Module 2: North American Geography

Missouri is the longest river in North America.

Mississippi river widely considered to be the most important waterway in terms of commercial transportation.

The Rimland sprawling plantations were where the slaves worked or focus on growing crops. Most often sugar for export.

Prior to commercial agricultural practice on plantations, most of the region practice was called sustenance farming.

Spanish colonized present-day Florida, as well as much of the Middle America.

Stretching into what is now the Southwestern United States, they sought resources like gold, the expansion of trade and opportunities to spread the Roman Catholic faith to indigenous groups.

Diverse physical conditions has

enabled North America to have a wide variety of resources.

urban sprawl

The process of urban areas expanding outwards, usually in the form of suburbs, and developing over fertile agricultural land. - Urban decentralization has not only resulted in sprawl, that also has created the suburbs that are entirely dependent on automobiles.

lapse rate

The rate at which temperature decreases with an increase in altitude. - each altitudinal zones can support different crops and animals.

Which region in the US has areas that have been slow to transition from primarily agricultural and natural resource based economies?

The south

Three biomes

forest, grasslands, wastelands

Brain Drain

the immigration of highly skilled workers that are educated

Counter urbanization

the shifting populations from urban centers to suburban and rural settlements has beenprevalent in North America since the end of World War II.

as indentured servants gradually earn their freedom,

the system of indentured servitude was replaced with slavery.

Nazca plate and the Antarctic plate that collided with the South American plate

they action between those two really created that to the Andes and the mountains and the Western sort of the western South American continent.

towns in South America are built with a main square that includes towns are built around this plaza

this creates a road of network on a grid system.

primate city

those which are the largest city in a country and are more than twice as large as the next largest city in our representative with the national culture.

Major Climate Types

tropical, polar, temperate - determine what types of species and biomes can live in certain places

Region consideration:

united by common physical and cultural characteristics (in textbook Canada - US) - - similarities in terms of language and shared history are taken into account

Plano

series of high elevation planes.

the South American Andes Mountains

stretch from Venezuela down to Chile and Argentina

The Amazon River

- America's longest river and is the largest river in the world in terms of discharge. - So that river discharge is something like 209 thousand cubic meters, which is 7.4 million cubic feet every second.

Canada's poverty rate is lower than the United States at around 10 percent.

- Canada has a stronger social welfare system and programs in place than the US. - All provinces of Canada provide universal, publicly funded health care

By the early 1700s, France and the United Kingdom and Spain had establish formal colonies in the Americas.

- East Coast was influenced by Great Britain - west and south Texas and Mexico obviously being very much influenced by the Spanish.

Canada's First Nations, the poverty and homelessness rates among the First Nations are much higher than the national average.

- Half of all indigenous children in Canada live in poverty. - In some areas, the number is over 60 percent. - In Canada, the US. The poverty rate among non-Hispanic was just over 10 percent in 2014. - black American population, the poverty rate was at 26 percent. - the US has the highest degree of income inequality among advanced economies in the world.

the vast majority of slaves were destined for, there were destined for sugar colonies in the Caribbean and Brazil.

- Less than 10 percent will be brought to North American colonies. - estimated that a total of 12.5 million Africans were shipped to the New World as slaves.

Maya and the Aztec

- Middle America was settled by a number of indigenous groups who originally migrated to the region from, from North America. - some continued on through the Isthmus of Panama to South America. - here, they founded the Mesoamerican cultural hearth, though it consider one of the earliest civilizations in the world

The early British colonies had highly specialized economies, not unlike the patterns seen in present-day North America.

- New England colonies around Massachusetts Bay Area were centers of commerce. - The Chesapeake Bay Area and Virginia and Maryland had a number of tobacco plantations. - In the middle of the Atlantic, around New York, New Jersey, and Eastern Pennsylvania were a number of small independent former colonies. - Further south in the Carolinas, we're home of large plantations cultivating crops like cotton. (relied on slave labor)

Mexico is home to a number of impressive mountain ranges

- Sierra Madre Oriental in the West - Sierra Madre Oriental in the East - they serve mostly due to the collision of tectonic plates

The United States, in particular, around 12% of people live below the poverty line.

- Some argue, however, that the traditional definition of living below the poverty line has not really kept up with the rising cost of inflation. - And that the actual percentage of Americans living in or near the poverty line is actually much higher than 12 percent.

mainland and Rimland have a distinct history and experience

- The Rimland though a fragmented realm of islands was actually more accessible for European colonists - in the mainland and were among the first place this explorers landed when they reached the Americas. - Christopher Columbus first reached the Rimland in 490 to CE, and would reach South America on a third voyage in 490 AACE.

