Geographic features that shaped
the identity of the United States
US History
Size: 3,700,000 sq miles
4,000 mile border with Canada
1,900 mile border with Mexico
Mountain Ranges: Appalachian
1,500 miles long
Runs from New England to Georgia and Alabama
Mountain Ranges: Rocky Mts.
Northern New Mexico to Northern Canada.
Continental Divide runs through the Rockies.
Rivers: Mississippi
It runs north –south and the delta is
very fertile for farming.
River Systems
• Delaware, Hudson,
Connecticut and
Potomac are shorter
rivers located in the
East
• Columbia and
Colorado Rivers –
west of the Rockies.
• Flow through desert
and semi-arid lands
on their way to the
Pacific.
• Dams have been
constructed
Great Lakes & Seaway Canal
• Great Lakes
• St. Lawrence Seaway
and canals connect the
Great Lakes to the
Atlantic.
Great Plains: between the Rockies
and Mississippi River.
Great
PLAINS
OHIO R.
Valley
OHIO RIVER VALLEYArea that is extremely fertile along the
river.
Natural Resources
• Gold, silver – set off rushes to California
and Alaska
• Petroleum, Gas – found in Texas,
Louisiana, California and Alaska
• coal, copper, lead, zinc and uranium
are all mined in the United States.
Geography cause differences
• NORTHERN COLONIES- Have a very
DIVERSE economy based not only on
farming but trade and manufacturing.
• SOUTHERN COLONIES- Based on the
SINGLE CASH CROPS: tobacco, rice, &
cotton for export. Used indentured
servant then later slaves.