Appalachian Uplands in the context of "Physiographic regions of the world"

The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a mountain range in eastern to northeastern North America. The term "Appalachian" refers to several different regions and mountain systems associated with the mountain range, and its surrounding terrain. The general definition used is one followed by the United States Geological Survey and the Geological Survey of Canada to describe the respective countries' physiographic regions. The U.S. uses the term Appalachian Highlands and Canada uses the term Appalachian Uplands; the Appalachian Mountains are not synonymous with the Appalachian Plateau, which is one of the seven provinces of the Appalachian Highlands.

The Appalachian range runs from the Island of Newfoundland in Canada, 2,050 mi (3,300 km) southwestward to Central Alabama in the United States; south of Newfoundland, it crosses the 96-square-mile (248.6 km) archipelago of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, an overseas collectivity of France, meaning it is technically in three countries. The highest peak of the mountain range is Mount Mitchell in North Carolina at 6,684 feet (2,037 m), which is also the highest point in the United States east of the Mississippi River.

The Appalachian Highlands is one of eight government-defined physiographic divisions of the contiguous United States. It links with the Appalachian Uplands in Canada to make up the Appalachian Mountains. The Highlands includes seven physiographic provinces, which is the second level in the physiographic classification system in the United States. At the next level of physiographic classification, called section/subsection, there are 20 unique land areas with one of the provinces having no sections.

The Appalachian Highlands are characterized by a diverse physiographic division.