About North America Physical Map
This North America physical map shows physical features of the continent, and country boundaries of North America including Canada, the United States, Mexico and other countries of Central America and the Caribbean. Color shading is used to indicate elevation, low-lying areas are green, areas of moderate elevation are yellow, and high mountainous areas are shaded in shades of brown to white.
The major mountain systems running along the western side of North America from Alaska down through Canada and into the United States are the Rocky Mountains. Also along the western coastline of North America are the Coast Mountains and the Sierra Nevada mountain systems. The highest peak in Alaska and North America, 20,310 ft, Denali (formerly known as Mount McKinley) is in the top left of this map.
The Great Plains, a vast lowland area, dominate the center of the continent stretching into the U.S. central and eastern states. The Mississippi River system, a massive network of rivers, carves a path through the region’s farmland, wetlands and forests, with major rivers stretching from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico.
You will also notice the outline of the Canadian Shield, a large area of very old rocks around Hudson Bay that have been pushed up into a kind of dome-shaped plateau. Much of this region was carved by glaciers into many lakes and several of Canada’s major rivers.
The Appalachian Mountains are a major mountain range which stretch from Newfoundland and Manitoba in eastern Canada to Alabama, USA. The range is one of the oldest mountain systems in North America and although generally much shorter than the Rockies, they are still a prominent geographic feature in eastern North America.
This physical map of North America shows the Major Water Bodies around the continent of the world, such as Arctic Ocean, Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean. The map also shows Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea to the south. Major coastal features shown on this map include Florida Peninsula, Yucatán Peninsula and Baja California Peninsula.
Southwestern US and northern Mexico are generally dry with temperate plateaus and deserts of the Colorado Plateau region, contrasted with mountain ranges such as the Sierra Madre.
This North America physical map also includes Greenland, which is depicted as a large body of land, largely covered by ice, with extreme elevation and very cold climate conditions.
The Physical Map of North America includes all of the countries, borders, mountains, plains, plateaus, rivers and lakes within North America. The map also illustrates the relative elevation of the land throughout the region and shows where the oceans are located.
Physical Geography of North America
North America is the world’s third-largest continent, covering an area of 24.71 million square kilometers (9.54 million square miles), which is 16.5% of the surface of the Earth. North America extends north to the Arctic Circle and south to Mexico and the rest of Central and South America (together called the Americas), and from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. It includes Canada and the United States, Mexico, and parts of Greenland, as well as many island groups. The region’s geography, environment, and climate are diverse and varied, and the range of landforms include mountains, valleys, plains, deserts, and plateaus.
Major Landforms and Elevation Patterns
North America can be divided into three major land regions: the western mountainous region, the central plains, and the eastern highlands. The western mountainous region is defined by the Western Cordillera, a broad region of mountains that form a continuous chain from Alaska in the northwest to New Mexico in the southwest. Much of the highest terrain on North America is found within this region, and it is marked by a mosaic of several major mountain ranges that have been shaped by tectonic forces. Much of the region’s relief is marked by steep valley walls and by significant numbers of active geologic features.
The ‘breadbasket of the world’ is found in the middle of the continent: hundreds of miles of lowlands extending westward across the Canadian Prairies and down into the southern United States. The landscape is broad and flat, nearly immeasurably flat in places, and some of the world’s most fertile farmland is found here. As the land trends eastward, it becomes progressively older and more eroded, forming gentle to sharp rounded uplands of ancient rocks. These give way to broad coastal plains.
Mountain Systems and High Peaks
North America is home to some of the world’s highest mountain ranges. The Rocky Mountains run through western North America from Canada to New Mexico and are a volcano-studded mountain system with a total length of more than 3,000 miles (4,800 km). The highest mountain in North America and highest peak in the Northern Hemisphere is 6,190 m (20,310 ft) high Denali (formerly known as Mount McKinley), found in Alaska.
In contrast, the Appalachian Mountains of eastern North America are much older and much more worn. Even though they are shorter than the Cordillera, the Appalachian Mountains are an important mountain range extending from eastern Canada through 14 states in the eastern and central United States. In Mexico, the major mountain system is the Sierra Madre Occidental and Sierra Madre Oriental, parallel to the Pacific and Gulf coasts, surrounding the high Mexican Plateau.
Plains, Plateaus, and Geological Shields
The Great Plains are a broad grassland plain of nearly unlimited extent across much of central North America. Known as the "wind-swept plains," the region is generally flat to gently sloping and contains rich soil and deep groundwater. To the north of the Great Plains lies the Canadian Shield, one of the Earth's oldest geological features, a region of very ancient Precambrian rocks 1.8 billion years old and older that surround Hudson Bay. The Shield is a major source of Canada's minerals, but its rugged terrain and poor agricultural soils have resulted in less development than other areas of the country.
In addition to mountain systems, North American continent also has high plateaus. The Colorado Plateau is a high elevation region of the continental interior, covering much of the southwestern part of North America. It includes parts of Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado. The Mexican Plateau is the largest high terrace on the continent, heavily populated with many cities and economic activities.
Rivers, Lakes, and Inland Water Systems
There are many rivers and lakes in North America, some of which serve as vital habitats and others that provide ample supplies of fresh water to human populations. The Mississippi River, which flows through 10 states before depositing its waters into the Gulf of Mexico, is 3,766 kilometers (2,340 miles) long and one of the longest and largest river systems worldwide. Its largest tributary, the Missouri River, is 3,767 kilometers (2,350 miles) long and follows a course from the high plains of Montana to its confluence with the Mississippi River in southern Illinois.
The territory of Continent covers Great Lakes, which include Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario, with the largest group of freshwater lakes in the world by surface area accounting for 21% of Earth’s surface water. A large number of lakes and rivers appeared in the northern part of the continent as a result of glacier movements.
Coastal Features and Surrounding Water Bodies
North America borders three oceans; the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the north east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. North America's coastline varies from steep cliffs and deep fjords on the Pacific, to broad plain coastal areas on the Atlantic and an icy, irregular border between these two in the Arctic.
Off the southern tip of North America, there sit the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, two bodies of warm water. The three major peninsulas are the Florida Peninsula, the Yucatán Peninsula, and the Baja California Peninsula. The shapes of the peninsulas are determined by such physical features as elevation, relief, and bodies of water. Greenland is the world’s largest island (about equal in size to Nigeria or Nigeria and Mexico combined; 2,166,086 km2) and is covered by an ice sheet.
Climate Influence and Natural Diversity
North America’s varied climate is in part due to the geography of the continent. Many large-scale winds are stopped short by mountain ranges, such as the Rocky Mountains, resulting in a so-called “rain shadow”. Down wind from such mountains the interior of the mountain may experience much drier weather due to the reduction in precipitation. In contrast, the interior of North America, especially the central plains, experience the purest type of continental climate, with long hot summers and long, cold winters. Near the coasts, one generally finds a milder climate.
The climate in the north of Greenland and Canada is Arctic and subarctic, whereas the climate in the south is tropical and sub-tropical. This range of climates supports a variety of ecosystems from polar tundra and boreal forest through to desert, temperate grassland and tropical rainforest in countries such as Mexico and the Caribbean.