The United States: Regions, States, and Capitals

The United States of America is a country in North America. You may see its name shortened to US or USA. North America is a continent, with many countries in it.

Start with the globe

Find the equator, the line around Earth's middle. Move north to North America, between two huge oceans. All 50 states lie north of the equator. They are in the Northern Hemisphere, Earth's northern half.

A country has its own government and borders. Two countries share land borders with the United States: Canada and Mexico. Canada is north of the lower 48 states. Mexico is south of them. Alaska also borders Canada.

Try this route in your mind. Begin in Kansas. Go north through Nebraska, South Dakota, and North Dakota. You reach Canada. Go south from Kansas through Oklahoma and Texas. You reach Mexico.

Put water around the land

The Atlantic Ocean lies east of the lower 48. The Pacific Ocean lies west. Far north, the Arctic Ocean touches Alaska.

The Gulf of Mexico lies south of the coast from Texas to Florida. Since 2025, the US government has called it the Gulf of America. Maps may show either name. Both names point to the same body of water. Land along its shore is called the Gulf Coast.

On a north-up map, east is right and west is left. On a globe, use the compass directions, since you can turn the globe around.

Separate a state from a country

California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas border Mexico. New Mexico is a US state. Mexico is a separate country south of it. The similar names can make them easy to mix up.

Many states touch Canada. Find Washington, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, New York, and Maine along the country's northern side. Alaska touches Canada too, far to the northwest.

You can describe the country with a complete location sentence: "The United States is in North America, south of Canada and north of Mexico." Add the oceans when you want to make the location clearer.

A state is a part of the United States. Each state has its own government, laws, and borders. There are 50 states, but they do not all sit together.

Find the block of 48

Forty-eight states touch one another in one large block. These are the contiguous states, often called the "lower 48." Contiguous means touching.

Alaska and Hawaii are the other two states. Add those two to the lower 48 and you have 50. Alaska joined first in 1959, becoming the 49th state. Hawaii joined later that year, becoming the 50th.

Look northwest for Alaska

Alaska is in the far northwest of North America. Canada lies between Alaska and the lower 48. A land journey from Washington state to Alaska must cross Canada.

Alaska is the largest state by area. It has about two and a half times as much area as Texas. Rhode Island is the smallest state. More than 400 Rhode Islands could fit inside Alaska by total area.

Look into the Pacific for Hawaii

Hawaii is a chain of islands in the Pacific Ocean. It lies about 2,400 miles southwest of California. It is the only state made up entirely of islands.

Hawaii and Alaska are both full states. Being far from the lower 48 does not change that. Each has its own capital, just like every other state.

Read the small boxes carefully

Many US maps put Alaska and Hawaii in boxes near the bottom. These small maps are called insets. They let the mapmaker fit distant places on one page.

An inset's position on the page is not the state's real location. A box below California does not mean Alaska is near Mexico. Alaska may also be drawn at a smaller scale. Use a globe to see where both states really belong.

Area and population answer different questions. Area tells you how much space a place covers. Population tells you how many people live there. In the 2020 census, California had the most people and Wyoming the fewest. Alaska had the most land, but only Wyoming and Vermont had fewer people.

A map helps you find states and the cities inside them. Read its title and key before you follow its lines and symbols.

Follow borders

A border marks where one place ends and another begins. Thin lines often separate states on a map. A river can form part of a border. The Ohio River separates Ohio and Kentucky. The Mississippi River separates Tennessee and Arkansas.

People drew other borders as straight lines. Colorado and Wyoming look almost like rectangles. You can use shapes and neighbors together to find a state.

Find the capital symbol

A state capital is the city where the state government works. Each state has one. The governor and state lawmakers work there.

Many maps use a star for a capital and dots for other cities. Some use a star inside a circle. Check the map key to learn what this map's symbols mean.

To find Columbus, first locate Ohio. Then find the capital symbol inside Ohio's borders. Read the city name next to it. Columbus is near the middle of the state.

