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CHAPTER 2
UNITED STATES AND CANADA
Chapter Overview
This chapter systematically examines three aspects of the development
geography of the United States and Canada. First, the physical, territorial, and
demographic context in which the United States and Canada evolved into two of the
most prosperous and highly developed nations in the world is discussed. The diverse
land surface form and climate regions are described as natural endowments that
contributed profoundly to economic development by presenting opportunities and
challenges to settlers. The spatial and temporal patterns of territorial expansion were
influenced both by the natural environments and immigration patterns in the region.
The immigrants shaped the current economy and ethnic composition of both countries.
Second, economic development in the region and its cumulative impact on
regional landscapes are discussed. From the start of the colonial period commerce
based on the trading of primary goods contributed to the region’s development.
Agriculture dominated the early economy. During the period from 1860 to the end of
World War II, the United States and Canada were transformed form agrarian societies
to highly developed urban-industrial societies. This transformation is evident in the
region’s rural and urban landscapes. As a result of economic restructuring agriculture
and manufacturing are declining in importance as employers when compared to
employment in services.
Third, the chapter looks at the following challenges to the region’ s sustained
development: unbalanced economic growth among groups and areas within the
region, ineffective integration of some regions and their people into a national economy,
the persistent disadvantaged conditions among some minority groups, and
globalization . The United States and Canada continue to enjoy economic prosperity
and development; but they also continue to be challenged by unbalanced economic
growth among some groups of people in some locations, ineffective integration of some
regions and their people into a national economy, persistent disadvantaged social,
economic, and political circumstances of some minority groups, and the effects of rising
global competition. This chapter examines these imbalances.
The region’s highly varied physical geography is described, and the ways that
environment has affected how people have settled and used the land are explained. A
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By William H. Bailey
Full file at http://testbank360.eu/test-bank-world-regional-geography-10th-editionjohnson
brief examination of the region’s land surface form variety metaphorically describes its
land surface form geography as a shield nucleus (the Canadian Shield), a mountain
backbone and adjacent lowlands in the east (the Appalachian Highlands and the GulfAtlantic Coastal Plain), a series of mountain backbones and related plateaus in the west
(the Rocky Mountains, Interior Plateaus, and Pacific Coastlands), and a large interior
lowland dividing the two backbone regions (the Interior Lowlands). Within these broad
patterns the following sub-regions are described along with the influence of each on
development: the Appalachian Highlands - the Piedmont, the Fall Line, the Blue Ridge
Mountains, the Ridge and Valley, the Appalachian Plateau, and the New England
section; the Gulf-Atlantic Coastal Plain – swamp and marsh lands, a ragged coastline,
the Mississippi River Valley, and the unique situation of the Florida peninsula; the
Western Mountains and Plateaus – the Rocky Mountains, the Colorado Plateau, the
Columbia Plateau, the Basin and Range, and the Pacific Coastlands (the Sierra Nevada
Mountains, the Cascade Mountains, the Great Valley of California, the Willamette
Valley of Oregon, and the Puget Sound Lowland of Washington); and the Interior
Lowlands – the Great Plains, the Great Lakes lowlands, and interruptions in the plains
(the Ozark Plateau of Missouri, the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas, and the Black
Hills of South Dakota). Despite the almost imperceptible changes that occur in land
surface form geography, an example to the contrary is presented in the Geography in
Action boxed feature “The Battle for New Orleans.”
The spatial patterns of climate in the United States and Canada are described
along with brief explanations of the challenges and opportunities presented by them for
economic development. Five general factors that influence the region’s climates are
identified – middle and high latitude location, prevailing westerly winds, north-south
mountain ranges in the west that modify air masses passing over them, continentality in
the interior, and moisture supplied to the Gulf Coast and the Interior Lowlands by the
Gulf of Mexico. The spatial pattern of six specific climate types is described – the
Humid Subtropical, the Dry Subtropical (Mediterranean), the Marine West Coast, the
Western Steppes and Deserts, the Humid Continental, and the Sub-arctic and Polar.
Enduring cultural characteristics spread over large areas of North America from
four European culture cores: New England, Southern, Middle Atlantic, and French
Canada. International competition colored the territorial evolution of the contiguous
United States and of Canada. Aided by evolving transportation technology the
spreading of population westward from these cores resulted in the diffusion of culture,
the elimination of settlement frontiers, and the economic and spatial integration of
American society. Despite this integration, distinct differences among these source
areas contributed to significant regional variations in culture. Furthermore, three
factors have led to the clustering of immigrant groups identifiable by ethnicity or race:
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Instructors Manual for World Regional Geography, 10e
© 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.
By William H. Bailey
Full file at http://testbank360.eu/test-bank-world-regional-geography-10th-editionjohnson
environmental affinity, relative proximity to home areas, and economic circumstances.
