With a partner, think of some major geographic landforms in the United States.

List them out, be sure to mention them by name!

Ex. The Rocky Mountains

The vast and varied landscape and abundant resources have attracted immigrants and shaped the development of the United States

All major types of landforms are found in U.S. from towering mountain ranges to low lying coastal plains as well as tropical forests and deserts.

The Coastal Plain is a low lying, flat area that extends from Delaware down to Florida.

This area features many excellent harbors such as the Chesapeake Bay

Appalachian Mountains run 1,600 miles from Maine to Alabama

- include Green and Catskill mountains in the north

- Blue Ridge and Great Smoky mountains in the south

More than 400 million years old Erosion has created gentle

slopes, peaks from 1,200–2,400 feet

The Appalachian Trail is a scenic hiking path along the chain

Mt. Rushmore is probably one of the most famous monuments in the United States carved out the side of the mountain in the Black Hills, South Dakota.

Because the Black Hills are sacred to the Native American Lakota people, a more fitting monument is that of Crazy Horse.

Crazy Horse was a great, compassionate leader of the Lakota’s during their darkest days.

Because the original sculptor died in 1982, the memorial has no timetable to be completed.

Funding has been an issue since they refuse assistance from the government.

When complete, the sculpture will be 641 feet wide and 563 feet high.

- compare that to Mt. Rushmore where the heads are 60 ft. high

It will be the largest sculpture in the world.

Ancient glaciers leveled the land, left fertile soil

The Great Plains extend from west from the Mississippi River all the way to the Rocky Mountains

I thought the Rocky Mountains would be a little rockier than

this…

So did I…That John Denver is

fullof it, man!

Rocky Mountains run 3,000 miles from Alaska to New Mexico

Relatively young: 80 million years old

Less erosion means rugged, 12,000-foot, snow-covered peaks

Continental Divide—the line of highest points along the Rockies

Between the Rockies and the Pacific Ocean is a land of varied landforms.

Such landforms include mountain ranges, valleys, canyons and deserts.

Mt. McKinley is the tallest mountain in the United States.

It is measured at 20,320ft!

The natives originally named it Denali, meaning “the high one”.

Sonoran Desert

Great Salt Lake Desert

Mojave Desert

Death Valley is the lowest, driest, hottest location in North America.

The hottest temperature ever recorded there was a staggering 134 degrees Fahrenheit!

That’s just 2 degrees shy of the world record!

The Grand Canyon is one the largest canyons in all the world.

Carved out by the Colorado River for millions of years, it is 277 miles long, up to 18 miles wide and over a mile deep in some areas!

Wine Country!

The United States does not have many large islands.

The largest would be the Hawaiian Islands which are linked to the United States politically rather than geographically.

Alaska’s Aleutian Islands and the Florida Keys are other small island chains.

The United States is bound by waterways including the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.

The country also has many large lakes and rivers that provide - transportation, hydroelectric power, irrigation, fresh water, fisheries.

Pacific Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

The Mississippi River is the longest river in the United States and 4th longest in the world.

It flows for 2,320 miles! The Mississippi and its

tributaries, the Ohio and Missouri Rivers, make it the largest and busiest system in the United States.

The United States consists of thousands of lakes.

Some of the largest freshwater lakes in the world are the Great Lakes in the Midwest which border Canada.

- Huron - Michigan - Ontario - Erie - Superior

Utah’s Great Salt Lake is the largest salt water lake (inland sea) in the Western Hemisphere!

The lake has very high salinity and is far saltier than sea water.