, and to the south - meridionally. The following natural areas are represented in North America:
1. Arctic desert zone. This zone contains Greenland and most of the islands of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Here, in places freed from snow and ice, mosses and lichens grow on poor rocky and marshy soils during the short and cool summer.
2. Tundra zone. Occupies the northern coast of North America and the adjacent islands. The southern border of the tundra in the west lies near the Arctic Circle, and as it moves east it enters more southern latitudes, capturing the coast of Hudson Bay and the northern part of the Labrador Peninsula. Here, in conditions of short and cool summers and permafrost, peat bogs are widespread. In the northern part of the tundra mosses and lichens grow, and in the southern part there are marsh grasses, rosemary bushes, blueberry and blueberry bushes, low-growing birch, willow, and alder with curved trunks. The North American tundra is home to arctic fox, arctic wolf, caribou reindeer, ptarmigan, etc. In summer, many migratory birds fly here. There are many seals and walruses in the coastal waters of the zone. Polar bears are found on the northern coast of the mainland.
3. Taiga zone. To the south, the tundra gradually turns into forest-tundra, and then into coniferous forests or taiga. The taiga zone extends in a wide strip from west to east. Mostly coniferous trees grow in the taiga - black spruce, balsam fir, pine, American larch; There are also deciduous ones - paper birch with smooth white bark, aspen. In the forests there are predatory animals - bears, wolves, lynxes, foxes; there are deer, elk and valuable fur-bearing animals - sable, beaver, muskrat. There are a lot of salmon fish in the rivers, and seal rookeries are located on the islands.
4. The zone of mixed and broad-leaved forests begins to the south of the taiga. In the eastern part of the continent there are variable humid forests that extend all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. Mixed forests are dominated by yellow birch, sugar maple, beech, linden, white and red pine. Broad-leaved forests are characterized by various types of oaks, chestnut, sycamore and tulip trees.
5. The zone of evergreen tropical forests is located in the south of the Mississippi and Atlantic lowlands. The forests consist of oaks, magnolias, beeches and dwarf palms. The trees are entwined with vines.
6. The forest-steppe zone begins to the west of the forest zone. Herbaceous vegetation predominates here. Steppes with tall grasses, mainly cereals, reaching a height of 1.5 m, are called prairies in North America. Woody vegetation is found in river valleys and in moist low areas. Closer to the Cordillera, there is even less rainfall and the vegetation becomes poorer; low grasses do not cover the entire ground and grow in separate bunches.
7. The desert and semi-desert zone occupies a significant part of the interior plateaus of the Cordillera, the Mexican Highlands and the Californian coast. Here, on gray and brown soils, there are thorny bushes, cacti and wormwood, and on saline soils, there are saltworts.
8. Zones of savannas and evergreen forests are located in Central America and on the slopes of the Caribbean Sea.

IN South America latitudinal zoning is also clearly expressed, as well as altitudinal zone.
1. Tropical forest zone. On both sides of the equator there are humid equatorial forests (selva, tropical forest). Their area here is about 2.5 times larger than in Africa. Equatorial forests(selva) are located on both sides of the equator, occupying almost the entire Amazonian lowland, the slopes of the Andes and the northern Pacific coast. Along the Atlantic coast there are tropical rainforests close to typical Hyla.
2. Savannas and steppes. To the north and south, tropical rainforests give way to savannas. In the southern part of the continent, south of the savannas, there are steppes (pampas).
3. Deserts and semi-deserts. They occupy most of the temperate zone in the south of the continent. On the western coast of the tropical zone is the Atacama Desert. In general, dry areas, unlike Africa, occupy insignificant areas.
In the Andes, altitudinal zonation is expressed, and its character differs significantly in the northern, central and southern parts of the mountains.