2. •American Geography:
•Geography: The study of the physical, biological, and cultural
features of the Earth’s surface.
-Geography is the environment in which we live. Geography
includes:
1. Physical/geographic features 4. Climate
2. Natural Resource 5. Weather
3. Human, animal, and plant life
•Geographic features have a significant impact on people.
Climate, water, land forms, and mineral deposits influence where
people live and how they interact with other.
•Physical Features: (LANDFORMS, GEOGRAPHICAL
FEATURES) Features on the Earth’s surface such as
mountains, rivers, lakes, and deserts.
•Natural Resources: Materials humans can take from the
environment to use to survive.
Ex: Plants, Trees, Gold, Oil, Water, Sun
•One important part of geography is Interaction Between
People and the Environment:
-People adapt to environment by changing the
way they live.
-People change the environment by physically
changing it.
-As humans, we can either change our environment, or we
have to change to fit into it.
-Example: The Iroquois Indians built their homes out of wood
because it was the most abundant resource available.
•The US is broken down into 8 physical regions.
-The Iroquois Indians lived in the Appalachian Mountain Region.
-The 1st
English colony was at Jamestown in the Atlantic Plain
Region.

3. •The US is made up many physical features or landforms. These include mountains, rivers, and plains.
MOUNTAINS:
1. Rocky Mountains
2. Appalachian Mountains
RIVERS:
1. Mississippi River
2. Hudson River
PLAINS:
1. Great Plains
2. Coastal Plains

4. American Geography:
1. From west to east, the major geographic features of the United States are the:
(a) Rocky Mountains ~ Great Plains ~Mississippi River ~ Appalachian Mountains
(b) Great Plains ~ Mississippi River ~ Rocky Mountains ~ Appalachian Mountains
(c) Rocky Mountains ~ Great Plains ~ Appalachian Mountains ~ Mississippi River
(d) Mississippi River ~ Appalachian Mountains ~ Great Plains ~ Rocky Mountains
2. Mountains, hills, plains, and plateaus are examples of:
(a) political barriers (c) mineral resources
(b) vegetation (d) landforms
3. In which physical region of the United States was the first permanent English settlement located?
(a) Pacific Northwest (c) Atlantic Coast
(b) Great Plains (d) Great Lakes
4. Land surrounded on three sides by water is called:
(a) a peninsula (c) an island
(b) a strait (d) an isthmus
5. The colonial cities of Boston and Charlestown are located on geographic landforms that are surrounded on three sides by
water. This type of landform is known as a:
(a) archipelago (b) island (c) plateau (d) peninsula