Physiographic regions of the United States

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USGS map colored by paleogeological areas and demarcating the sections of the U.S physiographic regions: Laurentian Upland (area 1), Atlantic Plain (2-3), Appalachian Highlands (4-10), Interior Plains (11-13), Interior Highlands (14-15), Rocky Mountain System (16-19), Intermontane Plateaus (20-22), & Pacific Mountain System (23-25)
The legend of paleogeological color also depicts topographic terrain.
Main articles: Geography of the United States and Physiographic regions of the world

The physiographic regions of the contiguous United States comprise 8 regions, 25 provinces, and 85 sections.[1] The system dates to Nevin Fenneman's paper Physiographic Subdivision of the United States, published in 1917.[2] Fenneman expanded and presented his system more fully in two books, Physiography of western United States (1931),[3] and Physiography of eastern United States (1938).[4] In these works Fenneman described 25 provinces and 85 sections of the United States physiography.[5]

Physiographic divisions[edit]

Region Province Section
I. Laurentian Upland 1. Superior Upland
II. Atlantic Plain 2. Continental Shelf (not on map)
3. Coastal Plain 3a. Embayed section
3b. Sea Island section
3c. Floridian section
3d. East Gulf Coastal Plain
3e. Mississippi Alluvial Plain
3f. West Gulf Coastal Plain
III. Appalachian Highlands 4. Piedmont 4a. Piedmont Upland
4b. Piedmont Lowlands
5. Blue Ridge province 5a. Northern section
5b. Southern section
6. Valley and Ridge province 6a. Tennessee section
6b. Middle section
6c. Hudson Valley
7. St. Lawrence Valley 7a. Champlain section
7b. Northern section (not on map)
8. Appalachian Plateaus province 8a. Mohawk section
8b. Catskill section
8c. Southern New York section
8d. Allegheny Plateau section
8e. Kanawha section
8f. Cumberland Plateau section
8g. Cumberland Mountain section
9. New England Province 9a. Seaboard Lowland section
9b. New England Upland section
9c. White Mountain section
9d. Green Mountain section
9e. Taconic section
10. Adirondack province
IV. Interior Plains 11. Interior Low Plateaus 11a. Highland Rim
11b. Lexington Plain
11c. Nashville Basin
12. Central Lowland 12a. Eastern Lake
12b. Western Lake
12c. Wisconsin Driftless
12d. Till Plains
12e. Dissected Till Plains
12f. Osage Plains
13. Great Plains 13a. Missouri Plateau (glaciated)
13b. Missouri Plateau (unglaciated)
13c. Black Hills
13d. High Plains
13e. Plains Border
13f. Colorado Piedmont
13g. Raton
13h. Pecos Valley
13i. Edwards Plateau
13j. Central Texas
V. Interior Highlands 14. Ozark Plateaus 14a. Springfield-Salem plateaus
14b. Boston Mountains
15. Ouachita province 15a. Arkansas Valley
15b. Ouachita Mountains
VI. Rocky Mountain System 16. Southern Rocky Mountains
17. Wyoming Basin
18. Middle Rocky Mountains
19. Northern Rocky Mountains
VII. Intermontane Plateaus 20. Columbia Plateau 20a. Walla Walla Plateau
20b. Blue Mountain section
20c. Payette section
20d. Snake River Plain
20e. Harney section
21. Colorado Plateaus 21a. High Plateaus of Utah
21b. Uinta Basin
21c. Canyon Lands
21d. Navajo section
21e. Grand Canyon section
21f. Datil section
22. Basin and Range Province 22a. Great Basin section
22b. Sonoran Desert
22c. Salton Trough
22d. Mexican Highland
22e. Sacramento section
VIII. Pacific Mountains 23. Cascade-Sierra Mountains 23a. Northern Cascade Mountains
23b. Middle Cascade Mountains
23c. Southern Cascade Mountains
23d. Sierra Nevada
24. Pacific Border province 24a. Puget Trough
24b. Olympic Mountains
24c. Oregon Coast Range
24d. Klamath Mountains
24e. California Trough
24f. California Coast Ranges
24g. "Los Angeles Ranges—(Transverse Ranges)"
25. Lower California province—(Peninsular Ranges)

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Physiographic Regions". United States Geological Survey. 2003-04-17. Archived from the original on 2006-05-15. Retrieved 2008-01-30.
  2. ^ Fenneman, Nevin M. (January 1917). "Physiographic Subdivision of the United States". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 3 (1): 17–22. doi:10.1073/pnas.3.1.17. OCLC 43473694. PMC 1091163. PMID 16586678.
  3. ^ Fenneman, Nevin Melancthon (1931). Physiography of western United States. McGraw-Hill. OCLC 487636.
  4. ^ Fenneman, Nevin Melancthon (1938). Physiography of eastern United States. McGraw-Hill. OCLC 487628.
  5. ^ "Automated IFSAR Terrain Analysis System". Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DOD), Information Sciences Office. 31 August 2001. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
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