2. Learning Objectives
• Apply concepts of globalization to a familiar region
• Lay the foundation for recognizing similarities and
differences between this familiar region and regions
that are unfamiliar
• Understand the following concepts and models:
Acid rain
Counterurbanization
Ethnicity
Gentrification
Anthropogeographic land
degradation
Migration
Ogallah aquifer
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Mining
Megalopolis
Sectors of the economy
3. Introduction
• Setting the boundaries: Why define North America this way?
• This chapter is the first to look at geographic regions—we begin to
apply the terms from chapters 1 & 2 to various places
• North America includes the United States and Canada
• Sometimes called ―Anglo America‖ because of ties
to Britain, but North America has become culturally diverse
through globalization and immigration
• Highly developed and wealthy
• In stage 4 of the
demographic transition
• High rate of natural
resource consumption
FIGURE 3.2 Toronto’s
Cultural Landscape
4. Environment
4
Even though this is a political map which shows the political
units of the area—states for the United States, and provinces
for Canada, what do you notice about the physical landscape?
Is elevation a factor in where people live or don’t live?
5. Physiographic Provinces
5
Here is
another way
to look at the
region—
according to
physical
similarities.
Notice how
many
political
units are
bisected by
boundaries.
Which is a
better way to
organize
space?
6. Recalling what we learned in Chapter 2 about climate, what patterns can be
observed in this map? Which climate factors have the most influence?
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7. Physical geography of North America
Let’s take a little tour of the diversity in this region….
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The Grand Canyon
8. A ―river‖ in Idaho
Would this be considered a river in South
8 Carolina?
San Diego Coast
Would you be willing to live in that
house on top of the bluff?
10. Stewart Falls, UT
These photos are taken in April of the
meltwater that runs off the Timpanogos
glacier. It is cold enough that the ice
reforms at the foot of the falls.
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11. Colorado
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What is the continental divide? What is it’s significance today in North America?
16. Case Study: Ogallala Aquifer
Importance of this
underground body of water—
makes agriculture possible in
semi-arid area.
Discovery of this
ground water turned
the Dust Bowl of the
1930’s into the
―Bread Basket‖
today. But it is
running out. How is
this going to change
farming?
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19. 19
So…The US has lots of coal, BUT not all of it is coal that is
“good”. Anthracite burns the cleanest, but is the most rare.
You can see there that we have lots of mid-grade coal.
20. Centralia, PA – modern ghost town
This is an example of underground mining. The vein of ore
has caught on fire and changed the surface and make it
nearly impossible for humans to live there,
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23. • Anthropogenic landscape
Modified by humans
• Surface and strip mining
• Effects:
Surface and subsurface drainage
patterns are altered.
Destroys vegetation
Acidic subsoil now on top
Erosion
Aesthetic value
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These pictures show the area
around the Bingham Copper
Mine in the Salt Lake Valley
24. Bingham copper mine,
Salt Lake Valley
An example of surface mining, also known
as Mountain Top Removal. Notice the scale
of the land removed. It is actually 7 open
pits. Said to be 1 of 2 man-made features
to be visible from space. The other is the
Great Wall of China.
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25. Bingham Copper Mine,
Salt Lake Valley
• Copper, gold, silver and molybdenum
• 15 billion tons moved
• Pit 2600 ft deep and 2.5 miles wide.
• Copper in industry
33 years of reserves left globally
We know the cost of mining, but we
continue to do it because we need
the materials. What if the
materials run out? Copper is used
in electronics bc it is conductive.
Next most conductive metal is gold.
How will this change the price of
modern technology?
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27. Population and Settlement
How would you describe the settlement pattern? Which areas are most
populated and why? Why are some areas more sparse?
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28. Occupying the land
• Stage 1: 1600–1750:
Colonial footholds on
East Coast
• Stage 2: 1750–1850:
Infilling better eastern
farmland; Canadian
settlement slower
• Stage 3: 1850–1910:
Westward movement
for gold rushes and
other opportunities
FIGURE 3.10 European Settlement Expansion
31. History
1565—St. Augustine, FL (Spanish)
1607—Jamestown, VA (British)
1608—Quebec, CAN (French)
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What brought these colonial powers here? What did they hope to find in the
New World? What did they actually find?
32. Growth of the North American City
Stage One:
Pedestrian Era
Stage Two:
Electric Streetcar
Stage Three:
Automobile Era
Stage Four:
Freeway Era
Each change in
transportation
technology changes the
spatial extent of the city.
