Iowa Map Activity
A printable Iowa map worksheet: colour the state, label Des Moines and its major cities, and draw in the rivers and higher ground.
5 questions · Map activity · Application
Iowa is one of the fifty states, and its capital is Des Moines. This sheet prints the outline of the state large enough to work on, with a star already marking the capital, and a small map of the whole country in the corner so a student can see where Iowa sits. The five tasks move from colouring the state in to placing its cities, rivers — the same order an atlas builds a map up in.
Iowa
Capital: Des Moines
Iowa Map Activity
This is a map of Iowa. Use the facts in the box and the star on the map to finish all five tasks.
Remember
- The capital of Iowa is Des Moines.
- Three of its largest cities are Cedar Rapids, Davenport and Sioux City.
- Rivers in Iowa include Mississippi River, Missouri River and Des Moines River.
- Iowa has no mountain range — the land is low and mostly flat.
Your tasks
Work down the list in order. Everything is done on the big map below.
- 1.
Colour the whole state of Iowa lightly in one colour, staying inside the outline.
- 2.
Find the star on the map. Write the name of the state capital on the line beside it.
- 3.
Mark and label these cities with a dot: Cedar Rapids, Davenport and Sioux City.
- 4.
Draw and label these rivers: Mississippi River and Missouri River.
- 5.
Iowa has no mountain range. Write "no mountains" in a corner of the map and say what the land is like instead.
★ marks Des Moines, the state capital. Write its name on the line.
Answer key
Your tasks
- 1.The whole outline is coloured in, and the colouring stays inside the border.
- 2.Des Moines - the capital of Iowa. The star is printed where the city is.
- 3.Cedar Rapids, Davenport and Sioux City - each marked with a dot and labelled. Cedar Rapids is the largest of them.
- 4.Mississippi River and Missouri River - drawn as a wiggly line and labelled.
- 5.No mountain range. Iowa is low and flat, so the answer describes plains, coast or lowland.
What this sheet teaches
- Find Iowa on a map of the United States.
- Name and locate Des Moines, the state capital.
- Locate Cedar Rapids, Davenport and Sioux City within the state.
- Draw the main rivers of Iowa and say roughly where they run.
Notes for the adult
- Coloured pencils are enough — there is nothing here that needs paint or a printed atlas.
- Task 2 is the one to check first: the star is printed exactly where Des Moines is, so a child who writes another city has read the map rather than the fact box.
- The city and river positions are for the student to estimate. Mark on whether a label is in the right part of the state, not on whether it is within a few miles.
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