Given this analysis it makes sense to add a fifth cultural core, the Hispanic core
stretching from Texas to California in the southwestern United States
The United States and Canada are in the post-industrial stage of the
demographic transformation. The uneven distribution of population in the region
reflects numerous influences, including natural environments, early settlement areas,
levels of urban and industrial growth, and ongoing redistribution caused by the high
level of population mobility, especially immigration and internal migrations. Three
trends in the spatial dynamics of the U.S. population continued through the decade of
the 1990s: population growth in metropolitan areas occurred primarily in counties
surrounding central cities; growth areas tended to focus on the metropolitan South and
a variety of counties in the West; and population decreased significantly in some clearly
defined “pocket” areas.
Economic development in the United States and Canada has profoundly
impacted regional landscapes. From the start of the colonial period commerce based on
the trading of primary goods contributed to the region’s development. Agriculture
dominated the early economy. During the period from 1860 to the end of World War II,
the United States and Canada were transformed form agrarian societies to highly
developed urban-industrial societies. This transformation is evident in the region’s
rural and urban landscapes. As a result of economic restructuring agriculture and
manufacturing are declining in importance as employers when compared to
employment in services.
Three factors have contributed to the unprecedented success of agriculture in the
United States and Canada and help explain the shaping of commercial agricultural
regions – an abundance of good land, a high level of mechanization, and regional
specialization. The chapter describes the spatial characteristics of these agricultural
regions. The nature and extent of the Corn Belt illustrates the substantial capacity and
quality of agricultural resources available in both countries. Despite their great
productivity, farmers in the United States and Canada face myriad problems such as the
vagaries of weather, domestic and global markets, and government policy decisions (for
example, government subsidies to encourage production of biofuels).
The limits of its available power resources indicate the potential vulnerability of
the United States and Canada to foreign suppliers of fuels. Coal is plentiful in the
region, but environmental concerns have restricted its production and use. It is
currently too expensive to convert coal to forms that would make it useful as a fuel for
transportation and home heating. Although production and consumption levels of coal
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Instructors Manual for World Regional Geography, 10e
© 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.
By William H. Bailey
Full file at http://testbank360.eu/test-bank-world-regional-geography-10th-editionjohnson
are at all-time high levels, its share of the region’s energy budget has been decreasing
relative to cleaner burning oil and natural gas. The United States and Canada are major
producers and consumers of oil and gas, but the United States consumes more than it
produces. This trend will likely continue in the absence of alternatives. Despite
increasing use of water and nuclear energy, power resources remain a long-term
concern for the region. Conservation may be the best alternative to high consumption
levels without decreasing the standard of living. The “Pickens Plan” put forth by
entrepreneur T. Boone Pickens is an alternative energy strategy that is garnering much
attention and support in the United States.
Industrial metals indicate changes that are occurring in the economic structure of
the United States and Canada. Although the region has been blessed with extensive
iron ore reserves, the United States had until recently become increasingly dependent
on iron ore from foreign sources, including Canada, because of depletion of traditional
U.S. reserves and the low cost for imported ores. The steel industry began shifting to
coastal locations in response to the change in iron ore sources. During the 1980s,
however, dependence on foreign ores decreased, as the Unites States began to apply
technology to recover relatively low-grade domestic ores and as the U.S. steel industry
continued to give way to foreign competition. Aluminum has become a desirable
alternative to steel for many uses. Although hydroelectric power resources available in
the Pacific Northwest, for example, have increased the production of aluminum in the
region, aluminum independence for the United States and Canada will depend on
improved technology that makes lower-grade domestic ores feasible to use.
Rostow’s model of economic growth stages helps explain the evolution of the
spatial characteristics of manufacturing in the region. The explanation emphasizes the
effect of transportation and accessibility on the locations of manufacturing in the United
States. By the 1930s, the northeastern quarter of the United States and the bordering
area of Canada had evolved as a major urban-industrial region – the core land.
Nevertheless, economic restructuring changed the industrial geography of the region
since then with the growth of manufacturing in the south and on the west coast. The
various contemporary manufacturing regions in the United States and Canada are
described.
Although still a critical employer and wealth producer for the United States and
Canada manufacturing (secondary level of economic activities) has given way to a
postindustrial economy that emphasizes services and knowledge (tertiary level of
economic activities). The dramatic increase in restructuring engendered by computer
technologies, globalization, and the implementation of neoliberal economic theory has
caused a backlash of opposition to some of its side effects including loss of jobs to lower
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Instructors Manual for World Regional Geography, 10e
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By William H. Bailey
Full file at http://testbank360.eu/test-bank-world-regional-geography-10th-editionjohnson
wage labor markets abroad; downward wage pressures on low and high skill jobs left
behind; fierce competition among communities for job providers, many of whom have
become “stateless” in their operations; and concentration of wealth in the hands of a
few at the expense of the middle class and poor. Nevertheless, proponents of
neoliberalism argue that its adverse effects are short-term and that in the long-term
North America will benefit from economic globalization.
