World Regional Geography People, Places and Globalization Chapter 4 North America

Chapter North America Identifying the Boundaries Figure 202 203 World Regional Geography The geographic Center America is located near Rugby , Dakota . Notice the of Mexico , Canada , and the States . by . The realm of North America as a continent extends from the polar regions of the Arctic in northern Canada and Alaska all the way south through Mexico and the countries of Central America . usually study the continent by dividing it into two separate realms based on differences in physical and cultural geography . Both the United States and Canada share similar physical geography characteristics as well as a common development history with either a British or French colonial legacy , Mexico and Central America are dominated by more tropical climates and were colonized mainly by the Spanish . The United States and and countries in the world in physical area , up more than 13 percent of the world

Chapter North America 204 total . The Atlantic Ocean borders their eastern edge , and the Pacific Ocean creates their western boundary . To the north is the Arctic Ocean . The North American region is highly 80 percent of the population lives in other vast areas , especially in Canada , are sparsely populated . Although some natives remain , most of North America diverse population consists of immigrants or descendants of immigrants from other world regions . The United States is the world largest economy , and both countries enjoy high standards of living as technologically developed countries .

the Realm Learning Objectives . Define the physiographic regions of North America . Explain the two dominant climate patterns in North America . Find out which three European countries had the most significant early influence on North America , what parts of the region they dominated , and what their impacts have been . Determine the population distribution of the United States and Canada . North America is divided into a number of physical regions with distinct . The western part of the continent is marked by mountain ranges in the Rocky Mountains and Pacific Mountains and Valleys physiographic provinces , with the Intermontane Basins and Plateaus in between . The eastern portion of North America is defined by the ancient Appalachian Highlands , a mountain range that is much less rugged than the Rockies but with no less influence on the history and development of the United States . The interior of the continent is characterized by Interior Lowlands and the Great Plains . To the north is the Canadian Shield , geologically the oldest part of North America , and a sparsely populated area with poor soils . At the southern and eastern edge of the continent is the Coastal Plain , a relatively flat zone that extends from New York to Texas . Figure Physical Regions of the United States and Canada 205

Introducing the Realm 206 A Ocean Boreal Forest ( Taiga ) Temperate Coniferous Forests Ocean Tem it . Mixed Forests ' Mediterranean . we Temperate A , Coniferous Ocean Forests and Desert Tropical Forests Commons . The climates of the United States and Canada include the frigid type climate of the tundra of northern Canada and Alaska , the tropical type A climate of southern Florida and Hawaii , the type climates of the humid eastern United States , the seasonal type climates of the northern United States and most of Canada , and the arid type climates of the Southwest and Great Plains . In general , there are two different climate patterns common in North America . The first pattern is that temperatures get warmer as you travel from north to south and get closer to the equator . The second pattern is that there is a decrease in precipitation as you move from east to west across the continent until you reach the Pacific Coast , where rainfall is abundant again . The second climate pattern is created by the rain shadow effect of the western mountain ranges . As wet air masses move from the Pacific Ocean over the North American continent , they run into the Cascades and the Sierra Nevada . The Cascade ranges of Washington State and Oregon cut off moisture from falling on the leeward side of the mountains thus eastern Washington State and eastern Oregon are semiarid . The western United States experiences a strong rain shadow effect . As the air rises to pass the mountains , water vapor condenses and is released as rain and snow . This means that west of these mountain ranges there is much more precipitation than to their east , resulting in arid and semiarid lands . The entire Great Plains of the western United States are affected by the rain shadow effect and have a semiarid type climate .

207 World Regional Geography European Realms in North America Both the United States and Canada are products of European colonialism . North America was inhabited by many Native American groups before the Europeans arrived . Complex native societies , and traditional local groups faced the European invasion . While the indigenous population of North America was robust at the time of the European encounter , within a few generations , these native peoples were overwhelmed by the diseases , weapons , and sheer numbers of the European arrivals . The the Spanish , French , and a strong imprint on their North American colonies . The oldest colonial city in North America is Augustine , Florida ( 1565 ) founded by Spain when Florida was a remote portion of the Spanish Americas . Spain also had outposts in what are now California , Arizona , New Mexico , and Texas . The forms of settlement characteristic of those areas were similar to the Spanish colonies of Central America . While Spain governed what is now the southern United States , France ruled Canada and much of the interior of the North American continent . The French first came to Canada in the late to engage in fishing in the North Atlantic and soon expanded their reach by creating a fur trade in the area surrounding the Great Lakes and throughout the Mississippi River system . Although there were fewer settlers from France than from other European in what became the United French era left behind place names ( Baton Rouge and Detroit ) patterns of land use , and a population in Canada . Despite the early influence of Spain and France in North America , most North Americans speak English as their native language as a result of Britain colonial dominance in the United States and Canada . The earliest permanent British colony , was founded in 1607 in what became Virginia . The British built up a successful empire in the New World . Their thirteen American colonies became populous , economically robust , and militarily strong enough to gain independence in 1776 . Canada functions as an independent country but remains part of the British Commonwealth . Figure European in the Colonial United States

Introducing the Realm 208 Map courtesy of Lhe National Park Service . Population Distribution in North America The US population surpassed the three hundred million mark in 2006 . Canada now has over million people . The US population is growing by about million people each year . A little less than half the growth can be attributed to immigration and the rest to birth rates . The pace of growth is slower than the world average but more rapid than many other industrialized countries such as those in Europe . The population is not uniformly spread over North America , nor are the population growth rates the same in all locations . Most Canadians live in near proximity to the US border . The North American population tends to be clustered in cities , with about 80 percent of US citizens residing in areas . Additionally , over time , the population has been moving southward and westward . US states experiencing the greatest rates of population growth include those located on the southern portion of the eastern seaboard , as well as Texas , Nevada , Utah , California , Oregon , and Washington . Three , Texas , and for about a third of the entire US population growth since 1990 . Still , the Northeast is the most densely populated area of the country thanks , in large part , to the megalopolis that forms the corridor and encompasses the cities from Washington ,

209 World Regional Geography north to Boston . The largest concentration of Canadians lives in the most province of . For this reason , the province of is often referred to as South Canada . In general , the population of minorities is growing most rapidly . Some of the populations in the United States are Hispanics . Another interesting factor in population growth is the increase in life expectancy . As more people live longer , the growth of the segment of the population aged has doubled in the last fifty years . However , it appears that the growth of this population segment is slowing . Of this group , the greatest increase was seen in people aged years and older . The American population tends to be on the move . The US Census Bureau data show that the average American moves once every seven years these data further predict that about forty million people move each year ( US Census Bureau ) Data also indicate Americans will move to a metropolitan area . Urbanization has been a trend since about 1950 . Until that time , most Americans lived in small towns or more rural settings . The population density of the cities , and especially the suburban areas , has grown steadily since that time , bringing about a population shift . Now a significant majority of people in North America live in suburban areas . Urbanization has brought some challenges . The layout of these areas often makes owning a car a necessity thus traffic congestion is a major problem in many suburban and urban areas . Other issues that have arisen are overcrowded schools , racial tensions , and a widening economic gap between the wealthy and impoverished . As people move to the cities , housing and other resources might not be able to meet demand , forcing prices upward . The gap between the cost of living in an urban area and the population ability to pay has contributed to poverty and homelessness . Environmental issues also abound , including how to reduce or eliminate smog , manage waste , and ensure adequate clean water supplies . Key Ta United States and Canada have mountain ranges along their eastern and western portions , with lowlands in the middle . In general , temperatures get cooler as you move from south to north , and the climate gets more arid as you move from east to west across the continent . Spanish were the earliest Europeans to establish a permanent settlement in the United States or Canada . controlled the territory in the southern edge of what is now the United States , and their is still felt today through the Mexican American culture in region . French colonized eastern Canada , the Great Lakes , and the Mississippi River valley . Although the number of settlers was small outside , French place names and French patterns are still evident . British colonized the eastern coast of what became the United States . The number of settlers was so high the English culture dominated the region and left a strong impact in terms of language , religion , and many other cultural aspects . more than 310 million people who live in the United States and the more than 34 million people who live in Canada are not evenly distributed across North America . The realm continues to urbanize , and minority groups are the segment of the population .

Introducing the Realm 210 Discussion and Study Questions Who were the three main European of what became the United States and Canada ?

Where was each European colonizer most influential ?

Describe impacts of each European power in North America . What is a main reason the Great Plains and the western part of the United States are so arid ?

What three states had the highest population growth since 2000 ?

What segment of the population has doubled in the past fifty years ?

What are the current populations of the United States and Canada ?

What problems have been caused by urbanization in North America ?

Why do about forty million people move within the United States each year ?

53 Why do most Canadians live near the US border ?

Geography Exercise Identify the following key places on a map Appalachian Highlands Canadian Shield Great Lakes Great Plains Coastal Plain Interior Lowlands Intermontane Basins and Plateaus Mississippi River Pacific Mountains and Valleys Rocky Mountains References US Census Bureau , Geographical Mobility between 2004 and 2005 ,

United States Early Development and Globalization Learning Objectives . Explain how the United States acquired its geographic boundaries . Examine patterns of immigration to and migration within the United States through the period of westward settlement . Examine urban growth and its connection to development of new forms of transportation . Explain which economic patterns helped the United States become the world largest economy . Consider how the concept of the American Dream has been exported globally . Early Development Patterns With abundant resources and opportunity , the original thirteen colonies prospered and expanded into what became the fifty US states . The political geography of this nation was a product of Various treaties and acquisitions that eventually resulted in the country extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean . Fueling the expansion was the concept of Manifest Destiny the belief of some Americans that the new nation was divinely predestined to expand across the continent . The United States negotiated with France for the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 , acquiring millions of acres in the central United States ( see Figure Geopolitical Map of the Creation of the United States from the Atlantic to the Pacific ) Florida was acquired from Spain in 1819 , and Texas was annexed in 1845 . The British sold portions of the Pacific Northwest to the United States , and the exact northern boundary between the United States and Canada was settled in 1846 . Through conflicts with Mexico , large portions of the West were ceded to the United States in the century . Alaska was purchased from the Russians in 1867 for only million . Alaska and Hawaii were the last two possessions to enter into statehood , which they did in 1959 . 211

