DK - Natures Wonderland: Animals and Plants from the US and Canada

ANIMAL S AND PLANT S FROM THE US AND CANADA

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This book was made with F or est Stewardship Co uncil cert ifi ed paper one small step in DKs commitment to a sustainable future. Fo r more informat ion go to www. dk.com/our-gr een-pledge Author Libby Romer o Subject consulta nt Eric Pe terson Illustr ator Abby Cook US Senior Edito r Shannon Beat ty Senior Ed itor Roohi Sehga l Project Edito r Robin Moul Editorial A ssist ance Agey George , Abi Lu scombe Senior Ar t Editor Roohi Rais Project Ar t Editor Polly Appleto n Art Editor Bhagyashree N ayak Jacket Designer Polly Applet on Senior Pi ctur e Resea rcher Saksh i Saluja Senior Pro duct ion Ed itor Nikoleta Paras aki Producer John Case y DTP Desig ners Dheeraj Si ngh, Syed Md Farh an Managing E ditors Monica Saigal, Penny S mith Managing Ar t E ditor Ivy Sengupta Delhi Cre ative Heads Glenda Fernandes, Malavika T al ukder Deputy Art Direct or Mabel C han Publishing Direct or Sarah Lar te r First Ameri can E dition, 2022 Published i n the United State s by DK Publishing 1745 Broadway , 20t h Floor , N ew Y or k, N Y 10 Tex t and des ign copyr ight 2022 Do rling Ki ndersley Limited Artw ork copy right Abby C ook, 2 DK, a Division of Pen guin Random House LLC 22 23 24 25 26 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 001 32907 7N ov/2022 All ri ghts reserv ed. Without limiting the r ights under t he cop yright reserv ed abov e, no pa rt of thi s publica tion ma y be reproduced, sto red in or intr oduced i nto a r etrieval syst em, or tra nsmitt ed, in a ny form , or by an y means (el ect ronic, mechanical , photoc opying, r ecording, or otherw ise) , without the p rior wr itte n perm ission o f the copyri ght owne r. Published i n Great Brita in by Do rling K indersley Limited A ca talog record for th is book is availabl e fro m the Librar y of Con gress. ISBN 978 -0- 40-59 -9 DK books are ava ilable at speci al discou nts when purchased i n bulk fo r sales promoti ons, prem iums, fund-rais ing, or educa tional u se. F or det ails, contac t: DK Publish ing Speci al Mark ets , 1745 Broadway , 20t h Floor , N ew Y or k, N Y 10 SpecialSales@ dk.com Printed a nd bound in China For the curious www. dk.com N ature of the US a nd Canada M ap of the regions A bout the regions The northeastern US 1 A bout the northeastern US 1 N ew Englan d 1 D owneast and A cadia 1 T he Adir ondacks 2 T he Mid-A tlantic 2 C hesapeake Bay 2 The southern US 2 A bout the southern US 2 A ppalachian Mountains 3 M ammoth Cave 3 S outh Carolina Lowc ountry 3 T he Mississippi Riv er 3 T he Gulf Coast 3 T he Everglades 4 The midwestern US 4 A bout the midwester n US 4 T he Superior U pland 4 T he Great Lakes 4 T he Central Lowl and 5 T he Ozarks 5 T he Black Hills 5 T he Great Plains

5 The western US 5 A bout the we stern US 6 R ocky Mounta ins 6 T he Grand Cany on 6 M ojave Des ert 6 C oastal California 6 P acific Northw est Yel lowstone super volcano 7 A laska H awaii Eastern and c entral Canada 7 A bout eastern a nd central Canada 8 T he Bay of Fundy 8 T he Maritimes 8 Torn gat Mountains 8 S t. Lawrence Lowl ands 8 N iagara Fa lls 9 H udson Bay 9 C anadian Shield 9 West ern Canada 9 A bout wes tern Canada 9 T he Prairies T he Canadian Badlands B anff and J asper C oast Mountains T he Okanagan Val ley P acific Coast Northern Canada A bout northern Canada T he boreal zone A urora borealis T he tundra E llesmere Island A rctic A rchipelago G lossary S tates, p rovinces, a nd territories I ndex A cknowledgments

How to use this book Exploring the US and Canada has neve r been easier . J ust flip through the pages of this book! You ll l earn all about the nature, geography , a nd wond erful sites found in each country . Discov er some of the highlights and unique na tural fea tures of the region. The United State s and Canada are paradise for anyo ne who love s var iety in natur e. There ar e polar bear s up north and alligators down sout h. Atlan tic puffins f ly in the east and giant redwoods grow i n the we st. Lets explore! bison, the mid wes ter n US About the regions These introductory pages include information about the geography , c limate, a nd habitats in each of the major r egions. about the nor th east ern us T he northeastern r egion is the smallest part of the US , b u t i t is packed wi th natural w onders. T her e are big, beau tiful mountains, r ocky Atlan tic coasts, a nd ev en wild hor ses! In the f all, spec t a cular col or s bur s t fr om the regions many fo res ts. Chesa peake B ay is one of the mos t biol ogic all y diver se ecos yst ems in the w or ld. Major landscapes Millions of y ears ago, supercontinents collided and then ripped apart along the eastern edge of the US . Since then, weathering and erosion have carv ed broad valleys and rolling hills. Wate r ecosyst ems Rivers an d lakes pro vide plenty of freshw ater ec osystems in the northeastern US. F or saltwater , t here s the Atlan tic Ocean. In the Chesapeake Ba y, you can find both. Natural resources This region has plenty of natural resources, i ncluding mountains made of granite, a n ocean full of fish, a nd trees that giv e us delicious maple syrup! Sites to see The northeastern US is best known for its f all foliage, rocky coasts, a nd diverse wildlife. Its al so famous for its unpr edictable weather . wild hor ses r o am freel y on the bea c hes of Assa t eag ue Island. Mount W a shing t on is home of the w or lds wor st wea t her. Whales and ot her animals thrive in the A tlantic Ocean. Ever y thing fr om tiny mice t o ma ssive moose live in the Adir ond a ck Mount ains . Numero us bogs dot the land. They are prime l oc a tions f or cranber ries t o gr o w .

