The 10 Flattest States of the USA

What are the flattest states of the United States? Flattest here is defined simply as the lowest average slope angle over full state areas (including inland water bodies). Analyses were conducted in Google Earth Engine using the highest currently available resolution DEM product (USGS 3DEP, 10m) that spans all 50 states. Alaska has a data gap, but this is not anticipated to impact presented results. Maps produced in ArcGIS Pro. Results for the ten flattest states:
Rank State Deg Dominant Physiographic Region(s)
1 FL 0.98 Coastal Plain
2 DE 1.40 Coastal Plain
3 LA 1.62 Coastal Plain
4 MN 2.11 Central Lowland
5 KS 2.36 Central Lowland + Great Plains
6 IL 2.39 Central Lowland
7 MI 2.46 Central Lowland
8 ND 2.50 Central Lowland + Great Plains
9 TX 2.57 Coastal Plain + Great Plains + Central Lowland
10 SC 2.95 Coastal Plain
Excluding interior water bodies did not change top 10 rankings. Remaining states have an average slope angle above 3 degrees. Average among all states is about 6 degrees. Please see separate channel video on the top 10 steepest states of the USA.
Keywords: Geography Viz, United States Geography, Flatness by State, Average Slope, USGS 3DEP DEM, Google Earth Engine
Data Sources:
USGS; 3DEP 10m National Map Seamless (1/3 Arc-Second [10 m]) DEM; developers.google.com/earth-e...
ESRI; Terrain - Multi-Directional Hillshade function; www.arcgis.com/home/item.html...
ESRI; USA States Generalized Boundaries; www.arcgis.com/home/item.html...
sparksa_umich; great_lakes; www.arcgis.com/home/item.html...
ESRI; World Terrain Basemap

[@geogviz]

Please see separate channel video on the top 10 steepest states of the USA!

[@booksrule0240]

Thabk you for making all these geographic videos. Really been enjoying them.

[@metalliqaz]

this geography and geology stuff is great. It's really interesting learning about all the states this way

[@joshquigley262]

Please do the same video and methodology, but for the most mountainous/least flattest states!

[@geogviz]

Just posted the top 10 steepest. Sorry it took so long!

[@jackschannel1610]

Me a Brit who has never watched any prior videos on elevation or americas geography. KZbin’s algorithm: perfect

[@CODsauceify]

That's exactly how I felt as an American when the "day in the life of a true Brexit geezer" shorts started popping up months ago lol

[@urbanlegendsandtrivia2023]

Since I was born in 1963, I have thought Kansas was our flattest state.

[@NXTMusicianBassist]

Great videos. I've seen a few pop into my recommendations in recent weeks. Informative and novel. A bit of feedback (and this, I realize, may be because of my subjective preferences): Your microphone is too sensitive and too close to your mouth. I can hear the wet sound of your mouth right along with every word. I dislike this for the same reason as I dislike when people chew open-mouthed. I suggest keeping the compression effect, but turning down sensitivity, moving the microphone a few inches away, and projecting your voice a little more. This will also allow you to sound more fluid and confident, rather than sounding like you're constantly trying to not peak the mic.

[@leslietaylor4458]

Illinois has small mountains, in fact, there are cliffs in Illinois that people fall to thier death, quite a few times a year

[@yuanruichen2564]

many were blown for coal and gone

[@Estoooopid]

Live in California almost every place has mountains in the background.

[@malcolmt7883]

Thanks, man. Very nice work.

[@GavHern]

this video changed my life thank you so much

[@loganreidy7055]

What about all states?

[@geogviz]

Just posted the top 10 steepest. In the description text for that one I include a list of all 50 states by mean slope.

[@5enecan]

I was surprised to see Michigan in the top 10. I grew up there and it didn’t feel flat to me due to all the glacial moraines.

[@pa28cfi]

But when you figure the distance from Lake Erie to Ironwood/Ontonagon/Copper Harbor, and that the low point is 570ft and the high point is under 2000ft, it's pretty flat. Yeah, you get some terrain near Traverse City and the western UP, but for the most part we are pretty flat.

[@TylerHD-zw1nx]

because you werent in Detroit you were probably in north michigan . South michigan is flat as hell😂 no hills

[@MyDude199]

Interesting way to look at flatness

[@antiLGTBQ]

I feel like floridas incline increases exponentially once you hit ocala, there's literally nothing before that