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Geography
 Exploring North America - Its Water

Exploring North America - Its Water
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 5 to 7
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   5.82

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    eternity, riches, pathway, northeast, history, explorer, economy, western, early, planet, posts, french, company, join, become, between
     content words:    North America, In North America, Atlantic Ocean, Baffin Bay, Labrador Sea, Hudson Bay, Henry Hudson, Hudson River, New York, Hudson Strait

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Exploring North America - Its Water
By Trista L. Pollard 		  
1     About three-fourths of our planet is made of water. Early explorers crossed almost half of this water. They were traveling to claim land and riches in North America. The Earth's oceans and lakes are very important. They support animal and human life. In North America, these lakes, rivers, and oceans have become part of history. They were the water "highways" for many early settlers. Today, they are still a huge part of our economy.
 
2     Before Columbus sailed for the Indies, people knew very little about our water. Most people believed that the Earth was flat, and that the water had an edge like a waterfall. You could sail over into eternity! Columbus, Magellan, and other explorers proved our world was a sphere. Many of these explorers made their journeys to North America. They crossed the continent's land and sailed its waterways.
 
3     The Atlantic Ocean borders the east coast of North America. Many explorers from Europe sailed across this ocean. They were hoping to find water routes to Asia. Instead, they found North America. Some entered the waterways near Canada. The Vikings entered near Baffin Bay and the Labrador Sea. These bodies of water are between Greenland and Canada. Hudson Bay is one of the largest bays in the world. It was named after a fur trading company. The bay was also discovered by explorer Henry Hudson. He explored North America from 1609-1611 for Holland and England. Hudson also sailed down the Hudson River. This river is located in New York state. It is one of many famous rivers in the U.S. The Hudson Strait is a pathway between the bay and the Labrador Sea. Some of the smaller bays are located on the east coast. The Chesapeake Bay and Delaware Bay were very important to early colonists.

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