Industrialization has been a causal factor in the distribution of cities; and, as
cities grew in response to the Industrial Revolution, the shapes of cities became
increasingly complex. An explanation of this increasing complexity is discussed and
illustrated. Three geographical consequences of the constant outward expansion of
North American cities are identified – loss of agricultural land, coalescence of cities into
congested urban corridors, and proliferation of urban governments. The gentrification
of some central city districts that had long been in demise is a welcome trend affecting
urban morphology. How the Information Revolution and the volatility of fuel markets
and their impact on transportation efficiency will influence the shape and shapers of
urban regions is yet to be determined. Likewise, how the response of technological
innovation to the transportation and communication needs of modern cities will impact
urban geographies is unknown.
The Geography in Action boxed feature “City Types and the American College
Town” brings the idea of the geographical form of a city to a manageable scale for
college students in a course using this textbook. A simple but effective learning activity
is the comparison of a student’s college town with the descriptors discussed in this
essay.
The United States and Canada continue to enjoy economic prosperity and
development; but they also continue to be challenged by unbalanced economic growth
among some groups of people in some locations, ineffective integration of some regions
and their people into a national economy, and persistent disadvantaged social,
economic, and political circumstances of some minority groups. This chapter examines
these imbalances.
The geography of poverty in the United States and Canada is described.
Although many factors are spatially associated with poverty, income disparity is the
factor used to map the geographic distribution of poverty in the two countries and to
analyze the distribution among particular groups of people. The income data reveal
high rates of poverty among African-Americans and Hispanics and a large absolute
number of poor whites in the United States. Although not revealed by the tabular data
and maps in the chapter the point is emphasized that over three-fourths of people living
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Instructors Manual for World Regional Geography, 10e
© 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.
By William H. Bailey
Full file at http://testbank360.eu/test-bank-world-regional-geography-10th-editionjohnson
in poverty reside in urban areas and that most of these people occupy inner-city areas of
concentration familiarly referred to as ghettos. The poverty maps clearly illustrate
pockets of poverty.
The essential question “Why does poverty exist?” is addressed. Although this
question is not answered, the following factors associated with possible answers are
presented: racial biases and cultural attitudes that have created barriers for African
Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, and Appalachian whites; unequal
education and training opportunities; uneven access to opportunities associated with
economic and technological change; and, obviously, unemployment. One consequence
of the uneven distribution of economic wealth and opportunity is the migration of
people seeking improved quality of life. Nevertheless, poverty persists among certain
groups in certain places where people find themselves for whatever reasons out of the
flow of development (see the Geography in Action boxed feature “Appalachian
Poverty”).
The disconnection of some minority groups from the larger and more prosperous
society is addressed. Maps illustrating the distribution of African Americans, Hispanic
Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans, and language groups in Canada (see
the Geography in Action boxed feature “Canadian Unity”) suggest the multicultural
mosaic of the two countries. Common factors associated with the disconnection and
evidence of connections are identified. The causes and consequences of the growing
immigration of Hispanics to the United States are discussed with emphasis placed on
the problem of illegal immigration. Refer to the map presented early in the chapter to
illustrate the Hispanic-American borderland, which is defined as a cultural region that
is experiencing renewed Hispanicization as a result of increasing immigration from
Mexico to the United States. Does the pattern on this map reflect the emergence of a
cultural core that will have impact on the region similar to that of the four European
cores?
The discussion of immigration leads to the question “Is American society a
melting pot or a stew pot?” Differences in the degree of cultural convergence in the
United States and Canada are explored, and the Geography in Action boxed feature “The
‘Dearborn Effect’: Ethnic Clustering in Contemporary American Cities” contributes to
the debate over these metaphors.
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Instructors Manual for World Regional Geography, 10e
© 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.
