The physiographic regions of the contiguous United States comprise 8 divisions, 25 provinces, and 85 sections.[1] The system dates to Nevin Fenneman's report Physiographic Divisions of the United States, published in 1916.[2][3] The map was updated and republished by the Association of American Geographers in 1928.[4] The map was adopted by the United States Geological Survey by publication in 1946. [5]
USGS map of the eight physiographic divisions of the contiguous United States.
The classification hierarchy used in the 1916 publication of the American Association of Geographers was division/province/section/subsection. The use of province in this hierarchy undoubtedly confounded the effort to develop a physiographical map consistent across the North American continent since Canada used province as the term for its first-level political subdivision. Province in Canada is a loose analogy for state in the US, and obviously would create great confusion if the same word was used in two vastly different geographical classifications. As late as 1914, the terminology used by an AAG publication used the term "natural region" as the basic denomination of physiography. [6] That work showed 22 examples of how geographers had published works classifying North America into what had been defined as natural regions. Most included all of North America without regard to political subdivision.
Fenneman expanded and presented a derivative of this system more fully in two books, Physiography of western United States (1931),[7] and Physiography of eastern United States (1938).[8]
^Fenneman, Nevin M. (1916). "Physiographic Divisions of the United States". Annals of the Association of American Geographers. 6 (1): 19–98. doi:10.1080/00045601609357047. hdl:2027/njp.32101059544153. ISSN 0004-5608.
^Fenneman, Nevin M. (1928). "Physiographic Divisions of the United States". Annals of the Association of American Geographers. 18 (4): 261–353. doi:10.2307/2560726. hdl:2027/njp.32101059544153. JSTOR 2560726.
^Fenneman, Nevin M. (1946). Physical divisions of the United States (Report). U.S. Geological Survey. doi:10.3133/70207506.
^Joerg, Wolfgang L. G. (1914). "The Subdivision of North America into Natural Regions: A Preliminary Inquiry". Annals of the Association of American Geographers. 4: 55–83. doi:10.2307/2560741. JSTOR 2560741.
^Fenneman, Nevin Melancthon (1931). Physiography of western United States. McGraw-Hill. OCLC 487636.
^Fenneman, Nevin Melancthon (1938). Physiography of eastern United States. McGraw-Hill. OCLC 487628.
February 18, 2024
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Main article Geography of the United States Further information Physiographic region The physiographic regions of the contiguous United States comprise 8 divisions 25 provinces and 85 sections 1 The system dates to Nevin Fenneman s report Physiographic Divisions of the United States published in 1916 2 3 The map was updated and republished by the Association of American Geographers in 1928 4 The map was adopted by the United States Geological Survey by publication in 1946 5 USGS map of the eight physiographic divisions of the contiguous United States 1946 Map published by USGS documenting the work of Fenneman s 1915 16 committee of the American Association of Geographers USGS map colored by paleogeological areas and demarcating the sections of the U S physiographic regions Laurentian Upland area 1 Atlantic Plain 2 3 Appalachian Highlands 4 10 Interior Plains 11 13 Interior Highlands 14 15 Rocky Mountain System 16 19 Intermontane Plateaus 20 22 amp Pacific Mountain System 23 25 The legend of paleogeological color also depicts topographic terrain The classification hierarchy used in the 1916 publication of the American Association of Geographers was division province section subsection The use of province in this hierarchy undoubtedly confounded the effort to develop a physiographical map consistent across the North American continent since Canada used province as the term for its first level political subdivision Province in Canada is a loose analogy for state in the US and obviously would create great confusion if the same word was used in two vastly different geographical classifications As late as 1914 the terminology used by an AAG publication used the term natural region as the basic denomination