The biggest city is not always the capital. New York City's large size does not make it New York's capital. Albany is the capital. In the 2020 census, capitals were the largest cities in 17 states. In 33 states, another city was larger.

Capital or capitol?

These words sound the same but mean different things.

Read short state names

Maps may show two-letter state abbreviations. The US Postal Service uses these too. Both letters are capitals, with no periods: FL means Florida and TX means Texas.

Do not guess from the first two letters. AK means Alaska; AR means Arkansas. MI is Michigan, MN is Minnesota, MS is Mississippi, and MO is Missouri. MA means Massachusetts, ME means Maine, and MD means Maryland.

When you describe a location, add directions and neighbors. For example: "Nebraska is north of Kansas and east of Wyoming." A neighbor clue can help you check a state's label.

Washington, D.C., is the capital of the United States. The national government does its work there. This capital serves the whole country.

Find the district

D.C. stands for District of Columbia. A district is an area set apart for a purpose. This district was set apart for the national government. It is not a state or part of a state.

Find it in the eastern United States, on the Potomac River. Maryland is beside it, and Virginia is across the river. On the five-region map used here, D.C. lies in the Southeast, beside those two states.

The city is named for George Washington, the first president. The national government moved there in 1800. Maryland and Virginia both gave land for the district. Virginia's part was returned in 1846. All the land in today's district came from Maryland.

Match the buildings to their jobs

Three important government buildings are in Washington, D.C.

• The White House is where the president lives and works.
• The US Capitol is where Congress meets to make laws.
• The Supreme Court Building is where the Supreme Court hears cases.

Remember the spelling: the national capital is a city. The US Capitol, spelled with an "o," is a building within it.

Keep the two Washingtons apart

Washington state is on the Pacific coast in the far northwest. Its capital is Olympia. Washington, D.C., is far away in the east. The two places are more than 2,000 miles apart.

A person living in a state has a state capital and a national capital. For someone living in Dallas, the state capital is Austin. The national capital is Washington, D.C. Dallas is a city in Texas, but it is neither capital.

People who live in D.C. elect a mayor and can vote for president. D.C. has a delegate in the House of Representatives. The delegate does not vote on final passage of laws in the full House. D.C. is not an extra state, so the state count stays at 50.

The United States also has territories. A territory belongs to the United States but is not a state. The five main territories with settled communities are islands or island groups.

Two in the Caribbean

Look southeast of Florida, in the Caribbean.

• Puerto Rico — San Juan
• US Virgin Islands — Charlotte Amalie

The US Virgin Islands lie just east of Puerto Rico. The United States also has small islands with almost no residents, such as Wake Island and Midway. Puerto Rico has more than 3 million people, the most of these five territories. Spanish and English are official languages there. Most people speak Spanish at home.

Three in the Pacific

The Pacific territories lie far from the lower 48.

• Guam — Hagåtña
• Northern Mariana Islands — Saipan
• American Samoa — Pago Pago

Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands are near each other in the western Pacific. American Samoa lies south of the equator. It is the only one of these five territories in the Southern Hemisphere.

Saipan is an island; the Northern Mariana Islands' government works at Capitol Hill on it. American Samoa's government buildings are around Pago Pago Harbor, including Fagatogo. The usual school capital names are Saipan and Pago Pago.

State or territory?

Hawaii is a state made up of islands. Guam is an island that is a territory. An island's shape does not tell you its status. Hawaii was a territory before becoming a state in 1959.

Territories have local governments and governors. People living there do not vote for president in the November general election. Each has a House delegate or resident commissioner who cannot vote on final passage of laws in the full House.

People born in Puerto Rico, Guam, the US Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands have US citizenship at birth. Birth in American Samoa gives US nationality; some children also receive US citizenship through a parent.

You may also hear commonwealth. Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands are territories called commonwealths. Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Kentucky are states called commonwealths. The word alone does not tell you whether a place is a state.