United States Early Development and Globalization 212 Figure The Thirteen Original Colonies Lake Great Lakes Superior Connecticut Lake Michigan New Jersey Delaware Territory Maryland Claimed by the Or 13 Colonies Figure Geopolitical Map of the Creation of the United States from the Atlantic to the

213 World Regional Geography TERRITORIAL Commons public domain . Manifest Destiny The concept of Manifest Destiny came from the works of John Sullivan in 1839 . Sullivan wrote , The , the boundless future will be the era of American greatness . In its magnificent domain of space and time , the nation of many nations is destined to manifest to mankind the excellence of divine principles to establish an earth the noblest temple ever dedicated to the worship of the Most Sacred and the True . Its shall be a roof the firmament of the heavens , and its congregation an Union of many Republics , comprising hundreds of happy millions , calling , owning no man master , but governed by God natural and moral law of equality , the law of peace and good will amongst men ( John Sullivan ) As the United States developed , it acquired external colonial possessions . With Victory over Spain in the American War of 1898 , the US government gained control of the Philippines , Cuba , Puerto Rico , and various Pacific islands . Cuba and the Philippines later became independent countries , but Puerto Rico and continue to be

United States Early Development and Globalization 214 part of the United States . The US Virgin Islands were purchased from Denmark in 1918 after World War I as a location to provide strategic military support to protect the shipping lanes through the Caribbean and the Panama Canal . Westward Settlement Patterns and European Immigration The thirteen original colonies are often grouped into three regions , each with its own economic and cultural patterns . These three England , the , and the considered culture hearths , or places where culture formed and from which it spread . The three regions were source areas for westward migration , and migrants from these regions carried with them the cultural traditions of their culture hearths . New England was characterized by poor soils , subsistence agriculture , and fishing communities and was the birthplace of North America Industrial Revolution . Its largest city was Boston . Settlers from New England traveled west across New York State and into the upper Midwest and the Great Lakes region . The region , focused on Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , was known for its fertile soils , prosperous agriculture , and multinational population . Prosperous farming led to a vibrant economy and a robust network of towns and cities . People who wanted to migrate west from this region traveled down the Great Valley into the Appalachian Mountains and across the Cumberland Gap into Kentucky , or they crossed Pennsylvania and traveled west Via the Ohio River Valley . The heart of the South was Virginia , a region oriented around plantation agriculture . The South was overwhelmingly rural , and in time the bulk of its agricultural workforce consisted of slaves brought to the United States from Africa . Westward migration was spurred along by the gold boom in California ( 1849 ) and by the completion of the transcontinental railroad ( 1869 ) The settlement frontier pushed westward during the course of the nineteenth century and was declared closed by the Bureau of the Census in 1890 . This did not mean that settlers were spread uniformly across the continent by 1890 indeed , vast areas of the Great Plains and the mountain west remained sparsely populated by Europeans at that time . The Homestead Act of 1862 also encouraged westward migration by offering 160 acres of free land to households willing to move west . The continental United States had been organized into official states by the end of the nineteenth century , except Oklahoma ( 1907 ) Arizona ( 1912 ) and New Mexico ( 1912 )

215 World Regional Geography Figure The Holy Trinity Serb Orthodox Church in Butte , Montana This church gives testimony to the impact that has had on the American and the of religion that the Us Constitution provides . by . Most US residents at its founding in 1776 had roots in Great Britain , with large numbers from other northern and western European countries and many others from Africa ( most of whom were slaves in the South ) During the nineteenth century , migrants continued to immigrate to the United States as its economy grew , especially after the 18305 . and Irish began arriving in large numbers , joining others from Britain and other countries , predominantly those in western Europe . As the century progressed , others from southern and eastern Europe , from countries such as Italy , Russia , and Austria , became the most significant stream of immigrants to the United States . The new arrivals were different from the early British immigrants they practiced Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox Christianity ( not Protestantism ) they primarily moved to urban areas , and they found work in the new manufacturing sector growing rapidly in the Northeast and around the Great Lakes . Very few immigrants came from Latin America or Asia at that time .

United States Early Development and Globalization 216 Industrial Development and Urbanization The Industrial Revolution that began in Great Britain in the late eighteenth century eventually moved across the Atlantic and took hold in the United States . Rapid industrial growth emerged in the nineteenth century and was focused in the northeastern United States around the Great Lakes in an area called the Manufacturing Belt ( Figure Manufacturing Belt Turned Rust Belt ) Mechanized manufacturing began with textiles ( New England ) moved to steel and other metals ( Pennsylvania and Indiana ) and later was dominated by the manufacture of automobiles ( Michigan ) Of course , manufacturing would not have been possible without an abundant supply of power . Coal mining became an important industry in western Pennsylvania and in . Manufacturing took place in the cities and towns of the Manufacturing Belt . Not until the second half of the twentieth century did manufacturing move to rural areas until then , it was almost entirely an urban activity . As the United States went through its Industrial Revolution , its population shifted from being almost entirely rural to being mostly urban . In 1790 , only about percent of the US population lived in urban areas by 1920 , about 50 percent lived in cities . As the rural to urban shift took place , the function and form of US cities also changed . Figure Manufacturing Belt Turned Rust Belt

217 World Regional Geography New York Philadelphia Baltimore Table US Population and Percentage Urban United States Early Development and Globalization 218 Year Percentage Urban Population in Millions 790 810 830 850 870 890 63 910 930 950 60 970 990 2010 308 Source The World , Central Intelligence Agency , From the colonial era until the late nineteenth century , US cities were walking cities . Because most Americans lived on farms , cities were small , compact , and centrally oriented everything was located within walking distance . Only wealthy people had access to transportation by horse , and city dwellers needed to live within a short distance of where they worked , shopped , and carried out all their activities . The invention of the electric streetcar ( 1888 ) allowed cities to increase in size . People could live farther from their place of employment as long as they lived within walking distance of a streetcar line . Streetcar suburbs grew up along streetcar lines , and these neighborhoods were often segregated by ethnicity and race . Fewer people lived in , which became dedicated to retail and manufacturing . Cities remained oriented around a central business district ( which was often located near the railway station . Factories needed to be near modes of transportation for both shipping in parts and shipping out completed products and so that workers could easily get to work . Large numbers of middle class Americans began acquiring automobiles after about 1920 this eventually led to a complete rethinking of the spatial layout of the city . Automobile suburbs sprang up outside the traditional city limits as people were able to buy homes far from streetcar lines or railway stations . Cities became increasingly decentralized people could go shopping in suburban malls instead of downtown department stores , factories could spring up at highway and not only near rivers and the railroad , and people could live in one suburb and work in another instead of living in the suburbs and working downtown . Neighborhoods became even more racially and economically segregated than they had in the past as whites moved into the new automobile suburbs and left the poorer African Americans behind in the cities . By the late twentieth century , the automobile had led to a new urban form the edge city . Edge cities are areas of dense urban development outside the boundaries of the traditional city . They often form at the intersection of major interstate highways and contain shopping malls , office complexes , apartment buildings ,

219 World Regional Geography industrial parks , restaurants , and hotels . Sometimes edge cities are called suburban . Edge cities have supplanted the as the destination of choice for Americans , whether they are heading to work or to play . Economic Changes For the purpose of understanding economic geography , all economic activities can be grouped into one of four categories , each with its respective terms , depending on the nature of what is being produced . Primary economic sector activities include everything that pertains to the collection of raw materials , such as agriculture , forestry , fishing , and other words , growing and extracting activities . Secondary economic sector activities involve the processing of those raw materials through manufacturing , which has been the mainstay of economic growth for most developed countries . Tertiary economic sector activities are those that produce services , not physical products . Quaternary economic sector activities are those that deal with information collecting and processing , as well as management . The tertiary and quaternary economic sectors are often thought of together as the service sector . In the explanation of how countries gain national income ( Section Globalization and Development ) only primary and secondary activities produce actual physical products , and manufacturing traditionally earns the highest added profits . Tertiary activities are selective in gaining national wealth . For example , service activities such as tourism can bring in national wealth if the visitors are from outside the country . Tourism within a country can also influence economic conditions by increasing the amount of consumer spending . During the colonial era and into the nineteenth century , when the majority of Americans lived on farms and worked in agriculture , most economic activity in the United States took place within the primary economic sector . Today , the primary sector is still an important component of the US economy , but far fewer people are employed in it . For example , less than percent of Americans make their living by farming , but agricultural output has continued to grow because of advancements in mechanization and the development of seeds , fertilizers , and pesticides . The United States has been able to export surplus agricultural output to other parts of the world . Fewer people work in coal mines than in the past , but because of new mining technologies and methods such as mountaintop removal , coal production remains high . The geographic distribution of primary activities depends both on the location of natural features such as physical

United States Early Development and Globalization 220 geography and climate and on the location of the market for a particular crop or resource . The German economist Johann Von created a model that predicted land use around a central market . In his theory , land closest to the market would be used to produce crops that were expensive to transport , such as dairy . Land far from the market would be used for the production of crops that were less expensive to transport and less perishable , such as grain . The Von model predicts a series of concentric rings surrounding a central market , with each ring producing a different kind of crop . If the Von model is applied at a much larger scale to the United States as a whole , with the densely populated urban zone from Boston to Washington , called a megalopolis ) used as the central market , the model does a fairly good job predicting the United States agricultural land use . Dairy farms are found close to the market , grain farms are farther away , and ranch lands used for livestock production are even farther away . Figure The von Model

221 World Regional Geography The von model as it relates to the west uf the East . For example , New Jersey is called the Garden State , has its forests , the has its agricultural production , and the Great Plains has its large ranching operations . This model was more applicable in past centuries for local communities when modem transportation technology was not available . Figure Farm Resource Regions

United States Early Development and Globalization 222 . large ism and farm ?

and Basin and Range . smallest maven ?

