Five Major U.S. Rivers
And
Two Mountain Chains
By: Melissa White and Lyndsey Robbins
GPS Standard
SS3G1 The student will locate major topographical
features.
a. Identify major rivers of the United States of America:
Mississippi, Ohio, Rio Grande, Colorado, Hudson.
b. Identify major mountain ranges of the United States
of America: Appalachian, Rocky.
NCSS Standard
NCSS3 How to Analyze the Spatial Organization of
People, Places, and Environments on Earth’s Surface
Element 11: The World in Spatial Terms
Colorado River
•1,450 miles long
•Western Side of the Rockies
•Ends in the Gulf of California (in Mexico)
Rio Grande River
• Eastern Side of Rockies
•Texas’s southern border with Mexico
• 1,896 miles long
Ohio River
• Part of Ohio’s service industry
•States south of the Ohio were slave states
•Connected to Lake Erie
•Forms the states southern border and part of
the eastern border
•Ohio lowest point (sea level)
Hudson River
• Connected to Lake Erie
•New York’s longest river
•306 miles
•Primary source is Lake Tear of the Clouds
Mississippi River
•Cities got started as commercial ports
and farmers markets.
•Main designation is Lake Itasca
•Flows every direction but west
•Flows into the Gulf of Mexico
• known for its tourist attractions
(riverboats, casinos)
•Cuts the nation into two parts
•Forms borders on ten states
• At 2,530 miles it is one of the longest
rivers in the World
Appalachian Mountains
•Contains the Appalachian trail which is
the longest hiking trail in the United
States.
•Blue Ridge Mountains and Lookout
Mountain are part of Appalachian
Mountains
•Extends into Canada
•Erosion has worn them down
Rocky Mountains
•Mostly rock at the tops
•Includes Pikes Peak (14,115 ft above sea
level)
•Covers the middle third of the state
•Covers over 3,000 miles from Northern
Canada to New Mexico
•Popular for hiking, skiing, hunting, and
fishing.