By William H. Bailey
Full file at http://testbank360.eu/test-bank-world-regional-geography-10th-editionjohnson
Chapter Outline

The Physical and Human contexts of Development
o Landform Geography
 The Canadian Shield: Continental Nucleus
 The Appalachian Highlands and Adjacent Lowlands
 Appalachian Highlands
 Gulf-Atlantic Coastal Plain
 The Western Mountains and Plateaus
 The Rocky Mountains
 Interior Plateaus
 The Pacific Coastlands
 The Interior Lowlands
o Climate Regions
 The Humid Subtropical Climate
 The Dry Subtropical (Mediterranean) Climate
 The Marine West Coast Climate
 The Western Steppes and Deserts
 The Humid Continental Climate
 The Subarctic and Polar Climates
o Early Settlement: European Culture Cores
 The New England Core
 The Southern Core
 The Middle Atlantic Core
 The French Canada Core
 A Hispanic Core?
o Westward Expansion and Receding Settlement Frontiers
 Territorial Competition in North America
 The Development and Elimination of Settlement Frontiers in the United
States
 Territorial Acquisition and Settlement in Canada
 Immigration into the United States and Canada
o Demographic Characteristics
 Recent Population Growth Trends in the United States and Canada
 Population Distribution
 Population Redistribution

The Geography of Economic Development
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Full file at http://testbank360.eu/test-bank-world-regional-geography-10th-editionjohnson
o Agriculture
 An Abundance of Good Land
 A High Level of Mechanization
 Regional Specialization
 Agricultural Regions
 The Corn Belt
 The Dairy Belt
 Specialty Crop and Livestock Region
 The Great Wheat Belts
 Farming in the West
 Continuing Adjustments in Agriculture
 Fewer Farmers
 Growth of Agribusiness/Vertical Integration
 Fewer, Larger Farms
 Greater Increase in Supply than in Demand
o Resources for Industrial Growth and Development
 Energy and Power
 Coal
 Oil and Gas
 Water
 Nuclear Energy
 Metals
 Iron Ore
 Other Metals
o Manufacturing in the United States and Canada
 The Evolution of Manufacturing in the United States
 Manufacturing in the Coreland
 The Southern Economic Revolution
 Southern Manufacturing Regions
 The Growth of Manufacturing on the West Coast
 Canadian Industrial Growth
 The Distribution of Canadian Manufacturing
 A Postindustrial and Globalized North America
o Urbanization in the United States and Canada

Challenges in a Developed Realm
o Income Disparity and Regional Challenges
 Low Income in Canada
 Other Problem Areas
o African Americans
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Instructors Manual for World Regional Geography, 10e
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By William H. Bailey
Full file at http://testbank360.eu/test-bank-world-regional-geography-10th-editionjohnson
o Hispanic Americans
o Other Minorities
o Canadian Identify and Unity
 French Canada
 Canada and the United States
o “Melting Pot,” “Stew Pot,” or What?

Summary

Key Terms

Geography in Action
o The Battle for New Orleans
o Landforms and Climate: Orographic Effects in the United States
o North America’s First Citizens
o City types and the American College Town
o Appalachian Poverty
o Canada’s Pluralistic Society
o The “Dearborn Effect”: Ethnic Clustering in Contemporary American Cities
Key Terms
African American Migration
Appalachian Regional Development Act
Appalachian Highlands
Appalachian Plateau
aquifers
Basin and Range
Black Hills
Blue Ridge Mountains
Canadian Shield
Cascade Mountains
Coast Ranges
Colorado Plateau
Columbia Plateau
comparative advantage
continentality
culture hearths
diffusion process
Interior Plateaus
Lower Canada
Loyalists
manifest destiny
megalopolis
melting pot
milkshed
mixed farming
New England
New South
North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA)
orographic effect
Ouachita Mountains
Ozark Plateau
Piedmont
pine barrens
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Instructors Manual for World Regional Geography, 10e
© 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.
By William H. Bailey
Full file at http://testbank360.eu/test-bank-world-regional-geography-10th-editionjohnson
economic integration
Fall Line
friction of distance
golden horseshoe
Great Lakes
Great Plains
Great Valley
Gulf of Mexico
Gulf-Atlantic Coastal Plain
income disparities
industrial structure
initial advantage
poverty
Prairies
Puget Sound Lowland
rainshadow
Ridge and Valley
Rocky Mountains
settlement frontiers Upper Canada
Sierra Nevada Mountains
spatial integration
spring wheat belt
Upper Canada
Willamette Valley
winter wheat belt
List of Figures
Page
72
Figure
Opening map
73
Opening photos
74
75
76
76
77
78
78
79
79
80
81
82
2-1 (map)
2-2 (photo)
2-3 (photo)
2-4 (photo)
2-5 (photo)
2-6 (photo)
2-7 (photo)
2-8 (photo)
2-9 (photo)
A (map)
B (map)
C (map)
83
2-10 (map)
Title
No Title (Physical and Political Map of the United States
and Canada.
(left) – Satellite mosaic of Great Lakes region in winter.
(middle) – Grain elevator in Manitoba, Canada.
(right) – Chicago’s site on Lake Michigan.
Land surface regions of the United States and Canada.
The Canadian Shield.
Mt. Washington, New Hampshire.
Okefenokee Swamp, Georgia.
Pikes Peak, Colorado.
The Colorado Plateau and the Grand Canyon.
