geography of the United States
Let an agent describe the geography of the United States with facts from official and reference sources, cover physical regions, climate, population and administrative divisions, and route detailed state and local questions to their own entries.
Research draft, second pass
A second pass drafted this model: the structure a model of this thing needs, and what is known about it in the world. The line under this one says how the second half was obtained - researched against sources, or recalled without web access, in which case nothing here was read anywhere and every claim is a lead to verify. Unreviewed either way.
written by Claude from model knowledge without web access - no source was read, every claim is a lead to verify
Researched by: Claude
Purpose and description
Let an agent describe the geography of the United States with facts from official and reference sources, cover physical regions, climate, population and administrative divisions, and route detailed state and local questions to their own entries.
The physical and human geography of the United States: a country spanning North America from the Atlantic to the Pacific with Alaska and Hawaii, covering coastal plains, the Appalachians, the interior plains, the Rocky Mountains, deserts, the Pacific ranges and Arctic and tropical regions, with a large and diverse population distributed across fifty states and territories.
What it is for: Not applicable; a description of a country.
It can be describe physical regions and climate; relay area, population and division figures with sources; explain administrative geography; route to state and regional entries.
Distinguishing features
Continental scale with Arctic and tropical parts
Major mountain systems east and west with plains between
Fifty states, a federal district and territories
Diverse climates and ecosystems
What it looks like
Not a physical object; seen in maps, atlases and statistics.
Physical character
area: about 9.8 million square km - including water
population: about 335 million people - Census Bureau estimates
highest point: 6190 m - Denali
coastline: about 20000 km - general coastline measure
How it is recognised
Contiguous states plus Alaska, Hawaii and territories
Major regions: East Coast, Appalachians, Midwest, Great Plains, Rockies, Southwest, West Coast
State geographies are separate entries
Related models
is a kind of - regional context
describes - the country
includes - state-level entries
is related to - source of population data
In practice
Families and kinds
physical regions and landforms
climate zones
rivers, lakes and coasts
human geography: population, cities and regions
administrative divisions
geography of individual states and territories
Identifiers
ISO 3166 US country code
Standards and regulation
US Geological Survey and Census Bureau data standards
Federal definitions of regions and statistical areas
Failure modes and hazards
Stale figures
Confusing regional definitions
Natural hazards by region: hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, wildfires
Also called
+16
Where this came from
wikidata · CC0 1.0
Drafted structure
Bundle to layer to finding to question, as the second pass will find it: 4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions.
Physical Land and water.
Physical geography.
Regions
Physical regions.
Regions
Regions.
- What are the main physical regions and landforms, and how are they defined? definition
- Is the question about the country as a whole or a state or region? boundary
Water
Rivers, lakes and coasts.
Water
Water.
- What are the major rivers, lakes and coastlines, with figures and sources? measurement
- Which entry fits a specific river or lake? action
Climate Climate and hazards.
Climate.
Zones
Climate zones.
Zones
Zones.
- What climate zones exist, and how do they vary by region? provenance
- Which entry fits climate classification? action
Hazards
Natural hazards.
Hazards
Hazards.
- Which natural hazards affect which regions, according to federal agencies? provenance
- Is the user asking about a current emergency, which needs official alerts? boundary
Human People and places.
Human geography.
Population
Population and cities.
Population
Population.
- How is the population distributed, and what are the largest cities and metropolitan areas, from the Census Bureau? measurement
- Which sources and years are cited? provenance
Divisions
Administrative geography.
Divisions
Divisions.
- How is the country divided into states, counties and territories? definition
- Which entry fits a specific state? action
Study Sources and teaching.
Study.
Sources
Data sources.
Sources
Sources.
- Which agencies and atlases are the standard sources? provenance
- Which entry fits the USGS? action
Teach
Teaching.
Teach
Teaching.
- How is US geography taught, and which regional schemes are used? provenance
- Which misconceptions arise? provenance
What the second pass must settle
- Should each physical region be a separate entry?
- How should USGS and Census data be linked?
- The registry entry has merged aliases for state geographies; should they be split off?