Land and Water FeaturesOf the

United States

United States

Landforms

Great PlainsGreat Plains is an extensive grassland region in

North America.Extends form Northern Canada to Texas between

the Rocky Mountains and the Mississippi River.It is a very fertile region and is called the “Bread

Basket” of America because a lot of wheat is grown there.

Great BasinThe Great Basin is a lowland desert region

in the western U.S. between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada.

An area of land that is a depression (lower than the land around it) is called a basin.

Death Valley is in the Great Basin and is the lowest basin at 282 ft below sea level.

Cape CodJuts out into the Atlantic like

a giant fishhook near Boston, MA.

Pilgrims landed on the shores of Cape Cod at Plymouth, MA, establishing one of the first European settlements.

Gulf Coastal PlainStarts in Mexico on the Yucatan Peninsula and

moves along Texas and around the Gulf of Mexico to Florida.

The shoreline on the Gulf Coastal Plain is low, sandy, marshy and has many swampy areas called bayous. These areas are prone to flooding and dangerous especially when hurricanes like Katrina come through.

Atlantic Coastal PlainThe Atlantic Coastal Plain extends from Canada

down the eastern U.S. coastline to Florida.Made up of low flatlands which are prone to

flooding, and sometimes makes good farmland.

Central Valley of CaliforniaThe Central Valley is between the Sierra Nevada

Mountains and the Coastal Ranges and extends 450 miles.

It has very fertile lands and contains the largest concentration of fruit farms and vineyards in the US.

Appalachian MountainsThe Appalachian Mtns. run from the

St. Lawrence River to the Gulf Coastal Plain.

Mount Mitchell is the tallest mountain in the Appalachians.

The Appalachians are a very old mountain chain and used to be the tallest in the world (millions of years ago), but they have erroded over long periods of time.

They formed a natural border to west during early colonization of American.

Rocky MountainsLocated in the western U.S.

and extend more that 3,000 miles from central New Mexico to NW Alaska.

The jagged peaks indicated they are young in geological times.

The Rockies form the continental divide which means it separates the Rivers that drain into the Atlantic and Arctic from those that drain into the Pacific.

Sierra Nevada Mountains

The Sierra Nevada mountains extend from Bakersfield, CA to Lassen State Park in eastern CA.

The mountains are known for their spectacular scenery including Yosemite and Lake Tahoe.

Mount McKinleyLocated in Alaska in the Alaska Range in south

central Alaska.It is the highest peak in North America at over

20,000ft.

Mount WhitneyMount Whitney is the highest mountain in CA

and the second highest peak in North America.It is located in the Sierra Nevada Mountain

range.

Cascade RangeThe Cascade Range stretches from

Canada to Northern California. There are volcanic cones in this area, including Mount St. Helen which erupted in 1980.

Mount Rainier is its highest peak.

Coast RangeThe Coast Range runs

along the Pacific coast of North America from Alaska to California.

There are rocky coasts with sheer cliffs often shown in movies with high speed car chases (because it is very dangerous curvy roads bordered by cliffs).

Brooks RangeThe Brooks Range is in northern Alaska and you

can see the Arctic ocean from this range.There is oil in the mountains and a pipeline was

finished in 1977 that brings oil to southern Alaska.

Mauna LoaMauna Loa is Hawaii’s most active volcano.Volcanoes like Mauna Lao formed the Hawaiian

Islands as the flow of lava cooled and hardened into the rock which built slowly into islands.

The island of Hawaii grows each year because of lava flow.

United States

Waters

Pacific OceanBorders the US to the westNamed by Ferdinand

MagellanPacific means tranquilThe part he saw was very

peaceful, but the Pacific is known for rough waters.

The Pacific is the largest ocean in the world.

Atlantic OceanBorders the United States to the eastSecond largest ocean in the worldMany underwater mountain ranges

Gulf of MexicoLarge body of water

west of Florida, it is actually an extension of the Atlantic Ocean

Oil has been found under the Gulf

It is bordered by Florida, Alabama,Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas

Great Lakes Group of five freshwater

lakes between the United States and Canada.

They make up the largest body of fresh water in the world

Made up of Lake Huron, Lake Ontario, Lake Michigan, Lake Erie, and Lake Superior.

Great Lakes Region was rich in furs.

Great Salt LakeShallow body of salt water in NW UtahLargest body of salt water in the USThere are few or no outlets from the lake so salt

has built up over time. The area is rich in salt deposits and has been mined for many years.

Chesapeake BayThis bay is a 200 mile inlet to to the

Atlantic OceanIts calm waters provide many ocean

vessels with protection from rough waters and has been a popular area for settlement since the first European arrived

Big urban areas have formed here including Washington, DC, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Richmond.

San Francisco BayThe bay is 50 miles long

and is an important entrance to the Pacific Ocean.

It is a major seaport on the west coast of US

Some of the largest ship in the world come and go from San Francisco Bay.

Hudson RiverStarts in the Adirondack

Mountains and flows through NY City.

The Erie canal was built in 1825 to connect the river to Lake Erie.

The Hudson was an important natural water route for the trade of furs.

New York City grew to be one of the largest cities in the world because of its easy trade accessibility.

Mississippi River It is 2,350 miles long and

starts in Minnesota, flows down through the central US to Mississippi.

It empties into the Gulf of Mexico.

It is the major shipping route and has been very important to trade for a long time.

It was part of the Louisiana purchase.

Ohio RiverStarts in Western Pennsylvania and flows

generally westward where it joins with the Mississippi River in Illinois.

Serves as a natural boundary between several states, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois.

Missouri RiverForms a natural border

between Iowa and Nebraska and Kansas.

Flows in a curvy (meandering) path through the Great Plains.

Called the “Big Muddy” for its heavy load of silt.

Meets with the Mississippi in St. Louis.

Much of the Louis and Clark expedition was traveling the Missouri River.

Colorado River

Major river that flows through the Grand Canyon and is responsible for carving out this and many other canyons.

Starts in the Rockies and flows SW through Utah, Arizona, Nevada and California before entering Mexico and empting into the Gulf of California.

Rio GrandFlows south from

Colorado through New Mexico then turns southeast and forms the border between Texas and Mexico.

In some places it is very narrow.

St. Lawrence RiverOne of the most important rivers of North

America, it flows NE from Lake Ontario and forms part of the border between Canada and the US before turning north to Quebec and then finally into the Atlantic ocean.

It has been important to trade and is now a large source of hydroelectric power to the region.

Thousand Islands

Columbia RiverFlows from British

Columbia, Canada through Washington and Oregon.

It forms part of the Washington and Oregon border before emptying into the Pacific Ocean near Portland, Oregon.

Lewis and Clark found the Columbian River on their great expedition.