Mt. St. Helens, Washington.
The Great Plains.
Mt. Rushmore, South Dakota.
Changes in southeastern Louisiana’s coastline, 1870-2001.
Hurricane flood threat to New Orleans.
Actual flooding in New Orleans associated with Hurricane
Katrina.
Climate regions in the United States and Canada.
84
85
2-11 (photo)
2-12 (photo)
Desert vegetation in Arizona.
The treeless summer tundra in Labrador, Canada.
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By William H. Bailey
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86
86
87
89
90
90
91
A (diagram)
2-13 (map)
B (map)
A (photo)
2-14 (photo)
2-15 (map)
2-16 (map)
92
94
95
96
97
2-17 (photo)
2-18 (map)
2-19 (photo)
2-20 (map)
2-21 (maps)
98
98
2-22 (photo)
2-23 (diagram)
99
2-24 (diagram)
99
2-25 (diagram)
100
2-26 (map)
101
103
2-27 (diagram)
2-28 (map)
104
2-29 (diagram)
104
2-30 (diagram)
105
106
107
108
110
111
112
2-31 (map)
2-32 (photo)
2-33 (photo)
2-34 (photo)
2-35 (map)
2-36 (photo)
2-37 (map)
113
2-38 (photo)
The orographic effect.
Early European settlement areas in Anglo-America.
Mountains and precipitation levels in Washington State.
Foxwoods Resort Casino, Connecticut.
French Canadian agricultural landscape.
The Hispanic American borderland.
Selected major acquisitions that defined the territorial
evolution of the contiguous United States.
The Alamo, San Antonio.
Major rail routes and inland waterways of Anglo America.
Irrigated farmland of the Salt Lake Valley.
The territorial evolution of Canada.
Generalized areas of settlement for selected ethnic and
racial groups, as of the 1960s.
Tulip festival of Holland, Michigan.
Twentieth-century immigration and emigration trends in
Canada.
Population growth trends in the United States and
Canada, with projections to 2020.
Post-World War II birth and death rate trends in the
United States.
Population distribution in the United States and Canada as
indicated by place density.
Net migration by United States region, 2005-2006.
Population percentage change estimates by county in the
United States, 1990-2000, and by county and division in
Canada, 1996-2001.
Percentage of economically active population employed in
agriculture.
Horses, mules and tractors used on American farms, 19201997.
Agricultural regions of the United States and Canada.
Corn cultivation.
Chicken farm in Lowell, Georgia.
Center-pivot irrigation, Kansas.
Coal and iron ore in the United States and Canada.
Strip mining of coal.
Petroleum and natural gas in the United States and
Canada.
Hydroelectric power generation in Quebec.
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115
2-39 (map)
116
2-40 (photos)
117
2-41 (map)
118
119
119
2-42 (photo)
2-43 (photo)
2-44 (photo)
120
121
2-45 (photo)
2-46 (map)
122
2-47 (diagram)
123
124
2-48 (photo)
A (photo)
125
127
128
129
131
132
B (photo)
2-49 (photo)
2-50 (map)
2-51 (map)
A (map)
2-52 (map)
133
134
2-53 (photo)
2-54 (map)
135
135
2-55 (photo)
2-56 (map)
137
138
138
A (map)
2-57 (photo)
2-58 (map)
139
A
(photo)
Manufacturing regions and urban-industrial districts of
the United States and Canada.
(above) A modern American automobile assembly plant
utilizing robotics; (right) idle steel milling facilities in
Youngstown, Ohio.
Manufacturing employment shifts in the United States
between 1970 and 2000.
Nissan truck assembly plant in Smyrna, Tennessee.
Petrochemical plant in Louisiana.
Jet aircraft manufacturing at a Boeing Aircraft Company
Plant in Everett, Washington.
Steel mill of Hamilton, Ontario.
Manufacturing employment shifts in Canada between 1969
and 2005.
Generalized spatial expansion of the American city, late
nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Central city decay, Detroit.
The central campus of Williams College, Williamstown,
Massachusetts.
Downtown Ithaca, New York in springtime.
Urban poverty.
Poverty and unemployment in the United States.
Poverty in Canada.
Appalachian region of the United States.
African American population as a percentage of county
population in the United States in 2000.
African American socioeconomic mobility.
Hispanic American population as a percentage of county
population in the United States in 2000.
Hispanic cultural imprint.
Native American Indian population as a percentage of
total county population in 2000.
The several Canadas.
Monument Valley, Arizona.
Asian American population as a percentage of county
population in 2000.
Dearborn, Michigan.
