Compulsory work: Types of relief in the USA

B/60

According to age the mountains in the USA are grouped into two categories:

Old:- the Appalachian Mountains. They are like a long wall, almost parallel with the eastern
coastline. The highest peak is Mt. Mitchell 2037m.

- Ozark Plateau where the Coastal Plains and the Central Plains meet.

New: the west-coast mountains, which are part of the Cordilleras and form two distinct ranges:

a) Rocky Mountains , the eastern range, bordered by the Great Plains in the east and by the
intermontane Basins in the West. They are characterised by a complex system of troughs and
ridges.

b) The Pacific Coastal mountain ranges consist of two parallel chains:

i) - Cascade Range in the north with Mt Rainier (4392 m) as its highest peak.

- Sierra Nevada, which contains the highest peak of the contiguous USA: Mt. Whitney 4418m
and west of it lies the Central Valley a long and broad trough that separates the Sierra Nevada
from the Coast Ranges

ii) – Coast Range, which run along the west coast from the Canadian border to Mexico.

The Plateaus of the USA are high and situated west of the Rockies. They are also known as
lntermontane Basins and consist of three subdivisions:

- the Colombia Plateau in the north

- the Great Basin in the middle
- the Colorado Plateau in the south

The Plains are again of two types:

a) Low plains:

- the Coastal Plains run along the eastern and southern coasts and gradually widen from north
to south.

- the Central Plains situated south of the Great Lakes region, stretch from the western slopes of
the Appalachians to the Great Plains. The land is mostly level with some gently rolling hills.

b) High plains:

- the Great Plains a vast area that stretches from Canada in the north to Mexico in the South.
The Rocky Mountains are the western boundary of this region.