Geography: maps, regions, and people and places (grade 4) · lesson

Colorado's regions

💡 From east to west, Colorado goes from flat plains to the Front Range, then the Rocky Mountains, then the Western Slope.

The Eastern Plains are flat grasslands in the east. People farm wheat and raise cattle there.

The Front Range is where the plains meet the mountains. Cities like Denver are there. Flat land is to the east, and the mountains rise just to the west.

The Rocky Mountains run through the middle of the state. West of them is the Western Slope, with mesas, canyons, and valleys. The San Luis Valley is in the south.

🧠 Let's work it out

Use the names as clues.
"Eastern Plains" tells you east and flat.
"Western Slope" tells you west.
A river that starts in the mountains and flows west reaches the Western Slope next.

What do you think comes next?

plains: large areas of flat land
Front Range: where Colorado's plains meet the mountains

🔗 Plain · National Geographic Education ↗

Borders and location

💡 Colorado is shaped by straight lines on the globe and touches seven states.

Lines of latitude run east and west on a globe. Lines of longitude run north and south. Colorado's borders follow these lines, so the state is shaped like a box.

Wyoming and Nebraska are to the north. Kansas is to the east. Oklahoma and New Mexico are to the south. Utah is to the west. Arizona touches only at one corner.

At the Four Corners, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico all meet at one point.

🧠 Let's work it out

Match the way the border runs to the lines on a globe.
The north border runs east and west.
Latitude lines run east and west.

What do you think comes next?

latitude: lines on a globe that run east and west
longitude: lines on a globe that run north and south
border: a line where one place ends and another begins

Mountains and water

💡 Colorado's high mountains split its water between two oceans and start many big rivers.

Colorado's Rocky Mountains have more than 50 peaks over 14,000 feet tall. Big rivers, like the Colorado and the Rio Grande, start high in them.

The Continental Divide runs along the high peaks. Rain that falls west of it flows toward the Pacific Ocean. Rain that falls east of it flows toward the Atlantic.

Places sit at different heights. Denver is about 5,280 feet above sea level. Leadville is about 10,000 feet. A bigger number means higher up.

🧠 Let's work it out

Water always flows downhill.
Find which side of the Divide the rain fell on.
West side? It flows toward the Pacific.
To compare heights, compare the numbers.
A city's size does not matter.

What do you think comes next?

Continental Divide: the high line that splits which way rivers flow
elevation: how high a place is above the sea

🔗 Continental Divide · National Geographic Education ↗

People and land

💡 People use each place in the way its land and weather allow, and they change the land to get what they need.

The Eastern Plains get little rain. So farmers dig wells and ditches to bring water to their crops.

Flat land is good for wheat farms. The mountains get deep snow, which is good for skiing.

🧠 Let's work it out

Ask what each use needs.
Skiing needs snow and slopes, so ski towns are in the mountains.
Wheat needs flat land, so wheat farms are on the plains.
If a place lacks something, like water, people may change the land to get it.

What do you think comes next?

irrigation: bringing water to crops through ditches or pipes