Physical and ManMade Features of
the
United States
Fourth Grade
Standard
• SS4G1 The student will be able to locate
important physical and man-made features in
the United States.
• a. Locate major physical features of the United
States; include the Atlantic Coastal Plain, the
Great Plains, the Continental Divide, the Great
Basin, Death Valley, the Gulf of Mexico, the St.
Lawrence River, and the Great Lakes.
• b. Locate major man-made features; include New
York City, NY; Boston, MA; Philadelphia, PA; and
the Erie Canal.
The Continental Divide
The Continental Divide is a ridge
of high ground that runs
irregularly north and south
through the Rocky Mountains
and separates eastward-flowing
from westward-flowing streams.
The waters that flow eastward
empty into the Atlantic Ocean
and those that flow westward
empty into the Pacific Ocean. http://www.worldatlas.com/aatlas/infopag
Every continent with the
e/contdiv.htm
exception of Antarctica has a
http://continental-divide.net/
continental divide.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_D
ivide_of_the_Americas
Gulf of Mexico
• The Gulf is called the arm
of the Atlantic Ocean. It is
bordered by the coast of
the United States from
Florida to Texas, and the
east coast of Mexico. Cuba
is near the Gulf's entrance.
Warm water from the
Caribbean enters the Gulf
through the Channel,
forms a loop current off
http://www.worldatlas.com/aatlas/infopage/g
the U.S. and Mexican
ulfofmexico.htm
coasts, and then exits
through the Straits as the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_of_Mexico
Florida Current, becoming http://www.gulfbase.org/facts.php
the Gulf Stream.
Erie Canal
• The Erie Canal is a man-made
waterway, 360 miles long,
connecting New York City with
the Great Lakes. After the
American Revolution, the need
for an all-American water route
between the Great Lakes and the
Atlantic coast was needed. The
Erie Canal contributed to New http://www.canals.ny.gov/cculture/h
istory/
York City's financial
development, opened trade to http://eriecanal.org/
Midwest farm products and
encouraged immigration to that http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erie_Ca
nal
region, and helped to create
numerous large cities.
Great Plains
• Great Plains is an extensive
grassland region on the
continental slope of central
North America. In the
United States the Plains
include parts of North
Dakota, South Dakota,
Montana, Wyoming,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Plains
Colorado, Nebraska,
http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Great_Pl
Kansas, Oklahoma, New ains.aspx
Mexico, and Texas.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plains_Indians
Death Valley
• Death Valley is in the
southeast part of
California and the
southwest part of
Nevada. It is a deep, arid
basin with some of the
world’s highest
temperatures (134F) and
less than 2 inches of rain
each year. It is the lowest
point in the Americas. It
got its name from gold
seekers in 1849 on their
way to California.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_Valley
http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Death
_Valley.aspx
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/factsabout-the-death-valley.html
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a
group of five freshwater
lakes, in central North
America, creating a
natural border between
the United States and
Canada and forming the
largest body of
freshwater in the world.
From west to east they
are Lake Superior, Lake
Michigan, Lake Huron,
Lake Erie, and Lake
Ontario, out of which
flows the Saint Lawrence
River. The lakes are
connected to each other
by straits, short rivers,
and canals.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Lakes
http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/na
merica/greatlk.htm
http://www.epa.gov/greatlakes/basicinfo.html
Great Basin
Great Basin is a semiarid
plateau region that lies
mostly in Nevada and
extending into
California, Oregon,
Idaho, and Utah. It is
bordered by the Sierra
Nevada on the west, the
Columbia Plateau on the
north, the Rocky Mts.
on the northeast, the
Colorado Plateau on the
east, and the Mojave
Desert on the south.
http://en.wikipedi
a.org/wiki/Great_B
asin
http://www.encycl
opedia.com/topic/
Great_Basin.aspx
http://education.y
ahoo.com/referenc
e/encyclopedia/en
try/GreatBas
Atlantic coastal plain
• The Atlantic coastal
plain covers parts of
New York, New Jersey,
Pennsylvania,
Delaware, Maryland,
Virginia, North
Carolina, South
Carolina, Georgia,
Floridaa, and Alabama.
It is a low, flat land that
is generally wet
including many rivers,
marsh, and
swamplands.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_coast
al_plain
http://www.ehow.com/info_8586597_atlan
tic-coastal-plains.html
Boston, Massachusetts
Boston is the state capital and the
largest city in Massachusetts. It is
located in the eastern part of the
state on Massachusetts Bay. It
was incorporated as a city in
1822. No city in the U.S. is richer
in historical associations than
Boston, and no city has retained
more of its original buildings as
memorials to America's past. The
first European settler was Rev.
William Blackstone, who arrived
in 1623; just three years after the
Pilgrims had landed at Plymouth
in 1620. He was joined by
Puritans from England in 1630.
They named their new town
Boston.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of
_Boston
http://www.oceanviewpress.com/id8.h
tml
http://www.nps.gov/bost/historycultur
e/rev-war.htm
Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in
Pennsylvania. It was settled in 1681 by
Capt. William Markham, with a small band
of colonists that had been sent by his
cousin William Penn who wanted to create
a settlement for Quakers. In 1774–1776,
the First and Second Continental
Congresses met in Philadelphia, and, from
1781–1783, the city was the capital of the
United States under the Articles of
Confederation. In 1790, it became the
nation's capital under the Constitution until
it moved to Washington in 1800.
Philadelphia is home to branches of the
U.S. Mint, the Federal Reserve System, and
the Internal Revenue Service. It has
landmarks of early American history,
including Independence Hall, where the
Declaration of Independence was signed,
and the Liberty Bell.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki
/Philadelphia
http://www.phillywired.co
m/pages/funfacts
http://www.ushistory.org/P
hiladelphia/philadelphia.ht
ml
New York,
New York
• New York City is the largest city in
the United States. In 1609, Henry
Hudson sailed up the river that
now bears his name. “The Big
Apple” is a major world capital
and a world leader in finance,
arts, business, fashion, and
communications. It is the home
of the United Nations. In Sept.
2001, terrorist hijackers crashed
two commercial jets into the
World Trade Center in lower
Manhattan, causing the complete
destruction of the twin towers
and major loss of life.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wi
ki/New_York_City
http://www.50states.com
/newyork.htm
http://www.factmonster.c
om/ipka/A0108570.html
Saint Lawrence River
• The Saint Lawrence
River is a large river
in North America
connecting the
Great Lakes with the
Atlantic Ocean. It http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Lawrence_
River
forms part of the
http://kids.yahoo.com/reference/encyclopedia
boundary between /entry?id=StLawrSwy
Canada and New http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/
517561/Saint-Lawrence-River-and-Seaway
York