us ( 49770 , wheat , and Northern Great . and mam . at . and I Gateway Northern Crescent . ma . barley , Mast populous and canon . 15 al . 11 . um value . Dali , and ( ash . and is . Heartland Eastern Uplands its Mississippi Portal I Southern Seaboard . 22 , and aw . iS , ubi a , im ( and . ho Source Map of the US of Agriculture . Anything that involves the processing of raw a secondary activity . As the United States moved into the Industrial Revolution and into the century , the percentage of the US workforce involved in manufacturing grew from almost nothing until it peaked in the late . It was the main area of economic growth for decades . Although manufacturing was present in most areas of the country , it was focused in the northeastern United States and along the Great Lakes . Factories were close both to the reserves of labor and to the markets for manufactured products found in the densely populated Northeast . The steel industry was located in Pittsburgh and its environs because of the area access to iron ore ( mined in Minnesota and transported via the Great Lakes ) and to coal ( mined in Pennsylvania , West Virginia , and other parts of ) As manufacturing has grown in other parts of the world , the secondary economic sector has declined in the United States . US labor statistics indicate that the United States lost about five million manufacturing jobs between 2000 and 2010 ( Many of these jobs were lost to countries with lower labor costs , such as Mexico or China . The third group of economic activities takes place in the tertiary and quaternary sectors , commonly known as the service sector . Tertiary and quaternary activities create services , not physical products . Service jobs include everything from engineering to finance , restaurants to sports , and childcare to medicine . The tertiary sector makes up more than three quarters of the US economy , as measured by its share of the gross domestic product ( which is the total value of all goods and services produced in a country in a given year . The is then divided by the country population to provide a per capita statistic . The 2010 estimated composition by sector for the United States is shown in Table US by Sector ( 2010 Data )

223 World Regional Geography Table US by Sector ( 2010 Data ) Economic Sector ( Agriculture Industry and mining Services Source The World , Central Intelligence Agency , These figures show that the United States has shifted to a service economy . The rise of the information age in the latter part of the twentieth century shifted the workforce into the information sector . By the start of the century , less than percent of the US workforce was employed in agriculture , 15 percent in industry , and the rest in services ( 18 percent ) and information activities ( 65 percent ) The locations of jobs are much more flexible than are jobs in the primary or secondary sectors . They are called footloose jobs an accountant can live in New York or in Denver , whereas it is much more difficult for factories to move from one place to another and it is impossible for farms to relocate . Many of the jobs are emerging in the southern regions of the United States called the Sun Belt . Southern cities such as Atlanta , Dallas , and Phoenix are centers of innovation and population growth . The warmer climate , combined with a lower cost of living and less congestion , makes the Sun Belt an attractive location for emerging companies . Note that the popularity of the South and West for jobs only came about after the invention and adoption of . was not widespread until after the Second World War in the . While the population of the Southern states has increased , the population of some Northern states has decreased . The Sun Belt has always been a destination for people escaping the harsh winters of the Northern states . This has usually been only a seasonal transition . However , the new trend is one of permanent growth because of the increase in information technologies and in the service industry . Emerging companies looking to establish their businesses have targeted major cities from the Carolinas to the Southwest .

United States Early Development and Globalization 224 Migration Patterns The United States has not only undergone a massive shift in its population intermigration within the United States from one region to another has also been prevalent . Each of the US regions has witnessed changes in demographics because of migration patterns . In the agricultural regions of the United States , such as the Midwest , the migration pattern has been caused by changes in farm technology . Portions of the United States were opened up for agriculture because of the Homestead Act of 1862 , where each person could receive 160 acres from the government to start a farm . They could keep the acres if they lived on them and farmed them for a period of years . In the 18005 , 160 acres was enough land to support a family if conditions were appropriate . The Industrial Revolution brought about improved farm equipment and technology . Larger and more expensive tractors and improved farming methods pushed the small farmers to sell out . Farms increased in size and fewer people were required to operate them . Since fewer farm workers are needed in rural areas , there has been a major shift in the population . Central cities are increasing in population , while small towns and rural areas in the Midwest and across the nation are decreasing in population . and Globalization The freedom of personal expression in the United States has supported individual ingenuity and creative ambition to create the largest economy in the world . US citizens have pushed American corporations to become a major force in the world markets . Products and franchises from the United States are being distributed throughout the world . Items such as fast food , computers , news networks , and Hollywood movies have become the products of choice in countries across the globe . The English language dominates the Internet , which has been heavily influenced by US corporations . The power of the American idea that through hard work anyone can achieve upward mobility and financial it is portrayed in the US media holds sway in the minds of people both in the United States and abroad .

225 World Regional Geography Figure US Corporate Franchise in Israel I ' I ' Photo by . US news networks , such as , are so dominant that small countries , having no resources to create networks , rely on the US networks to deliver their world news . US fast food franchises , of which is the largest , exist in over one hundred countries , Despite humble beginnings in Arkansas , grew to become the world largest corporation . It has become the buyer and seller of retail trade that shapes and molds cultural attitudes and fashions internationally . The size of the US population ( more than 310 million strong as of 2010 ) and the country vast resource base have allowed it to become a world military superpower . After the fall of the Soviet Union , the United States became the most powerful military force in the world . The United States has also dominated the world economy and its communications networks . The advancements of multinational corporations have in essence enabled the sale of America to the rest of the world . The selling of American products and the large consumer market in the United States have provided the profits that have fueled global economic markets .

United States Early Development and Globalization 226 The United States has become a worldwide franchise of its own . Corporate colonialism has advanced the American brand to a level that is now synonymous with consumerism , success , and power worldwide . Media advancements have promoted the concept of the American Dream across the seven seas . The reaction of the global community includes both admiration and disdain . Many view as interchangeable with globalization . Some welcome it others reject it . The country of Iran is an example of this dichotomy . Young people in Iran wearing blue jeans gather in secret to watch American television programming from a hidden illegal satellite dish , while at the same time the forces in their government condemn America as decadent , immoral , and imperialistic . Corporate colonialism has become a dominant force impacting the global cultural fabric . Supporters appreciate access to American goods and services , while opponents claim that the English language and the American corporate franchise system are destroying the culture and heritage of untold millions who see their unique traditional ways of life being overshadowed and destroyed . Some argue that American television advertisements exemplify a trend that supports conformity and uniformity in American culture . They contend that America unique cultural diversity , which historically has provided ingenuity and creativity , is being eroded by the franchising of similar retail products , fast food , professional sports , and Hollywood entertainment that the creative will of the American people . Others continue to see opportunities to pursue the American Dream and believe that innovation and ideas continue to emerge in spite of these trends . Figure

227 World Regional Geography is one of the greatest success stories of the American Dream . It started in Arkansas one store and grew to become the largest corporation in the world . Now it is one of the most aggressive forces of corporate across the globe . Photo by . Many people worry about the future of the American Dream . American culture continues to evolve as people face changing economic and social conditions . Over the course of their history , Americans have faced both difficult and prosperous times , and now the future of this vibrant country is in the hands of the current generation . The United States has developed into one of the most powerful countries on the planet . Will the American Dream continue to motivate people in the future ?

Only time will tell . Key Takeaways The United States territory expanded gradually through various treaties and land acquisitions and was by the concept of Manifest Destiny . The three main colonial regions in the United England , the , and the their own distinct economic foundations , settlement patterns , and social structures . People from these regions moved westward in particular migration patterns . In the beginning of the nineteenth century , most immigrants were from western and northern Europe . By the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century , immigrants were coming in large numbers from southern and Eastern Europe and moving to industrial cities of the Northeast . City structure changed from the walking cities of colonial America , to the railroad and streetcar cities of the late nineteenth century , to the automobile cities of the and century . The US economy was initially based in the primary economic sector ( particularly farming ) then was based in the secondary economic sector ( manufacturing ) and is now oriented around the tertiary and quaternary economic sectors ( services and information ) The diverse immigrants who have created American society have been unified by common aspirations and common ideals that created the concept of the American Dream . The concept indicates that regardless of one station in life , by working hard , applying oneself , and following the rules , one can obtain upward economic mobility .

United States Early Development and Globalization 228 Discussion and Study Questions What did Manifest Destiny mean for the United States ?

What European region did most early immigrants come from ?

How did that change by the end of the nineteenth century ?

How did modes of transportation affect the layout of American cities ?

What is an edge city , and how did edge cities form ?

How does the von model relate to the spatial pattern of land use in the United States ?

How have economic sectors shifted in the United States in the past two hundred years ?

What is the American Dream , and how has it been expanded globally ?

What has been the major migration pattern in the Midwest region of the United States ?

Why is this occurring ?

What part of the United States has been a target for the location of information businesses ?

What was the role of technology in making this possible ?

10 . Outline some examples of how US culture the rest of the world . Geography Exercise Identify the following key places on a map Cumberland Gap Great Valley Manufacturing Belt Midwest Original thirteen colonies Sun Belt References John SulliVan on Manifest Destiny , 1839 , Sheryl Made in America Leaders That Really Make a Difference , Daily Finance ,

United States Population and Religion Figure 229 United States Population and Religion 230 The Statue at Liberty has lung been a of the American ideals that welcome immigrants America . Commons public domain . Learning Objectives . Explain the concepts of the cultural melting pot and the American Dream and how they have contributed to American society and culture .

231 World Regional Geography . Describe the current demographic profile of the United States . Identify the size , distribution , and other characteristics of the Hispanic population in the United States . Explain the two most significant processes that led to the spatial distribution of African Americans in the United States . Describe the distribution of the dominant religious affiliations in the United States . The American Melting Pot Early immigration to America was dominated by people from the British Isles , resulting in an American population for whom speaking English and practicing Protestant Christianity was the norm . There were some regional exceptions to this , such as Catholicism in Maryland and the widespread speaking of German in Pennsylvania , but by and large English and Protestantism were standard in the American colonies . As migrants arrived in the United States from countries , within a generation they learned English and assimilated into American society , giving rise to the idea of the United States as a cultural melting pot . People were drawn to the United States by the hope of economic opportunities most immigrants were poor and came to the United States to make a living and improve their financial . They viewed assimilation into mainstream society as a necessity for success . They believed in the American through hard work , you could achieve upward mobility and financial success no matter your background . The dream came true for millions of Americans but remains out of reach for many who live in poverty . As of 2010 , the United States was home to approximately 310 million people and was the populated country in the world after China and India . Among developed countries , the US population is one of the fastest growing , at about percent each year . This is thanks to a fertility rate of about that is higher than the for that of most European countries , as well as a positive net migration rate ( more people immigrating to the United States than emigrating from it ) In terms of human , life expectancy is more than years for men , and the average woman can expect to live more than eighty years . While this may seem high , especially when compared with a century ago , life expectancy in the United States is lower than in other countries . Although English has remained the dominant language , as a country of immigrants , the United States is home to people from all corners of the world and home to many cultural or ethnic minority groups . According to the 2010 census , the ethnic minority groups in the United States included percent Hispanic ( who can be of any race )

