Chapter 3: North America

Chapter 3: North America

Learning Objectives • Why North America first? • Begin applying concepts from first two chapters in a familiar setting. • Identify similarities in cultural, political and economic development. • Develop a base of understanding to build upon with other world regions. Diversity Amid Globalization, 3rd edition: Rowntree, Lewis, Price & Wyckoff

Boreal Forest, Prairie, Tundra Acid Rain Postindustrial Economy Megalopolis Counterurbanization Gentrification Concentric Zone Model vs. Urban Realm Model Cultural Assimilation NAFTA Federalism Sectoral Transformation Key Concepts Diversity Amid Globalization, 3rd edition: Rowntree, Lewis, Price & Wyckoff

Setting the Boundaries • North America • Region composed of two countries: • Canada • The United States • Highly mobile, industrialized and urbanized Diversity Amid Globalization, 3rd edition: Rowntree, Lewis, Price & Wyckoff

North America Figure 3.1 Diversity Amid Globalization, 3rd edition: Rowntree, Lewis, Price & Wyckoff

Diversity Amid Globalization, 3rd edition: Rowntree, Lewis, Price & Wyckoff

A Diverse Physical Setting • Landforms in the Colorado Plateau • Illustrate linkage between landforms and climatic characteristics in shaping the physical geography of North America. Figure 3.8 Diversity Amid Globalization, 3rd edition: Rowntree, Lewis, Price & Wyckoff

Physical Diversity: Landforms • Gulf-Atlantic Coastal Plain • Piedmont, Appalachian Mountains and Interior Highlands • Interior Lowlands • Rocky Mountains • Pacific Mountains and Valleys Diversity Amid Globalization, 3rd edition: Rowntree, Lewis, Price & Wyckoff

Physical Geography Figure 3.6 Diversity Amid Globalization, 3rd edition: Rowntree, Lewis, Price & Wyckoff

Physical Diversity: Climate • Region’s size, latitudinal range and varied terrain contribute to diversity in climate and vegetation patterns. • Coastal Zones: Maritime climate • Interior Zones: Continental climate • Western Zones: Highland climate (elevation complicates climatic pattern) Diversity Amid Globalization, 3rd edition: Rowntree, Lewis, Price & Wyckoff

Climate Map Figure 3.9 Diversity Amid Globalization, 3rd edition: Rowntree, Lewis, Price & Wyckoff

Environmental Issues Figure 3.4 Diversity Amid Globalization, 3rd edition: Rowntree, Lewis, Price & Wyckoff

Human-Environment Interaction: Costs of Human Modification • Soils, Vegetation and Water • Agricultural Transformations • Urban Transformations • Atmosphere • Acid Rain • Air Quality • Resource Consumption Diversity Amid Globalization, 3rd edition: Rowntree, Lewis, Price & Wyckoff

Population: Current Figure 3.11 • Modern Spatial and Demographic Patterns • Uneven pattern of distribution. • Metropolitan clusters dominate landscape. • Megalopolis Diversity Amid Globalization, 3rd edition: Rowntree, Lewis, Price & Wyckoff

Population: Historic European Settlement Expansion 1st Stage (1600-1750) 2nd Stage (1750-1850) 3rd Stage (1850-1910) Figure 3.12 Diversity Amid Globalization, 3rd edition: Rowntree, Lewis, Price & Wyckoff

North Americans on the Move • Westward Migration • African-American Migration from the South • Rural-to-Urban Migration • Migration to the Sunbelt South • Counterurbanization Diversity Amid Globalization, 3rd edition: Rowntree, Lewis, Price & Wyckoff

Figure 3.19 Diversity Amid Globalization, 3rd edition: Rowntree, Lewis, Price & Wyckoff

American City Growth Changing Transportation Technologies Evolving from Concentric Zones to Urban Realms Figure 3.16 Diversity Amid Globalization, 3rd edition: Rowntree, Lewis, Price & Wyckoff

Settlement Geographies: Urban • Urban Realms Model • Highlights new suburban growth. • Edge Cities • Tysons Corner, VA is an example of this form. Figure 3.2 Diversity Amid Globalization, 3rd edition: Rowntree, Lewis, Price & Wyckoff

Settlement Geographies: Urban (cont’d) • Gentrification • Boston’s Harborplace is an example of an urban revitalization project that rehabilitated a deteriorated inner-city landscape. Figure 3.17 Diversity Amid Globalization, 3rd edition: Rowntree, Lewis, Price & Wyckoff

Settlement Geographies - Suburban Figure 3.14 • Sprawl in Las Vegas, NV • Rapid pace of change in suburban Henderson, NV between 1990 and 2000 Diversity Amid Globalization, 3rd edition: Rowntree, Lewis, Price & Wyckoff

Settlement Geographies: Rural • Repeating geometric patterns are a hallmark of rural North American landscapes • Township and Range Figure 3.18 Diversity Amid Globalization, 3rd edition: Rowntree, Lewis, Price & Wyckoff

Patterns of Ethnicity: Regional and Local Scales Figure 3.22 Figure 3.24 Diversity Amid Globalization, 3rd edition: Rowntree, Lewis, Price & Wyckoff

Culturally Diverse Landscapes-Miami Figure 3.4.3 Figure 3.4.1 Figure 3.4.2 Diversity Amid Globalization, 3rd edition: Rowntree, Lewis, Price & Wyckoff

Globalization of Culture • Cultural Diffusion: Two-way process • North America Other World Regions • Language • Tourism • Internet • Media Forms of Connectivity Diversity Amid Globalization, 3rd edition: Rowntree, Lewis, Price & Wyckoff

Geopolitical Framework • Expansion of Political Space: U.S. • The Ordinance of 1787 • Louisiana Purchase in 1803 • Texas, Pacific Northwest and Southwest by mid-19th Century • Alaska in 1867 • Hawaii in 1898 Diversity Amid Globalization, 3rd edition: Rowntree, Lewis, Price & Wyckoff

Geopolitical Framework (cont’d) • Expansion of Political Space: Canada • Quebec Act of 1774 • Constitutional Act of 1791 • Act of Union in 1840 • British North America Act in 1867 • Nunavut in 1999 Diversity Amid Globalization, 3rd edition: Rowntree, Lewis, Price & Wyckoff

Geopolitical Issues Figure 3.26 Challenges to Federalism: Quebec Secession Native Land Claims Diversity Amid Globalization, 3rd edition: Rowntree, Lewis, Price & Wyckoff

Creating A Continental Economy • Sectoral Transformation • Evolution from primary sector to quaternary sector • Map illustrates spatial concentrations of these transformations Figure 3.28 Diversity Amid Globalization, 3rd edition: Rowntree, Lewis, Price & Wyckoff

Sectoral Shifts Gulf Coast Petroleum Refining Figure 3.32 Figure 3.31 Silicon Valley Diversity Amid Globalization, 3rd edition: Rowntree, Lewis, Price & Wyckoff

Continental Neighbors: NAFTA Figure 3.33 Diversity Amid Globalization, 3rd edition: Rowntree, Lewis, Price & Wyckoff

Persisting Social Issues Wealth and Poverty Figure 3.34 Aging Landscapes Figure 3.35 Figure 3.36 Diversity Amid Globalization, 3rd edition: Rowntree, Lewis, Price & Wyckoff

Chapter 3: North America