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Instructors Manual for World Regional Geography, 10e
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By William H. Bailey
Full file at http://testbank360.eu/test-bank-world-regional-geography-10th-editionjohnson
List of Tables
Page
102
105
109
Table
2-1
2-2
2-3
118
2-4
121
2-5
126
132
2-6
2-7
133
2-8
Title
Canadian Population Data
Historical Agricultural Productivity in the United States
Power Consumption (percent) in the United States, by
Source
Percentage of U.S. Workers in Manufacturing, by U. S.
Bureau of Census Division, for Selected Years
Employment Percentages for Selected United States
Sectors, 1930-2000
Poverty in the United States, by region and group, 2007
African-American Population of the Coterminous United
States
Projected Population Percentages by Race and Hispanic
Origin
Discussion Topics
Interrelationships between people and the environment that supports them is a central
theme in this chapter. After studying this chapter, students should be able to describe
regional variations in the physical elements of the geography of the United States and
Canada and explain how these variations have affected the spatial patterns of economic
development in the region. Some ways to help students achieve this objective are
suggested below.


Discuss the following statement in the textbook: “The physical geography of the
United States and Canada is highly varied, and that variation has affected the ways
in which the land has been settled and used.
Supplement the general descriptions of physiographic regions given in the textbook.
Note that the description of each physiographic region followed by a comment
about how the land surface form has affected human use of the area. Emphasize
that students need to become more aware of the characteristics of the physiographic
regions so that they may gain a better understanding of such relationships. Ask
students to describe their experiences in these different regions. Show photographs
and remote sensing imagery to illustrate the characteristics of the regions. Raisz’s
map of the physiography of the United States (see Goode’s World Atlas) illustrates the
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Instructors Manual for World Regional Geography, 10e
© 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.
By William H. Bailey
Full file at http://testbank360.eu/test-bank-world-regional-geography-10th-editionjohnson





point that “real world” variations are greater than those represented by Figure 2-1.
Instruct students to examine carefully the physiography of their states on Raisz’s
map and to think about how people use the different land surfaces economically. If
you want to take the physiography topic a bit further, introduce students to a larger
scale perspective of the land surface on topographic maps.
Emphasize interrelationships among climate, vegetation, and soil. Explain the
relationship between aridity and soil in the southwestern interior of the United
States. The paucity of precipitation in this area retards the weathering of rock and
growth of vegetation. Soils in the area are shallow but high in soluble minerals. The
sparse vegetation cover limits the quantity of organic material in the soil. The
implications of these circumstances for agriculture are obvious.
The varied physical environment in the United States and Canada has presented
barriers to and opportunities for economic development. Ask students for examples
of each. Elaborate the examples cited in the textbook.
The textbook asserts that the United States and Canada serve as excellent examples
of the development process. In other parts of the textbook, however, the authors
contend that the meaning of development varies among different societies. If so, is
there a single development process; or, does the process vary among societies?
Changes in land surface form (physiography) and climate are almost imperceptible
over many human generations. How people perceive these physical elements of
geography, however, changes rapidly with changes in technology. “Environmental
perception,” therefore, is an important corollary to the “people and land relationship
tradition” of geography. Ask students for examples of how people have changed
their perception of the physical environment as technology developed. Let this
brainstorming activity proceed for a few minutes without elaboration of any single
response. Then elaborate on one or more example that either you or the students
identified. The following examples may be used to promote class discussion:
The Appalachian Highlands area was a barrier to westward migration of settlers in
the United States. The early settlement history of the country was influenced by the
availability of routes through or around this barrier. Ask students to identify the
major passages used by early settlers to cross the Appalachians. Discuss how the
evolution of transportation technology has affected the perception of the
Appalachian Highlands as a barrier to transportation and communication. Note
that the cultural region “Appalachia” is defined in part by its relative inaccessibility
as late as the 1960s. One recommendation by the Appalachian Regional
Commission to combat Appalachia’s pervasive poverty was to reduce the relative
isolation of the region by building highways. Now that we are in the “information
age,” will Appalachia experience a new wave of isolation unless the region adopts
telecommunications links? Conversely, can telecommunications break the region’s
isolation?”
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Instructors Manual for World Regional Geography, 10e
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By William H. Bailey
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In his exploration of the Great Plains, Zebulon Pike called the region the “Great
American Desert.” Evaluate this viewpoint relative to modern use of the region by
people.
Farmers avoided the Gulf-Atlantic Coastal Plain region until technology for
managing its relatively infertile soils was developed. The suitability of this area of
large expanses of flat land for mechanized agriculture was enhanced by soil
improvement technology. Today, however, the chemicals used to improve soil and
control weeds and insects pose threats to human health.
“The Game of Farming” in Unit 2: Manufacturing and Agriculture of Geography in
an Urban Age: the High School Geography Project is an excellent simulation activity
that helps students understand how people change the way they perceive the
natural environment as they gain access to new technology.