United States Population and Religion 232 percent black or African American percent Asian and Pacific Islander and percent Native American ( American Indians , Eskimos , and ) US Census Bureau ) An interesting trend is that Asians are growing faster than any other ethnic group in California , the nation largest state . The 2010 census reported that the Asian population in California had increased percent since 2000 to a total of five million . The US Hispanic Population One of the most striking shifts in immigration patterns of the past few decades has been the dramatic increase in immigrants to the United States . While there have long been Spanish speakers living in the United States ( recall that Spain colonized Florida , Texas , and the Southwest before those regions became part of the United States ) for most of American history the Hispanic minority had little impact outside of a few areas of the country . In 1970 , Hispanics made up less than percent of the US population , but by 2010 , million Hispanics made up about 16 percent of the population ( Figure Hispanic Population in the United States and the US Sun Belt ) For the first time , Hispanics were the largest ethnic minority in the United States , surpassing blacks as the largest minority starting with the 2000 US census ( percent Hispanic compared with percent black ) The US Hispanic population doubled between the 1990 and 2000 . Between 2000 and 2006 , Hispanic population growth accounted for about half the nation growth and grew about four times faster than the country population as a whole . The growth of the US Hispanic population is a direct result of increased immigration from Latin America to the United States in the late twentieth and early centuries ( et . 2011 ) and the Hispanic population having higher fertility rates than the US population ( 2011 )

233 World Regional Geography Figure Hispanic Population in the United States and the US Sun Belt . Poor conditions in Mexico push people north looking for Hispanic Population as a Percentage of Opportunity and ad Total Population by Country US percentage to 124 Less than Map courtesy of . Nearly half the Hispanics in the United States live in California or Texas , although there has been a large increase in the Hispanic population outside those states in the past decade , especially in the South . For example , Arkansas , Georgia , Tennessee , and North and South Carolina all experienced Hispanic population growth rates between 55 and 61 percent from 2000 to 2006 . All regions of the country saw growth rates of their Hispanic populations during that time . In places such as California , the large Hispanic population has an especially significant impact on the economy , politics , and every aspect of social life more than of Californians are Hispanic ( 37 percent ) while 42 percent are white , and a much smaller minority are African American ( percent ) Who are the Hispanics living in the United States ?

Most were born in the United States ( 60 percent ) while the rest are immigrants . Two thirds are either from Mexico or of Mexican descent , while others hail from the US territory of Puerto Rico , Cuba , or the Dominican Republic . Note that all Puerto Ricans are US citizens and can move to and from the US mainland without any special documentation requirements . More Hispanics come from Central America than from South America . Hispanics work in all professions but are found in professions such as agriculture , construction , and food service at higher rates than the country population .

United States Population and Religion 234 Figure Hispanic Population in the United States , 120 I Census 100 I Projections Population as 80 60 40 Population in 20 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 Hispanic population in the US , Source Data from the US Census Bureau , 1970 , 1920 , 1990 , and 2000 Projections , July , 2010 , in July , 2050 . Figure

235 World Regional Geography men tried In cross the US border from the Mexican side with a homemade ladder built of rebar . They hooked the ladder the wall . one man climbed over and was by Lhe US Border the man ran away and was by Lhe Mexican border . Omar La BY . The draw of opportunities and advantages has always pulled people toward the United States . While many of

United States Population and Religion 236 the Latin American immigrants enter the United States legally , according to the US Department of Homeland Security Office of Immigration Statistics , there were about million undocumented immigrants residing in the United States as of 2010 62 percent are from Mexico ( US Department of Homeland Security ) This number is lower than it was in previous years , possibly because of the economic recession and rates of unemployment . The border is about miles long and runs through an arid and open region between the two countries . It is difficult to control the illegal immigration across this border , as the attraction to American jobs is so compelling that people will risk death to cross the deserts of the Southwest . According to 2010 estimates , undocumented workers make up about percent of the United States civilian workforce , including approximately 24 percent of the agricultural workforce . The amount of sent from undocumented workers in the United States to Mexico is estimated in the billions of dollars . The from Mexican nationals living outside Mexico and sending money home to their families are Mexico source of foreign income . Without , many Mexican families would have a difficult time making ends meet . The African American Population Most African Americans were concentrated in the South before the Civil War , where they worked as slaves in the cotton and tobacco plantations that supported the region . In some counties , blacks made up most of the population , and this did not change when the war was over . Many of the newly freed slaves remained as poor agricultural workers in the South well into the twentieth century . Even as late as 1910 , seven out of every eight African Americans lived in the South .

237 World Regional Geography Figure Civil War Division in the United States , 1865 Union States I Confederate States Border Not States during Civil War Union States are in the , States are in Lhe south , and harder states are in the middle . In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries , as the industrialization of northern cities was accelerating , the increased need for factory workers was largely met by immigration from Europe , especially from southern and eastern Europe . However , when the First World War began ( 1914 ) European immigration began to slow down . European immigration then nearly ground to a halt in the as Americans set quotas in place to reduce the number of Eastern European immigrants . At that time , the factories in the Manufacturing Belt continued to need workers , but instead of European workers , they recruited African Americans from the South . This led to a massive migration of blacks from the South to cities of the North and West . This migration was so significant to African Americans in the United States that it is called the Great Migration . Between 1910 and 1925 , more than 10 percent of African Americans made the journey north , and even more followed . Examining a map of the distribution of African Americans today shows the legacy of the Great Migration , as blacks live in many parts of the United States , both in the South and in cities of the north and the Midwest . Blacks also now live in Sun Belt cities , as people of all races look for jobs related to the new information technologies and service industries .

United States Population and Religion 238 Figure American Population by County , 2000 Map courtesy of . Geography of Religion in the United States Most early settlers to the United States were Protestant Christians Puritans lived in New England and ( later called ) lived in Virginia . Roman Catholic immigrants settled in Maryland , and members of the Society of Friends ( Quakers ) founded Pennsylvania . Even within that overall picture , there was a great deal of religious diversity in the United States , and that diversity increased as new arrivals came from different countries with different religious backgrounds . The current pattern of religious affiliation in the United States remains quite

239 World Regional Geography complex , and one can find observers of nearly every major religion , and many minor ones , in virtually every area of the country , That being said , there are clear patterns to the geography of religion in the United States that tell stories of immigration and migration history , as well as stories about other aspects of American history . The map of leading church bodies ( Figure Distribution of Religious Organizations in the United States ) shows regions of religious observance that are worth examining . Figure Distribution of Religious Organizations in the United States Leading Church Bodies , 2000 . i , ram . an the mu ! By thunk . in IR sum . not ) Ev ( i moo ' zoom . Commons public domain . The most striking feature of the map is the block of red in the Southeast in which Baptist churches are the leading church body . Although Baptist churches are the leading religious body in about 45 percent of all counties in the United States , most of those counties are found in the South . This region is considered the nation Bible Belt , and it is a region in which churches are more likely than in other parts of the country to teach a literal interpretation of the Bible . Baptist churches grew in popularity in the South after the Civil War as more liturgical denominations

United States Population and Religion 240 such as Methodists went into decline , and Baptist churches are popular among both African American and white residents . Figure Bible and Tire is in the peripheral of eastern Kentucky in the Bible Belt . customers get a free Bible with every set uf new tires . Photo by . Another interesting Protestant region is northern and the lower Midwest from Ohio to Iowa and Kansas . As seen on the map , some of these counties are Baptist , in some of them the strongest church presence is Methodist , and in others it is Christian churches ( Disciples of Christ and historically similar denominations ) that prevail . The Methodist and other Christian areas were heavily influenced by the Second Great Awakening of the early nineteenth century , which promoted the theology that every person could be saved through . The movement provided for strong showings of Protestant denominations that arose during that time . The third Protestant region is the northern Midwest and Great Plains Minnesota , the , and surrounding areas . This was the destination of German and Scandinavian Lutheran settlers during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries , and the leading denominations today in much of that area remain Lutheran . The Roman Catholic Church , which is the leading religious body in 40 percent of US counties , is well represented in the Northeast , West , and Southwest . In the Northeast and Midwest , the Catholic dominance points to and early immigration from Roman Catholic countries in Europe such as Italy , Ireland , and Poland . Those earlier Catholics have been joined more recently by large numbers of Hispanic

241 World Regional Geography immigrants . The dominance of Roman Catholics in the western United States , the Southwest , and even Florida in the Southeast are a of the strong Hispanic presence in those parts of the country . In the western United States , the Church of Jesus Christ of Saints ( Mormon church or ) dominates a region including Utah and surrounding states . Utah was the destination of Mormon members as they migrated westward during the century . Major urban centers are home to people who follow all the major religions of the world . Muslim populations are found in cities as a result of late twentieth century immigrants arriving from countries such as India , Pakistan , and places in the Middle East and moving to urban areas for employment . Detroit and its surrounding counties in southeastern Michigan are one part of the country with a high concentration of Muslim immigrants . Key Takeaways US immigrants learned English and assimilated into American society , giving rise to the idea of the United States as a cultural melting pot . Immigrants created the American idea that by working hard and following the rules , one could achieve upward mobility and financial success regardless of one background or heritage . The Hispanic population is the largest minority group in the United States , and its population is growing . Hispanics have an especially strong presence in California and Texas but are found all over the South as well as in rural and urban areas around the country . of Hispanics are immigrants to the United States , and most undocumented workers to the United States are Hispanic ( 58 percent are from Mexico ) Mexican nationals are an important component of the US workforce , and they send home billions of dollars each year in the form of . African Americans are heavily represented in former plantation agricultural states of the South , as well as in cities of the Rust Belt and far West . Patterns of religious observance in the United States immigration patterns . Discussion . Why has the United States been called a melting pot ?

What are the largest minority groups in the country ?

What parts of the United States have the highest representation of the four largest minority groups ?

How did the US Hispanic population change in size and location from 2000 to 2010 ?

Why is the Hispanic population growing faster than other ethnic groups in the United States ?

What two states have about 50 percent of the Hispanic population ?

What have been the factors for Hispanic immigration to the United States ?

What is a remittance , and how are significant for immigrants to the United States ?

Describe the spatial pattern of the African American population . Why do so many blacks live in the Southeast ?

