Geographical Features of the American South

Mountains & Highlands

• Appalachian Mountains: Run NE–SW through the region; include Blue Ridge, Great Smokies, Cumberland Plateau.
• Mount Mitchell (NC): Highest peak east of the Mississippi (6,684 ft).

Major River Systems

• Mississippi River: Drains most of the South; massive commerce, ecology, floodplain.
• Tennessee, Cumberland, Ohio, Arkansas, Red, Sabine, Trinity, Brazos, Rio Grande.

Coastal Plain & Gulf/Atlantic Coasts

• Low, flat, sandy; barrier islands (Outer Banks, Sea Islands, Padre Island).
• Salt marshes, estuaries, mangroves (FL/TX).
• Tourism hubs: Gulf Shores, Destin, Myrtle Beach, Florida Keys.

Wetlands & Swamps

• Everglades (FL): Vast subtropical sawgrass marsh ("River of Grass").
• Atchafalaya Basin (LA): Largest U.S. swamp; cypress-tupelo forest.
• Okefenokee Swamp (GA/FL): Blackwater peat bog, wildlife refuge.

Karst Topography

• Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky: limestone bedrock → sinkholes, springs, caves.
• Mammoth Cave (KY): World's longest known cave system (>400 mi mapped).

Deltas & Alluvial Plains

• Mississippi Delta (LA): 12,000 sq mi; birds, fisheries, oil/gas, subsidence crisis.

Piedmont Plateau

• Between mountains and coastal plain; rolling hills, red clay, historic cotton belt, now diversified agriculture (peanuts, soy, poultry).

The South's geography is a mosaic—mountains to coast, wet to dry—shaping distinct sub-regions (Deep South, Upland South, Gulf Coast, Appalachia, Delta).