A region is an area with something in common. It might share a location, a kind of land, or a way people use the land. Regions help you study a big country in smaller pieces.

Picture five parts

Schools often group the states into five regions. Picture a map of the lower 48 with north at the top.

These lists hold all 50 states. Each state belongs to one of these five groups. Alaska and Hawaii are in the West, even though they are far apart.

Use location, then check the list

Find Georgia on the right side of the map. That puts it in the east. It is also in the lower part, toward the south. Together, those clues point to the Southeast. Its neighbor Florida belongs to the same region.

Direction clues help, but a region name is not a compass rule. The Midwest is in the north-central part of today's country. Its name comes from an earlier time, when this area was farther west within the country.

Fit places inside larger places

Think about Houston. Houston is a city inside Texas. Texas is a state in the Southwest. The Southwest is a region of the United States.

A city, a state, a region, and a country are different kinds of place. A region groups states; it is not another state. It has no government or capital of its own. Austin is Texas's capital, not a capital for the whole Southwest.

Check which regional map you are using

The five school regions are not official government divisions. This material uses the National Geographic five-region grouping. Delaware and Maryland belong to the Southeast in this grouping. Some school maps place them in the Northeast.

That difference changes region lists and their totals. Look at a map's title, key, and state list before deciding which grouping it shows. For a class quiz, follow your class map.

You can learn 50 state–capital pairs a little at a time. Use the map and your memory together, then check what needs more practice.

Start with a small group

The Southwest has only four states. It makes a good first group. Other regions can come next: Northeast, West, Midwest, then Southeast. Split a longer region into smaller groups when you need to.

Point to a state, say its name, and say its capital. You are giving your memory both a place and a name. Reading a long list alone leaves out that useful location clue.

Cover, answer, check

Cover the capital names. Ask yourself a question and say or write the answer. Then uncover the list to check. Correct a missed pair before trying it again.

Practice in both directions: "What is the capital of Kansas?" and "Topeka is the capital of which state?" Later, mix the order. You want to remember the pair without needing the previous answer as a clue.

Spread practice over days. Learning five new pairs a day takes ten days to meet all 50. Begin each day by testing some older pairs too. A short daily review helps you keep what you learned.

Give hard pairs extra turns

Sort cards into "I know it," "almost," and "not yet." Spend more turns on "not yet." Bring back the other piles sometimes so that easy pairs stay easy.

Try a blank map. Add the state names you remember, then check their positions. Next, add capitals. A partner can quiz you, or you can play a matching game.

Make a memory link

A memory trick connects a sound or picture to a pair. Picture a little rock on an ark for Little Rock, Arkansas. Picture a sack of tomatoes for Sacramento, California. Picture boys with Idaho potatoes for Boise, Idaho.

To make your own trick, say the capital aloud. Find a word that sounds like it. Link that word to the state in a picture. A "tall lassie" on a Florida beach can remind you of Tallahassee.

Patterns can help too. Vermont and Montpelier share "mont." Maryland and Annapolis hold the names Mary and Anna. Oklahoma City and Indianapolis contain much of their states' names. Jackson, Jefferson City, Lincoln, and Madison are capitals named for presidents. Always check a trick against the real pair. A famous city can be a strong memory without being a capital: Chicago, Los Angeles, and Miami are not capitals.

The Northeast has nine states. Learn them as two smaller groups: six New England states, then three states farther west and south.

Start in New England

Find Maine in the far northeast. It touches just one other state: New Hampshire. Vermont lies west of New Hampshire. Massachusetts is south of both. Connecticut and Rhode Island sit south of Massachusetts, with Rhode Island east of Connecticut.

Most of Rhode Island is on the mainland. Its name does not mean the whole state is an island. It also includes islands in Narragansett Bay.

Add the other three

New York lies west of New England. It reaches Canada and Lake Erie. Pennsylvania is south of New York. New Jersey is east of Pennsylvania, on the Atlantic coast.

