Central USA

The center of the United States is what is referred to as America’s “Heartland” — vast expanses filled with endless open spaces, agricultural crops, an abundance of rivers and lakes, and unique cities that have helped shape the identity of the U.S. In the general division of the U.S. into the East (the Atlantic Coast) and the West (the Pacific Coast and the Rocky Mountains), most of the main attractions and major cities are found, but there is also plenty to see and do in the center.

The center of the U.S. stretches more or less along the mighty drainage basin of the Mississippi River, from the western slopes of the Appalachian Mountains to the eastern slopes of the Rockies. The region includes the vast water resources of the Great Lakes and the immense flat expanses of the Great Plains.