43 United States Population and Religion 242 . What was the Great Migration , and what were some of its impacts on the United States ?

List three of the main Protestant religious denominations in the United States , describe their spatial patterns , and explain what caused these patterns . 10 . Name the states or provinces that have high percentages of Catholics . References , Arizona Enacts Stringent Law on Immigration , New York Times , April 23 , 2010 , accessed September 20 , 2011 , Nancy , and Bryan Baker , Estimates of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population Residing in the United States January 2008 , Department of Homeland Security , accessed September 20 , 2011 , ill . US Census Bureau , 2010 Census Data , US Department of Homeland Security , Immigration Statistics ,

Canada Learning Objectives . Identify where in the country most Canadians live and why . Identify and locate the dominant physical features of Canada . Distinguish between the and areas of Canada and discuss the key activities in the effort to promote French culture in Canada . Name the characteristics of some of the minority ethnic groups in Canada . Determine which economic sectors are at the core of the Canadian economy and how the Canadian and US economies are connected . Figure Map of Canada 243

Northwest Territories , National capital ' Regina capital Scale 150 500 750 Commons public domain . Canadian Provinces and Territories Canada 244 Canada democratic state shares a similar developmental history and economic status with the United States . As of 2011 , Canada had a population of just over million ( 2011 ) which is less than the population of California , Canada is larger than the United States , making it the country in the world . However , despite this vast territory for a relatively small population , more than 90 percent of Canadians live within 150

245 World Regional Geography miles of the US border . Northern Canada is not considered part of Canada , or habitable zone , for permanent human settlement . Only a narrow band of territory in southern and eastern Canada has the climate and physical geography suitable for agricultural production and widespread settlement . Moreover , Canada economy is so closely tied to that of the United States that it makes sense for people to live close to the US border . Canada consists of ten provinces and three territories ( see Table Canadian Provinces , Territories , and Ca ) is the nation capital , and is its largest city . Table Canadian Provinces , Territories , and Capitals Population Capital Johns Nova Scotia Maritime Provinces of the east million New Brunswick Prince Edward Island French Canada million ( City ) South Canada million Winnipeg Prairie Provinces million Regina Pacific Canada million British Columbia Victoria Yukon Territories About Northwest Territories

Canada 246 Physical Geography of Canada As you can see from Table Canadian Provinces , Territories , and Capitals , has by far the largest population of any of Canada provinces , with about 39 percent of the total . the dominantly speaking province , is home to about 23 percent . Almost everyone else lives in British Colombia , west of the Rocky Mountains ( 13 percent ) in the prairies ( 18 percent ) or along the Atlantic coast ( percent ) The areas of Canada far north are occupied by only of percent of the population . Type ( continental ) climates dominate most of central Canada , with their characteristically warm summers and cold winters , although the farther north you go , the cooler the summers are . Canada west coast receives the most eighty and one hundred inches a coastal areas in the Maritime Provinces can receive up to sixty inches per year . The northern territory of barely receives ten inches per year , usually in the form of snow . Of course , far northern Canada has an arctic type climate , and conditions there are so harsh that only a very few people inhabit it . The cultural influence of the colder climates and the long winters on the people is evident by the sports that are enjoyed by most Canadian citizens . Ice hockey is Canada most prevalent sport and its most popular spectator sport . Other sports such as curling are also common in Canada . Figure The Canadian Curling Team during the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino

247 World Regional Geography Commons . Canada has abundant natural resources for its population . The Canadian Shield is an area of rock and forest that covers much of central Canada around the Hudson Bay . This region , and the area to the east and west of it , provides timber and minerals for Canadian industries and for export . In the Maritime Provinces of the east , the main economic activities include fishing and agriculture . Some of Canada best farmland is located along the Lawrence River and in the southern Prairie Provinces of , and . The Lawrence River region includes dairy farms and agriculture , which provide food for the larger cities of the region . The province of has fertile farmland on the north and east sides of the Great Lakes . The farmland in the Prairie Provinces has much larger grain and beef operations . Centered in the province of is a large region of fossil fuel exploration . Coal , oil , and natural gas are found there in abundance , and much of it is exported to the United States for profit . Oil is found absorbed in surface soil called tar sands and is being extracted for energy . When tar sands are heated , the oil is separated and refined for fuel . Projections are that there is more oil in the tar sands of Canada than in the underground reserves of Saudi Arabia . Natural resources have even filtered into the cultural arena professional hockey team is called the Oilers .

Canada 248 Figure Physical Features of Canada Agriculture Dairy Farms Commons BY . The Rocky Mountains and the coastal ranges located in western Canada provide for mining and lumber mills . Vancouver , on the coast in British Columbia , has become a major port for Canada to export and import goods to and from the Pacific Rim . The Yukon Territory , also located in the mountains , has experienced a gold rush in years past . Canada has adequate natural resources to provide for its people and gain wealth .

249 World Regional Geography British versus French Canada As explained in Section the Realm , French fishermen and fur traders initially colonized Canada , the British later took it from the French , and immigrants from various other countries moved there to farm and otherwise make a living . Although none of the provinces retain French names , countless in French names , among them Montreal , and . The names of several provinces indicate the British connection Nova Scotia means New Scotland , and it was so named by the British when they took over the island from the French . Prince Edward Island was named for the father of the famous British queen , Victoria . You can see remnants of British colonialism in the way Canadian government is organized . Canada , like many countries of Europe , including Great Britain , is a parliamentary democracy . The monarch of the United Kingdom is still the government official in Canada , but only as a figurehead . The queen ( or king ) appoints a governor general to be her ( or his ) representative in the Canadian federal government . Again , this is a symbolic position . There are two chambers , a House of Commons and a Senate . Members of the House of Commons are elected and are called members of Parliament ( Senators are appointed to a lifelong term by the prime minister . As of 2006 , about 58 percent of Canadians spoke English as their primary language , French was the mother tongue of 22 percent , and another of the population ( 20 percent ) spoke a mother tongue other than English or French ( Province and Territory , 2006 ) For most of Canada the lingua franca remains English . The portion of Canada is a reminder of Canada history as a French colony . Many of today French speakers are descendants of those earlier French settlers . The proportion of French speakers in Canada is declining as more and more immigrants ( who also have higher fertility rates than French speakers ) arrive from other parts of the world and as more begin using English instead of French as their primary language . The new immigrants ( along with native peoples ) make up the 20 percent of Canada population who speak neither English nor French as their native language . About 90 percent of Canadian live in , which is a center of French culture in Canada . The separation between French Canada and British Canada goes back to colonial times . Beginning in the , the French were the first to develop activities in the region and colonize what is Canada , calling it New France . The French claimed much of the Lawrence River valley and the Great Lakes region , including the region that is now . When Britain began to dominate the eastern coast of North America in the , they entered into a series of wars with France . As a result of these wars , New France was eventually turned over to Britain . Not wanting continued war with France , Britain allowed the region to retain its land ownership system , civil laws , and Catholic faith . The Revolutionary War in 1776 , which granted the United States independence from Great Britain , also pushed many people of English those who had sided with the British during the Revolutionary the United States into Canada . British North America no longer included the United States Canada became the main British colony in North America .

Canada 250 Figure Bilingual Stop Sign in , 251 World Regional Geography Commons public domain . In an attempt to keep the peace between French and English settlers , in 1791 the British Parliament divided into Upper and Lower Canada , which later evolved into the provinces of and . The Maritime Provinces of the east were then separated into individual provinces . The cultural differences between Canada and the rest of Canada have since erupted into serious political conflicts . The areas , mainly southern , argue that they are treated unfairly , since they have to learn English but the rest of the country is not required to learn French . During the second half of the twentieth century , many people in supported a separatist movement that sought to break off from the rest of Canada into an independent country . In the , the separatist initiative lost in a public vote , but only by a small margin . The issue of sovereignty continued to be raised in the public arena . In 1998 , Canada Supreme Court ruled that could not separate from the rest of Canada under international law but that the matter would have to be negotiated between and the rest of Canada if secession was to proceed . French and English are the two official languages of the Canadian government as a whole , but the French people in , fearing that English was dominating the media , the Internet , and industry to such an extent that it was endangering their French culture , have declared French as the only official language of the province . To combat the encroachment of English , laws were enacted in requiring all public advertising to be in French , or if other languages are used , they must be half the size of the French letters . All businesses employing more than fifty employees are required to conduct all business in French . Immigrants who wish to be citizens of must learn French . All primary and secondary education takes place in French unless the child parents were educated in English elsewhere in Canada . Civil servants dubbed the language police monitor and enforce the French language laws . A business found to be out of compliance with the language laws could be fined or shut down . Even though the official language of is French , since the national government takes place in both English and French , some services are still available in in English . French Canada does not include the entire province of . Northern has traditionally been native Cree territory . When the initiative for to secede from Canada was being considered , an additional initiative was presented by the Cree to separate northern from the French region of . This would have caused the French separatist region of to lose major hydroelectric dams and important mineral and timber reserves . Other regions of that did not hold a French majority would then have promoted separating from and joining . For to remain economically competitive , they would need the northern Cree region to remain part of the province to use the resources and energy found there . They would also need the businesses currently in to stay there , although many would probably have left if had become an independent state with French as the only language . When secession was being considered , it was found that businesses that employed more than fifty employees did not want to switch over and conduct all their business in French they were conducting all their business in English to work with the global economic community . In 1994 , the North American Free Trade Agreement ( was established between Canada , the United States , and Mexico . The goal was to open up new lines of business operations between the three countries and to increase economic opportunities to better compete with the European Union and the Pacific Rim nations . What would do if it separated

Canada 252 from Canada ?

Would be able to join the agreement ?

What if the other partners cut off ?

would have faced serious economic consequences if they had separated from Canada . A number of businesses have already moved to , Canada most populous province , to avoid changing to French . It appears will remain with the rest of Canada and work out any internal cultural issues . Figure Skyline of , One of the Most Diverse Cities in North America Martin United BY .

