Lesson 3- Landforms of America

As you travel across the United States of America, you will come across many different landforms. Landforms are the features or shapes that make up earth’s surface. Some examples of landforms are mountains, valleys, and hills. Since the U.S.A. covers such a wide area, you can see almost every type of landform in our country. Let’s start where we live. In the eastern part of the country where Pennsylvania is located, we can see the Appalachian Mountains. This is a mountain range, or a group of connected mountains. These mountains stretch about 1,500 miles from Alabama, through our state, and into Canada.

The Appalachian Mountains If you look to our east, you will see the Coastal Plain. A plain is low, flat, level land. A coastal plain is low land that lies along the coast of an ocean. This area is near the Atlantic Ocean. If you follow the coastline south, you will reach a state called Florida. Some people call this state a panhandle because it looks like the handle of a pan. This landform has another name. It is called a peninsula which means it is a land area that is almost completely surrounded by water. Florida is surrounded by water on 3 sides, so it is called a peninsula. If you look west of our state, you will head toward the center of our country. The center of our country is covered with more plains. There are large areas of low, flat land. They are often called the Great Plains. Some areas have plateaus. A plateau is land that is higher than the surrounding land and mostly flat on top. The Ozark Plateau is an example on the map.

In this area, you will find one of the longest rivers in North America. The Mississippi River starts in a high place and flows to a low one. The source is a small lake in Minnesota. The source of a river is the place where the river starts. The water runs very far south gathering water from tributaries along the way. A tributary is a river that flows into a larger river. The water from the small river provides more water for the larger river. The Mississippi River has many tributaries that include the Ohio and Missouri Rivers. All of this water has to go somewhere. It travels south and empties into the Gulf of Mexico. The place where a river empties into a larger body of water is called its mouth. As you move into the western part of the country, you will see an even larger mountain range. These mountains are called the Rocky Mountains. These mountains stretch over 3,000 miles from Alaska all the way to Mexico. These mountains are steep, rugged, and tall!

The Rocky Mountains Just west of the Rocky Mountains there is an area called the Great Basin. A basin is a low, bowl shaped area with higher land surrounding it. This area has some of the lowest and driest areas in our country. In the area near the Great Basin, there are many plateaus. These plateaus are covered with other landforms. One of these landforms might be the most famous in America. The Grand Canyon is located in this area in the state of Arizona. A canyon is a deep, narrow valley with steep sides. Many people visit this canyon each year.

The Grand Canyon in Arizona The Pacific Coast Finally our journey ends as we reach the Pacific Ocean. This coast is different from the Atlantic coast because it has rocky and rugged areas. In Alaska, the Alaskan Range has the highest peak in North America, Mount McKinley.