Mayan Civilization (2000 BCE)

- The civilization had a theoretic structure with their king, viewed as a divine ruler. - developed a system of hieroglyphic script, a calendar, a system of mathematics and astronomy. - were a very complex and advanced civilization as if they had a number of city-states linked by complex trading system as well. - had monumental architecture and a number of their buildings like the here the pyramid in Chichen Itza are still visible on the landscape today. - At its height, the Mayan Empire encompassed over 1 million people.

New Urbanism

- a movement to create urban landscapes with walkable neighborhoods, accessible tribe, public spaces, and housing and jobs in close proximity - one creative approach to sort of sort of counteract or, or to deal with the problems of the urban sprawl - at the same time when you're dealing withincome inequality is just not, it's not feasible for low-income families to be able to take advantage and be able to live in these places.

largest aquifer: Ogallala Aquifer

- beneficial for irrigation - we are draining our aquifers faster than we can replenish

The first Spanish cities in the Americas were established in this region during the, during the period.

- by the 600s, England, Portugal, France, and the Netherlands were shipping Africans to the Americas to work on farms. - more than 11 million Africans who were sold as slaves and shipped overseas. - Over 90 percent were sent to the Caribbean and South America. - 10 percent being sent over to North America

inequality is not just an issue of poverty

- can also relate to having unequal access to resources, unequal access to education and political power.

the Aztec empire developed much later in history (15th century CE)

- civilization was centered around that Tenochtitlan, which became its capital. - population of around a 100 thousand to 200 thousand people (was smaller than the Mayan Empire). - located under present day Mexico City. - The Aztec architecture, the art and the trading systems were truly extraordinary for their time. - relatively short-lived though; decline and fall of the Aztec Empire led by the Spanish conquistador - Montezuma was killed

history of North America

- early migrants to the Americas traveled from Asia through a land bridge that once connected Siberia and Alaska over 10 thousand years ago - indigenous peoples known as the First Nations in Canada or Native Americans in the US - British had highly specialized economies - indentured servants to slavery - Portuguese are the first to bring slaves from Africa to the americas during the 1500s - it is estimated that a total of 12.5 million Africans were shipped to the New World as slaves

South America as a continent

- extends from the tropical sand beaches of Colombia to the frigid islands of southern Chile and Argentina. - shares a distinct pattern of colonial development. - the tectonic collisions really created a high relief in western South America. - relatively flat elsewhere

north america environmental problems

- freshwater ecosystems are strongly affected by human activities on adjacent lands, and protection of these ecosystems must include the protection of their watersheds - watersheds carry runoff and pollution from the land into the water, from great distances

haciendas

- had an element of social prestige as well. - The size of the hacienda that increased the social standing of the landowner. - hacienda farmers were often given their own plots of land to cultivate. - the colonization of middle America led to land alienation.

Civil War

- important to understand that geographical differences between the North and South. - remember that the northern states also profited on slavery in the South. - the practice of slavery was deeply rooted in the economy of the United States in the time.

physical geography of middle America:

- in addition to earthquakes and volcanoes - the region is prone to tropical cyclones, also known as hurricanes.

remittances tall: when workers leave the region and leave their home in search of work elsewhere, they often do send sort of money back or transfer money back to their home country.

- in some countries, this remittances represent a significant portion of the country's GDP. - In some cases, it even exceeds the amount of that the country earns from the largess from its largest export.

colonization completely reshaped middle america:

- landscape - architecture - politics - Land-holding patterns

Before European contact, there were an estimated 50 million indigenous people living in North and South America.

- practice hunting and gathering, but many practice settled agriculture. - European colonization really changed, completely, completely change sort of the cultural landscape of North America. - European settlers and explorers brought smallpox, measles and cholera and diseases that were previously unknown to North America. - 90 percent of indigenous populations died because as a result

Inca civilization (1200-1500 CE)

- prominent civilization in South America, primarily settled in the Altiplano of Peru beginning in the 13th century. - the Inca Empire was the largest of the pre-Columbian. (before Columbus' arrival) civilizations. - initially the Inca founded the city-state kingdom of Cusco. - over time it expanded to encompass for territory is stretching 2500 miles, included over 4 million people. - Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro, reach the Inca by 526.

North America development

- region specialization during the industrial revolution - humans during the industrialization time moved from rural areas to cities - going from manufacturing to service-based industry

Laws of the Indies

- regulated social, economic, and political life in territories that were controlled by Spain - prescribe a variety of specific set of human and planning guidelines, including building towns around the plaza

canadian sheild region

- rocky landscape extends from the Arctic region of Central Canada, west through Quebec - oldest geological formations on Earth - richest mineral area

Trading

- the British primarily setup settlements along the coast, including 13 colonies that would declare independence from the United, United Kingdom and form the basis of the United States. - The French colonized much ofCanada and the area surrounding the Mississippi River.