253 World Regional Geography Other Ethnic Groups in Canada Of course , we can not forget the native groups who were displaced when the Europeans arrived . About million people who identify themselves as Aboriginal live in Canada , or about percent of the total population . They include North American Indians ( also called First Nations ) descendants of both Europeans and American Indians ) and ( inhabitants of the far Arctic north ) Of those three groups , are the smallest , with only about fifty thousand remaining . These native people represent more than six hundred recognized groups and five language dialects , although only a handful of these languages are still spoken by a large enough core of people to remain viable languages for the long term . Countless place names in Canada , just as in the United States , derive from native words . For example , the city of is built at the original head of navigation on the Lawrence River . Its name comes from an word for where the river The word Canada is likely derived from the Lawrence word , meaning village or While the French explorer Jacques Cartier was traveling up the Lawrence River in 1535 , the indigenous peoples directed him to a specific village , the future City , using the word . He later used Canada to refer to the general area , and European adopted it for the entire region . is not the only place where devolutionary forces have been dividing cultural groups in Canada . In 1999 , officially broke from the Northwest Territory to become its own territory . has only about thirty thousand people in an area larger than any other province or territory in Canada . It comprises about of Canada land area . Most of the people who had claimed the land before the Europeans arrived are . the capital city of , is on Island near Canada east coast . Canada has a great deal of ethnic diversity . One measure of this is the number of languages spoken there . One source estimates that there are about 145 languages spoken in Canada , including English and French . This both the rich native heritage and the history of immigration from around the world . As of 2006 , the population was million , or nearly 20 percent of Canada population . There are few countries that match this level of immigration . Even the United States had only about a percent population in 2006 . If Canada current immigration rates continue , by 2017 more than 22 percent of Canada population will be foreign born , which equals the high rate seen in the early twentieth century , during the golden age of Eastern European immigration to North America . During this period , people from all the countries of Eastern Europe immigrated to all parts of Canada ( Statistics Canada )

Canada 254 Figure Evidence of Eastern European Immigration This Ukrainian Greek Church is located in the region of Lhe Prairie Province of . Photo by . The current surge of immigrants to Canada does not include many Europeans . Instead , these immigrants come from Asian countries , especially China and countries in South Asia such as India and Pakistan . If immigration patterns stay the same , by 2017 about one in five people in Canada will belong to a nonwhite minority group . According to the 2010 Canadian census , more than a million Chinese and more than a half million South Asians lived in Canada . Other groups increasing rapidly include people from the Middle East and Korea . The Canadian Economy Not surprisingly , Canada and the Unites States are each others largest trading partners . More than 80 percent of Canadian exports go to the United States and 70 percent of imports to Canada come from the United States .

255 World Regional Geography Except for some industries , most businesses are centered in Canadian cities to take advantage of the available labor force . Canada is rapidly moving toward a economy built on innovation and technology . industries , such as biotechnology and information technology , are on the rise , and these are typically located in cities to facilitate partnering with universities and other researchers . Although Canada is developing into a economy , the foundations of the Canadian economy have always been its abundant natural resources . Canada primary industries have traditionally been agriculture , fishing , mining , and . Success in tapping these natural resources for their economic benefit allowed the country to double in population since 1960 while the economy has increased sevenfold . The primary industries now make up less than 10 percent of the gross domestic product ( Just as in the United States , the most dramatic structural change in the economy has been the rise of the service sector , which now employs about of all Canadians and generates over 60 percent of the . Canadian manufacturing has been a strong sector of the economy with close ties to United States and multinational corporations . Figure Bombardier Jet Liner Taking Off from Heathrow Airport in London

Canada 256 The jet aircraft series is manufactured in Canada . Commons public domain . Canada economy is tightly tied to that of the United States . One of the best examples is how the Canadian economy depending on whether the Canadian dollar was weak or strong compared with the US dollar . For example , in 2002 , one American dollar was worth about in Canada . For many years , the American dollar was much stronger on the world market than the Canadian dollar therefore , Canadian goods and labor were less expensive for Americans than comparable US labor and goods . During the time of the weak Canadian dollar , many film and television industries moved to Canada to film television shows and movies , as it was less expensive to do so in Canada . Many popular television shows and movies have been shot in Canada , particularly in and Vancouver . More recently , the value of the American dollar declined against other major currencies . The Canadian dollar remained strong , which meant that goods produced in Canada became much less affordable in the United States , causing the television and film industries to move back south of the border and Canadian exports to the United States to decline . In 2007 , the Canadian dollar and the US dollar reached parity for the first time in thirty years . The two currencies continue to with market values . As mentioned earlier , the 1994 trilateral agreement between Canada , the United States , and Mexico , was one of the most significant economic events in North American history . For Canada , the agreement has meant more secure , stable access to US and Mexican markets . The agreement eliminated many tariffs opened previously protected sectors in agriculture , energy , textiles , and automotive trade and set specific rules for trade in services

257 World Regional Geography such as finance , transportation , and telecommunications . Perhaps most importantly for Canada , the agreement set rules for settling trade disputes . The United States continues to exert its powerful influence on many countries in the world , but perhaps on none so strongly as Canada . Because of the geographical proximity of the two countries and the fact that the vast majority of Canadians live very close the US border , speak English as their first language , and share a great number of cultural similarities , American trends tend to be adopted by Canadians . Canadians differentiate themselves from Americans in legal issues , laws , and health care . For example , Canada has a health care system , funded by the provinces with financial help from the federal government , that provides free services to its citizens . Canadians often point to this difference as a one of the defining elements of their culture that is different from the United States . Canada is a great consumer of American popular culture . Canadians listen to , watch , and read tremendous quantities of American music television and movies and news , books , and other much so that some Canadians believed Canadian culture was in danger of being extinguished . In response to these concerns , a law was passed and a watchdog agency created so that a certain percentage of all radio and television broadcasts emanating from Canadian radio and television stations had to originate in Canada or have significant Canadian content . Others were less worried about the impact of American pop culture on Canadian culture . This segment of the Canadian population felt that Canadians have long identified themselves in contrast to Americans therefore , consuming American books , newspapers , television shows , and movies would only give Canadian a greater basis of comparison and thus strengthen the Canadian identity and perception of Canadian culture . Key Takeaways Canada is a very large country with rich natural resources but a relatively small population that mostly lives in a narrow band in the southern part of the country . Canada English and French bilingualism is part of its British and French colonial past . The French culture is dominant in , where the population has considered from Canada and becoming an independent country . Canada native population makes up less than percent of the country population but represents a great deal of cultural and linguistic diversity . More than one in five Canadians is an immigrant , and most of the recent immigrants come from Western countries , especially those in Asia . Discussion and Study Questions Where do most of the people live in Canada ?

Why do they live where they do ?

What is Canada capital city ?

What is Canada largest city ?

What is the difference in farming operations between the two main agricultural areas in Canada ?

Where are large deposits of fossil fuels found in Canada ?

What are tar sands ?

Canada 258 . Where is the highest rainfall found in Canada ?

Where is the least amount of precipitation found in Canada ?

Explain this precipitation pattern . Who were Canada main ?

How does colonialism impact Canada today ?

Where have devolutionary forces been active but not totally successful ?

Where have devolutionary activities already taken place in Canada ?

What problems might experience if it were to secede from the rest of Canada ?

Where is ?

Why is it a separate territory ?

Why do you think its capital city in located on the eastern coast of the territory ?

10 . How are current Canadian immigrants impacting the cultural and ethnic makeup of the country ?

Geography Exercise Identify the following key places on a map Provinces and Territories British Columbia New Brunswick Northwest Territories Nova Scotia Prince Edward Island Yukon Territory Major Cities of Canada Montreal 259 World Regional Geography City Regina Johns Vancouver Victoria Winnipeg Locations and Features Arctic Ocean Island Canadian Shield Coastal Ranges Island Hudson Bay Labrador Rocky Mountains Lawrence River Province and Territory , References Population by Mother Tongue , by ( 2006 Census ) Statistics Canada , Statistics Canada ,

Regions of the United States and Canada Learning Objectives Name the key characteristics of the regions of the United States and Canada . Understand the patterns of population growth or decline for the various regions . Determine which regions have significant minority groups and why . Examine the environmental and social costs to rapid growth in the West . Explain how physical geography has contributed to economic activities . Figure Main Regions of the United States and Canada 260

261 World Regional Geography Cure Area The Northeastern Core The Northeastern Core includes the upper Midwest ( Illinois , Indiana , Ohio , and Michigan ) the states of Pennsylvania , New York , Maryland , and New Jersey plus northern Virginia and the southern New England states of Connecticut , Rhode Island , and Massachusetts . It also includes southern , Canada capital ( and its largest city ( The physical environments of the Northeastern Core are quite diverse , including the northern Coastal Plain , the northern , and the area surrounding the Great Lakes . This region , anchored by North America largest metropolis , New York , is the economic heart of

Regions of the United States and Canada 262 the United States and Canada and home to more than a third of each country population . The area from Washington , to part of this region . The core region contains the Rust Belt , which was once the main manufacturing region for North America but suffered decline with the advent of the information age . The core region hosts the headquarters of countless corporations , banks , financial markets ( Wall Street ) universities ( from community colleges to the Ivy League ) cultural institutions ( Broadway , museums , dance and music organizations ) and even global organizations such as the United Nations . Figure Megalopolis

263 World Regional Geography Atlantic Ocean ' Fall Line Figure Regions of the United States and Canada 264 Downtown Philadelphia city hall is an example at the urban qualities of the that extends from Boston In Washington , A direct line to city hall . This large region includes geographic swaths of both wealth and economic suffering . Eight of the United States ten wealthiest counties are in this region , most of them in the Washington , area , and a number of billionaires live in New York City , Meanwhile , cities such as Detroit and Cleveland have suffered from deindustrialization and have experienced a major population decline since the 19505 . Detroit , for instance , has lost 61 percent of its population since 1950 , and the decline continues . The city decreased in population by 25 percent just between 2000 and 2010 , While manufacturing is not dead in the Core , heavy industry has been in decline .

