East Coast, location of the original 13 American colonies
B) Appalachian Mountains
border between the 13 colonies and the French-Indian lands to the west of the Appalachians
C) Canadian Shield
distinct climate and geographic area north of Great Lakes and New England
D) Interior Lowlands
fertile lowlands along the Mississippi River
E) Great Plains
low, flat grasslands between the Mississippi Lowlands and the Rocky Mountains
F) Rocky Mountains
great mountain range that served as barrier between the middle and western parts of the continent
G) Basin and Range
isolated region that was not directly connected by rivers to other regions and that was between the Rocky Mountains and the Coastal Ranges (mountains)
H) Coastal Ranges
Mountain range along the west coast that feeds water into the fertile valleys and lands along the coast
Geographic regions of North America (details)
ATLANTIC COASTAL PLAIN
Atlantic Coastal Plain =
lowland coast region along Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico
the 13 American colonies were settled in the Coastal Plain
from modern Georgia to southern Massachusetts
Massachusetts was settled along with the Coastal Plain
the western barrier to the Coastal Plain is the eastern slope of the Appalachian Mountains
APPALACHIAN REGION
Appalachian Mountains =
mountain range that extends along the western border of the Coastal Plain from Georgia to New England
includes sub-regions
the Piedmont, Low Plateaus and Mountains
the Appalachian Mountains served as a barrier between
early American colonies (to the east of the Appalachians along the Coastal Plain)
and French and Indian lands (to the west of the Appalachians)
all rivers from the eastern slope flow towards the Atlantic Ocean
all rivers from the western slope flow towards the Mississippi River
after Britain defeated France in the 1854-63 French-Indian War, the entire Appalachian region (and all lands up to the Mississippi River) became British
however, the British King prohibited American colonists from occupying it
INTERIOR LOWLANDS
areas of largely level, grasslands
to the east and west of the Mississippi River in the upper MidWest
note that this area as shown here includes the Great Plains
see the Virginia SOL regions map above to distinguish between the Interior Lowlands and the Great Plains
GREAT PLAINS REGION
area of flat lands with mostly grasses (not forests)
the flat lands are either
"steppe" = higher elevation, dry flat lands, or
"prairie" = flat grasslands with moderate climate and rain
prairies have fertile soil and are excellent for large-scale farming
ROCKY MOUNTAINS REGION
high mountain range above and to the east of the Great Basin
the "GreatContinental Divide" is in the Rocky Mountains, marking the point at which the land descends to the east or the west
see the below map for continental divides in North America
important rivers flow from origins in the Rocky Mountains
BASIN AND RANGE
the "Great Basin" = a geographic depression (low area) between the Rocky and the Sierra Nevada mountains
no rivers or water flow out of the Great Basin
the VA & US SOL refers to the "Great Basin" as the "Basin"
the Range includes mountains from which water flows into the Great Basin
the western border of the Range are the Sierra Nevada Mountains
PACIFIC COASTAL RANGE
western slope of mountains that border the Great Basin and Rocky Mountains
and that produce important rivers that flow into the Pacific Ocean
water flow from the mountains allows for great agricultural production in the "central valley"