1. PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
OF THE UNITED STATES
Images from
Microsoft ClipArt Created by Karen Hirschfield

2. Objectives
Identify physical characteristics as features that
are found in nature, either made of land or
water.
 Identify major types of physical characteristics.
Locate physical characteristics on a map of the
United States.

3. Microsoft ClipArt
Microsoft ClipArt
Physical Characteristics are found in nature.
They are not made by humans.
Physical characteristics can be made of land, called
landforms, or are bodies of water.

4. Connecting Back to What You Already Know
 Landforms:  Bodies of Water:
 Mountain  Ocean
 Hill  Lake
 Peninsula  Pond
 MountainRange  River
 Sand Dunes  Waterfalls
 Islands
Microsoft ClipArt

5. 2 Categories of Physical Characteristics
LAND WATER
 Desert  Ocean
 Valley
 Lake
 Mountain Range
 Plain  River System
 Coastal Plain  Gulf
 Plateau
 Basin
 Canyon
Microsoft ClipArt

6. Answering Geographic Questions
The 5 major  When studying Physical Characteristics
themes of it helps us understand the PLACE.
geography:
1 – Location
 Remember, PLACE is one of the 5 major
2 – Place
themes of geography.
3 – Human and
Environment
Interactions
 We can answer the following questions:
4 – Movement  What is it like there?
5 – Regions  What are its physical characteristics?

7. Literacy Connection: Noticing Physical
Characteristics in Song Lyrics
This Land Is Your Land America the Beautiful
“This land is your land, this land is my “O beautiful for spacious skies,
land For amber waves of grain,
From California, to the New York Island For purple mountain majesties
From the redwood forest, to the gulf Above the fruited plain!
stream waters
America! America!
This land was made for you and me
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with
As I was walking a ribbon of highway brotherhood
I saw above me an endless skyway From sea to shining sea!”
I saw below me a golden valley
This land was made for you and me!”
By: Woody Guthrie By: Katharine Lee Bates

8. Physical Characteristics
The following slides contain physical
characteristics that may be new to you.
Notice the definition, examples, and photos to
understand each!
Remember: Physical characteristics are not made
by humans, instead they are found in nature!

9. Mountain Range
Definition:
A row of
connected
mountains
Examples:
Appalachian
Mountains
Rocky
Mountains
All images from Microsoft ClipArt

10. Plains
Plains Coastal Plains
 Definition: Low-lying stretch  Definition: Low land that
of flat or rolling land lies near the ocean
 Example: The Great Plains  Example: The Coastal Plain
along the Atlantic Ocean
Microsoft ClipArt Microsoft ClipArt

11. Microsoft ClipArt
Plateau
Definition: Flat land with higher elevation than a
plain
Example: Ozark Plateau

12. Basin
Definition: Low land surrounded by higher land
Example: Death Valley
By Ansel Adams By David Hiser

13. Valley
Definition:
Low land
between
hills or
mountains
Example: Microsoft ClipArt
San
Joaquin
Valley
Microsoft ClipArt

14. Taken by MariannaBolognesi
Canyon Taken by Karen Hirschfield
Definition: A deep, narrow valley with steep sides
Example: The Grand Canyon

15. Bodies of Water
River System Gulf
 Definition: A river and all the  Definition: Part of the ocean that
rivers and bodies of water it cuts into a large piece of land
connects to  Example: The Gulf of Mexico
 Example: The Mississippi River
System
Microsoft ClipArt
Microsoft ClipArt

16. Desert
Definition: A region that gets very little rain
Examples: Mojave Desert, Sonoran Desert, Painted Desert
Microsoft ClipArt
Microsoft ClipArt

17. Where are some of these physical
characteristics located?
Death Valley Ozark
Plateau
Mississippi River System
Map courtesy of FreeRoamSoul

18. Thinking Ahead… Microsoft ClipArt
There are many characteristics of the United
States that ARE made by humans.
What can you think of that is made by humans?
Are these human characteristics near physical
characteristics? Why?

19. Resources
Adams, Ansel. “Looking across desert toward mountains, "Death Valley National Monument," California.” 1941. Online image.
Flickr. 8 May 2012. <http://www.flickr.com/photos/usnationalarchives/4309054797/>
"America the Beautiful." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 05 Aug. 2012. Web. 08 May 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/America_the_Beautiful>.
FreeRoamSoul. “The 50 State Challenge.” October 1, 2009. Online Image. Flickr. 8 May 2012. <http://www.flickr.com/
photos/freeroamsoul/3973489446/in/set-72157623170857124/>
Hiser, David. “Rifle, Southeast of the Piceance Basin.” 1972. Online Image. Flickr. 8 May 2012. <http://www.flickr.com/photos
/usnationalarchives/3815838332/>
MariannaBolognesi. “grand canyon.” August 9, 2009. Online Image. 7 May 2012. <http://www.flickr.com/photos/
mariannabolognesi/3853169156/in/set-72157622040761507>
"This Land Is Your Land." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 05 June 2012. Web. 08 May 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/This_Land_Is_Your_Land>.