EnchantedLearning.com is a user-supported site. As a bonus, site members have access to a banner-ad-free version of the site, with print-friendly pages. Click here to learn more.
The Earth is divided into 24 time zones so that everyone in the world can be on roughly similar schedules (like noon being when the sun is highest in the sky). Time zones were first used in 1883 by railroads in order to standardize their schedules. The contiguous US is divided into four time zones. Most US states (except Hawaii and most of Indiana and Arizona) go on daylight saving time (DST) from April until October to save energy (in DST, clocks are set forward one hour). Note: the Alaska and Hawaii time zones are not pictured on the map above.
Label the four contiguous US time zones: Eastern (the eastern US), Central (just west of the eastern time zone), Mountain (between Central and Pacific), and Pacific (the far-western US). The contiguous US time zones are one hour apart; for example, if it is 1:00 in Pacific Time, it is 2:00 in Mountain time, 3:00 in Central time, and 4:00 in Eastern time.
If it is 12:00 in Central time, label the time in all the other time zones.
Find the state you live in and label it (write out its name).
What time zone is your state in?___________________________
Label Canada (the country north of the USA) and Mexico (the country south of the USA).
Label the Atlantic Ocean (east of the USA), the Pacific Ocean (west of the USA), and the Gulf of Mexico (bordering the southeastern USA and eastern Mexico).
Color the bodies of water light blue, color your state red, color the rest of the USA orange, color Canada yellow, and color Mexico green.