The Geography in Action boxed feature “The Latest Battle for New Orleans” is an
excellent basis for discussion of a contemporary example of how both the natural
and human environments of an area are changing relatively rapidly with potentially
tragic implications for people. Emphasize that the disaster wrought by Hurricane
Katrina was predicted because of the way people developed the New Orleans
region. Supplement this discussion with an overview of Craig E. Colten’s An
Unnatural Metropolis: Wresting New Orleans from Nature. Add to the discussion
the possibility that the Atchafalya River is trying to capture the flow of the
Mississippi River leaving the downstream cities of Baton Rouge and New Orleans
“high and dry.” John McPhee’s The Control of Nature offers excellent background
for discussing this and other “man-land relationship” issues.
Use Figure 2-23 to discuss current population distribution trends in the United
States and Canada.
Discuss migration in the United States and Canada. Many contemporary economic
development issues are the consequences of some famous geographical patterns of
human migration in the United States. For example, the migration patterns of
African-Americans within the country since World War I are fascinating and
documented extensively. Much has been written about the migration of people
from rural to urban areas in the United States and Canada. As the urban pattern
evolved in close association with industrialization and developments in
transportation technology, the rural to urban migration progressed. Today,
however, there is evidence that the flow of people to the cities is being replaced by
the shift of urbanization to the rural areas. This process may be called rural to urban
transition. Highways and telecommunications are promoting this transformation of
rural areas to the urban condition. Other examples of contemporary human
migrants who affect economic development in the United States and Canada include
immigrants (especially Hispanics and Asians), farm workers, construction industry
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Instructors Manual for World Regional Geography, 10e
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By William H. Bailey
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workers, and return migrants to the south. The topic of migration is a fertile field
for cultivating pertinent discussion among students.
Discuss the validity of the following statement: “While the historical significance of
indigenous populations should not be understated, these groups did not amass
populations in core areas sufficient to promote the development and spread of
lasting cultural characteristics over large areas of North America.”
Discuss the impact of Eli Whitney’s cotton gin on the plantation system in the south
and, therefore, the spatial evolution of slavery.
Discuss the role of government-subsidized transportation facilities in the marketing
of imported clothing in the United States.
The Lewis and Clark expedition, 1803-1806, provided the first documented account
of the land and native peoples of the Louisiana Purchase territory. Stephen E.
Ambrose describes this expedition in his Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis,
Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West. Discuss this book with
your students.
Discuss the transformation of society in the United States from agrarian to urbanindustrial to post-industrial.
Discuss the physiological density of population in the United States and Canada.
Compute the density value first by using area classified as cropland and then by
adding pastures and range lands to the total.
There is much public debate in the United States about management of public land.
Of particular interest are rangelands in the arid west. How much agricultural land
in the United States is in the public domain? How should this land be used?
Beginning with the New Deal legislation in the 1930s the United States government
has funded programs to remove cropland from production. Discuss the reasons for
and consequences of these programs. Emphasize the fact of overproduction by
American farmers and the value of converting marginal cropland to uses that are
less destructive to the agricultural resource base. Discuss the implications of this
situation for potential agricultural expansion and surplus food production in the
United States and Canada.
In an article in the Annals of the Association of American Geographers, John Fraser Hart
identified the decline of agricultural production in each of the agricultural regions of
the United States except the Corn Belt. He called this phenomenon the “agricultural
implosion.” Try to explain this “agricultural implosion.” Emphasize the superlative
nature of the Corn Belt as an agricultural region.
Discuss the regional patterns of agricultural production illustrated in Figure 5-3.
Have students identify the region in which their school is located and cite evidence
from the cultural landscape to support the classification.
Use the principle of comparative advantage to explain why most of the wheat
production in the United States occurs in the drier part of the Interior Plains region
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Instructors Manual for World Regional Geography, 10e
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By William H. Bailey
Full file at http://testbank360.eu/test-bank-world-regional-geography-10th-editionjohnson
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that is less desirable for wheat than the more humid part where the Corn Belt is
located.
Use Rostow’s model to explain industrial development in the United States and
Canada. Emphasize the fact that the region began its economic development during
the early colonial era in conjunction with the development underway in Europe.
Economic development in the United States and Canada occurred in the context of a
rich natural resource base. Some observers believe to the contrary that the United
States is a resource-poor country. Ask students whether the world patterns of
petroleum and iron ore trade support or refute this statement (see Goode’s World
Atlas). Examine data on the production and reserves of energy fuels by country in
the world. Ask students what these data imply for future energy use patterns in the
United States and Canada. Press for discussion of the role that conservation could
play in reducing energy consumption and associated environmental degradation
problems.