265 World Regional Geography New England and the Canadian New England and the Canadian overlap with the Northeastern Core because its major considered the northern edge of the megalopolis . South of Boston , the states of New England were the center of colonial settlement in the region and were the birthplace of America Industrial Revolution . Southern New England began as an agricultural and fishing colony , and as industry developed in the nineteenth century , the region attracted European immigrants from Ireland , Italy , and elsewhere to work in its factories . The highly skilled workforce helped maintain a strong economy in southern New England , although there have been times of increased unemployment and economic hardship . Today the region has a more diverse economic base , including recreation and tourism , finance , telecommunications , and health care . The mountains of western New England have been particularly attractive for the development of ski resorts , and the coasts of New England are popular for summer vacationing . As you move north from Boston , the terrain becomes more rugged and the soil less fertile . There are fewer economic reasons for people to live in northern New England , and the states of Vermont , New , and Maine have always been less densely populated than the southern New England states . Maine is the least densely populated state in this region about 90 percent of its land is forested , making it the most forested of the fifty United States . The Vast Empty Quarter in western Maine consists of five million acres of privately owned forest and no permanent human inhabitants . Maine leading economic activity is manufacturing , and the bulk of it is oriented around paper and other wood products . Northern New England transitions to the even more rugged and remote uplands of the Canadian New Brunswick , Nova Scotia , Prince Edward Island , and and Labrador . The soil quality is quite poor , as glaciers removed most of it during the Various ice ages . The region has a harsh climate and is removed from the major population centers of Canada and the eastern United States . The Maritime Provinces have always been oriented to the sea . Fishing and other businesses have historically been strong here , but in recent decades overfishing of the North Atlantic has caused a decline in the fishing economy . Tourism has been increasing as a source of revenue , especially in places such as Prince Edward Island , in which tourism is the dominant economic activity . including Labrador , is Canada poorest province .

Regions of the United States and Canada 266 French Canada West of the Canadian lies the province of , the heart of which is the Lawrence River valley , a lowland separating the Appalachian Mountains to the south from the inhospitable Canadian Shield to the north . As explained in Section British versus French Canada , France was the first European country to colonize the coastal regions of what is now Canada , the Lawrence River Valley , most of the land surrounding the Great Lakes , and the Ohio and Mississippi River valleys , south to the Gulf of Mexico . Although Great Britain obtained all that land from France in 1763 following the French and Indian War , enough French inhabitants occupied part of that territory that the region did not automatically become English speaking . The core of French Canada today is the Lawrence Valley from Montreal to the Atlantic coast and west of Montreal to and north to the Hudson Bay . These French speakers , the descendants of the early French settlers , created a vibrant Canadian culture . About 21 percent of Canadians speak French as their mother tongue , including about 80 percent of Canadians living in the province of . Throughout most of its history , the people of have been rural farmers , eking out a living on land in a place with a short growing season . One unique characteristic of the farms in French Canada is their size and shape . Early on , the farms were laid out as long lots , maximizing the number of farms that would have access to the transportation a river , but sometimes a road . Each farm was about ten times longer than it was wide and had a small access point to the river , some fertile riverfront land , and a at the rear of the farm . This pattern was common throughout French Canada and can even be seen today in the United States in former French colonies such as Tennessee and Louisiana . Figure Long Lot Farms Typical in French Canada

267 World Regional Geography Houses and Barns Cropland Pasture Image of . Since then , economy has developed to include a manufacturing sector ( fueled by abundant hydroelectricity ) tourism , and a variety of tertiary and quaternary industries . Montreal , Canada metropolitan area with million residents , is the largest city in the Western hemisphere , It developed as the region most important city in the century , as it controlled access through the Lawrence River and the Great Lakes . It became a diverse industrial center , with oil refineries , steel mills , and sugar refineries , and shop yards for railroad companies . Montreal attracted English speakers as well as the local , and at times in its history it has even had more English speakers than French speakers , despite being surrounded by a countryside . Most of northern is sparsely populated because of the lack of quality soil for agriculture , but a paper and pulp industry based on its forests has developed over the twentieth century , as well as hydroelectric power generation .

Regions of the United States and Canada 268 The American South The South includes the entire southeastern portion of the United States from Kentucky south to Louisiana , east to Florida , and north to Virginia . The South consists of most of the Coastal Plain and the southern portion of the Appalachian Highlands . Before the Civil War , the coastal plain was dedicated to plantation agriculture using African slave labor , Land not used for plantation crops such as tobacco , cotton , and rice was typically farmed by poor whites and later by poor blacks . Some were sharecroppers , while others farmed their own small plots , especially on the land in . The South had little urbanization or industrialization at the time of the Civil War . Well into the twentieth century , the region remained rural and economically deprived . Figure Names often the cultural of their location . Business names with Dixie in them can he throughout the . The Dixie Grill restaurant is in , Kentucky .

269 World Regional Geography Photo by . Coal mining was a major source of employment in places such as West Virginia and eastern Kentucky for the first of the twentieth century , but increased mechanization of mining methods , as well as new mining techniques such as mountaintop removal mining , decreased the number of miners needed , even as coal production increased . The Appalachian South is perennially plagued by high unemployment , poverty , and difficult social conditions . Other areas of the rural South are also among the poorest in the nation , including the Mississippi Delta and the lower Mississippi River valley . Despite the continued swaths of poverty in the South , parts of the region have prospered in the past generation as Sun Belt migrants have moved to southern places such as Atlanta , Charlotte , Tampa , Miami , and dozens of smaller cities . This has fueled a period of urbanization and economic growth , and the newfound prosperity has helped integrate the South into the nation economy . The Midwest and Great Plains The center of the continent contains a relatively level agricultural region the Midwest and the Great Plains . This land includes some of the most fertile agricultural land in the entire world and has been dubbed America breadbasket . The climate gets progressively more arid as you move to the west within this region , and the type of agriculture changes with the decrease in precipitation . Closer to the Rocky Mountains , the land is typically used for raising cattle , but enormous grain farms are found where water is available ( especially through irrigation ) The water for irrigation comes from the continent largest aquifer , the Aquifer . Water is often pumped to the surface using a system called center pivot irrigation . The heart of the spring wheat belt is North Dakota , and the crop is also common in eastern Montana and in Canada Prairie Provinces of , and . Winter wheat is common in Kansas and surrounding states . Farther to the east , where precipitation is more abundant , is the Corn Belt , focused in Iowa and Illinois .

Regions of the United States and Canada 270 Figure Acres of Harvested for Grain as a Percentage of Harvested Cropland Acreage , 2007 Mame II This map the extent of the Corn Belt . Map courtesy uf US Department uf Agriculture . Figure Satellite Image of , Sorghum , and Wheat Fields in Southwestern Kansas

271 World Regional Geography The circular fields are between a and mile in diameter , and are characteristic of that use irrigation . Photo courtesy of and ASTER Science Team The dominant city in this region is Chicago , which developed as a market town for the livestock and grain produced in the surrounding states and was linked to its hinterland through a complex network of rail lines . In fact , nearly all the major cities of this region developed as places for the buying , selling , and processing agricultural products . Today the Midwest and the Great Plains remain the most important areas in North America , although as agriculture has become increasingly mechanized and farms have gotten larger , the number of farmers has decreased . This region , especially the Great Plains , is experiencing a period of population decline and aging .

Regions of the United States and Canada 272 The American Southwest The states of Texas , New Mexico , and Arizona are considered the Southwest . The climate of the Southwest is more arid and receives a high amount of sunlight throughout the year . Desert conditions are integrated with higher elevations in the mountainous areas . Eastern Texas receives more rainfall from the Gulf of Mexico , and western Texas and the states of New Mexico and Arizona are quite arid and receive less rainfall . These conditions are more favorable to cattle ranching than to other agricultural activities . Large farming operations exist where water is available for irrigation . The warmer climate has been attractive for development and people emigrating from the colder regions of the north . Figure Typical Home in a Phoenix Suburb , Where Water Is a Valued Commodity There is no grass to mow , and cactus and palm trees are common . Photo by . The Southwest has a strong Hispanic heritage and was part of Spain Mexican colony before England established colonies on the East Coast ( the first Spanish settlers arrived in New Mexico in 1598 ) All three states have a large contingency of Hispanic residents , some of whom have descended from early States settlers ,

273 World Regional Geography while others have come into the United States more recently across the long desert border between Mexico and the United States . According to the 2010 census , about 46 percent of New Mexico population was Hispanic or Latino , and in Texas and Arizona the figures were 37 percent and 30 percent , respectively ( US Census Bureau ) In Arizona , strong centrifugal forces have been in play because of its tough legal measures against illegal immigration . This issue exposes the social rift between the more European population of the state and the Hispanic immigrants . In 2008 , the US Department of Homeland Security Office of Immigration Statistics estimated that Arizona had one of the illegal immigrant populations in the country at percent of the population ( et . 2011 ) This was the percentage of undocumented residents in the country , after Nevada . In April 2010 , the New York Times reported that Arizona governor signed the nation toughest bill on illegal immigration into law , designed to identify , prosecute , and deport illegal immigrants ( 2011 ) At the same time , Reuters reported that the when the bill was debated in the Arizona senate , the number of illegal immigrants was listed at 10 percent of the population ( Reuters , 2011 ) Some opponents of the tough illegal immigration laws claimed that law enforcement officials would use racial profiling to target Hispanic residents , and the federal government took the state to court to halt its enforcement . The Southwest also has a strong Native American presence , especially in New Mexico and Arizona . one federally recognized tribes with more than people ( percent of the state population ) live in Arizona , and their reservations and traditional communities make up more than of the state land . The Navajo tribe is the largest in the United States , with more than members in Arizona alone and others in surrounding states . The considerable Native American and Hispanic population in the Southwest means that Hispanic whites make up a minority of the population in New Mexico and Texas . Figure Navajo Dancer Performing the Eagle Dance

Regions of the United States and Canada 274 one of the pollen Trail Dancers , a Navajo group near Joseph City , Arizona , the Eagle Dance an September 21 , 2010 , on the scenic South Rim of Grand Park between Hopi House and Visitor Center . Grand Canyon National Grand Canyon Eagle Dancer BY . The three Southwestern states have been recipients of Sun Belt migrations over the past few decades , as people have moved to the Southwest for jobs and for the region warm climate . The region is quite , and most of the new migrants are moving to cities . of Arizona population live in the Phoenix or Tucson metropolitan area . The most populous metropolitan area in the Southwest is Worth , Texas , with million residents in 2010 , making it the metropolitan area in the United States . The Houston metropolitan area is not far behind with million residents . The economy of Texas used to be based on oil and natural gas , but it has since become more diversified . Residents of these cities work in tech manufacturing , health care , business , and information , One of the most famous industries in Texas is space Houston is home to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA ) Lyndon Johnson Space Center , where astronauts and thousands of others work in the space industry .

