C H A P T E R

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc.

Innisfree McKinnonUniversity of Oregon

Lecture Outline

1North America

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc.

Learning Objectives

• The geographic perspective

• Colonialism

• Scale, region, globalization and human environment interaction

• Cultural diversity

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc.

Learning Objectives

• Differing systems of government

• Thematic geography vs. regional geography

• Formal & functional regions

• Canada as a commonwealth country

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc.

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc.

Why Study North America?

• United States and Canada = 7.5 million sq. mi. (20 million sq. km.)– Canada = 6.7% of Earth's land area– United States = 6.4% Earth's land area

• Greenland is world's largest island– Environmental impacts of global climate

change

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc.

Settlement & Colonialism

• First settlement of the Americas between ~14,000 and ~50,000 years ago.

• European colonialism ~500 years ago• U.S. War of Independence• Canadian Dominion in 1867• Greenland's partial independence 1979• U.S. has more immigrants (total number) than

any other country

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc.

Canada

• Canada has highest rate of immigration (total percentage of population)

• Anglophone: English speaking

• Francophone: French Speaking

• Aleut

• Inuit

• First Nations

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc.

Cultural Diversity

• Figure 1.2

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc.

Canada

• Stretches ~3730 miles (~5500 km.) From Vancouver Island to Newfoundland

• Contains world's 20 longest rivers

• Has about 25% of world's fresh water resources

• 10 Provinces

• 4 Territories

• Population = ~30 million

• Mostly in towns and cities within 150 miles of U.S. border

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc.

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc.

United States

• Divided into 50 states– 48 are conterminous

• Canadian border to the North

• Mexican border to the South

• Hawai'i and Alaska are separate from the continental United States

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc.

• United States

• Separation of power between federal and state government

• State governments less self sustaining

Political Complexity

• Canada

• Separation of power between federal and provincial government

• Regional and provincial government more self sustaining

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc.

• Presidential republic– Executive and

legislative branches fully seperated

Political Complexity

• Commonwealth Country– Parlimentary– Prime Minister head

of country and member of legislative branch

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc.

Political Complexity

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc.

Geography

• The world is highly interconnected

• Geography– Geo = Earth– Graph = writing– Writing about the Earth

• People have written about the Earth and their travels / explorations since ancient times

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc.

Interconnectedness

• Geography today is study of interconnectedness– Earth's physical system– Global economy– Cultural diversity

• GoogleEarth, Mapquest– Statistical analysis– Visualize interconnectedness

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc.

The Geographic Perspective

• Understanding the connections between the earth's physical systems, peoples cultures, and economies

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc.

Geography

• Three broad categories– Physical Geography, Human Geography, and

Political Geography– Study of Earth's physical systems– Study of Earth's peoples, cultures, and

cultural landscapes– Study of Earth's political economies

• None of these categories can be studied without reference to the other two

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc.

Regional Geography

• Selected parts of the Earth defined and identified by similar spatiality

• We examine the environments, cultures, and political economies of the major regions of North America

• Regions can be conceptualized at different scales

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc.

North America

• One Continent• Four nation-states

– United States, Canada, Greenland, Mexico (not in this book)

• Nation-states can be divided into Regions– Pacific Northwest, Far North, Coastal South,

Megalopolis, etc…

• Regions may have distinctive features– Sun Belt, Rust Belt, Canada's Prairie Provinces Bay

Area, etc…– Or by physical feature

• Ecoregions, watersheds, etc…

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc.

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc.

• Rocky Mountains

• Intermontane West

• MexAmerica

• California

• The Pacific Northwest

• Hawai'I

• Far North

Regions that will be Discussed

• Atlantic Periphery

• Quebec

• Megalopolis

• Great Lakes & Corn Belt

• Inland South

• Coastal South

• Great Plains

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc.

Regions

• Regions can be divided up in different ways

• Other books or web sites can divide up North America on different characteristics

• Joel Garreau's Nine Nations of North America

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc.

Regions

• Types of Regions– Formal

• Institutional or political identity and distinct boundaries (e.g., "New England" and "Corn Belt")

– Functional• Interrelatedness of activities, or usefulness (Salt

Lake City Metro Area, Chicagoland)

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc.

Regional Classification

• Homogeneous– Similar

• E.g., religion, language, climate, etc…

• Heterogeneous– Different

• E.g., Quebec

• Nodal– Core more important

• E.g., San Francisco

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc.

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc.

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc.

End of Chapter 1