Take a capitals trip

Begin at Augusta in Maine. Visit Concord in New Hampshire and Montpelier in Vermont. Head to Boston, then Providence and Hartford. Finish with Albany, Trenton, and Harrisburg. That gives you one capital for each of the nine states.

Now cover the capital column. Point to Vermont and ask for its capital. Montpelier shares "mont" with Vermont. Use that sound link to bring back the pair.

Hartford and Harrisburg can be easy to mix up. Link Connecticut with the "heart" sound in Hartford. Link Pennsylvania with the ending "burg," also heard in Pittsburgh. The trick helps you recall the name; the map helps you place it.

Check the famous-city trap

New York City's size does not make it a capital. New York's capital is Albany. Pennsylvania's is Harrisburg, not Philadelphia. New Jersey's is Trenton, not Newark. Maine's is Augusta, not Portland.

Boston and Providence are different: they are both capitals and, in the 2020 census, their states' biggest cities.

The Southeast has 14 states in the National Geographic grouping. Delaware and Maryland are included here. Some class maps place those two in the Northeast.

Follow the Atlantic side

Learn these seven states from north to south.

Delaware lies east of Maryland. It was the first state to approve the US Constitution. Virginia is south of Maryland. North Carolina is north of South Carolina. Georgia lies south of South Carolina and north of Florida.

Florida is a long peninsula, land with water on three sides. Tallahassee is in northern Florida. Look near the top of the state, not down near Miami.

Add three more Gulf Coast states

Travel west from Florida along the Gulf Coast. You pass Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Florida also has a Gulf Coast; it already appeared in the Atlantic group, so count it only once.

Find the four inland states

West Virginia is northwest of Virginia. Kentucky is north of Tennessee. Arkansas is west of the Mississippi River, across from Mississippi. Louisiana lies farther south, where the river reaches the Gulf.

Keep similar city names apart

Charleston is West Virginia's capital. South Carolina has a city named Charleston too, but its capital is Columbia. North Carolina has Charlotte, a large city; its capital is Raleigh. Columbia and Ohio's Columbus are different names in different states.

The famous city is not always the capital. Florida has Miami and Orlando, but its capital is Tallahassee. Louisiana has New Orleans, but its capital is Baton Rouge. Kentucky's capital is Frankfort, Tennessee's is Nashville, and Maryland's is Annapolis.

In the 2020 census, Atlanta, Jackson, Little Rock, Nashville, and Charleston, West Virginia, were also their states' largest cities.

The Midwest has 12 states. Split them into six states touching the Great Lakes and six prairie and plains states. You can practice each group on its own.

Find six beside the Great Lakes

Ohio lies east of Indiana. Illinois is west of Indiana. Wisconsin is north of Illinois and west of Lake Michigan. Minnesota lies west of Wisconsin.

Michigan has two large pieces, both peninsulas. Its Lower Peninsula looks like a mitten. Lansing is in that mitten-shaped part. Water separates it from the Upper Peninsula.

Stack the plains states

Picture four blocks from north to south: North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas. Just east of them, Iowa sits north of Missouri. Minnesota is north of Iowa.

To find Wisconsin, use several clues together. Start north of Illinois, then look east of Minnesota and west of Lake Michigan. The state is Wisconsin, and its capital is Madison.

Give tricky names a sound

Pierre, South Dakota, sounds like "peer." Des Moines, Iowa, sounds like "duh MOYN." Say each pair aloud while pointing to its state.

Kansas City can confuse you. A larger Kansas City is in Missouri, and another Kansas City is across the border in Kansas. Neither city is a capital. Kansas's capital is Topeka; Missouri's is Jefferson City.

Separate capitals from other large cities

Illinois has Chicago, but its capital is Springfield. Michigan has Detroit, but its capital is Lansing. Wisconsin has Milwaukee, but its capital is Madison.

