Download Geographic Features of the United States

Geographic Features of the
United States
SS4G1 The student will be able to locate important physical and man-made
features in the United States.
a. Locate major physical features of the United States; include the Atlantic
Coastal Plain, Great Plains, Continental Divide, the Great Basin, Death Valley,
Gulf of Mexico, St. Lawrence River, and the Great Lakes.
Atlantic Coastal Plain
Atlantic Coastal Plain
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Stretches from New York to Mexico
Generally wet, with many rivers
Marshes and swampland
Used for agriculture (farming land)
Great Plains
Great Plains
• Central North America from Mexico to Canada
• High plateau of grassland, also known as
prairies
• Produce much of the wheat grown in the U.S.
Continental Divide
Continental Divide
• Line along the mountain ridges, primarily
Rocky Mountains
• Rivers east of the divide flow eastward
towards the Atlantic
• Rivers west of the divide flow westward
towards the Pacific
Death Valley
Death Valley
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Located in a desert valley in California
Driest and hottest area in North America
Became a national park in 1994
Received its name from emigrants traveling to
California – were attacked by Indians, killed
their oxen, burned their wagons to cure the
meat and traveled west by foot. 13 died on
the way to California.
Death Valley
The Great Basin
The Great Basin
• Desert region in the Western U.S.
• Most of Nevada is in the Great Basin
• Rivers in the Great Basin have no outlet to the
sea
Gulf Of Mexico
Gulf Of Mexico
• Southeastern coast of North America
• Part of Atlantic Ocean
• Borders Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama,
Mississippi, and Florida
The Great Lakes
The Great Lakes
• The five Great Lakes form the largest body of
freshwater in the world
• Their names – Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie,
and Superior – form the acronym HOMES.
• Lake Ontario flows in the St. Lawrence River
St. Lawrence River
St. Lawrence River
• River flowing from the Atlantic (the Gulf of St.
Lawrence) along the Canadian – New York
border into Lake Ontario (one of the Great
Lakes)
Mississippi River
Mississippi River
• Largest river in the United States
• Connects to the Missouri and Ohio Rivers
• The entire length was explored by the French
explorer La Salle, who claimed it for France
• Ends in the Gulf of Mexico (New Orleans, LA)
Missouri River
Missouri River
• Connected to the Mississippi River
• Longest river in the United States
• Rises in the Rocky Mountains and ends in
Montana
Ohio River
Ohio River
• Forms boundaries of Ohio– West Virginia,
Ohio-Kentucky, Indiana-Kentucky, and IllinoisKentucky.
• Flows out of Pennsylvania
• Empties into the Mississippi River in Illinois