Landforms and Physical Features of

North America Vocabulary

Fourth GradeWoodward Mill ES

2010-2011

Physical Features of North America

Atlantic Coastal Plain-the area of flat land, with very few trees, between the Atlantic Ocean and the Piedmont

Great Plains- a vast area of plains east of the Rocky Mountains extending from the valleys of the Mackenzie River in Canada to southern Texas

Rocky Mountains-The Rocky Mountains (or the Rockies) are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than 3,000 miles (4,830 km) from the northernmost part

of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States

Continental Divide- (also called the Great Divide) is the Rocky Mountains which separates the rivers flowing east into the Atlantic Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico from those flowing west into the Pacific Ocean.

Great Basin- a very dry region in the western U.S. between the Sierra Nevada and the Rocky Mountains that includes most of Nevada and parts of the adjacent states.

Death Valley- a deep, desert basin below sea level in part of California and Nevada. It is the hottest and driest part of North America. It also contains the lowest point in

the U.S.

Gulf of Mexico- part of the western Atlantic Ocean, bordered by Mexico, Florida, and Texas

St. Lawrence River- a river in North America that flows from Lake Ontario (one of the Great Lakes) along the border between Canada and the U.S. to the Gulf of St.

Lawrence

Great Lakes- a group of five large lakes that border the United States and Canada. The names of the

lakes: Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario. The Great Lakes are the largest body of fresh water

in the world.

The Erie Canal is a waterway in New York that travels about 363 miles (584 km) from Albany, New York, on the Hudson River to

Buffalo, New York, at Lake Erie, completing a navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes.

The Appalachian Mountains (i/ˌæpəˈleɪʃɨn/ or /ˌæpəˈlætʃɨn/[note 1]), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The

Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period, and once reached elevations similar to those of the Alps and

the Rocky Mountains before they were eroded.

New York City- New York is the most populous city in the United States of America. It is located on

one of the world's largest natural harbors at the junction of the Hudson River and the Atlantic Ocean.

Boston, Massachusetts- Boston (pronounced is the capital of Massachusetts and its

largest city. It is one of the oldest cities in the United States and grew rapidly because of trade.

Philadelphia is the largest city in Pennsylvania and is located on the Delaware River. It was an

important trading city in Colonial times.

The Mississippi River is the chief river of the largest river system in North America.[3][4] Flowing entirely in the United States (though its drainage basin reaches into Canada), it rises in northern Minnesota and meanders slowly

southwards for 2,530 miles (4,070 km)[5] to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico