Transcript Earth Science and the Environment

World Regional Geography
Chapter 11:
A Geographic Profile of
the United States
and Canada
11.1 Area & Population
• Canada is only slightly larger in area than the U.S.
• Canada and the U.S. share the longest international
border in the world, at 5,527 miles
• Population
– United States
302 Million (2007)
Pop Density = 81/mi2
– Canada
33 Million (2007)
Pop Density = 9/mi2
– Together, the countries have 5% of the world’s population on
13% of its land surface
• 90% of Canadians live within 100 miles of U.S. border
• Canadians and Americans are overwhelmingly urban
– 79% of Canadians and Americans are city dwellers
– Megalopolis (“Boswash”) is home to 1 out of 7 Americans
• 500-mile-long narrow, urban belt from Boston to Washington
• Includes 7 metropolitan areas
Principal Features of the U.S. and Canada
Population Distribution of the U.S. & Canada
Population Cartogram of the U.S. & Canada
11.1.1 Migration into North America
• Nations of Immigrants
– Due to immigration, the U.S. is the only MDC in the world that is
experiencing significant population growth
– Each year, more than a million immigrants arrive in the U.S.
and over 200,000 arrive in Canada
– 40,000 Guest Workers enter the U.S. Annually
– Illegal Aliens / Undocumented Workers
• Estimated 12 million illegal immigrants live in the U.S.
• Controversy of Illegal Immigration in U.S.
– Fear of immigrants taking jobs and bleeding social services
– Others argue low-wage immigrants are vital for the American
economy, taking jobs shunned by most Americans, while
contributing to the economy through their purchases
– Measures to Handle Illegal Immigration
• Secure Fence Act of 2006
• Secure Border Initiative and the Virtual Fence
Migration Flows into the U.S. & Canada
11.2 Physical Geography & Human Adaptations
• Remarkably diverse natural environments
– They include some of the most spectacular wild
landscapes on the planet
– Present people with a vast array of opportunities for
land use and settlement
• It is important to consider how these landforms
have promoted or hindered human uses and
how climates have also done the same
11.2.1 Landforms and Land Uses
• Major Landforms
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Greenland
Canadian Shield
Appalachian Mountains
Piedmont
Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains
Great Plains
Rocky Mountains
Columbia Plateau
Great Basin
Pacific Mountain Ranges
Arctic Coastal Plain
Physical Geography of the U.S. & Canada
Climates of the U.S. & Canada
Biomes of the U.S. & Canada
Land Use in the U.S. & Canada
11.2.2 Climates and Land Uses
• The U.S. has more climatic types than any other
country in the world, and even Canada is quite varied
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Tundra (Canada and Alaska)
Subarctic (Canada and Alaska)
Humid Continental (Midwest)
Humid Subtropical (U.S. Southeast)
Tropical Savanna (Southern Florida)
Tropical Rain Forest (Hawaii)
Marine West Coast (Coastal Pacific Northwest)
Mediterranean (Central and Southern California)
Semiarid / Steppe (Interior West)
Desert (U.S. Southwest)
Undifferentiated Highland (Rockies, Sierra Nevada)
11.3 Cultural & Historical Geographies
• Migrations of Native Americans into the Region
– Began their migrations as Asians
– Started crossing what was then a land bridge between Alaska and
Siberia at least 12,500 (possibly as early as 33,000) years ago
– Migration persisted until about 3,000 years ago
11.3.1 Native American Civilizations
• Similarities to Indigenous Cultures of Latin America
– Some developed civilizations, the rather complex, agriculturebased ways of life associated with permanent or semipermanent
settlements and stratified societies
• Dominant Native American Civilizations
– Mogollon
– Hohokam
– Anasazi
(300 B.C.E. – 1400 C.E.)
(100 B.C.E. – 1500 C.E.)
(
– 1300 C.E.)
• Mound Builder Civilizations
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Poverty Point
Adena
Hopewell
Mississippian
(2000 B.C.E. – 200 C.E.)
(2000 B.C.E. – 200 C.E.)
( 200 B.C.E. – 700 C.E.)
( 700 C.E. – 1700 C.E.)
Anasazi Pueblo Dwelling in Arizona
11.3.2 Indigenous Culture Groups & Lifeways
• Seven Native American Language Families
(represented by more than 250 languages)
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Aztec-Tanoan
Hokan-Siouan
Penutian
Mosan
Algic
Na-Dene
Eskimo-Aleut
• A trait apparently shared by most of the Native American
groups was their deep reverence for the natural world
Native American Culture Areas
11.3.3 European Impacts on Native Cultures
• Narratives of what took place in North America following 1492
– Europeans:
– Native Americans:
Times of settlement, development, taming the
frontier, and “civilizing the savages”
Times of depopulation and cultural demolition
• Canada
– Native American peoples refer to themselves as the First Nations in
acknowledgement of their pre-Columbian claims to the land
– In 1999, Canada ceded ¼ of its total area to the Inuit peoples in creating
the territory of Nunavut
• United States
– Native American Reservations (“The Res”)
• Home to 1/3 of Native Americans today
• Among poorest communities of the country
• Plagued by high rates of incarceration, alcoholism, drug abuse,
depression, broken families, teen suicide, and unemployment
• Importance of gambling revenues
Modern Native American Lands
Lakota at the Wounded Knee Massacre Site
Pine Ridge, South Dakota
Native American Casino
Laguna Reservation, New Mexico
11.3.4 European Settlers and Settlements
• Waves of European Settlement in North America
– Religious persecution in Europe
– Colonization of new lands by European powers
– Expansionist efforts of newly independent Canada and the U.S.