Minnesota's capital is St. Paul. Nearby Minneapolis is a different city. Together they are called the Twin Cities.

Columbus, Indianapolis, and Des Moines were both capitals and their states' largest cities in the 2020 census. If you are unsure about a pair, cover the list and recall the capital before checking the answer.

The Southwest has four states, the shortest regional list. Learn the pairs, then picture where the states fit together.

Match the four pairs

Along the southern border, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona run from east to west. All three touch Mexico. Oklahoma lies north of Texas and does not border Mexico.

New Mexico is a US state. Its capital is Santa Fe. Mexico is a separate country south of it.

Spot the panhandle and Four Corners

Oklahoma has a narrow strip sticking out to the west. This is its panhandle. The shape looks like the handle of a pan.

Arizona and New Mexico meet Utah and Colorado at Four Corners. It is the only point in the country where four states meet. Arizona and New Mexico are in the Southwest. Utah and Colorado are in the West.

The school-region boundary separates these two pairs of states.

Work through a capital choice

Suppose you need Texas's capital. Houston and Dallas come to mind because you have heard their names. Ask what the question needs: a large city, or the city where state government works? Texas's capital is Austin. Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio are other Texas cities.

Oklahoma's capital is Oklahoma City. Its name gives you a helpful state link. Tulsa is another large city in the state. New Mexico's capital is Santa Fe, not Albuquerque. Arizona's capital is Phoenix.

In the 2020 census, Phoenix and Oklahoma City were also their states' biggest cities. Austin and Santa Fe were not.

Put a place behind the name

Spanish settlers founded Santa Fe around 1610. It is the oldest state capital in the country, older than the United States itself.

Try recalling the four capitals from east to west along the southern states: Austin, Santa Fe, Phoenix. Then move north from Texas to Oklahoma and name Oklahoma City. Cover the table before you try so that you are using your memory.

The West has 11 states. Learn three Pacific Coast states, six mountain states, and two states apart from the lower 48.

Go down the Pacific Coast

Washington, Oregon, and California run from north to south. Each touches the Pacific Ocean. Washington state is on the Canadian border, far from Washington, D.C.

Move into the mountain states

Montana touches Canada. Idaho is west of Montana, and Wyoming is south of Montana. Nevada lies east of California. Utah is east of Nevada, and Colorado is east of Utah and south of Wyoming.

Take a west-to-east trip through California, Nevada, Utah, and Colorado. Their capitals are Sacramento, Carson City, Salt Lake City, and Denver. Pause at each state before moving to the next.

Add Alaska and Hawaii

Juneau is in southeastern Alaska. No road connects Juneau to the rest of the state. People travel there by boat or plane.

Honolulu is on Oahu, one of Hawaii's islands. The largest island is also called Hawaii, but Honolulu is not on that island. The state name and island name can mean different places.

Check city-name mix-ups

California's capital is Sacramento, not Los Angeles or San Francisco. Washington's is Olympia, not Seattle. Oregon's is Salem, not Portland. Nevada's is Carson City, not Las Vegas. Alaska's is Juneau, not Anchorage.

Salem and Salt Lake City share an opening sound. Link Salem with Oregon and Salt Lake City with Utah, near the Great Salt Lake. Say Boise, Idaho, as "BOY-see."

In the 2020 census, Denver, Boise, Salt Lake City, Cheyenne, and Honolulu were also the largest cities in their states. A city can be both a capital and the biggest city, but one fact does not tell you the other.

Rocky shores, forests, mountains, and busy cities all belong to the Northeast. Its small states can hold many people close together.

Follow mountains and water

The Appalachian Mountains run through the region. Maine has a rocky coast, while New Jersey has sandy beaches. A coast is the land beside the sea.

Niagara Falls lies on the border between New York and Canada. The Hudson River flows through New York and reaches the Atlantic at New York City. Water links inland places with the coast.

