North AmericaHuman Geography

How can we organize the Geography of North America?

-By Culture?-By Landscape?-By Region?-Can we combine these features to create Regions with both physical and cultural landscape?

North American Human Geography

CULTURAL LANDSCAPES

How are Cultural systems and identities created?

How are Regions created?

Reminder - Cultural GeographyWhat is culture?

• …human-made part of the environment (Melville Jean Herskovitz)

• …the learned patterns of thought and behaviour characteristic of a population or society (D.R. Harris)Cultural trait

Cultural region

Cultural systemcollective identityethnicity

??????

• Do Canadians and Americans share the same culture?

• Is there a North American culture or are there two cultures: Canadian and American?

Physical Features – Regional Traits1. How does geography create different regional traits?2. How has history created different cultural regions?

3. How do you connect these different regions & cultures together to create a common American culture?

Regionalism• Clusters of like areas that are

distinctive by their uniformity or description– How have formal and

perceptual regions in the US impacted culture and politics?

How do we define our regions?1. Legal Regions?2. Regionalism based on early

settlement patterns?3. Belt Regions?4. Cultural Regions?

5 Themes of Geography

RegionRegion is an area on the earth’s surface that is defined by certain unifying characteristics. The unifying characteristics may be physical, human, or cultural.

What are the 3 types of regions?

Formal Functional Perceptual

Regionalism

• Clusters of like areas that are distinctive by their uniformity or description (similar characteristics, either physical or human).– Many regions are perceptual

How do we define our regions?1. Legal Regions2. Regionalism based on early settlement patterns3. Belt Regions4. Cultural Regions

Regionalism

1. Legal Regions – US census Bureau Regions

2. Regions based on settlement patterns

• "American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America."

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/entertainment/july-dec11/colinwoodard_11-24.html

3. Belt Regions

• Belt Regions of the US – portions of the country that share certain characteristics. – First applied to growing regions – follow lines of

latitude and have similar climates, soil conditions. – Usage has expanded to other economic, climatic

and cultural concentrations. – Often vague borders– Ex: Bible Belt, Snowbelt, Sun Belt…

4. Cultural Traits by Region• EX: Observations of Stephen Fry in Maine….

– Language – accents – People – hard workers (immigrant heritage)– Landscape, animals, food (insiders knowledge)

• http://video.yandex.ru/users/stephenfry-ru/view/5/?cauthor=stephenfry-ru&cid=3

Maine – 6:30

What are some cultural traits that Stephen Fry (British comedian) observes about Maine?

House Types

• Kniffen’s traditional American house types:

New EnglandMid-AtlanticSouthern Tidewater

Cultural Regionalism within State

The Quiet Corner• noticeably more rustic in character than the more suburban towns to the west• under populated and isolated in contrast with the rest of Connecticut, with many of its

towns having populations below 5,000.Greater Hartford• Not dependent on out-of-state metropolitan areas such as New York City or Boston. • It is on the fairly level land of the Connecticut River valley with soil less rocky than that of

other areas in the state

Cultural Heritage associatedwith human geographic features

• Rural vs. Urban • Urban - More than 75% of the people of Mexico

live in cities of over 50,000 inhabitants– contemporary life in its cities has become similar to that

in neighboring United States and Europe.

• Rural - Most Mexican villagers follow the older way of life more than the city people do

• Blending of Cultures across borders – Tex Mex– What are at least 3 examples of cultural diffusion occurring along the

Mexican/ US border that Tony Bourdain highlights?

Are we becoming more culturally unified or do regional traits still exist?

Better Know Your State

Cultural Traits

2. Regions based on settlement patterns

• "American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America."

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/entertainment/july-dec11/colinwoodard_11-24.html

Regions based on early settlement patterns

• Can you identify the 11 Rival Regional Cultures of North America from the article?– "American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America."

Colonial Period

European Exploration based on land claims

Original Settlements in US - Geographic features impact settlement patterns

• Chesapeake Bay: Economic colonies– Jamestown (1607)

• New England: Religious colonies– Pilgrims: Plymouth Bay (1620)– Puritans: Massachusetts Bay (1630)

• As colonies expanded, geography changed ways of life1. Went to the Fall Line

• Piedmont (foothills of Appalachian mountains) is hard rock• Runoff from Piedmont hits soft, flat coastal plains• Runoff becomes rapids and waterfalls

2. Could not feasibly pass the Fall Line• Economy based on transporting goods (tobacco, fur, lumber)

quickly to market• Rapids made river travel impossible for load carrying ships

Fall Line1. The Fall Line altered economy and

settlement

Instead, the rapids were used for water power

Sawmills, grist mills, factoriesPopulation started to rise around the mills (from surplus food & jobs)

Examples of American Regions Geography’s impact on regional culture

• Regions: Settlement & economic patterns over time• Northeast & Old Northwest developed as an industrial

center (higher population density)– Had the resources: coal, iron– Had the water power

• Now called the Rust Belt – industry has decreased, people leave the area

• South developed as commercial crops center (lower population density)– Had the better soil – Had longer growing season

• Commercial crops grew well there: cotton, indigo, rice, tobacco• Now called the Sun Belt – the people leaving Northeast retire/move

to this region

Impediments to easy transportation• Mountain Ranges

– The Appalachians - are an old and eroded system that formed about 300 mya.

