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California Physical Map

See why California’s east-west cross-section drops from 14,500 feet to below sea level in under 100 miles.

Rendered from SRTM 30m elevation data + Natural Earth rivers/lakes + US Census state boundary. Three variants below — pick the one that fits your lesson, all free.

Highest Point

Mt. Whitney

14,505 ft

Lowest Point

Death Valley’s Badwater Basin

-282 ft

California physical map showing the Sierra Nevada, Coastal Ranges, Central Valley, Mojave Desert, and Klamath Mountains, with major peaks and cities labeled. Topographic relief from NASA SRTM elevation data.

Choose your version

Three variants from the same data.

Same California terrain rendered three different ways for three different uses.

California physical map labeled — showing the Sierra Nevada, Coastal Ranges, Central Valley, Mojave Desert, and Klamath Mountains, with peak elevations and major cities marked
Atlas Labeled

Reference / Curriculum

Featuring the Sierra Nevada, Coastal Ranges, Central Valley, Mojave Desert, and Klamath Mountains, with peak names + elevations and major cities labeled. Use this as the "answer key" or wall-poster reference.

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California blank physical map — same topographic relief, no labels, for label-it-yourself geography exercises
Atlas Blank

Labeling Exercise

Same California terrain, no labels. Have your child identify the major mountain ranges, rivers, and physical features themselves.

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California topographic relief poster — high-contrast monochrome rendering of the Sierra Nevada, Coastal Ranges, Central Valley, Mojave Desert, and Klamath Mountains
Poster

Wall Poster / Pinterest

High-contrast monochrome version. Same elevation data, dramatically rendered for wall-poster use or visual study.

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Built from real data, not stock images.

Every California physical map on this page was rendered from NASA SRTM 30-meter elevation data, with hydrography from Natural Earth and state boundary from US Census TIGER/Line. The terrain texture is real — every ridge, valley, and elevation contour matches what you'd see on a USGS topo map.

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Pair with

map

California political map

The blank outline version of California (state borders, no terrain). Useful for political-geography exercises.

 school

4-5 US Geography Pack

Multi-week activity guide. Week 3 covers mountain ranges and rivers — pair this physical map directly into that lesson.

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All physical maps

Browse physical maps for every state, plus continents and the world.