• Several Territorial Acquisitions of the United States
– Manifest Destiny (opening of settlement all the way to the Pacific)
• California Gold Rush (1849) as impetus for settlement
• Homestead Act (1862)
– Allowed pioneer family to claim up to 160 acres of land for $10
• Multiculturalism Act (1988)
– Recognized Canada as a multicultural society
Territorial Acquisitions of the U.S. & Canada
Major Ethnic Groups in the U.S. & Canada
11.3.5 Ethnic Minorities
• Minorities comprise about 1/3 of the U.S. population
– 14% are Hispanic (42 million)
– 12% are African Americans (35 million)
– 4% are Asian Americans
• By 2050, Non-Hispanic whites will drop below 50%
of the U.S. population
Ethnic Urban Landscapes of the U.S.
Black-run Business in Los Angeles, California
Ethnic Urban Landscapes of the U.S.
Latino Neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois
Ethnic Urban Landscapes of the U.S.
Chinatown in San Francisco, California
11.3.6 Nonindigenous Languages & Faiths
• Language
– English and French are Canada’s official languages
– U.S. does not have an official language (English spoken by 96%)
– “Spanglish”
• Hybrid tongue of Spanish and English
• From Hispanic neighborhoods into mainstream culture of U.S.
• Laws guarantee religious freedoms in both nations
– Both countries predominantly Christian
– Largest single denomination is Roman Catholicism
• 43% in Canada / 26% in the United States
– Other monotheistic faiths in the U.S.
• 5 million Jews and 1 million Muslims
– Islam is the fastest-growing religion in the U.S.
Nonindigenous Languages of the U.S. & Canada
Religions of the U.S. & Canada
11.4 Economic Geography
• The U.S. and Canada are very wealthy nations
– United States
– Canada
$ 44,260 GNI PPP
$ 34,610 GNI PPP
• Where the United States ranks:
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World’s largest economy
World’s largest producer and consumer of goods / services
World’s largest federal foreign debt
World’s largest national debt
With about 5% of the world’s population,
the U.S. has a third of the world’s wealth
11.4.1 Sources of the Region’s Affluence
• Keys to Region’s Affluence
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Large endowments of important natural assets
Large population represents pool of labor and talent as well as a market
Mechanized economies
Peace and stability within and between these countries
Overall sense of internal unity and track record of continuity in political,
economic, and cultural institutions
• Imbalance in the Distribution of National Wealth
– Wealthiest 1% of Americans take in 20% of country’s total income
– Poorest 10% of Americans take in less than 2% of total income
– In 2006, 12% of Americans lived below the poverty line,
whereas only 5% of Canadians were below its poverty line
– However, this is a region where most people enjoy the “good life”
11.4.2 An Abundance of Resources
• U.S. and Canada resemble European environments and their
potential for production of wheat, cattle, and other products
• Largest food-exporting region of the world
– U.S. has more arable land than any other country
– A much smaller proportion of Canada is arable,
but it has more farmable land than many other countries
• Resource Rich:
– Forests (Canada is world’s largest exporter of wood)
– Mineral Resources
– Energy Resources
– Oil (Including Tar Sands in Canada)
– Natural Gas
Canadian Timber En Route to East Asia
Tar Sands Locations in Canada
Oil Production at the Athabasca Tar Sands Facility
11.4.3 Mechanization, Services, and I.T.
• Transition to Service Sector / Information Technology
– Although raw materials contribute much to their wealth,
the U.S. and Canada have become prosperous because
of machines and mechanical energy, complemented by
a boom in IT
– Most Americans and Canadians employed in service sector
• Finance, Medical Care, Retail Sales, Entertainment, etc.
– Manufacturing now only accounts for 9% of U.S. economy
• Rust Belt
– U.S. profits from a “knowledge economy”
• Designing products, but not making them
Steel Mill in South Korea, Not Pittsburgh!
11.4.4 U.S.-Canadian Economic Relations
• Vital Trading Partners
– Canada is much more dependent on the U.S.
– Canada is the leading country in total trade with the U.S.
– Main pattern of trade is the exchange of Canadian raw and
intermediate materials for American manufactured goods
• Economic Disputes
– Wheat War
– Salmon War
– Lumber Dumping
• Despite occasional disagreements, the trend has
been toward more cooperation and free trade
• Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (1988)
• North American Free Trade Agreement (1994)
11.4.5 Transportation Infrastructure
• Transcontinental railroads first linked the coasts
• Interstate Highway System (Late 1950s)
– Primary network for the trucking of cargo across the U.S.
– Reflects American love affair with the automobile
• Public transportation is popular only in cities
– Gridlock makes it an attractive alternative to driving
Highway and Railway Network
11.5 Geopolitical Issues
• Historical Relations between the U.S. and Canada
• The United States’ Place in the World
11.5.1 Historical Relations
• Friction following the American Revolution
– Northern colonies failed to join the Revolution
• British used those colonies as bases during the war
– Many in the north came from Tory stock
• Wanted to maintain political connections with British government
– Tensions were high over who would have ultimate control of the
central and western reaches of the continent
• War of 1812 fought largely as U.S. effort to conquer Canada
• Canada’s emergence as a unified nation came partly as a
result of U.S. pressure
– Hostility between U.S. and Canada did not immediately end
with the establishment of an independent Canada,
but relations improved gradually
• Today these countries are strong allies
11.5.2 The United States’ Place in the World
• U.S. displays its power through military action and trade
• Isolationism
– Geographic advantage of being far away from world’s hot spots
– Entered both world wars late
• Attacks of September 11, 2001
– Policy of Preemptive Engagement
• The U.S. remains the world’s sole superpower
– Strongest economy
– Military expenditures larger than those
of the next 14 countries combined
– Dominance of global popular culture
– World’s best universities
– Headquarters to many of the world’s
leading international organizations