APPALACHIA AND THE OZARKS (CHAPTER 8 )

1. APPALACHIA AND THE OZARKS(CHAPTER 8)

2. INTRODUCTION • Appalachia and the Ozarks-two parts of a single physiographical province (see maps-143 & 145) • CRITERIA • Similar topography • Close association between topography and human settlement • Not mountainous in the view of Westerners, but hilly to the extent that relief has long served to impede transportation and promote isolation

4. APPALACHIA & the OZARKS

5. HUMAN GEOGRAPHY(Ethnic Heritage) • A popular myth endures-"Hillbilly" • Independent, proud, ignorant, and poor • Generally, people of Appalachia & the Ozarks are... • White, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant • Per capita incomes- well below the national average • Earliest settlers of Appalachia • Scots-Irish, English, and to a lesser degree Germans • Settled the area in the latter stages of the colonial era (late 1700s)

7. REGIONAL DIVISIONS • Southern Appalachia • The "core" • Relatively isolated • Rugged topography and the • Lack of quality transportation networks. • Population is predominantly white, Anglo-Saxon • High % of families live below the federally defined poverty level. • Hosts many of the country's most conservative Protestant churches • Historically conservative attitudes

8. POVERTY

9. POVERTY

10. REGIONAL DIVISIONS(CONTINUED) • Northern Appalachia • Better transportation networks • Less poverty • Few fundamentalist churches • Many Eastern Europeans • Historically benefited from its fortuitous relative location between the industrial Midwest and Megalopolis

11. SETTLEMENT PATTERNS • At the outset, the area had adequate settlement potential for small farms of 25-50 acres • Sufficient to meet the needs of subsistence farmers • Maximum size farm which early settlers could work by hand and/or via limited use of draft animals • Appalachia and the Ozarks are predominantly rural areas. • Urban % for Appalachia is only 1/2 the national average • Eastern Kentucky • Largest rural population density in the U.S. • Most people are concentrated in valleys.

12. REGIONAL ECONOMY • Agriculture • Described as an area of "General Farming." • The primary region of owner operated farms in the U.S. • Hindered by… • Rugged topography • Poor soil • Short growing seasons in many areas • Results in limited cropland, little mechanization, and greater emphasis on livestock. • Farm sizes are small in acreage.

13. KEY PRODUCTS • Corn • Historically important cash crop - Southern Appalachia. • Illegally distilled to produce moonshine. • While this popularized activity has long since declined, corn for fodder remains key throughout the region. • Tobacco • An important cash crop throughout the southern region • Marijuana - the primary contraband export today • Wheat, hay, corn, & apples • Produced in the Shenandoah Valley (The Breadbasket of Virginia) • Dairy products and apples - Central Pennsylvania • Tennessee Valley - fodder crops and livestock.

14. MINING • Coal • By far the region's most important mineral resource • Focused on Bituminous coal • Deep mining methods, accounting for 66% of all production. • Strip mining accounts for the remaining 33%. • Lead • Tri-state district in the Ozarks (OK, KS, MI) • Accounts for 75% of all U.S. production • Has been producing lead for over 250 years

15. MINING(CONTINUED) • Oil • Country's first oil well was drilled in PA in 1859 • PA was the leading producer throughout the 19th century. • Currently, PA provides only a small % of the country's crude oil, however, it remains significant because of the "high quality" crude and lubricants that it produces. • Zinc • Country's most important resources are located in southeastern Tennessee. • Copper • The area of the GA-NC-TN border hosts the only producers of copper east of the Mississippi River.

16. DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS • Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) • BACKGROUND • Conceived by President Franklin D. Roosevelt early in his first term • Designed to… • Deal with the chronic floods experienced throughout the Tennessee Valley • Develop the river for transportation.

17. TENNESSEE RIVER BASIN

18. DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS(CONTINUED) • Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) • TODAY • Consists of over 40 dams, 30 of which have power generating facilities. • TVA supplies tremendous amounts of electricity and has attracted major industries to the region. • It has diversified and developed other power generating facilities (coal, nuclear). • Flood control, water transport, and power generation have all served to stimulate growth in the region.

19. DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS(CONTINUED) • Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) • Created in 1965 • Congress passed - Appalachian Redevelopment Act • Commission is responsible for an area that extends from New York to Alabama • Primary objective has been to improve highways • Decrease isolation • Attract manufacturers • Other Concerns • Improving public and vocational education • Regional economic planning • Improving the quality of the physical environment

20. APPALACHIA (AS DEFINED BY ARC)

21. DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS(CONTINUED) • Arkansas River Navigation System • Dedicated in 1971 • Constructed during the 1960s and 1970s • Established a 3 meter navigation channel up the Arkansas River from the Mississippi River to Cartoosa, Oklahoma • Facilitated an increase in barge traffic • Increased the availability of hydroelectric power in the region

22. APPALACHIA AND THE OZARKS(CHAPTER 8)