APPALACHIA AND THE OZARKS(CHAPTER 8)

INTRODUCTION

• Appalachia and the Ozarks-two parts of a single physiographical province (see maps-143 & 145)

• CRITERIA– Similar topography– Close association between topography and

human settlement

• Not mountainous in the view of Westerners, but hilly to the extent that relief has long served to impede transportation and promote isolation

APPALACHIA &

the OZARKS

HUMAN GEOGRAPHY(Ethnic Heritage)

• A popular myth endures-"Hillbilly"– Independent, proud, ignorant, and poor

• Generally, people of Appalachia & the Ozarks are...– White, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant– Per capita incomes- well below the national

average • Earliest settlers of Appalachia

– Scots-Irish, English, and to a lesser degree Germans

– Settled the area in the latter stages of the colonial era (late 1700s)

REGIONAL DIVISIONS• Southern Appalachia

– The "core" – Relatively isolated

•Rugged topography and the •Lack of quality transportation networks.

– Population is predominantly white, Anglo-Saxon

– High % of families live below the federally defined poverty level.

– Hosts many of the country's most conservative Protestant churches

– Historically conservative attitudes

POVERTY

POVERTY

REGIONAL DIVISIONS(CONTINUED)

• Northern Appalachia– Better transportation networks– Less poverty– Few fundamentalist churches– Many Eastern Europeans – Historically benefited from its fortuitous

relative location between the industrial Midwest and Megalopolis

SETTLEMENT PATTERNS

• At the outset, the area had adequate settlement potential for small farms of 25-50 acres– Sufficient to meet the needs of subsistence farmers– Maximum size farm which early settlers could work

by hand and/or via limited use of draft animals • Appalachia and the Ozarks are

predominantly rural areas. – Urban % for Appalachia is only 1/2 the national

average – Eastern Kentucky

• Largest rural population density in the U.S.• Most people are concentrated in valleys.

REGIONAL ECONOMY

• Agriculture– Described as an area of "General Farming." – The primary region of owner operated

farms in the U.S. – Hindered by…

• Rugged topography • Poor soil• Short growing seasons in many areas

– Results in limited cropland, little mechanization, and greater emphasis on livestock.

– Farm sizes are small in acreage.

KEY PRODUCTS Corn

Historically important cash crop - Southern Appalachia. Illegally distilled to produce moonshine. While this popularized activity has long since declined,

corn for fodder remains key throughout the region. Tobacco

An important cash crop throughout the southern region Marijuana - the primary contraband export today

•Wheat, hay, corn, & apples– Produced in the Shenandoah Valley (The Breadbasket

of Virginia)– Dairy products and apples - Central Pennsylvania– Tennessee Valley - fodder crops and livestock.

MINING

• Coal– By far the region's most important mineral

resource – Focused on Bituminous coal– Deep mining methods, accounting for 66% of all

production. – Strip mining accounts for the remaining 33%.

• Lead– Tri-state district in the Ozarks (OK, KS, MI) – Accounts for 75% of all U.S. production– Has been producing lead for over 250 years

MINING(CONTINUED)

• Oil – Country's first oil well was drilled in PA in 1859– PA was the leading producer throughout the 19th

century.– Currently, PA provides only a small % of the country's

crude oil, however, it remains significant because of the "high quality" crude and lubricants that it produces.

• Zinc– Country's most important resources are located in

southeastern Tennessee.

• Copper– The area of the GA-NC-TN border hosts the only

producers of copper east of the Mississippi River.

DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS

•Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)–BACKGROUND

•Conceived by President Franklin D. Roosevelt early in his first term

•Designed to…–Deal with the chronic floods

experienced throughout the Tennessee Valley

–Develop the river for transportation.

TENNESSEE RIVER BASIN

DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS

(CONTINUED)

•Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)– TODAY

•Consists of over 40 dams, 30 of which have power generating facilities.

TVA supplies tremendous amounts of electricity and has attracted major industries to the region.

It has diversified and developed other power generating facilities (coal, nuclear).

•Flood control, water transport, and power generation have all served to stimulate growth in the region.

DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS

(CONTINUED)

• Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC)– Created in 1965– Congress passed - Appalachian Redevelopment Act– Commission is responsible for an area that extends from

New York to Alabama– Primary objective has been to improve highways

• Decrease isolation• Attract manufacturers

– Other Concerns• Improving public and vocational education• Regional economic planning• Improving the quality of the physical environment

APPALACHIA(AS DEFINED BY ARC)

DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS

(CONTINUED)

•Arkansas River Navigation System– Dedicated in 1971– Constructed during the 1960s and 1970s– Established a 3 meter navigation channel up

the Arkansas River from the Mississippi River to Cartoosa, Oklahoma

– Facilitated an increase in barge traffic– Increased the availability of hydroelectric

power in the region

APPALACHIA AND THE OZARKS(CHAPTER 8)