Picture the seasons

The Northeast has four clear seasons. Winters are cold and snowy, especially farther north and in the mountains. Summers are warm. In fall, forest leaves turn red, orange, and gold.

A region's climate describes its usual weather over many years. It does not tell you the weather on one particular day. Maine and New Jersey are both Northeast states, yet Maine is colder and more forested.

Match resources to useful work

A natural resource is something useful that comes from nature. Forests provide wood. Coastal waters provide fish and lobsters. Pennsylvania has coal and natural gas underground.

Vermont produces more maple syrup than any other state. Farmers collect sap from sugar maple trees in late winter and early spring. Warm days and cold nights help the sap flow. Farmers boil the sap to make syrup.

See why cities grew

New York City is the country's largest city. Other large Northeast cities include Philadelphia, Boston, and Pittsburgh.

Harbors helped New York City, Boston, and Philadelphia grow. Ships coming from the Atlantic could bring people and goods. Philadelphia's harbor is on the Delaware River, with a route to the ocean.

Pittsburgh is inland, where three rivers meet. River trade, nearby coal, and steelmaking helped it grow. Today many Northeast city jobs are in banks, offices, hospitals, and colleges.

New Jersey has more people per square mile than any other state. A small area can still hold a large population. Compare both the space and the number of people before calling a place crowded.

The Southeast has long coasts, warm summers, farms, mountains, and busy cities. Water shapes much of its land and work.

From coast to mountains

Much of the land near the coast is a coastal plain: low, fairly flat land. The Atlantic and Gulf coasts have long beaches. The Everglades in southern Florida are wetlands, places covered by water or with very wet soil.

Farther inland, the Appalachian Mountains rise. The Great Smoky Mountains lie along the North Carolina–Tennessee border. Mountain places can be cool and snowy even though the region is known for warmth.

The Mississippi River reaches the Gulf in Louisiana. Rivers move water through the land and give boats routes to carry goods.

Warm air and a long growing season

The climate is usually warm and humid, meaning the air holds much moisture. Summers are long and hot; winters are often mild. Snow is rare near the warm coast but falls in the mountains.

Hurricanes are huge storms that form over warm ocean water. They can reach the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, mostly in summer and fall.

The long warm season gives crops more time to grow. Farmers grow cotton, Georgia peanuts, Florida oranges, and rice in Arkansas and Louisiana. Tobacco grows in Kentucky and North Carolina.

Resources from land and sea

West Virginia and Kentucky have coal. Louisiana has oil. Pine forests supply wood and material for paper. The Gulf provides shrimp. These resources help support different kinds of work across the region.

Notice how a crop depends on conditions. Florida's warmth helps oranges grow. The mountains of West Virginia have a different climate, so they do not have the same farms as Florida's warm coastal areas.

Find cities and places people visit

Large cities include Atlanta, Miami, Charlotte, Nashville, and New Orleans. Cities support offices, stores, transportation, and many other jobs.

Florida's beaches and theme parks attract visitors. Rockets launch from Cape Canaveral on Florida's Atlantic coast. A region can have farming, industry, tourism, and science work at the same time.

The Midwest has wide plains, major rivers, huge lakes, farms, and factories. Its water and rich soil help explain the work people do there.

Picture the land

Much of the land is flat or gently rolling. The Great Plains stretch through the western part of the region. There are hills too, including South Dakota's Black Hills and Missouri's Ozarks.

The Mississippi River begins in Minnesota and flows south. The Missouri River joins it near St. Louis. Boats use these rivers to carry goods such as grain.

Name the Great Lakes

The five Great Lakes hold fresh water. HOMES helps you remember their names.

• Huron
• Ontario
• Michigan
• Erie
• Superior

Lake Superior is the largest. Lake Michigan is the only Great Lake entirely inside the United States. The other four touch Canada too.

The Midwest has six states along the Great Lakes, but the wider Great Lakes region also includes New York and Pennsylvania. A lake region can cross school-region lines.