275 World Regional Geography The Mountain West From the Rocky Mountains to the Sierra Nevada and the Cascades and the Intermontane Basins and Plateaus in between , this part of North America has gone from the old Wild West to an area of rapid economic and population growth , The region encompasses western Colorado western Wyoming western Montana Idaho Nevada Utah the eastern portions of Washington , Oregon , and California and the southern portion of the Canadian Rockies . Figure Rocky Mountains of Western Montana on US Highway by . The population of the Mountain West is growing much faster than the population of the United States as a whole . For example , Nevada population grew percent from 2000 to 2009 , which is more than three times as much as the United States as a whole ( percent ) All US states in this region , except for Montana , grew at faster rates than the US average . Utah grew percent , Idaho grew percent , and Colorado grew percent . What is fueling this growth ?

It is part of the larger pattern of Americans to the Sun Belt , searching for an attractive climate and lifestyle . Jobs have been created in recreation ( gambling , skiing ) in firms , and in other tertiary sector industries , Many of the migrants come from southern California because the housing in the Mountain West is more affordable and the region is much less crowded . Nearly all the growth is occurring in urban and suburban areas .

Regions of the United States and Canada 276 However , the rapid growth of the West since 1990 has come at a cost . In some areas the large population is putting a strain on physical resources , such as water . Water is a political issue , particularly in the more arid states such as Nevada . Las Vegas , for example , is a desert city that gets 90 percent of its water from a Colorado River reservoir Lake Mead . This water comes from in the Rocky Mountains far to the east , and due to drought and high water demand , Lake Mead water level has been dropping . If current patterns persist , Las Vegas will have a water crisis soon . The water shortage is happening even though Las Vegas has managed to reduce per capita water usage by raising prices for water and creating incentives to remove grass lawns . Las Vegas recycles 94 percent of all sewage water , which is the highest rate in the United States . As the West population increased rapidly , the region urban areas became part of the real estate bubble of the early 20005 . Real estate prices grew and the housing industry built one residential subdivision after another in the suburbs surrounding cities such as Las Vegas , Denver , and Salt Lake City . However , in the late the real estate market collapsed in many parts of the country , and Western cities were hard hit . As of early 2011 , three of the five states with the highest foreclosure rates were in this region ( Nevada , Utah , and Idaho ) and the others were bordering states ( Arizona and California ) Figure Urban Growth in Las Vegas , Nevada , from 1984 to 2009

277 World Regional Geography Las Vegas 1984 2009 Notice the dark purple of City streets and the bright green of irrigated vegetation . Images Courtesy of NASA The Coast The Pacific Coast includes the coastal portions of California , Oregon , and Washington , plus the southwestern portion of British Columbia in Canada . This region is typically thought of as two California and the Pacific Northwest . The two areas are quite different from each other in terms of climate and economy . However , both areas are part of the Ring of Fire that encircles the Pacific Ocean . The Ring of Fire is a zone of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions that occur near where the Pacific tectonic plate meets the surrounding plates . In the United States , two areas of concern are the San Andreas Fault in California and Mount in Washington . The 1906 earthquake that destroyed San Francisco was a result of activity on the San Andreas Fault , and scientists predict that strong earthquakes will reappear along the fault in the future . Thousands of small

Regions of the United States and Canada 278 earthquakes occur along the fault every year . Mount Helen is a Volcano in the Cascades that erupted in 1980 , killing people and destroying hundreds of square miles of forest . Figure The San Andreas Fault 279 World Regional Geography The Pacific tectonic plate is moving northward relative to the North American plate . Image courtesy of The Pacific Coast represents a large population center a continent away from what we consider the North American core . Most of the region population is urban , and Los Angeles and its metropolitan area is by far the largest area of settlement . Twelve percent of the US population lives in California ( million people ) and the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area has nearly eighteen million people . Los Angeles is the largest US city after New York . Los Angeles is the quintessential automobile city . It developed into a major city in the century at the time that automobile ownership had become common , and people who lived

Regions of the United States and Canada 280 in the area tended to move to suburbs that were connected to each other by an extensive highway system . Los Angeles is a highly decentralized city , unlike cities in other parts of North America that formed during other transportation regimes . The Pacific Coast region is also famous for its agriculture . Central Valley lies between the Coast Ranges to the west and the Sierra Nevada to the east and is among the most productive agricultural areas in the world . The irrigated farmland in the valley produces all types of nontropical crops and is the largest US producer of tomatoes , grapes , almonds , and other foods . When other parts of the country are still frozen in the winter months , the fields of the Central Valley are already producing bountiful harvests . California is also famous for its wine production , especially in Napa Valley near San Francisco . Figure The Ocean from Venice Beach in Los Angeles Photo by . Besides agriculture , the economic base of the Pacific Coast is quite diverse and rich . If it were an independent country , California would be the world economy . Los Angeles is considered the capital of the US entertainment industry , and other major industries include aerospace , manufacturing , and foreign trade . The port of Los Angeles is the busiest in North America , receiving shipments of goods from China and other Asian countries . Silicon Valley , near San Francisco , is a key area for research and Internet commerce . The Pacific Northwest is home to major corporations such as Boeing ( whose headquarters recently moved to Chicago )

281 World Regional Geography , and other famous companies such as Starbucks , REI , Costco , and Eddie Bauer . One of the richest Americans , Bill Gates , lives near Seattle . Across the border to the north , Vancouver is Canada metropolitan area with over two million residents . Vancouver is unlike any other city in North America . Nearly of its residents are of Chinese origin , and more than half its population speak a language other than English at home . Vancouver began as a logging town but developed into its position as the Asian gateway to Canada because of its port , the busiest in Canada . Vancouver is a popular location for the film industry and is sometimes dubbed as Hollywood It is also growing in the biotechnology and software industries . The North The North is the least densely populated of any region in North America due to its brutally cold winters , short growing season , and poor soils . It includes the boreal forests of the upper Great Lakes region and the Canadian Shield and the territory to the north of the tree line that extends beyond the Arctic Circle . Physically , this region is immense , including the state of Alaska plus most of Canada . The climate is similar to that of Russia cold continental and arctic climates , arctic air masses swooping down from the north , and long winters . Most inhabitants of the northern portions of North America live in the forested areas rather than in the frozen Arctic . Two groups of people live in this region . First are the native peoples who have always lived there . They are small in number and traditionally make a living by hunting and fishing . More recently , the native populations such as the and the First Nations in Canada subsist by combining wage employment with their traditional means of living off the land . American Indians or Alaskan natives make up about 15 percent of Alaska population , for a total of roughly people . In Canada Northwest Territories , First Nations people make up just over half the population , but the total population is quite about in the entire territory . In , the native population is about 85 percent of the total residents , living in a territory the size of Western Europe .

Regions of the United States and Canada 282 Figure Radar Station at Point Lay , Alaska Commons public domain . The other residents are more recent immigrants who are there to exploit the land natural resources . The economy is dominated by the primary economic sector forestry , oil and natural gas extraction , and mining . In the Canadian Shield , metallic ores such as copper , gold , nickel , silver , and uranium are found in the rocks and diamond mines are in operation , as are mines producing rare earth elements used in computer screens , electric car batteries , and computer hard drives . These elements include metals such as cerium , terbium , dysprosium , and neodymium . Alaska is an state , and the decision of whether to open additional areas of Alaska Arctic to oil drilling remains controversial and uncertain . Key Takeaways The economic core of North America has traditionally been in the US Northeast and its surrounding territory . As you move north from Boston into the rest of New England , the Canadian , and , the economy is increasingly based on primary industries such as forestry and fishing . Agriculture and mining have been in decline in the South , while tertiary and quaternary industries have attracted new migrants to the region urban and suburban areas . The Midwest and the Great Plains make up North America breadbasket . The climate gets more arid as you move west , but through irrigation , agricultural productivity remains high . The Southwest is unique in its high proportion of Hispanic and Native American residents . The Mountain West is growing rapidly , especially in its urban and suburban areas . This is putting stress on the physical environment ( particularly its water resources ) and made the region susceptible to the real estate bubble collapse . The Pacific Coast region is prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity , yet it is home to the

283 World Regional Geography metropolitan area in the United States and is known for its rich , diverse economic base . The far northern stretches of North America are sparsely populated , with an economy based on primary industries such as forestry and extraction . The North , both Canada and Alaska , is also known for its large native populations . Discussion and Study Questions Where is the largest US megalopolis located ?

What region is it part of ?

What is the purpose of long lots ?

Where would they be most prominent ?

What have been some of the traditional economic activities in the American South ?

How is this changing ?

Why is there a difference between where spring wheat and winter wheat is grown ?

Name the main ethnic groups that are prominent in the American Southwest . Why does the population continue to increase in the American West ?

What makes the Pacific Coast region an unstable place for human development ?

Why does the Pacific Coast region have both high agricultural production and large cities ?

Why does the desert region of the American Southwest continue to attract a growing population ?

53 What have been the main economic activities in the far north ?

Geography Exercise Identify the following key places on a map Northwestern Core New England and the Canadian French Canada The American South The Midwest and Great Plains The American Southwest The Mountain West The Pacific Coast The North Regions of the United States and Canada 284 References , Arizona Enacts Stringent Law on Immigration , New York Times , April 23 , 2010 , accessed September 20 , 2011 , Nancy , and Bryan Baker , Estimates of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population Residing in the United States January 2008 , Department of Homeland Security , accessed September 20 , 2011 , ill pe . Reuters , April 19 , 2010 , Arizona Passes Tough Illegal Immigration Law , accessed September 20 , 2011 , US Census Bureau , State County ,

Material Chapter Summary The United States and Canada are two countries with a great deal in common their large territories , their histories of European colonization , their immigrant populations , and their high standards of living . Both the United States and Canada are becoming less European as immigrants arrive from outside Europe . In the case of the United States , the largest group of immigrants is from Latin America . For Canada , the largest group of immigrants is from Asia . The United States and Canada are both countries with a small native population , although in Canada native people have achieved more than in the United States , especially since the creation of . the heart of Canada , has struggled for years to maintain its cultural uniqueness without risking its economic . Both countries are , with and economies . The United States is the world largest economy , and it has a history of spreading its culture , ideas , and military prowess around the globe . North America is made up of various regions with distinct cultural or physical features . Each region has majority and minority populations based on immigration or native heritage . Economic conditions vary from region to region . The Sun Belt is attracting an number of firms . 285