APUSH: US PHYSICAL Geography
Coast Ranges
A group of mountains, lying along the Pacific Ocean and stretching from Alaska to California
Gulf of Mexico
A large gulf off the southeastern coast of North America
Mississippi River
A major US river, that controls a LARGE portion on agriculture, transport, and usage from the Midwest; feeds into the Gulf of Mexico
Central Valley (California)
A major fruit growing area in California, produces half in all of the US for food
Rocky Mountains
A major mountain system of the United states and Canada, extending 3,000 miles from Alaska south to New Mexico
Great Plains
A mostly flat and grassy region of midwest North America: Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, both Dakotas, pieces of Colorado, Minnesota, Montana, Wyoming and Iowa
Appalachian Mountains
A mountain range that stretches from eastern Canada south to Alabama.
Cascade Range
A mountain range with several active volcanoes in northern California, Oregon, Washington, and southern British Columbia, Canada.
Great Salt Lake
Lake within Utah
Gulf-Atlantic Coastal Plain
Land surface region, composed of sedimentary materials, that extends in the United States from New Jersey to Texas, and then southward into Mexico.
Aleutian Islands
Lands that were once connected as a bridge that crossed the Bering Strait, allowing humans to migrate from Asia to the Americas
Mauna Loa
Largest volcano on earth, located in Hawaii
Lake Michigan
The third-largest of the Great Lakes; borders Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin.
Mt. Rainer
Composite Cone (Strato) Volcano in Washington State, has alternating layers of ash-lava-ash
Mt. Whitney
The highest point in the United States outside Alaska, located in the Sierra Nevadas, 14,505 ft
Lake Erie
The lake of Cleveland, Ohio It lies among the Canadian province of Ontario and the American states of New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio
Lake Superior
The largest freshwater lake in the world, sits on top of Michigan's hat, borders US and Canada
Cheasapeake Bay
Body of water shared by Maryland and Virginia, pocket of water
Mojave Desert
It is the hottest, driest, lowest desert in the U.S.; in California, Nevada, and Arizona
Black Hills
Mountains in Wyoming & South Dakota that were protected under Fort Laramie Treaty; sacred lands for many Sioux; scouted by Custer and said to contain large amounts of gold that was perused by miners; led to Battle of Little Bighorn after negotiations for purchase were refused
Long Island
New York, an important geographical location for the US
Lake Huron
Northeast of Michigan, Second largest lake
Ohio River
River that spans on the border of Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio, most was the boundary for the Northern Territories
Colorado River
River that starts in Colorado, runs through Nevada, Arizona, and California, that deposits into Gulf of California
Florida Keys
Small islands off the coast of Florida
Lake Ontario
Smallest of the Great lakes, most eastern lake, borders Canada and the US
Atlantic Ocean
Ocean on the East Coast of the United States
Pacific Ocean
Ocean on the West Coast of the United States
Missouri River
River that goes from the Rocky Mountains into the Mississippi
Hudson River
River that snakes through New York and deposits into the Atlantic Ocean
Great Lakes
a group of five freshwater lakes of the central North America between the United States and Canada; the lakes are Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie and Superior
Everglades
a large subtropical swamp in southern Florida that is noted for its wildlife
Sierra Nevadas
a mountain range in eastern California that also has parts of Western Nevada in it
Blue Ridge Mountains
a name for a group of mountains located in the Appalachian chain that are characterized by a "blue" haze that surrounds their peaks.
Mt. Shasta
a peak in the Cascades that erupted 13 times in the past 10,000 years
Ozarks
an area of low mountains in northwestern Arkansas and southeastern Missouri and northeastern Oklahoma
St. Lawrence River
forms part of the northeastern border with Canada and connects the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean, goes up Northeastern
Mt. McKinley
highest peak in North America
Continental Divide
mountain ridge that separates river systems flowing toward opposite sides of a continent
Adirondack Mountains
mountains that cover most of northern New York
Bering Sea
part of the North Pacific between Alaska and Siberia
Rio Grande
river that forms the border between Texas and Mexico, runs also into New Mexico
Mauna Kea
tallest mountain when measured from base to peak, in Hawaii
Columbia River
the largest river flowing into the Pacific Ocean from North America, in Washington and parts of Oregon
Allegheny Mountains
the mountain range from Pennsylvania to Viginia, parallel to the Appalachian Mountains, and rising to more that 4,900 feet
