Hi everyone, I'm Juan. This is my friend Benny; he's an American bison. Say hello to our friends,
Benny! [Bison noise] Benny and the other American bison live in the Western portion of the United States.
As you can see, they live on this large, grassy landscape called the Great Plains.
When Americans first moved into the West, hunters threatened the very existence of the bison.
Thankfully, laws were eventually passed to protect endangered species. Benny and the rest
of the bison are still here, representing this amazing region of the United States!
I've learned so much exploring the different regions of the United States,
and now I want to be your official tour guide. So, why don't we discover together? Welcome to
Operation Exploration, where we are exploring... [Drum roll] regions of the United States!
In this video, we're going to explore some of the landforms, ecosystems, the wildlife,
and the climate in the West region of the U.S. The Western states we'll be talking about today
are Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Nevada, California,
Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and Hawaii. Maybe you live in one of these states,
and you'll already know about some of the things we're going to discover.
The West has the most diverse landscape. If you've watched some of the other region's videos in this
series, you know that the word "landscape" means all the visible features in an area,
and the word "diverse" means different or, in this case, a variety of landscapes.
I have some very special friends that will help us discover this beautiful region. So,
come on with me, and let's get started!
The Great Plains prairie is found across 10 states. Montana, Wyoming, Colorado,
and New Mexico are the states in the West region, while the others are in the Midwest.
The Great Plains prairie is an ecosystem, or a geographic area where plants, animals,
weather, and landscape work together.
The Great Plains have a continental climate. This means that they experience cold winters and warm
summers with low precipitation or rainfall and little humidity or moisture in the air.
They have a lot of wind and sudden changes in the
temperature. This can lead to thunderstorms and tornadoes.
[Thunder clap]
Oh, OK, so Benny had to
chomp on some more grass before the storm sets in, and we are getting out of here!
Whew, that was close. Hey, look who's here! It's my good buddy Ellen. Ellen Elk. Ellen,
say hi to our fellow explorers! [Elk noise] Ellen wants to tag along as we discover the montane ecosystem
rich and diverse plant and animal life, abundant rivers, and meadows and hilly slopes decorated
with wildflowers. "Montane" sounds like "mountain" because these areas have elevations of 5,000 feet
and above. These are the Rocky Mountains, Cascade Mountains, and the Sierra Mountains.
On the north-facing slopes of these mountains, there are forests and water sources that
support wildlife, like red squirrels, porcupines, beavers, western screech owls,
grizzly bears, wolves, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, and elk, like Ellen!
Although very dry, the south-facing slopes of the montane do have some ponderosa pine trees,
grass, and shrubs. Because of the dry climate and high frequency of lightning in the region,
fires have had a major impact on the montane forests. Believe it or not, forest wildfires help
clear out the forest floor and return nutrients to the soil for new plants that feed the animals.
Even though the region is surrounded by the mostly dry, arid Southwest,
the climate of the high elevations of the montane forests is cold in
the winter and warm to cool in the summer, and of course, winter precipitation falls as snow.
It was so nice to see you again, Ellen, but we have lots more to discover!
Let's make our way to the bottom of these mountains into the Sonoran Desert ecosystem
and meet my partner in adventure here, Reggie Rattlesnake. Reggie,
greet our fellow explorers, please! [Rattlesnake noise] Reggie is an expert on the Sonoran Desert, right, Reggie?
Which includes most of the southern half of Arizona, southeastern California,
most of the Baja California Peninsula, and the islands of the Gulf of California. It has more
plant life than other North American deserts, filled with cacti and 2,000 species of plants.
There are actually four desert ecosystems with some overlap; the others are the Basin Desert in
Utah and Nevada, the Mojave in California, and the Chihuahua in Texas and Mexico.
What was that, Reggie? Oh, I see, Reggie wants you to know about some of the awesome wildlife here.
There is the black-tailed deer, the desert bighorn, the cute little western harvest mouse,
the roadrunner, the Gila monster, the Harris hawk, the peccary,
the desert sidewinder, and the horned toad. Look at that camouflage!
What was that, Reggie? Oh yeah, the climate.
Rainfall is an important characteristic of the Sonoran Desert. The summer monsoon
brings surges of wet tropical air with frequent and often violent thunderstorms.
The Sonoran Desert is different from the other three North American deserts that
we mentioned because it has mild winters, hardly ever getting cold enough for a frost.
Oh, let's get out of here!
