U.S. Maps Instructions
Below are instructions for what to do on the maps for the U.S. Unit. Read the instructions carefully. Only label and color what you are asked to. Failure to follow the directions will lose points.
Map 1: U.S. Regions
Using the 7 empty boxes on the bottom left-hand side to make a key for the 7 regions, use the States Sheet to color in the 7 different regions of the U.S. Look at pages A20 & A21 to find the states. Color each region its own color (and don’t use similar colors!)
Map 2: U.S. Political
Complete the map in the following order:
1. Label each state using its postal abbreviation.
2. Color each state a different color without any two colors touching.
3. Color and label Canada’s and Mexico’s border along the U.S.
Maps 3 & 4: US Cities Maps
Label the cities listed on the page.
Maps 5 & 6: Big Picture Maps
Color and label the following items listed on the next page.
Maps 7, 8 & 9: Eastern, Central and Western U.S. Physical
Color and label the items listed on the attached item sheets.
Alaska and Hawaii Maps
Follow the directions on those maps.
US Big Picture Maps
Neatly color and label the following items. * items don’t need to be colored. Don’t add any information in the ( ) to the map.
Pages A18 & A19
Map 5: US Big Picture – Water
Water:
Atlantic Ocean*
Pacific Ocean*
Lake Superior
Lake Michigan
Lake Huron
Lake Erie
Lake Ontario
Chesapeake Bay
Gulf of Mexico*
Lake Champlain (NY)
Tampa Bay
Lake of the Ozarks (Not in book: Middle of MO)
Lake Winnebago (WI)
Lake Pontchartrain (Not in book: Near New Orleans)
San Francisco Bay
Puget Sound (WA)
Crater Lake (Not in book: Southern OR)
Lake Tahoe (CA)
Great Salt Lake
Lake Powell (UT/AZ)
Lake Mead (AZ, NV)
Rivers: Use a different color for each river (no two colors touching)
Mississippi River (Label it twice)
Illinois River
Ohio River
St. Lawrence Seaway (out of NY through Canada)
Hudson River (NY)
Delaware River (Not in book: Between NJ & PA)
Erie Canal (Not in book: Cuts across NY)
Allegheny River (separated from the Ohio River by the dark line)
Potomac River (Not in book: Between MD & VA)
Chattahoochee River
Missouri River (Label twice)
Platte River (There are 3 parts: main, N & S; label them all as “Platte River”)
Red River (There are 2: OK/TX & MN…label both)
Rio Grande
Nueces River
Pecos River
Colorado River
Snake River (ID)
Columbia River (WA)
Map 6: US Big Picture – Landforms
Mountains: Appalachian Mountains, Rocky Mountains, Cascade Range, Coast Range, Sierra Nevada Mountains
Landforms: Coastal Plain, Florida Keys, Cape Cod (MA), Long Island (NY), Interior Plains (already drawn in: ), Great Plains (already drawn in: ), Upper Peninsula (MI), Ozark Plateau (MO), Great Basin, Central Valley (CA), Colorado Plateau
U.S. Physical Map Items
Physical Maps: Neatly color and label the listed items. * items don’t need to be colored.
Any items with (XX): The state abbreviation is there to help you find it. Do not write the (XX) with the item on the map.
If you can’t find something, look on the Big Picture Maps (Maps 3 & 4)
Pages: A18 & A19
Eastern U.S. Physical Map Items (Map 7)
Water: Atlantic Ocean*, Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, Lake Champlain (NY), Saginaw Bay (MI), Chesapeake Bay (VA & MD), Gulf of Mexico*, Tampa Bay, Lake Okeechobee
Rivers: Mississippi River, Illinois River, Ohio River, St. Lawrence Seaway (connects Lake Ontario and Atlantic Ocean; goes past Montreal), Hudson River, Erie Canal (cuts across NY), Delaware River (Between NJ and PA), Allegheny River (separated from the Ohio River by the dark line), Potomac River (Between MD and WV), Chattahoochee River
Mountains: Appalachian, Catskill, Adirondack, Green (All in New England; Make a different color than the Appalachian Mountains)
Landforms: Upper Peninsula (MI), Niagara Falls, Cape Cod (MA), Long Island (NY), Nantucket (MA), Martha’s Vineyard (Not in book: MA – to the west of Nantucket), Coastal Plain, Cape Hatteras, Cape Canaveral, Florida Keys, Everglades, Okefenokee Swamp (Not in book: South GA)
Be careful labeling all of the stuff in Wisconsin/Michigan and up in New England!!! It’s a small area and there are a lot of labels.
Central U.S. Physical Map Items (Map 8)
Water: Gulf of Mexico*, Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake of the Ozarks (MO), Lake Pontchartrain (N of New Orleans in LA), Lake Winnebago (WI), Green Bay (WI)
Rivers: Mississippi River, Illinois River, Ohio River, Missouri River, Platte River (There are 3 parts: main, N & S; label them all as “Platte River”), Red River (There are 2: OK/TX & MN…label both), Rio Grande, Nueces River, Pecos River
Landforms: Upper Peninsula (MI), Mississippi Delta, Interior Plains (already drawn in: ), Great Plains (already drawn in: ), Door Peninsula (In WI between Lake Michigan and Green Bay), Badlands & Black Hills (Already drawn in - SD)
Western U.S. Physical Map Items (Map 9)
Water: Pacific Ocean*, San Francisco Bay, Puget Sound (WA), Crater Lake (OR), Lake Tahoe (CA), Great Salt Lake, Lake Powell (UT/AZ), Lake Mead
Mountains: Rocky Mountains, Cascade Range, Coast Ranges, Sierra Nevada, Mt. Saint Helens (WA), Mt. Hood (WA), Grand Teton (ID & WY), Mt. Whitney (CA)
Rivers: Missouri River, Platte River (There are 3 parts: main, N & S; label them all as “Platte River”), Red River (There are 2: OK/TX & MN…label both), Rio Grande, Nueces River, Pecos River, Colorado River, Snake River (ID), Columbia River (WA)
Landforms: Great Plains (already drawn in: ), Badlands & Black Hills (Already drawn in - SD), Mojave Desert, Death Valley, Columbia Basin (low spot in Eastern WA, inside the bend of the Columbia River), Great Basin, San Andreas Fault (Dashed line on map in CA), Central Valley (CA), Grand Canyon (make sure it’s on the Colorado River), Hoover Dam (Dark line southwest of Lake Mead)