1. Geography of North America
Physiographic Features of the United States
Geography of North America

2. Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest ocean in the world
It covers 70,000,000 square miles with an average depth of 14,000 feet
The deepest known depth is 36,198 feet in the Marianas trench
The Pacific Ocean was named by Ferdinand Magellan during his famous voyage around the world in
The name means peaceful in Spanish
Despite it’s name, the Pacific is known for violent seas and rough storms

3. Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest Ocean in the world
It covers approximately 31,800,000 square miles with an average depth of 12,000 feet
The greatest known depth is 28,000 feet in the Milwaukee Deep, north of Puerto Rico
The Atlantic coast in the United States varies from cold rocky beaches in New England to warm sandy shores in Florida, differences caused by temperatures of ocean currents

4. Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico covers approximately 700,000 square miles
The deepest part of the gulf is Sigsbee Deep, with a depth of 12, 714 feet.
Oil deposits have been found in the continental self and are tapped by off shore oil rigs along the coast

5. The Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a group of 5 fresh water lakes between the United States and Canada
They make up the largest body of fresh water in the world with a total area of 95,000 square miles
They are: Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, Lake Ontario
The Great lakes region was rich in furs, and possession was contested for years by the British and French. The Seven Years’ War (Called the French and Indian War by Americans) forced the French to give up the region to the British and eventually the Americans

6. Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay is a 200 mile inlet to the Atlantic Ocean
The bay is actually the drowned mouth of the Susquehanna River and is also fed by many other rivers including the Potomac, Rappahannock, and James
Its calm waters provide vessel with natural protection from the rough Atlantic waters
Because of its calm the shoreline of the Chesapeake has been a popular place for settlement
Chesapeake by was first explored by Captain John Smith in 1608

7. San Francisco Bay
The San Francisco Bay is 50 miles long and ranges from 3 to 13 miles wide
The mouth that opens to the Pacific is known as ‘The Golden Gate’
The bay provides a major seaport along the west coast of the United States and maintains a channel through the sand bar of the Golden Gate that allows for the entrance of some of the largest ships in the world
The bay was discovered by Sir Francis Drake in 1579, but the area was not heavily settled until the United States gained control of California in 1848

8. Hudson River The Hudson is 315 miles long
The Erie Canal built in linked the Hudson with The Great Lakes. It provided a natural water route to the timber and fur rich Northeast
It helped develop many areas for trade and settlement, and New York City at the mouth of the river has developed into the largest city in the United States
First explored by Henry Hudson in 1609, and was a major trade route for Native Americans and European settlers
Was a major strategic focus of the American Revolution

9. Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is 2, 350 miles long and at some places nearly a mile wide
It flows southward from Minnesota to New Orleans, Louisiana were it empties into the Gulf of Mexico
The Mississippi River is a major shipping route for barges carrying bulky items such as petroleum, chemicals, sand, gravel, and limestone. It is also a major source of freshwater fish and shrimp
The United States acquired it as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, and it played a crucial role in the settlement and economic development of the central United States

10. Ohio River
The Ohio River is 981 miles long, it forms in west Pennsylvania and flows westward to join the Mississippi in Illinois
It was chosen as a natural boundary for several states in the Midwest
The river provides transportation, irrigation, and drinking to all these states
Major settlement of the region didn’t begin until the French and British began to struggle over the region in the 1750’s
After the American Revolution the settlement of this region began at a very rapid pace

11. Missouri River The Missouri River is 2,265 miles long
It flows east across the Great Plains, helping to form the borders of Nebraska, Kansas, and Iowa before crossing the states of Missouri and joining the Mississippi
The joining of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers created a perfect point for the city of St. Louis to form
Meriwether Lewis and William Clark flowed the Missouri on their famous trip across America to the Pacific Ocean in

12. Colorado River The Colorado is 1,450 miles long
It rises in the Rocky Mountains and flows southwest through Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and California before entering Mexico and emptying into the Gulf of California
The river flows through 1,000 miles of canyon including the Grand Canyon in Arizona
The canyons have been carves over millions of years by the flow of the water through them
The river cut the canyons at an average rate of 6.5 inches every thousand years

13. Rio Grande The Rio Grande is 1,885 miles long
It flows south from Colorado through New Mexico, then turns southeast and forms the border between Texas and Mexico
The Rio Grande was claimed by the United States as the proper border between these two countries in the 1840’s. Mexico disagreed, and the United States used this as the basis for war with Mexico in As a result of that war the border was placed at the Rio Grande and Mexico gave up what is now most of the southwest United States and California

14. St. Lawrence River
S. Lawrence River is 744 miles long and considered one of the most important rivers in North America
It flows northeast from lake Ontario and forms part of the border between the U.S. and Canada before turning further north to empty into the Atlantic Ocean
It is an important source of hydroelectric power
A series of canals constructed allow ships access to Minnesota
It once belonged to the French but was surrendered to the British after the French and Indian War in 1763

15. Columbia River The Columbia River is 1,210 miles long
Flows south from British Columbia, Canada through Washington and Oregon before entering the Pacific Ocean
Forms part of the Washington/Oregon border
The first Americans to arrive at the Columbia by land were members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The river was the focus of settlement in this region and the end of the line for ‘The Oregon Trail’ which was a major pathway for western settlement

16. Great Plains
The Great Plains are a high, extensive grassland region in North America
The Great Plains extend from northern Canada to Texas and slope eastward from the Rocky Mountains to the prairies of the Mississippi
The plains were once covered by a large sea, leaving the soil rich in nutrients and good for farming

17. Cape Cod
A glacier from the last Ice Age created Cape Cod 17,000 years ago
Shores of Cape Cod are dotted with white, sandy beaches as well as treacherous rocks
In 1620 the first Pilgrims landed on the shores of Cape Cod at Plymouth, and established one of the first permanent European settlements in North America

18. Central Valley The Central Valley extends 450 miles through California
It is approximately 50 miles wide and lies between the Sierra Nevada and Coast ranges
The valley contains rich soil and a perfect climate for growing agricultural products
It has the largest concentration of fruit farms and vineyards in the United States
The Central Valley was uninhabited until gold was discovered in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada in 1848

19. Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains extend 1,600 miles along the eastern coast of the United States from the St. Lawrence river to the gulf coastal plain of Alabama
Mount Mitchell is the highest peak at ft.
The climate and soil around the base of the mountains are well suited for farming
The Appalachians have very few passes through them and acted as a natural barrier to early westward expansion of American colonies

20. Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are located in the western United States and extend more than 3,000 miles from central New Mexico to northwest Alaska
Mount Elbert in Colorado is the highest peak at 14, 431 ft. Several peaks are so high that snowcaps permanently cover the terrain.
The heights of many peaks exceed the timber line, making settlement and transportation virtually impossible
Forms the continental divide, separates rivers draining to the Atlantic and Pacific
Important source of minerals for U.S.

21. Sierra Nevada Mountains
Sierra Nevada range is 400 miles long and extends northwest from Bakersfield, CA to Lassen State Park in eastern California
The largest peak is the 14,494 ft. Mt. Whitney
Melting of the snowpack is vital each year for supplying the rivers, lakes, and streams of California
National and State Parks like Yosemite and Lake Tahoe serve as sources of recreation for millions of visitors every year