Important Geographical features of the United States

Important Geographical

Features of the United States

SS4G1a. Locate major physical features of the United States.

Atlantic Coastal Plain

• An area of flat low-lying land adjacent to the seacoast.

• Approximately 2,200 miles in length, the Atlantic Coastal plain stretches from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, all the way to the southern tip of Florida. The western border of the coastal plain, known as the fall line, separates it from the Piedmont region.

The A

tlantic C

oastal

Plain

Great Plains

Continental Divide/Great Divide

The Great Basin

DEATH VALLEY

However, it is unique in its depth, with portions of the valley floor being the lowest land area in the Western Hemisphere. It is the hottest and driest of the national parks in the United States.

Death Valley National Park is a United States National Park in California, and extending into Nevada. Geologically, it forms part of the southwestern portion of the Great Basin and is similar to other structural basins of the region.

Gulf of MexicoThe Gulf of Mexico is a Mediterranean-type sea located at the southeastern

corner of North America. The Gulf is bordered by the United States to the north (Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas), five Mexican states to the west (Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatan), and the island of Cuba to

the southeast.

St. Lawrence

River

The St. Lawrence River and Seaway is of vital geographic and economic importance to the Great Lakes system, connecting the lakes to the Atlantic Ocean. Approximately 800 miles (1,287 km) long, the St. Lawrence River can be divided into three broad sections: the freshwater river, which extends from Lake Ontario to just outside the city of Quebec; the St. Lawrence estuary, which extends from Quebec to Anticosti Island; and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, which leads into the Atlantic Ocean.

The Great Lakes

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