1. Social Studies Map Skills
SS4G1 The student will be able to locate important physical and man-made features in the
United States.
Locate major physical features of the United States; include the Atlantic Coastal Plain, Great Plains, Continental Divide, the Great Basin, Death Valley, Gulf of Mexico, St. Lawrence River, and the Great Lakes.
Essential Question(s): What are physical features? What are the major physical features of the U.S.?

2. When you finish this lesson, you should be able to…
Label a map with the physical features of the United States.

3. Physical Features of the United States of America
Atlantic Coastal Plain
Great Plains
Continental Divide
The Great Basin
Death Valley
Gulf of Mexico
St. Lawrence River
The Great Lakes.

4. Atlantic Coastal Plain
The flat stretch of land that borders the Atlantic Ocean in the eastern US.

5. Great Plains
The great expanse of prairie and steppes east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada.

6. Continental Divide
Who has the north-south line of elevated land that separates the two watersheds of the US.

7. A large, arid plateau in the western United States.
The Great Basin
A large, arid plateau in the western United States.

8. Let’s label your map!

9. Label your map like the one below.
The Great
Plains
Continental Divide
The Great Basin
Atlantic Coastal Plain

10. The lowest, driest and hottest valley in the United States .
Death Valley
The lowest, driest and hottest valley in the United States .

11. The oval shaped body of water
Gulf of Mexico
The oval shaped body of water
west of Florida.

12. The large waterway connecting the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean.
St. Lawrence River
The large waterway connecting the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean.

13. The Great Lakes
The large freshwater bodies of water on the Canada – United Stated border.

14. Let’s finish labeling your map!

15. Label your map like the one below.
St. Lawrence River
The Great Lakes
Death Valley
The Gulf of Mexico