US Regions and Landforms Worksheet
Grade 3 worksheet drilling US plains, plateaus, basins, coasts, and deserts — students match, fill blanks, and choose the correct landform or region.
12 questions · Matching · Fill in the blank · Multiple choice · Application
This worksheet introduces Grade 3 students to five of the most important landforms found across the United States: the Great Plains, the Colorado Plateau, the Mojave Desert, the Atlantic Coastal Plain, and the Great Basin. Students practice matching each landform to its description, filling in sentences using a word bank, and selecting the correct answer from a set of plausible choices. Understanding these landforms helps students see why different parts of the country look and feel different, and why people live and work the way they do in each region. Use this sheet after an introductory lesson on US physical geography or as a review before a unit assessment. A full answer key is included for quick grading.
US Regions and Landforms Worksheet — Grade 3
Read each section's directions carefully and use what you know about US landforms to complete every part.
Word bank
- coast
- desert
- flat
- west
Remember
- A plain is a large, flat area of land; the Great Plains stretches through the middle of the US.
- A plateau is a high, flat landform; the Colorado Plateau sits in Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico.
- A basin is a low area surrounded by higher land; the Great Basin is found mostly in Nevada.
Part A — Match each landform to its description
Draw a line from each landform name on the left to the description that best matches it on the right.
Choose from
- A. A high, flat landform in Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico
- B. A large basin between mountain ranges, mostly in Nevada
- C. A low, flat landform along the East Coast
- D. A wide, flat grassland covering the middle of the country
- E. A dry desert found in southern California and Nevada
- 1.
Great Plains
- 2.
Colorado Plateau
- 3.
Mojave Desert
- 4.
Atlantic Coastal Plain
- 5.
Great Basin
Part B — Fill in each blank using the word bank
Choose one word from the word bank above to complete each sentence. Use each word exactly once.
- 6.
The Great Plains is a large, ____ region in the middle of the United States.
- 7.
The Mojave is a hot, dry ____ located in California and Nevada.
- 8.
The Atlantic Coastal Plain runs along the eastern ____ of the United States.
- 9.
The Rocky Mountains are found in the ____ part of the country.
Part C — Choose the best answer for each question
Read each question and circle the letter of the best answer.
- 10.
Which region covers large parts of Kansas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma?
- A.Great Plains
- B.Colorado Plateau
- C.Mojave Desert
- D.Great Basin
- 11.
Which landform is a large, dry basin found mostly in Nevada?
- A.Atlantic Coastal Plain
- B.Great Basin
- C.Colorado Plateau
- D.Gulf Coastal Plain
- 12.
The Colorado Plateau is a high, flat landform. In which part of the US is it found?
- A.Southwest
- B.Northeast
- C.Southeast
- D.Northwest
Answer key
Part A — Match each landform to its description
- 1.A wide, flat grassland covering the middle of the country
- 2.A high, flat landform in Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico
- 3.A dry desert found in southern California and Nevada
- 4.A low, flat landform along the East Coast
- 5.A large basin between mountain ranges, mostly in Nevada
Part B — Fill in each blank using the word bank
- 6.flat
- 7.desert
- 8.coast
- 9.west
Part C — Choose the best answer for each question
- 10.Great Plains
- 11.Great Basin
- 12.Southwest
What this sheet teaches
- Identify five major US landforms, including plains, plateaus, basins, coasts, and deserts.
- Match each landform name to the part of the country where it is found.
- Select the correct landform or region when given clues about its location and appearance.
Notes for the adult
- Students often mix up plains and plateaus — remind them a plateau is high and flat, while a plain is low and flat.
- Show a simple cross-section diagram of a basin to correct the idea that a basin must contain water.
- A student is ready to move on when they can name each landform and its region without the word bank.
What is on the page
There are three parts to US Regions and Landforms Worksheet, twelve exercises between them. Matching, fill-in-the-blank and multiple-choice work, in that order, so a student who has understood the material has to show it in more than one form before the page is finished.
Part A Match each landform to its description sets five items against five lettered options, one lettered option per item, which means the last pair can be reached by elimination. Part B Fill in each blank using the word bank is fill-in-the-blank work off a printed word bank — four words for four blanks, an exact fit. Part C Choose the best answer for each question asks three multiple-choice questions with four printed options each.
What it asks of the student
US Regions and Landforms Worksheet puts about 277 words of reading in front of the student — the fact box, the directions, every question, and every printed option. That is the number worth checking against a class before it goes out, because a sheet that is pitched right on the history and wrong on the reading fails for the same child either way. The longest single prompt on it runs to 17 words.
Nothing on US Regions and Landforms Worksheet is answered on ruled lines — every response goes in a blank, against a printed option, or on the rule beside the question — so the whole of it fits on one side of paper and the full answer key runs to 56 words.
Where this one sits
US Regions and Landforms Worksheet is one of ten US Geography sheets on this site and one of five written for grade 3. It is the only one on regions and landforms, so nothing else here repeats it.
The closest things to it are The Great Lakes Worksheet (grade 5) and The Great Lakes — Geography and Shipping Worksheet (grade 6). If US Regions and Landforms Worksheet lands well, those are the ones to reach for next; if it lands badly, the application sheets a grade either side are usually the adjustment rather than a different topic altogether.
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