

The Pacific states are Washington, Oregon, and California they all feature a coastline at the Pacific Ocean. The Rocky Mountains dominate the Mountain states of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho, Utah, and Nevada. Nine states are considered to be part of the western USA. The Colorado Plateau in the northwest of the area is a high-altitude desert region with scattered forests along the Colorado River and noted for its scenery. The region's main features are the Mojave, the Sonoran, and the Chihuahuan Deserts. It is the most economically developed, densely populated, and culturally diverse region of the country.Īlthough definitions of the region's boundaries vary, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma are the core states of the United States Southwest. Within the Northeast are the New England states and the land areas of New York and Pennsylvania. Half of Lake Ontario and a portion of Lake Erie belong to the northeast region. The region offers a rugged interior with several rivers its landscape is shaped by the valleys and mountains of the Appalachians. The Northeast borders Canada in the north and is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean in the west. Northeast, Southwest, West, Southeast, and Midwest. The US sits on the North American Plate, a tectonic plate that borders the Pacific Plate in the west.īesides many other definitions, generally, the USA can be divided into five major geographical areas:

Topographic map of the Contiguous United States.