of physiography 6 That work showed 22 examples of how geographers had published works classifying North America into what had been defined as natural regions Most included all of North America without regard to political subdivision Fenneman expanded and presented a derivative of this system more fully in two books Physiography of western United States 1931 7 and Physiography of eastern United States 1938 8 Physiographic divisions editDivision Province SectionI Laurentian Upland 1 Superior UplandII Atlantic Plain 2 Continental Shelf not on map 3 Coastal Plain 3a Embayed section3b Sea Island section3c Floridian section3d East Gulf Coastal Plain3e Mississippi Alluvial Plain3f West Gulf Coastal PlainIII Appalachian Highlands 4 Piedmont 4a Piedmont Upland4b Piedmont Lowlands5 Blue Ridge province 5a Northern section5b Southern section6 Valley and Ridge province 6a Tennessee section6b Middle section6c Hudson Valley7 St Lawrence Valley 7a Champlain section dividing line undefined in 1946 map 7b Northern section dividing line undefined in 1946 map 8 Appalachian Plateaus province 8a Mohawk section8b Catskill section8c Southern New York section8d Allegheny Plateau section8e Kanawha section8f Cumberland Plateau section8g Cumberland Mountain section9 New England Province 9a Seaboard Lowland section9b New England Upland section9c White Mountain section9d Green Mountain section9e Taconic section10 Adirondack provinceIV Interior Plains 11 Interior Low Plateaus 11a Highland Rim11b Lexington Plain11c Nashville Basin12 Central Lowland 12a Eastern Lake12b Western Lake12c Wisconsin Driftless12d Till Plains12e Dissected Till Plains12f Osage Plains13 Great Plains 13a Missouri Plateau glaciated 13b Missouri Plateau unglaciated 13c Black Hills13d High Plains13e Plains Border13f Colorado Piedmont13g Raton section13h Pecos Valley13i Edwards Plateau13j Central TexasV Interior Highlands 14 Ozark Plateaus 14a Springfield Salem plateaus14b Boston Mountains15 Ouachita province 15a Arkansas Valley15b Ouachita MountainsVI Rocky Mountain System 16 Southern Rocky Mountains17 Wyoming Basin18 Middle Rocky Mountains19 Northern Rocky MountainsVII Intermontane Plateaus 20 Columbia Plateau 20a Walla Walla Plateau20b Blue Mountain section20c Payette section20d Snake River Plain20e Harney section21 Colorado Plateaus 21a High Plateaus of Utah21b Uinta Basin21c Canyon Lands21d Navajo section21e Grand Canyon section21f Datil section22 Basin and Range Province 22a Great Basin section22b Sonoran Desert22c Salton Trough22d Mexican Highland22e Sacramento sectionVIII Pacific Mountains 23 Cascade Sierra Mountains 23a Northern Cascade Mountains23b Middle Cascade Mountains23c Southern Cascade Mountains23d Sierra Nevada24 Pacific Border province 24a Puget Trough24b Olympic Mountains24c Oregon Coast Range24d Klamath Mountains24e California Trough24f California Coast Ranges24g Los Angeles Ranges Transverse Ranges 25 Lower California province Peninsular Ranges References edit Physiographic Regions United States Geological Survey 2003 04 17 Archived from the original on 2006 05 15 Retrieved 2008 01 30 Fenneman Nevin M 1916 Physiographic Divisions of the United States Annals of the Association of American Geographers 6 1 19 98 doi 10 1080 00045601609357047 hdl 2027 njp 32101059544153 ISSN 0004 5608 Fenneman Nevin M 1917 Physiographic Subdivision of the United States Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 3 1 17 22 doi 10 1073 pnas 3 1 17 OCLC 43473694 PMC 1091163 PMID 16586678 Fenneman Nevin M 1928 Physiographic Divisions of the United States Annals of the Association of American Geographers 18 4 261 353 doi 10 2307 2560726 hdl 2027 njp 32101059544153 JSTOR 2560726 Fenneman Nevin M 1946 Physical divisions of the United States Report U S Geological Survey doi 10 3133 70207506 Joerg Wolfgang L G 1914 The Subdivision of North America into Natural Regions A Preliminary Inquiry Annals of the Association of American Geographers 4 55 83 doi 10 2307 2560741 JSTOR 2560741 Fenneman Nevin Melancthon 1931 Physiography of western United States McGraw Hill OCLC 487636 Fenneman Nevin Melancthon 1938 Physiography of eastern United States McGraw Hill OCLC 487628 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Physiographic regions of the United States amp oldid 1191240496, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