South American history:

- the Panama Canal - started in 1881 by the French - 22,000 workers killed during a failed construction attempt - U.S. involvement to help Panama gain independence from Colombia - around 15,000 ships pass through the canal each year

middle America, also known as Central America

- the area between North and South America, with Mexico sometimes categorized as North America and sometimes middle of Central America. - because of the historical and calm and cultural similarities, they are grouped together with Central America in this text. - this region also includes areas, the islands in the Caribbean. (the Rimland) - can be divided into two different spheres because of that addition of the islands of the Caribbean. - the mainland and the Rimland are the two different places.

Forests, grasslands, and deserts face different threats:

- the major biomes are all threatened by human activities and climate change - each are useful to humans and provide us with irreplaceable ecosystem services - each houses unique biodiversity that will be lost without careful consideration of the entire ecosystem

ramifications of European colonization

- wealthy European settlers took over the land and build their cn thus, so often then they employed those whose land they claimed to work on their land. - poverty continues to be a significant issue among indigenous peoples of middle and South America. - current system of land ownership found in the region a directlyconnects to European colonization.

Gentrification

- where increase property values displace lower income families and small businesses. - initially, low-income, historic housing near the city centers attracted middle and upper income families. - changes the racial and ethnic makeup of neighborhoods. - areas become either dryer or wetter due to climate change, you will see - regions that might shift, agricultural practices might change. - a much larger scale, changes in food production. - decreases in tropical and subtropical areas. A - the latitudinal, the traditional climatology in the tropics, sort of increasing in northern latitudes. - less productivity in soil that it's not a fertile if there's a lot of sort of turnover as we try to keep up with agricultural production with an increasing population.

Mestizo

A person of mixed Spanish and Native American ancestry.

Britain formally abolished slavery in 1833.

But slavery was so entrenched in the economies of the Southern United States that it would take a civil war to end the practice.

In Canada, which group has the highest rates of poverty and homelessness?

First Nations

as the Industrial Revolution began in the United Kingdom in the mid 1700s and spread across Europe,

The United States was still primarily based on agriculture and on natural resource production.

land alienation

This is where land is taken from one group and claim by another.

North America physical setting

Traditionally: Canadian Arctic - US - Mexico - Panama

South American history: colonization

Treaty of Tordesillas: dividing the new world between two colonial empires - in rural areas, land was taken from indigenous groups and transformed to the benefit of colonial interests - even today many of the areas of South America remain highly isolated - the indigenous descendants of conquered Amerindian groups are among the poorest in the region - took a lot of the land, then extracted a lot of the riches from indigenous groups - European colonizers typically sort of raised existing structures and build new ones - with little regard for local development and cultural values to Spanish colonists.

net out migration

When the number of emigrants exceed the number of immigrants. (The net migration is negative)

liberation theology

a movement within the Catholic church to understand Christianity from the perspective of the poor and oppressed, with a focus on fighting injustice - form of Christianity that is blended with political activism. - strong emphasis on social justice, poverty, and human rights. - approach also stresses the importance of alleviating poverty through action. - believe they should align themselves with society's marginalized groups.

Edge City

an urban area situated outside of the traditional central business district, the CBD.

Canda's land area:

boreal forests (taiga)

in the mainland there's a blending of

both indigenous and Spanish cultures. There is an ethnic blending as well. - more commonly home to haciendas

central business district or CBD

core or a commercial area

altitudinal zonation

high mountains really creates distinct agricultural lifestyle in livestock zones

Indentrued Servants

laborers paid to to their passage to North America by agreeing to work for an employer under a contractfor a set number of years.

Megalopolis

metropolitan areas has grown so large that it actually overlaps with neighbor and metropolitan areas.

poverty

people cannot meet their basic needs and 1 fifth of the world lives on less than $1.25 per day.

Deindustrialization

process by which companies move industrial jobs to other regions with cheaper labor, leaving the newly deindustrialized region to switch to a service economy and to work through a period of high unemployment

Sustenance Farming

where farmers grow enough food to feed themselves and their family so they don't grow beyond production or large-scale production.

squander settlements

where residents do not own or pay rent and instead occupy otherwise unused land, known as "squatting".

income inequality is geographical

with the states in the South having significantly greater concentration of poverty than the rest of the country. - Both in the United States and Canada, income inequality is actually really tied to the ethnicity and race.