Whew, wow, that was a storm! Well, I'll see you around, Reggie. Thanks for all your help! Ah,
what a rad rattlesnake. But for real, guys, never go near a real rattlesnake.
They are very venomous. Anyway, it's time for our last area of the West.
Here is the Pacific Coast rainforest ecosystem! To help us navigate this
fascinating part of the West region is my pal Ali, the Alaskan brown bear. [Bear noise] Look, he said hi!
I am positive that he would want me to start by saying that this Pacific Coast area consists of
the western coastal parts of southern Alaska, Canada, Washington, Oregon, and northern
California. This area is famous for its huge trees, like the coastal redwoods in California.
The forest floors are so thick with ferns, mosses, and plants that the floor appears
to move. That's right, Ali! The rivers are full of your favorite meal, fish, especially salmon.
Oh, and the coastal waters are one of the richest in the world,
which also provides food for wildlife, including shorebirds, bald eagles, and ravens.
In the North, along the Alaskan coast, the protein was so rich that the Alaskan brown bear,
like our pal Ali, developed into one of the largest predators, or hunters,
on Earth. Only the polar bear is larger. Besides all of the common forest animals, like deer,
elk, and moose, known in the area, take a look at some of the unique wildlife in the Pacific Coast:
the Pacific tree frog, the harlequin duck, the Pacific giant salamander,
the red tree squirrel, the northern spotted owl, and the sophisticated Steller's jay.
So, Ali, should we talk about the climate?
I agree! The Pacific Coast rainforest ecosystem is a temperate rainforest.
Remember that temperate means that it doesn't get too hot or too cold,
but there's still a summer and a winter with snowfall. The warm Japanese current travels
across the Pacific Ocean and controls this climate, giving it quite a bit of rainfall.
What's that, Ali? Oh, you want to talk a little more about your home, Alaska?
Absolutely! People travel from all over to check out the amazing Alaska landscape and its wildlife,
like the Alaskan brown bears. Is that you, Ali? And here is a moose, some Dall sheep,
a wolf, and caribou. Head out into the ocean, and you will find the humpback whales...
and orcas! We already talked about the southern coast of Alaska having
the Pacific Coast temperate climate, but what about the rest of the state?
Alaska's interior has a continental climate with cold air from northern
Canada and Siberia. They have a variable but mild summer but can drop as cold as
-60 in the winter. Thunderstorms are common in the interior in summer;
the severe lightning can cause forest fires. [Thunderclap]
And although Alaska gets about 65 inches of snow per year, they're actually only
the fifth snowiest state in the U.S., behind Colorado, which gets about 67 inches annually,
and the Northeast region states New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont, which get even more.
Okay, explorers, Ali wants to say goodbye before we head out to our
last destination in the West. Bye, Ali! Onward to the beautiful state of Hawaii!
The Hawaiian Islands are 2,000 miles west of California. They are the world's largest
island chain and the only U.S state made up of only islands. Only seven of its 132 islands are
inhabited by actual people. The Hawaiian Islands are volcanic islands. They were formed from magma,
a mixture of molten and semi-molten rock that is found beneath the surface of the Earth.
The remaining hot spots make volcanoes, like Kilauea. It has been erupting for
over 30 years, and each year, its lava expands Hawaii by over 40 acres.
Hawaii is surrounded by beautiful beaches with white, green, red, pink, and even black sand.
Hey, who's this big fella? Oh, Henry Humpback! Nice to meet you.
Oh, yes, I will talk about your Hawaiian island friends. We have the pueo, or Hawaiian
short-eared owl, the manu-o-kū or white fairy terns, the endangered nene goose,
the monk seals, the hawksbill turtles, and the lizardfish. Oh, and this guy, the humpback whale.
They come to visit the Hawaiian waters from December to May to have calves, or baby whales.
Hawaii's climate is tropical but encounters four different climate zones based on which
island and the altitude, or the height of the land above sea level. They are tropical, arid,
temperate, and alpine, where snow falls on Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa during the winter.
Wind from the Pacific Ocean produces lots of rainfall on the northeast side of the
islands. Thunderstorms are much bigger threats here than hurricanes. Whew!
The Pacific also acts like a giant thermostat and does not allow the
temperature of the islands to get as hot as most tropical areas. Hawaii has never
had a recorded temperature above 100° Fahrenheit or below freezing.
Well, that's a wrap for today! I mentioned so many awesome animals and land features of the West
region that you can explore on your own. Check out our other videos, where we explore more fun and
interesting things about the United States. And in the meantime, remember to always be clever! Woo!