The problems of environmental and human degradation associated with natural
resource exploitation are important topics in the discussion of economic
development in the United States and Canada. Economic development should be
planned to minimize undesirable outcomes. There is a rich body of literature related
to this theme. Excellent examples are Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring; Wendell Berry’s
The Unsettling of America: Culture and Agriculture, A Continuous Harmony, and What
Are People For?; John McPhee’s Control of Nature; and Harry Caudill’s Night Comes to
the Cumberlands: a Biography of a Depressed Area. A plethora of folk music pertains to
this theme. Two superb examples are Tom T. Hall’s Trip to Hyden that tells a story
about a coal mining disaster in Hyden, Kentucky in the early 1970s; and John Prine’s
Paradise that tells a story about the devastation wrought by the strip mining of coal
around Paradise, Kentucky. Reading passages from the books and performing the
songs can be effective instructional strategies. The video series Profit the Earth
describes several examples of the work of environmental entrepreneurs to make it
profitable for economic activity to be less environmentally degrading.
Discuss the regional patterns of manufacturing in the United States. Identify the
region in which your school is located and have students cite evidence from the
cultural landscape to support its classification.
The St. Lawrence Seaway has given cities located on the Great Lakes the opportunity
to function as ports for ocean shipping. These cities can, therefore, compete with the
port function of New York City. How does the fact that the seaway freezes during
part of the year favor New York City as the port for the Midwestern United States?
How do goods from this vast and rich hinterland reach New York City throughout
the year?
Explain the rise and demise of Pittsburgh as the focus of steel production in the
United States.
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Instructors Manual for World Regional Geography, 10e
© 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.
By William H. Bailey
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Discuss the pros and cons of economic restructuring (the shift from secondary to
tertiary economic activities) and globalization in the United States.
Discuss the trend toward megalopolitan growth in the United States and Canada.
Explain the role of economic restructuring in this trend.
Discuss John Adams's four transportation-based stages in the form of the modern
North American city.
Discuss the three geographical consequences of the outward expansion of urban
areas (sprawl) throughout North America.
Compare and contrast the structure and function of cities in the United States and
Canada.
Do American college towns share a unique geography; or, does the part of town
occupied by the college or university simply fit the old notion of a Bohemian area?
Describe the spatial distribution of poverty in the United States, and identify factors
associated with this distribution.
Discuss the migration patterns of minority groups in the United States. Many
contemporary economic development issues are consequences of these migrations.
The current movements of Hispanics into and within the United States should be of
great interest to students.
Discuss the geographic implications of the illegal immigration phenomenon.
Although its regional pattern is an interesting geographic topic, it is at the local scale
that the impact of this contemporary problem is felt. Several questions address this
idea: Do illegal immigrants burden the service functions and resources of local
communities? Who in a local community benefits from the work of illegal
immigrants? Why do Hispanics migrate to the United States illegally – is it the pull
of perceived opportunity or the push of lack of opportunity?
Debate the essential question “Why does poverty exist in the materially wealthy
United States and Canada?”
Discuss the causes and costs of poverty in Appalachia. Emphasize the theory of
circular causation. Discuss the record of economic development in the region as a
consequence of the Appalachian Regional Development Act of 1965. Has
Appalachia benefited economically from the construction of highways that help
integrate the region into the economic network of other regions? Has the
Information Age helped break Appalachia’s isolation? There is a rich body of
literature related to the exploitation of natural resources and people in Appalachia
for the sake of external economic development. And excellent example is Harry
Caudill’s Night Comes to the Cumberlands: a Biography of a Depressed Area. There is
also a rich body of folk music pertaining to this theme. Two excellent examples are
Tom T. Hall’s song Trip to Hyden, which portrays the singer-songwriter’s
observations of a coal mining disaster in Hyden, Kentucky, in the early 1970s; and
singer-songwriter John Prine’s song Paradise, which depicts the devastating effects of
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Instructors Manual for World Regional Geography, 10e
© 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.
By William H. Bailey
Full file at http://testbank360.eu/test-bank-world-regional-geography-10th-editionjohnson
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the strip mining of coal on the area around paradise, Kentucky. Many
environmentalists call this song their national anthem. Reading passages from a
book and performing a song can be a very effective instructional strategy.
Discuss the increasing difficulty in the achievement of Canadian unity (see the
Geography in Action boxed feature “Canada’s Pluralistic Society”).
Discuss the extent to which minority and majority groups differentiate themselves
geographically within the city where your college or university is located (see the
Geography in Action boxed feature “The ‘Dearborn Effect’: Ethnic Clustering in
Contemporary American Cities”).
Debate the following statement: “The United States population is a multicultural
patchwork quilt held together in a common culture by a strong and everstrengthening thread called the Constitution of the United States.”
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Instructors Manual for World Regional Geography, 10e
© 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.
By William H. Bailey