1. R. Scott Peoples, Fairview HS, Boulder, CO
The Geography
of the
United States
R. Scott Peoples, Fairview HS, Boulder, CO
Adapted from “The Geography of the United States” by Ms. Susan M. Pojer Horace Greeley HS, Chappaqua, NY; available at

2. US Geography Basics Third largest country in the world.
Half the size of Russia.
One third the size of Africa.
Half the size of South America.
2 ½ times the size of Western Europe.

3. Topography

5. Topography of the US

6. Topography of the Northeast

7. Topography of the Southeast

8. Topography of the Midwest

9. The Great Plains

10. Topography of the West

11. Bodies of Water
Great Salt Lake
Chesapeake Bay
Lake Okeechobee

13. Rivers St. Lawrence R. Columbia R. Missouri R. Hudson R. Potomac R.
Mississippi R.
Ohio R.
Colorado R.
Arkansas R.
Rio Grande R.
Yukon R.

14. The Mississippi: America’s Great River Road
The “Big Muddy”.
2,350 miles.
Draining all or part of states & 2 Canadian provinces.
Covers 40% of the U. S.

15. Lake Okeechobee, FL

16. The Gulf of Mexico

18. Mountains & Plateaus Cascade Mts. Adirondack Mts. Rocky Mts.
^ Mt. Whitney
Sierra Nevada Mts.
Appalachian Mts.
^ Pike’s Peak
^ Mt. McKinley
Alaskan Range

20. The Contour of the US

21. The Continental Divide

22. Atlantic Coastal Plains
Great Basin
Central Plains
Atlantic Coastal Plains
Gulf Coastal Plains

23. The Great Plains

24. Plateaus
Cumberland Plateau
Colorado Plateau

25. Cumberland Plateau & ‘Gap’
AL, KY, TN, VA, WV
24,640 sq. mi.
Natural passage [Gap] through the Cumberland Mts., formed in part by a meteor strike 300m ya

26. Deserts
Death Valley
Mohave Desert
SonoranDesert

27. Mohave Desert – 3,000’

28. Death Valley, CA 3.3 million acres. 95% wilderness.
282’ below sea level, less than 100 miles from Mt. Whitney (14,505’)
highest recorded temp: 134° in 1913

29. Atlantic Coastal Plains
Completed Map
St. Lawrence R.
Columbia R.
Cascade Mts.
Adirondack Mts.
Missouri R.
Hudson R.
Rocky Mts.
Great Basin
Potomac R.
Great Salt Lake
Mississippi R.
Ohio R.
Chesapeake Bay
Central Plains
Sierra Nevada Mts.
^ Mt. Whitney
Appalachian Mts.
Death Valley
Colorado R.
^ Pike’s Peak
Cumberland Plateau
Colorado Plateau
Arkansas R.
Atlantic Coastal Plains
Mohave Desert
SonoranDesert
Gulf Coastal Plains
Lake Okeechobee
Rio Grande R.
Yukon R.
^ Mt. McKinley
Alaskan Range

31. Climate

34. Vegetation

35. The American Landscape

37. US Wetlands

38. Geographic
Problems

39. Seismography Data:
Earthquakes!

40. Tornadoes Per Year:

41. Hurricane Camille: The Storm of the Century
August 17, 1969
Category 5; mouth of Mississippi R
Killed 259 people; $9.1b damage (2014 USD)

42. Andrew: The Most Expensive Hurricane of the 20th Century
August 24, 1992
Category 5; South Florida
Killed 65 people
Cost $30,000,000,000

43. Hurricane Katrina, 2005 Costliest natural disaster in US history
$81 billion (3x Andrew)
1836 confirmed deaths

44. The Geographic
Diversity of
America!

45. National Parks

46. US National Parks (1) Grand Teton National Park, WY
Glacier National Park, MT
Mt. Rushmore National Park, SD

47. US National Parks (2) Everglades National Park, FL
Yellowstone National Park, MT
Grand Canyon National Park, AZ

48. US National Parks (3) Yosemite National Park, CA
Acadia National Park, ME
Natural Bridges National Park, UT