Southeast States and Capitals: Map and Quiz for All 14

The 14 Southeast states and capitals

At 14 states, the Southeast is the biggest of the five regions by number of states. The map above is cropped to the region with neighboring states in gray. Delaware and Maryland also have boxes beside the coast for easy tapping.

Learn the Southeast in three groups

Fourteen states is a lot to learn at once. Split them into three groups by where they sit:

The Atlantic coast (7). From north to south: Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. These line the ocean like a staircase. A sentence for the order: "Dogs May Visit Nice Sandy Green Fields."

The Gulf coast (4). From west to east along the Gulf of Mexico: Louisiana (the boot), Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle. Mississippi and Alabama look like a pair of upright rectangles.

The inland states (4). Kentucky and Tennessee stack in the middle, with Kentucky on top. West Virginia sits to the northeast with its two panhandles, and Arkansas sits west of the Mississippi River, above Louisiana.

Learn one group a day, then put them together.

Southeast capitals memory tricks

• Delaware, Dover: A white dove flying over the First State.
• Maryland, Annapolis: Mary and Anna sharing apples.
• Virginia, Richmond: A rich man on a mound of money.
• West Virginia, Charleston: Charles lifting a ton of coal in the mountains.
• Kentucky, Frankfort: A frankfurter guarding a fort.
• Tennessee, Nashville: A guitar gnashing its teeth in Music City.
• North Carolina, Raleigh: A car rally on the Tar Heel highway.
• South Carolina, Columbia: Columbus with a palmetto tree (but remember: Columbia, not Columbus).
• Georgia, Atlanta: A peach shouting "At last!"
• Florida, Tallahassee: A tall man asking "Who has sea?"
• Alabama, Montgomery: A yellowhammer bird on a mountain of gummy bears.
• Mississippi, Jackson: Jack's son paddling down the Mississippi.
• Louisiana, Baton Rouge: A red (rouge) baton twirled at Mardi Gras.
• Arkansas, Little Rock: A little rock in a natural stream.

The trickiest Southeast pairs

Most mistakes in the Southeast come from four pairs of neighbors with similar names or shapes:

Practice each pair together. Say both states and both capitals in one breath, then point to each on the map.

Southeast geography

Two coasts. The Atlantic Ocean lines the eastern states, and the Gulf of Mexico lines the southern ones. Florida touches both.

The Appalachian Mountains. The mountains run through West Virginia, western Virginia and North Carolina, eastern Kentucky and Tennessee, and north Georgia. Mount Mitchell in North Carolina, at 6,684 feet according to the USGS, is the highest point east of the Mississippi River.

The Chesapeake Bay. Maryland and Virginia surround the largest estuary in the United States, where fresh river water mixes with salt water from the ocean.

The Mississippi River. The river forms the border between Arkansas and its neighbors Tennessee and Mississippi, then flows through Louisiana to the Gulf. Baton Rouge sits right on its banks.

Swamps and wetlands. Florida's Everglades, Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp and Louisiana's bayous are some of the largest wetlands in the country.

The Florida peninsula. Florida is mostly flat and low. Its highest point, Britton Hill, is only 345 feet above sea level according to the USGS, the lowest high point of any state.

The Southeast and American history

Six Southeast states were among the original 13 colonies: Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. Delaware was the first state to ratify the Constitution, on December 7, 1787, which is why it's called the First State.

West Virginia has the most unusual story. Its counties broke away from Virginia during the Civil War, and it became the 35th state in 1863. That's why West Virginia's capital, Charleston, has the same name as a famous city in South Carolina: they're entirely different places with separate histories.

Southeast vs. the South

You'll see two different regions in books and on websites:

The Census Bureau splits its South into three divisions: South Atlantic, East South Central and West South Central. If your child's textbook uses Census regions, add Texas and Oklahoma to the list, or learn them with the Southwest states and capitals.

Make it part of a bigger lesson

The Southeast's story runs from Jamestown in 1607 through the Revolution, the Civil War and the civil rights movement. History programs like Notgrass and The Mystery of History cover that ground, and many families pay for programs like these with a state scholarship or education savings account. See what your state offers, then try the Midwest states and capitals next.