american civilization - 1

8/7/2019 American Civilization - 1

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Christophe TournuProfesseur, LSHA© Université de Strasbourg, 2011



Outline of the course

This course will fall into 6 parts:

Physical and human geography of the US(Part 1)

Physical and human geography of the US(Part 2)

Myth and History

US Political Institutions The US Economy and Welfare

American Culture



Useful material

A 50-page color booklet booklet accompanies

the course. It is on sale at the PhotocopyingService (FR: Reprographie) (5€).

It contains different color maps and charts as well as a chronology of US history and the

original Constitution of the United States of America. You will also find a fascinatingchapter on US culture.

For the final exam, you will be asked questions on the course as well as on the material Ihave included in the booklet.

Information will be regularly posted on our

websites : E-Langues



Exam

Guide pédagogique, p. 48 :

S2 – UE5 Civilisation

Anglais

Appliquer les concepts étudiés au semestre 1 aux aires

géographiques américaine et britannique. Lire un ouvrage en lienavec le cours.

Contrôle des connaissances, session 1 :

« Type de questions analogues à ce qui est proposé au semestre 1. »[20 questions de type QCM; questions fermées ou questionsouvertes nécessitant une réponse courte]

Epreuve portant sur le cours et sur un texte de civilisation auprogramme (document d’une taille comprise entre 50 et 100pages)



Course #1 – 18 January 2011



Location and map of the US



Physical and human geography ofthe US (Part 1)

The United States is a large country of 9,631,418 sq square

kilometers situated in North America (with Canada and Mexico). It isseventeen times as big as France, or as large as Europe from theAtlantic to Oural, or sligthly larger than China.

What is called Continental US are the 48 contiguous statesbounded on the north by Canada, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean,on the south by the Gulf and Republic of Mexico, and on the west bythe Pacific Ocean.

Two more states joined the Union in the 20th century: Alaska andHawaii (1959). Alaska is separated from Continental US by morethan 500 miles of Canadian territory. Hawaii, a chain of volcanic andcoral islands, lies about 2,400 miles southwest of California in thePacific Ocean.

In addition to the 50 states the US has territories and possessions,located in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean



US Commonwealths and Territories- Puerto Rico

- The Virgin Islands

- Guam

- American Samoa

- Northern Mariana Islands



Physical Map of the US



The 8 physiographic divisions

1. The Gulf and Atlantic coastal plains

They are low-lying flatlands near the seashore and

extend from Massachusetts, in the NE, to Texas, in

the SE.



The 8 physiographic divisions – Ctd.

1. 1. The Atlantic coastal plain is a 2,200 mile

flat stretch of land bordering the Atlantic

Ocean from Cape Cod in Ma. to Fl.



The Atlantic Coastal plain includes many rivers

descending from the Piedmont Plateau, hence thepresence of rapids and waterfalls. There are also manysandy beaches, but also lagoons and marshy wetlands,

e.g. Beaufort, South Carolina:



The 8 physiographic divisions – ctd.

1. 2. The Gulf Coastal Plain

The Gulf Coastal Plain stretches west along the Florida

Panhandle and southwest along the coast of Texas. Itextends northwards with the alluvial plain of the

Mississippi River.



It is a mixture of flat land, hills, and mineral-rich soil.

There are deltas and bayous in the gulf coastal plains. A bayou is a

sluggish, marshy stream connected to a river (e.g. the Mississippi):

See also the Everglades in Florida.



And a delta refers to alluvial deposits on either side of ariver, e.g. the Mississippi River:

The Coastal Plains are low-leveled and boundedlandward by highlands.




2. The Appalachians

The Appalachian Mountains are located eastward of theAtlantic Coastal Plain. They extend from northern

Alabama to southeastern Canada.



Appalachians are an ancient mountain range – hence

their relatively low elevation – and they stretch 1,250

miles. They are forest covered. See, e.g., the GreatSmoky Mountains running through Tennessee andKentucky.




3. The Interior Plains

West of the Appalachians, you come across the hugeInterior Plains. They stretch to the Great Plains just eastof the Rockies.

They are a huge region of flat lands and low hills. Theystretch for 1,200 miles across the center of the US andextend from the Canadian border to the Gulf of Mexico.



They are crisscrossed by many rivers (Missouri, Arkansas,

Platte River, Mississippi, and Ohio River) and bounded by

the Great Lakes (Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, LakeHuron, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario).

At about the 100th meridian, they gradually rise to the

Great Plains, which occupy 502,000 square mile of west-central North America …




The Interior Highlands : Ozarks and Ouachita

The Interior Highlands are located just W of the Mississippi Riverbetween the Interior Plains and the Gulf Coastal Plain. This regionconsists of the rolling Ozarks to the north and the OuachitaMountains, to the east.



The Ozarks



The Ouachita Mountains




5. The Rockies

The Rockies is a great mountain chain, which stretches

NW – SE from northern British Columbia in Canada tothe southern US State of New Mexico. They run more

than 3,000 miles and their width ranges from 120 to650 kilometers.



The Rockies



Geologically young, they are much taller than the

Appalachians (above 5,000 feet) and considerably more

rugged.

They form a majestic mountain barrier.

See The Old faithful – webcam >>).




6. The Intermontane Plateaus

They lie west of the Rocky Mountains and

consist in a large, arid desert between theRockies and the Cascades and Sierra Nevada

ranges.

6 ( ) Th C l d Pl



6 – (a) The Colorado Plateau

It includes large barren areas, spectacular geological

formations – such as the Grand Canyon (>>), the Arches(>>), and Bryce Canyon (>>)

6 (b) Th B i d R P i



6 - (b) The Basin and Range Province

It is a series of separate and parallel mountain rangessitting parallel to low, broad valleys (basins).

It spans almost 800,000 square kilometers.

The Death Valley is to be found there.

Three well known towns are located there:

Las Vegas, capital of Nevada;

Phoenix, capital of Arizona;

and Salt Lake City, capital of Utah.



6 (c) The Columbia Plateau



6 - (c) The Columbia Plateau

It is an area of flat land and gently rolling hills cut by

the river canyons of the Columbia and its tributaries.




7. The Pacific system (Cascade Range and

Sierra Nevada)

It is one of the most geologically young and

tectonically active in North America.

7 (a) The Cascade Range



7 – (a) The Cascade Range

The Cascades are a lofty mountain range of the north-

western US. They lie from about 100 to 150 miles inland

from the Pacific Ocean and stretch over 700 miles across

California, Oregon and Washington. The highest point is

Mount Rainier (4,392 m/ 14,410 ft), in Washington.

7 (b) The Sierra Nevada



7 (b) The Sierra Nevada

Spanish for “snowy mountain range”

The Sierra Nevada is a high, rugged, and dense mountainrange.

It extends more than 250 miles (400 km)in Californiafrom the Cascades in the north to the Mojave Desert inthe south.

It averages 50 miles in width.

Mount Whitney (>>), at 14,494 feet (4,418 metres), is the

highest peak in the coterminous United States.

Yosemite National Park is part of SN.




8. The Laurentian Upland

An eighth and last physiographic division could be the

Laurentian Upland, a U-shaped region of ancient rocklocated mostly in Canada but which extends over parts

of Northern Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and NewYork State. It consists in rolling hills, lakes and wetlands.The Adirondack Mountains in the state of NY and the

Superior Highlands might be regarded as parts of theLaurentian Upland.



To go further…

A more detailed physiographic map >>

Summary (video) >>

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