What Kind of Landforms Are in North America?
The landforms of North America are diverse and include the Appalachian Mountains, Canadian Shield, Great Plains and Sierra Madres, plus many river valleys, rolling hills and high bluffs. These landforms help make up the eight major regions of the continent. North America is the third largest continent in the world, based on area.
North America is comprised of 23 different countries and several territories. Canada, Mexico, Greenland and the United States take up much of North America’s land area.
The Appalachian Mountains run from Newfoundland in the north to Alabama in the south. It is North America’s oldest mountain range.
Some of the oldest and hardest rocks make up the Canadian Shield, the landform region that contains Greenland, four states and five provinces.
One of North America’s largest landforms is the Great Plains, a flat space found between the Mississippi River and Rocky Mountains. In the center of North America is a region filled with valleys, bluffs and hills known as the Interior Lowlands. It starts at the Canadian Arctic and ends at the Gulf of Mexico.
The Sierra Madres consists of three mountain ranges: Sierra Madre Oriental, Sierra Madre Occidental and the smaller Sierra Madre del Sur. These ranges are located in Mexico.
