NATURAL RESOURCES

• Throughout history, people have often selected where they wanted to live based on the natural resources that were available in the area. Natural resources are things that are useful to people, and come from the earth. Some examples of these resources include shelter, or materials for building shelter, food sources such as fruits and vegetables, animals that could be caught or hunted, and water.

• A region’s climate and landforms determine what can grow in different areas, and what organisms will be able to survive there. Regions with very rich soil can support agricultural societies, while poor soil conditions will either send people looking for better conditions, or attract those with other purposes for the land, such as establishing businesses or factories.

• While you may not think of the mountains, lakes, or oceans as natural resources, they are. People who wish to make a living as fishermen can do so by the ocean, but cannot in the desert. Desert peoples have many traditional foods made with cactus, which cannot be found in the forest. Each area attracts people based on their interests and purposes. Areas that support many different interests will naturally have larger populations. Traditionally, villages and cities built near water sources have been the most successful. People living near water are able to use water resources to meet their daily needs, and can also use the water to help them transport goods and products to other areas where they can be sold.  Places that are difficult to reach, such as high on mountaintops or hillsides, or long distances away through hot, dry deserts, will naturally have fewer people living in them.

• Renewable resources are those that can be replenished easily. For too long, humans have destroyed resources, using up those that cannot be easily  replaced. On Earth, we are fortunate to have many resources that are renewable, such as sun, wind, water, and trees. As more and more focus is placed on the use of renewable resources, it will become easier to protect our planet from further harm

 Name:__________________________________

Answer the following questions based on the reading passage. Don’t forget to go back to the passage whenever necessary to find or confirm   your answers.

1) Think about the natural resources near you. What are the things that made your family decide to live where you do?

2) Why do you think few people live in the desert?

3) Give some examples of shelter.

4) When you become an adult, will you choose to live the same place as your parents did? Why, or why not?

5) What natural resources are available on the coast that might not be available somewhere else?