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33. How has life in the United
States altered with each
change in transportation
technology? How is life
influenced by the introduction
of the Interstate System?
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34. Urban Geography
• A sub-disciplin of Human Geography, which looks at the built
environment.
• Urban=City
• Each city is different. Why?
• History of settlement is different, different goals, urban
technology
•
Ex: City founded before or after the electric streetcar.
• Different ethic mix, in part due to migration.
•
Ex: Chinatowns in DC and San Francisco
• Look at how the boundaries have changed
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35. Urbanization
• Edge Cities:
New suburbs with a mix of retail, office complexes &
entertainment
• Consequences of Urban Sprawl:
Counterurbanization
People and investment flee city for suburbs
Poverty, crime, racial tension in cities
• Gentrification:
Movement of wealthier people to deteriorated inner-city
areas; may displace low income residents
• Suburban downtowns:
Similar to edge cities; suburbs becoming full-service
urban centers with retail, business, education, jobs, etc.
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44. Rural North America
North Americans historically favored a
dispersed rural settlement pattern
• Township-and-range survey system:
rectangular survey system introduced in
1785 in United States for unincorporated
areas; similar system in Canada
• Railroads opened interior to settlement
• Today, many rural areas are
seeing population declines
as family farms are replaced
by corporate farms
FIGURE 3.19 Iowa Settlement Patterns
These are common cultural landscape
features in central North America.
50. People are attached to local
culture
• California is one of the
largest states in the
union.
• We also have linguistic
diversity:
• Watch this video on
Bootling
• And this one on
Southern dialects
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51. 51
Obviously this is a humorous view of Canada, but it does
give some insight on how some people see it.
52. What is ―culture‖ North America?
It’s hard to answer this question, because continuing
migration in to the region is constantly changing who we
are and how we define ourselves.
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53. MIGRANT EXPERIENCE: 1820-1980
South/East
Europe
Immigration in 1000s
10000
Germany
8000
British
Isles
6000
4000
2000
182
0
1840
1860
1880
Push Factors
+1840s: Irish Potato Famine
+1850-1920: Overpopulation, War
+Recent: Overpopulation, War, Oppression
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Latin America
Asia
Scandinavia
1900
1920
1940
1960
1980
Pull Factors
+Economic Opportunity
+Political/Religious Freedom
+Land Availability
56. The globalization of American culture
North Americans: living globally
43 million foreign-born migrants living in North
America
The global diffusion of U.S. culture
FIGURE 3.26 Annual Beer Imports to the United States, 2002
59. Patterns of Dominance and Division
• Creating political space
United States broke cleanly, violently from Great
Britain; Canada separated peacefully
United States purchased and conquered new lands
Provinces of Great Britain joined Canada
• Continental neighbors
Long boundary between United States and Canada
(5525 mi.)
Cross-boundary issues include water
resources, transportation, environmental quality
Boundary Waters Treaty created International Joint
Commission
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
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60. Other Geopolitical Issues
• The legacy of federalism
Federal states: those that allocate considerable
power below the national level
Unitary states: those with centralized
power at national level
• Quebec’s challenge
French-speakers once considered
secession
• Native peoples and national politics
FIGURE 3.28 Life in Nunavut
U.S.: Indian Self-Determination and Education
Assistance Act (1975) and the Indian Gaming
Regulatory Act (1988)
Canada: Native Claims Office (1975); Nunavut
Territory created in 1999 (Canada’s newest): 85
percent of Nunavut’s 30,000 residents are Inuit
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67. Sectors of the economy
Watch a silly little
cartoon to illustrate.
• Primary: natural resource extraction
• Secondary: manufacturing/industrial
• Tertiary: services
• Quaternary: information processing
• Today, tertiary and quaternary activities
employ more than 70% of the U.S. and
Canadian labor force
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Sectoral transformation:
• The evolution of the nation’s labor force from primary sector
activities to secondary, tertiary and quaternary activities.
• Many in the developing world are going through this
transformation now.
68. Creating a continental economy
Regional economic patterns
Location factors: the varied
influences that explain
why an economic activity
is located where it is
Megalopolis: urbanized
area from Boston to
Washington, D.C., is
historical manufacturing
core
But not all areas are improving—
much industry has left North
America
For example:
FIGURE 3.30
Major Economic Activities of North America
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69. Persisting social issues
• 21st-century challenges
United States and Canada’s social indicators
compare favorably, but concerns persist
• Jobs, education
• Health care, chronic disease, aging
• Gender gap
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