USA vs China Elevation and Population | Generated by AI
Question: What is the middle part of the USA geographically? Is Denver or Washington in the center? How can I understand USA geography, especially elevation (high or low land), compared to China where Tibet and Xinjiang are high plateaus and most people live on the flatter middle/south/eastern lowlands?
Answer:
The geographic center of the contiguous United States (the lower 48 states) is near Lebanon, Kansas (very rural, flat farmland).
If you include Alaska and Hawaii, the center shifts a bit but is still in the Great Plains.
Quick breakdown of major regions and elevation
| Region | States (examples) | Elevation & Terrain | Population density |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Coast | New York, Florida, Carolinas | Mostly low (sea level to ~200 m), flat coastal plain | Very high |
| Appalachian Mountains | West Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia | Old, rounded mountains (400–2,000 m) | Medium |
| Interior Lowlands / Great Plains | Ohio → Kansas → Nebraska → Texas | Very flat to gently rolling, 200–600 m | Medium in east, low in west |
| Central/Middle USA | Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Dakotas | Extremely flat, 300–800 m, classic “flyover country” | Low |
| Rocky Mountains | Colorado (Denver), Wyoming, Montana | High and rugged (2,000–4,400 m) | Low (except Denver metro) |
| Great Basin & Southwest | Nevada, Utah, Arizona | High desert & basins (1,000–3,000 m) | Very low |
| West Coast | California, Oregon, Washington | Coastal lowlands + high mountains behind | High |
Where are Denver and Washington?
- Denver (Colorado)
- Lies at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, about 1,600 m (one mile) above sea level → “Mile High City”.
- It is in the western half of the country, not the middle.
Washington, D.C.
- On the East Coast, almost at sea level, in the flat coastal plain.
Neither is in the “middle” of the USA.
USA vs China elevation & population pattern
| Aspect | China | USA |
|---|---|---|
| Highest areas | West (Tibet/Qinghai Plateau 4,000–5,000 m, Xinjiang basins) | West (Rocky Mountains 2,000–4,400 m, Colorado Plateau) |
| Lowest/flattest areas | East and southeast coastal plains, North China Plain | East coast + Mississippi River valley + Great Plains |
| Where most people live | Eastern third (Beijing–Shanghai–Guangzhou corridor) – flat & low | Eastern third + California coast – mostly low elevation |
| “Empty” high land | Tibetan Plateau, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia | Great Plains, Mountain West (Colorado, Utah, Nevada, etc.) |
So the pattern is very similar:
Both countries have high, rugged, sparsely populated west and low, flat, densely populated east.
The big difference:
- China’s “middle” is the North China Plain and Yangtze basin (still relatively low and fertile).
- USA’s “middle” is the Great Plains (higher and much drier west of the 100th meridian, which is why fewer people live there compared to China’s central plains).
Simple mental map of USA elevation
- Everything east of the Mississippi River → mostly <500 m, gentle hills at most.
- Between Mississippi and Rocky Mountains (the Great Plains) → flat to rolling, 300–1,000 m, gets drier westward.
- Rocky Mountains → sudden wall of high peaks.
- Behind the Rockies (Utah, Nevada) → high desert basins and more mountain ranges.
- California → narrow coastal plain, then Sierra Nevada mountains, then desert again.
So the true “middle” of the USA is flat, windy, and covered in corn, wheat, cattle ranches, and tornadoes — not mountains like Denver or coastal cities like Washington, D.C.