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Regions
of the
United
States
Midwest
Midwest
Geography:
 Most of the Midwest is flat or rolling land, called the Central
Plains.
 The grasses of this prairie help make the soil extremely fertile.
The plains are surrounded on the east by the Appalachian
Mountains and the Rockies on the west.
 There are many farms, especially throughout Kansas and
Iowa. To the west of the Central Plains lie the Great Plains.
Here the soil isn't as fertile, and there is less rainfall.
 The Mississippi River flows through this region, a great means
of transportation. There are two other important waterways,
the Ohio River and the network of routes within the Great
Lakes.
 Four of the Great Lakes touch the Midwest, Erie, Huron,
Michigan and Superior. Large ports on these lakes created
major cities such as Cleveland, Chicago and Milwaukee
Midwest
Climate
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The eastern part of this region receives from 20 to
40 inches of precipitation each year, making it
ideal for certain crops.
This region is part of Tornado Alley, an area with
the most frequent tornados in the country, with
Kansas having the highest number of F5
tornadoes since 1880, and Iowa has the greatest
number per square mile.
Farmers much watch the weather closely. Strong
winds are a danger to the flat treeless land of
the Great Plains. Blizzards are another danger
Northeast
Northeast
Geography
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•
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New England does not have fertile land suitable for
farming.
This part of the region has broad valleys and rolling hills,
with a few low mountain ranges, part of the
Appalachian Mountains. New England farmers must
choose crops that work well in the rocky soil.
Most of the land in the Middle Atlantic states are part of
the Coastal Plain, the low land that stretches along the
Atlantic Ocean. Crops grow well in this rich soil. There
are several mountain ranges, including the Allegheny
Mountains, the Pocono Mountains, the Adirondacks
and the Catskills.
The most important waterway in the region is the St.
Lawrence Seaway, which connects many inland ports
on the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. The Erie
Canal connects the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean.
Northeast
Climate
 The Northeast has a varied climate, with
four seasons each year. The winters are
cold, the summers can be hot. The
temperature becomes colder as you
travel northward.
Southeast
Southeast
Geography
•
This area is part of the Coastal Plain and is mostly flat.
The soil is rich and crops have a long growing season,
making it ideal for agriculture.
•
The Atlantic coast in this region is known for its beautiful
sandy beaches. There are many rivers and oak and
pine forests. Large coastal marshes form where the
fresh water from the rivers mixes with the salt water
from the ocean.
•
The largest and best-known swamps in America are all
in the Southeast, located in Virginia, North Carolina,
Georgia, and Louisiana. The Everglades, a huge low,
wet land, covers much of southern Florida.
Southeast
•
Climate
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The Southeast region is part of the Sun Belt. It contains
many climatic zones ranging from temperate, to subtropical, to tropical, to arid. The weather is very mild,
and so many retirees like to live here.
•
There is much rainfall, good for farming. Along the
southern Atlantic coast and the Gulf coast, summers
are long and hot and winters are short and mild. This
region is frequently hit by hurricanes from August
through November, especially those states on the Gulf
coast.
Southwest
Southwest
Geography
•
Outside of the cities, this region is a land of open spaces, most of
which is desert and many areas of grasslands, or prairies. There are
large cities and thick pine forests and even some mountains. One of
the biggest problems of this region is a limited water supply.
•
The lowest lands are along the Texas Gulf coast, part of the Coastal
Plain, with fertile soil. The Central Plains spread through central
Oklahoma and into Texas. This area is home to farms and ranches.
As the land gets higher you can see cattle and sheep grazing on
the short grasses. The Rocky Mountains go north from New Mexico.
The Colorado Plateau begins at the western edge of the Rocky
Mountains, covering much of northern New Mexico and Arizona.
•
The Colorado River cut beautiful canyons in this area, including the
magnificent Grand Canyon. The Rio Grand River brings much
needed water to the area. There are three large deserts in this
region, the Sonoran Desert, the Chihuahuan and the Painted Desert
in northern Arizona, a beautiful place to visit.
Southwest
Climate
 The climate is hot and dry, but varies from
one area to another. Cities such as
Phoenix, Arizona have 300 days of
sunshine a year!
West
West
Geography
•
The West is a region of scenic beauty and is the most geographically
diverse. All of its states are partly mountainous. The mountains in the west
are newer than those in the east, and therefore higher. They have not had
time to erode as much.
•
To the west of the mountains, winds from the Pacific Ocean keep the land
moist. To the east, however, the land is very dry. West of the Rockies are the
Sierra Nevadas and the Cascades, where you can find Mount St. Helens
and Mount Rainier, the tallest peak. There are also many fertile valleys,
especially in California and Oregon.
•
Beyond the valleys are the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the south and the
Cascade Range in the north. These are the highest mountains in the United
States. The Cascades are volcanic, a famous one, named Mount St. Helens,
erupted explosively in 1980.
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East of these mountain ranges is a vast, arid land, including most of
Nevada, Utah and Arizona, including the Mojave Desert and the Sonoran
Desert. Rain Shadows help to form deserts in this area.
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Beyond the deserts lie the Rocky Mountains, hundreds of miles wide, and
run from New Mexico to Alaska. Some of the tallest peaks are located in
Colorado.
East of the Rocky Mountains begins the Great Plains, a vast grassy plateau
sloping gradually down to the forests near the Mississippi River.
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West
Climate
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Climate in this region varies with elevation. High mountains
have a timberline. The temperature is too cold for trees to
grow.
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San Diego, California is quite different. The weather there is
hot and dry, and it only receives about 10 inches of rain a
year.
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Death Valley in the Mojave Desert, in Southeastern
California and parts of Nevada, Arizona and Utah, is one of
the hottest and driest places in the United States.