Match farms to conditions

The Midwest has hot summers and cold, snowy winters. It is far from the oceans, which help soften seasonal temperature changes along some coasts.

Flat land, rich soil, and enough rain support farming. Iowa and Illinois grow lots of corn. Corn and soybeans are important across the region. Kansas and North Dakota grow much wheat.

The nickname breadbasket points to the region's large grain harvests. Farms also raise animals. Iowa raises many hogs; Wisconsin is known for milk and cheese.

Follow resources into cities

Minnesota and Michigan have iron ore, rock from which iron is taken. Iron is used to make steel. Ships can carry ore across the Great Lakes to factories.

Factories and transportation helped cities grow. Detroit became known for making cars. Chicago, on Lake Michigan, is the Midwest's largest city and the country's third-largest city. Other large cities include Minneapolis, St. Louis, Kansas City, and Columbus.

Farmland covers large areas, but that does not mean most people live on farms. Most people in the Midwest live in cities and towns.

The Southwest has deserts and canyons, but it also has plains, forests, and a Gulf Coast. Water is especially important in its dry areas.

Look at the land and rivers

A canyon is a deep valley with steep sides. The Grand Canyon is in Arizona. The Colorado River carved it over millions of years.

A mesa is a hill with a flat top and steep sides. Deserts and mesas are common in parts of the region. Texas and Oklahoma also have wide plains. Texas reaches the Gulf Coast.

The Rio Grande forms the border between Texas and Mexico. The Colorado River supplies water to farms and cities in the Southwest.

Hot and dry, with important differences

A desert gets very little rain. Much of the Southwest is hot and dry, and Phoenix summer days are often above 100°F. Saguaro cactus grows in Arizona's Sonoran Desert.

Yet eastern Texas is rainy and green. High mountains in New Mexico and Arizona have forests and winter snow. Use "much of the Southwest" when describing deserts, because the whole region is not desert.

Match underground resources to work

Texas produces more oil than any other state. New Mexico and Oklahoma also produce oil and natural gas. These resources are used for fuels and other products.

Arizona leads the states in copper mining. In 2024, it produced about 70% of the country's mined copper. Copper is useful for electrical wires and pipes.

Cattle ranches are common in Texas and Oklahoma. Texas also grows cotton. Ranches need land, and crops need water. In dry places, cities and farms depend on careful water supplies, including water brought through canals and pipes.

Find cities and signs of history

Houston, Phoenix, San Antonio, and Dallas are large cities. Houston is the country's fourth-largest city and Phoenix is fifth in the Census Bureau's 2025 estimates. City size counts people within city limits.

Native American nations, including the Navajo Nation, have lived in and shaped this region for a long time. Spanish and Mexican history also appears in place names such as Santa Fe, El Paso, and San Antonio.

The West stretches from Alaska to Hawaii and from the Pacific coast to high mountains. Its huge range of places brings many climates and resources.

High mountains and low valleys

The Rocky Mountains run through Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado. The Sierra Nevada rise in California. The Cascades run through Washington and Oregon.

North America's tallest mountain is in Alaska, about 20,310 feet high. Alaska and many Alaska Native people call it Denali. Since 2025, the federal government has called it Mount McKinley. The names refer to the same mountain.

Death Valley in California reaches 282 feet below sea level. It is North America's lowest place and one of Earth's hottest places.

Alaska has glaciers: huge masses of ice that move slowly. Volcanoes built Hawaii's islands, and some are still active. Yellowstone, mostly in Wyoming, has geysers that shoot hot water into the air.

Why climates change

Western Washington and Oregon are rainy. California's coast has mild weather. Nevada has dry deserts, while the Rockies have cold, snowy winters. Northern Alaska is very cold, and Hawaii is warm all year.

Distance is one reason: the region reaches from Arctic Alaska to tropical Hawaii. Mountains matter too. Wet ocean air rises over mountains and drops rain. Land farther east can receive much less moisture.

