North America, whose geography was developed only in the 17th century, and even then not completely, is a huge continent. It was discovered by Europeans in the 10th century. The length of North America is so great that nature is different not only in the south and north, but also in the western and eastern parts of the mainland.
general review
The map of North America (physical) shows that in the far north here, as well as on the Eurasian continent, there are Arctic deserts - the kingdom of ice and snow. Nothing grows on this earth, with the exception of mosses and lichens. From Alaska, the north of Labrador and the Hudson Bay, the tundra zone begins. Here you can already find dwarf trees, shrubs and low grasses. Lesotundra flows into the coniferous forest. In general, the forests of North America occupy a third of the continent. Taiga with white and black firs, pines, balsamic firs is replaced by mixed and broad-leaved forests, in which there are linden, maples, oaks, chestnuts. Then the forest thins and to the south goes into the forest-steppe, and after that - into the steppe. These areas of North America are called prairies. There are real deserts on the mainland, but they are disturbed by the mountains cutting through them.
Climatic features
The nature of North America is so diverse, since the mainland is in all climatic zones, except for the equatorial. In winter, the weather greatly depends on solar radiation, and in summer - from the influence of the oceans. In January, in the north of the mainland, frosts reach -20 ... -25 degrees, and in the central part of Greenland they can reach -55 degrees. In Alaska and most of the Hudson's Bay, it gets colder in winter to -15 ... -20, and in summer the air warms up to + 5 ... + 10. In areas with a temperate climate (north of the mouth of Colombia) in winter the temperature is -5 ... -10 degrees, and in summer it does not exceed +20. The territory from Florida to California belongs to the subtropical zone. On the Mississippi Lowland, in summer it warms up to + 25 ... + 30 on average, and in winter frosts can reach -15 degrees.
Arctic
As the map of North America (physical) shows, the northernmost part of the mainland is not at all monotonous. Depending on the terrain, nature also changes. Everything that is not covered with ice is saturated with water. The tundra is sometimes even brighter in color than the Russian autumn forest. Oceanic ice gives an amazing range of colors with a smooth transition from white to black. Ice is often colored in greenish and blue hues. Polar bears and walruses live here, and there are not so many birds, although the abundance of insects serves them as rich food.
More than half of the land of the American Arctic is Greenland, which is 85% covered by an ice sheet. However, its coastline is not so cold as it seems to many. In the summer, people here even swim in the lakes. The flora of Greenland is very diverse and has several hundred different species of plants, including even birch trees. But, of course, the land is mainly covered with vegetation characteristic of the tundra. Here you can find the smallest tree on the planet - a dwarf willow, reaching a height of no more than 5 centimeters. The west coast of Greenland is more severe. There lies ice, and the rocky coast is indented with fjords and bays.
Boreal forests
The nature of North America is rich in forests. To the south of the tundra, aspen-like poplars and spruces grow, to the southwest - spruce and pine forests, which in the south are replaced by a transition zone with coniferous and deciduous vegetation. The Canadian northern edge strikes with silent beauty at any time of the year, but in the summer, when the spruce forest sparkles with bright colors, it is especially beautiful here. Yukon and British Columbia are covered in a whole ocean of trees. Plants and animals of North America in this area are represented by many species. Among the representatives of the fauna, white-tailed deer, forest bison, coyotes, beavers, moose, gray and red lynxes, forest caribou, rabbits and hares, wolverines are found here.
In the transition zone, conifers begin to alternate with deciduous trees: oak, elderberry, alder, maple. A mixed forest stretches from British Columbia to the Great Lakes and further to New England. The mountains of Southern California are surrounded by meadows and green forests. In the coastal zone there are many exotic plants - these are palm trees and eucalyptus imported from Australia. Kentucky, Alabama, and Tennessee are growing true broad-leaved forests. Through these states and Georgia, he goes east, south of Virginia. There are oaks, hazel, elm, birch, hornbeam, magnolia, alder, willow, maple, poplar, chestnut, ash, acacia.
Temperate forests are separated from the prairies by a strip of parkland. They run through East Texas, go around the Great Plains and cover the plains of Illinois, and then pass the Rocky Mountains and reappear in southern British Columbia. Grasses of this kind are inherent in the landscape and single trees appearing among them: juniper, pine, oak, maple, spruce.
Prairies
So called the vast spaces that occupy the entire central part of the continent. The nature of North America has changed dramatically due to human exposure, and the prairies in their original form are now found in only small areas. The rest of the land is plowed, artificially irrigated, crossed by power lines and a network of roads. Farms stretch along rivers in flood meadows. Many plants and animals of North America, previously found here, have now disappeared or declined sharply.
In the prairies in winter it is quite cold: snow falls, winds rage. With the advent of spring, severe floods are possible. Here the best time is the first month of summer, when everything is fragrant and blooms. In August, drought sets in, fires often occur. Nevertheless, the corners of the prairies, preserved intact, the Americans consider the land of unsurpassed beauty. Tourists love these places no less than the sea coasts and forest parks.
The mountains
From Alaska to Mexico, the Cordillera chain stretches, and between their ridges lie plateaus and plateaus. The rocky mountains are covered with wonderful vegetation and melt many blue marvelous lakes. Snow on the northern slopes and in the cup-shaped valleys may not melt all summer. The mountains of Arizona, Utah and Colorado are surrounded by high plateaus. This entire region has its own climate, its nature and geological structure, amazing fauna and flora. Many geological formations cut through one of the wonders of North America - the Grand Canyon, whose depth reaches 1800 meters and a length of 340 kilometers. People from all over the world come here to see with their own eyes the sight of eternity and the grandeur of nature.
Sand coast
In the northeast of the mainland, from Nantucket Island to Florida and around the Gulf of Mexico, there is a coastal strip with many sand dunes. In some places on the dunes grow pines, godson, dogrose. There are many birds: mockingbirds, blackbirds, blue herons, woodpeckers, red-winged swamp corpses, oatmeal, cormorants, gulls, ducks. The birds feed on marine life: fish, crabs, horseshoe crabs and so on.
Finally
The nature of North America has long been not the same as it was before. Plowing the prairies, cutting down forests, building cities, people upset the natural balance. A man destroyed a wandering pigeon, exterminated herds of bison, and those animals that remained had to adapt to new conditions. You can see the possums turning over garbage cans on city streets in search of food, raccoon raccoons near restaurants asking for leftovers, and wild deer grazing along the highways, completely oblivious to the speeding cars. In New York, owls and peregrine falcons nest on skyscrapers, and a variety of birds have taken root in parks and gardens. Here it is, the fauna of the anthropogenic landscape!