Cold P a cific w a ves cra sh ont o the r ock y co a s t tha t lines the wes t co a s t of Nor th Americ a. There are many t all mount ains in Nor th America . Denali, in Ala ska, is the t alles t . discov er interEs ting fac ts about na ture in the Stor y box es. These lis t s help y ou learn more a bout the amazing sites. North Ame rica The US and Canada cov er about 80 percent of the continent of North Americ a. Other places including Mex ico and countries in Central America and the Caribbeanare part of North A merica, t oo. Foll ow the rules When yo u are out in nature, b e a smart explorer . Al ways take an adult with you. Keep y our distance from animals, a nd do not disturb them. D on t touch or eat an y pl ants. F oll ow the rules on any signs you s ee. They ar e there for a reason. Subregions Each of the major re gions includes famous subregions. Th ese pages catalog some of the wildlife and feature s found in each one. Feat ures If you d like to le arn about amazing natural places in the US and Canada, look no further . These pages tell all about them! 14 East ern gra y squirrels flick their t ails t o communic a te with ea ch ot her. New england New Engla nd is the most northeastern region of the US. Altho ugh small, i t is quite dive rse. R ivers, l akes, mountains, a nd forests provide plenty of places for plants and animals to liv e. S u gar m ap le T he sugar maple is a tr ee that grow s in cool, moist climat es. In the fall, i ts lea ves turn brilliant shades of r ed, y ello w, and or ange . P eople boil i ts sap t o mak e maple s yrup . E as t e r n g r a y s q ui r re l Ea st e rn g ray s q u irre l s ty pic all y ha ve b ro w n i s h - g ray b o d ie s w i th whi te under sides. Bu t the y can also b e a lm o s t en t i r el y b la ck , p a r t i cula r l y in northern r egions. M ou n t W a s h i n g ton M oun t W ashingt on is the talles t mount ain in the northeas t ern region. A t i ts summi t, people ha v e recorded wind blo wing at 231 mph (372 kph) and t emperatur es dropping t o -4 7F (-44C ) . Ea s tern newt s alamander North A tlantic right w hale This dark, s tocky w hale can grow up to 52 ft (15.8 m) long. Blubber ( a thick layer of fat that helps to ke ep an animal warm) accounts for up to 45 percent of its tota l body we ight! L obs ter s cr ush things with their lar ge c la w and cut with the small one. The Nor th A tlantic right whale is one of the mos t end angered whale species. Sp o tt e d sa l a m a n d e r T hese salamanders liv e in for ests near ponds, w here they can la y eggs. T he y spend mos t of their time hiding under lea v es, logs, or in under gr ound tunnels. Am e r i c a n lob st e r American lobst ers li v e in burr o ws on the ocean floor . The y hun t at nigh t w hen tides are high. If a pr edat or approaches, the y quickl y flee t o their burr o ws. Herring gull These gulls will do an ything to get a meale ven stea l food from another bird. Large groups often follow fishing boats in search of scraps. Big Night migration Each spring, o n rainy nights when temperatures rise abo ve freezing, h undreds of thousands of amphibians emerge from their w inter burr ows. They travel thr ough the w oods to pools of wa ter, whe re they mate. do wnea s t and a c adia Downeast is part of Maine . I t is the easternmos t point of the Uni ted Stat es. I ts rocky sho reline curves in and ou t of the Atlan tic Ocean. Moun tains and fores ts cov er the land. A cadia National Par k is also a part of this area. did you know? The name D owneast comes from the direction some ships sailed to get there: downw ind and to the east. Cadillac Mountain Cadillac Mountain is the tallest mountain in Acadia National Park . The mountain peak is the first place to see the sunrise in the US. Bubble Rock Bubble Rock is a massiv e white granite ro ck. I t sits on the edge of a pink granite mountain. L ong ago, g laciers moved Bu bble Rock here from 40 miles (64 km) aw ay. Thunder Ho le When wav es rush into Thunder Hole, air and water are forced out. Bang! It sounds like a loud clap of thunder. Wh oosh! W ater spouts shoot up to 40 ft (12 m) high. Aca dia Nat ional Pa rk In the early 1900s, t ourists flo cked to Acadia . Many people wanted to pr otect the beautiful landscape. Th ey bou ght the land and gave it to the federal governme nt. The area is now Acadia National Park. Along the shores The Downeast region is made u p of peninsulas and islands. H undreds of harbors and bays are tucked within its shores. L ighthouses stand guard to keep passing ships safe . lighthouses help guide bo a t s in this area of f og and r ock y c liffs . Lobster fishing Lobsters are a fav orite catch along the Downeast coastline. The water s here are cool and clear. Th e bottom is rocky . Its t he perfect home for these crustaceans. Americ an l obs ter Burnt Co at Harbor Light s ta t ion