Virginia and US History SOL map study: geography

Preparation for the state of Virginian SOL ("Standards of Learning") History test: Geography and Geographic Regions

Geographic regions of North America (overview)

Major regions of North America from the Virginia Dept. of Education SOL framework document	Key A) Coastal Plain 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 The 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 AppalachianLocatorMap2 Appalachian region of United States	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 The Interior Plains are highlighted in red.	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 Satellite image illustrating 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 Rocky Mountains Range ("range" as is a "mountain range" or series of connected mountains) A map of the principal hydrological divides of North America. The Eastern Continental Divide (orange line) demarcates two watersheds of the Atlantic Ocean: the Gulf of Mexico watershed and the Atlantic Seaboard watershed.	high mountain range above and to the east of the Great Basin the "Great Continental 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 One of various geographical definitions of the Province The hydrographic Great Basin (magenta outline), distinguished from the Great Basin Desert (black), and the Basin and Range Geological Province (teal).[3] Great Basin map	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 Northern and Southern Coast Ranges and other major mountain ranges of California	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" = valley area between the mountains

Rivers of the U.S.

Map of Major Rivers in US	BIG IDEAS rivers start in mountains and flow downhill thus they mark the major regions	US Rivers to know: Hudson River Mississippi River Missouri River Ohio River
US map - rivers and lakes3		Virginia Rivers to know: James River Potomac River Roanoke River Virginia has approx. 49,350 miles of river all Virginia rivers flow towards the Atlantic
The Chesapeake Bay watershed
Mississippi River Watershed Map Mississippi river map

Virginia maps

Virginia is shaped by the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed, and the parallel 36°30′ north.