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Activities
  1. Explore It
    This map shows the land and peoples of North America. Find the Omaha and the Erie. In what kind of vegetation and landform regions did they live?
  2. Find It
    Click on the three vegetation labels in the Legend. Which one covers most of the land in North America?
  3. Write About It
    Choose one vegetation region shown on the map. Think about how that vegetation might have affected the American Indians who lived on the land. Would the vegetation have made it easier or harder to get food and build shelter? Write a paragraph to explain your answer.
Learn More About It

The geography of North America is very diverse. Some of the land is covered in thick forest. Other parts are covered in grass. Some regions are desert, which is a dry region with little or no vegetation. Each type of vegetation region presents challenges and opportunities to the people who live there. This map shows where major American Indian groups lived in 1500. Many of these groups still live on the same land. The major vegetation and landform regions in 1500 are also shown.
Check Your Answers
  1. The Omaha lived on grassland in the Great Plains while the Erie lived on forests in the Central Plains.
  2. Forest covers the most land.
  3. Your paragraph should include information about how the vegetation in the region you chose affected the daily lives of American Indians. For example, you might say that American Indians in the desert had difficulty getting water or that the forest provided plenty of wood for building shelters.
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