Resources depend on place

Washington and Oregon have large forests for wood. Alaska has salmon and oil. Nevada mines more gold than any other state. Montana and Wyoming have cattle ranches.

California's Central Valley grows many fruits, vegetables, and nuts. Summers bring little rain, so farms need water from rivers and melting mountain snow.

Meet the cities

Los Angeles is the country's second-largest city. Hollywood, part of Los Angeles, is known for movies. Many computer companies work near San Francisco. Other large cities include San Diego, Seattle, Denver, and Las Vegas.

Most people in the region live in cities, even though its mountains and open spaces cover large areas.

You can compare regions by asking the same questions about each. This helps you notice both differences and useful connections.

Compare one topic at a time

Choose two regions. Pick topics such as land, climate, resources, and cities. Give a fact about each region under each topic. Then explain a link when you can.

Here is a Midwest–Southwest comparison.

Both regions have farms, cattle, and large cities. A comparison needs similarities as well as differences.

Link conditions to work

Flat land and rich soil help Midwest farmers grow grain. Rain provides water for crops. Florida's warm climate helps oranges grow. Arizona's copper-bearing rocks support mining.

Harbors give ships sheltered places to load and unload. Good harbors helped Northeast port cities grow. Chicago is on Lake Michigan, and New Orleans is on the Mississippi River. Water routes help move goods between places.

In dry areas, cities need water brought through canals and pipes. Phoenix and Las Vegas depend on these kinds of water supplies. A city can grow in a desert, but it still needs water.

Keep the five pictures clear

The Northeast has mountains, a varied coast, and cold winters. The Southeast has coastal plains, wetlands, and warm, humid weather. The Midwest has plains, lakes, and strong summer–winter changes. Much of the Southwest has dry land, canyons, and hot summers. The West has high mountains, a Pacific coast, and many climates. Regional resources also differ: Northeast fish and maple syrup; Southeast cotton, oranges, and coal; Midwest corn, wheat, and iron ore; Southwest oil, copper, and cattle; West wood, gold, salmon, and California fruit.

The Southeast and Southwest can be easy to mix up because both are warm. Compare moisture: the Southeast is generally rainy and humid, while much of the Southwest is dry.

Leave room for differences within a region

A regional description tells you what is common, not what happens everywhere. Maine and New Jersey share the Northeast, but Maine is colder and has more forest. Choose words such as "much of" when a feature does not cover the whole region.

The same state can belong to several regions. Each map groups places for a purpose, so first find out what its regions mean.

Meet the four Census regions

The US Census Bureau counts the country's people. It uses four regions: Northeast, Midwest, South, and West.

D.C. is also counted in the Census South, but it adds no state. The four state totals still add to 50.

Texas is in the Southwest on the five-region map. It is in the South on the Census map. Neither label moves the state. The maps simply use different groups.

Group places by a different feature

A political region has its own government, as a state or country does. The five school regions group whole states by location, without a government of their own.

A landform region groups similar land, such as mountains or plains. The Great Plains crosses the Midwest, Southwest, and West.

A vegetation region groups places by what grows there, such as forests or grasslands. A land-use region groups places by what people do with the land. The Corn Belt is a farming region, mainly in the Midwest. Its edges are not one exact border.

Look across school-region lines

Eight states touch the Great Lakes: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. Six are Midwest states. Pennsylvania and New York are Northeast states.

Ohio can belong to the Midwest, Corn Belt, and Great Lakes region at once. One name tells you its school-region location, another about farming, and another about nearby water.

Compare a water region with a dry region

The Great Lakes region has much fresh water, cold winters, and ships carrying grain and iron ore. Much of the Southwest has little water, hot summers, and oil or copper resources. Both have large cities and borders with another country.

Smaller region names help too. New England names six Northeast states. The Pacific Northwest refers to Washington, Oregon, and nearby land.