– North American Cordillera The cordillera is a complex belt of mountains and associated plateaus and basins some of which were formed as recently as 100–65 mya The cordillera extend from Alaska into Mexico and includes the Pacific Margin on the west and the Rocky Mountains on the east

• Large distances (even the lowlands area)– Interior Lowlands - The lowlands extend down the middle of the

continent from the Mackenzie Valley to the Atlantic Coastal Plain, and include the Great Plains on the west and the agriculturally productive Interior Plains on the east.

• Original settlement patterns determined by Geography of the Region

http://www.iptv.org/exploremore/land/teacher_resources/webquests.cfm

3. Belt Regions

• Belt Regions of the US – portions of the country that share certain characteristics. – First applied to growing regions – follow lines of

latitude and have similar climates, soil conditions. – Usage has expanded to other economic, climatic

and cultural concentrations. – Often vague borders– Ex: Bible Belt, Snowbelt, Sun Belt…

Examples of American Regions Geography’s impact on regional culture

• Midwest developed into food crop centers– Northern plains were rocky

• lent to Dairy Belt: Wisconsin, Minnesota, Dakotas, Montana

– Central plains had rich soil• Wheat Belt (Texas up to Saskatchewan) • Corn Belts (Ohio to Iowa)

• West/Pacific– Mixed economy

• Started as timber in Oregon on up• Gold/minerals in California and Rocky Mountains• Now: Hollywood, technology (Silicon Valley), fruits (plus wine)

• Overall, population has shifted westward and southward• Has meant changes to politics: reapportionment

Belt Regions• Belt Regions of the US – portions of the

country that share certain characteristics. – First applied to growing regions – follow lines of

latitude and have similar climates, soil conditions. – Usage has expanded to other economic, climatic

and cultural concentrations. – Often vague borders– Ex: Bible Belt, Snowbelt, Sun Belt…– *Regions have become more and more perceptual

over time rather than based on climates or growing conditions….

Perceptual Regions

• Based on Culture or Perceived differences between different groups.– Belt Regions?

or

– Historic Regions?

How do we create perceptual regions in the US?

A Moving Population

• Overall, population has shifted westward and southward

– Has meant changes to politics: reapportionment

• The Northeast has been losing Congressional Seats while the South/ West has gained seats

• How might this impact national politics?

Gerrymandering • State legislators are often in charge of

submitting new maps of their state’s congressional districts,

• Gerrymandering is when they redraw the lines around a favored electorate to help their friends and fellow party members to stay in power.

http://www.redistrictinggame.org/

http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/gerrymandering

Redistricting• Why does redistricting

occur?• How can it result in

Gerrymandering?• What are the effects of

Gerrymandering?– Examples of

Gerrymandering: – Why is California’s

Proposition 11 so controversial?

The Gerrymandering Game:

Tasks: 1. Watch the Introduction on

Gerrymandering2. Play the Basic level game - (1 round)3. What do you observe about what is

required to create the required districts?

4. Why do you think politicians create these new lines? (what motivates them)

5. How does this change the voting process in these new districts?

Stephen Fry in AmericaNew England

• http://video.yandex.ru/users/stephenfry-ru/view/5/?cauthor=stephenfry-ru&cid=3

• PBS National Parks: – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mx8WbZIWCS

M&feature=channel

What connects Americans Culturally

• Cultural traits and Identity as Americans – • By region…. • What are some cultural traits that Stephen Fry

(British comedian) observes about Maine?

• Are we becoming more culturally unified or do regional traits still exist?

Cultural Traits by Region

• Observations of Stephen Fry in Maine….– Language – accents – People – hard workers (immigrant heritage)– Landscape, animals, food (insiders knowledge)

Sources• http://www.discoveryeducation.com/teachers/free-lesson-plans/no

rth-american-cultures.cfm• http://edsitement.neh.gov/

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyVEAeUbWbc&feature=related• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKR_xR8f0Wg&feature=channe

l• Route 66

• US Cities and immigration: • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OTd2tXZXR4&feature=related

• PBS National Parks: – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mx8WbZIWCSM&feature=channel

American Cities

• What is unique about the Development of American Cities?

• What do American cities need to develop?• The story of US – 2-9