All skills Social Studies

Learn Index · Geography and Maps Grade 3–5

Regions of the United States

The United States is often divided into five regions: the Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Southwest and West, each with its own landforms, climate and industries.

Illustrated topic card: Regions of the United States — The 50 states are often grouped into regions — Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Southwest and West.
Illustrated topic card: Regions of the United States — The 50 states are often grouped into regions — Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Southwest and West.

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What is a region?

A region is an area with features in common. The United States is huge: 50 states stretching across a whole continent, plus Alaska and Hawaii. To study it more easily, geographers often divide it into five regions.

Region States
Northeast Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania
Southeast Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana (and often Maryland and Delaware)
Midwest Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota
Southwest Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma
West Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Hawaii

Different textbooks group some states differently. The U.S. Census Bureau uses four regions: Northeast, Midwest, South and West.

The Northeast

  • Land: Appalachian Mountains, rocky Atlantic coastline, forests
  • Climate: four seasons with cold, snowy winters
  • Economy: finance, education, fishing, tourism
  • Famous places: New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Niagara Falls
  • History: many of the 13 original colonies; important events of the American Revolution

The Southeast

  • Land: Appalachian Mountains, coastal plains, swamps (the Everglades), beaches
  • Climate: warm to hot, humid; hurricanes sometimes strike the coast
  • Economy: farming (cotton, peanuts, tobacco, citrus fruit), tourism, manufacturing
  • Famous places: Florida’s beaches, Atlanta, New Orleans, the Great Smoky Mountains
  • History: Civil War battles and the Civil Rights Movement

The Midwest

  • Land: flat plains and rolling hills; the Great Lakes
  • Climate: hot summers, cold snowy winters
  • Economy: farming (corn, soybeans, wheat, dairy), so it’s often called America’s breadbasket or heartland; car manufacturing (Detroit)
  • Famous places: Chicago, the Mississippi River, Mount Rushmore
  • Rivers: the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers carry goods by barge

The Southwest

  • Land: deserts, canyons, mesas (flat-topped hills), plains
  • Climate: hot and dry; very little rain
  • Economy: oil and natural gas, cattle ranching, technology, tourism
  • Famous places: the Grand Canyon, the Alamo, Monument Valley
  • Culture: strong Native American and Mexican influences in food, art and architecture

The West

  • Land: the Rocky Mountains, the Sierra Nevada, deserts, forests, Pacific coastline; volcanoes in Hawaii and the Cascades; glaciers in Alaska
  • Climate: varies widely, from rainforests in Washington to deserts in Nevada to Arctic cold in Alaska
  • Economy: technology (Silicon Valley), entertainment (Hollywood), farming (California grows many fruits and vegetables), forestry, mining, tourism
  • Famous places: Yellowstone National Park, the Golden Gate Bridge, Denali (the tallest mountain in North America)

Comparing regions

Region Land Climate Known for
Northeast mountains, coast four seasons, cold winters history, cities, finance
Southeast coastal plains, swamps warm, humid farming, beaches
Midwest plains, Great Lakes hot summers, cold winters farming, manufacturing
Southwest deserts, canyons hot, dry oil, ranching, canyons
West mountains, coast varies widely technology, national parks

Regions and people

Each region’s land and climate affect how people live: what they grow, the work they do and how they spend free time. Native American nations lived in every region long before European settlement, adapting to each environment, from fishing communities of the Pacific Northwest to farming communities in the Southwest.

Try it yourself

  1. Colour a map of the five U.S. regions using a different colour for each.
  2. Which region do you live in, or would you like to visit? List three features.
  3. Make a postcard from one region describing its land and climate.
  4. Compare one U.S. region with a region of Canada.

Quick recap

  • The United States is often divided into five regions.
  • The Northeast is known for history and big cities.
  • The Southeast is warm and known for farming and beaches.
  • The Midwest is the nation’s farming heartland.
  • The Southwest has deserts and canyons; the West has mountains, technology and national parks.