THE CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY of THE

US AND CANADA

THE UNITED STATES KEY TERMS:

IMMIGRATION, SUNBELT, URBANIZATION, METROPOLITAN AREA,

SUBURB, URBAN SPRAWL, MEGALOPOLIS, UNDERGROUND RAILROAD,

DRY-FARMING, BILINGUAL, LITERACY RATE.

POPULATION PATTERNS

Influenced by immigration

Asiatic peoples reached US over 20,000 years ago

Why people move here today?

Political and religious freedom, economic opportunity, wars, disasters

Ex: 2004- 11.7% of total US pop. Foreign born

DENSITY and DISTRIBUTION

Avg. is 80 people per sq. mi.

Northeast and Great Lakes region

Dense b/c of commerce and industry

Pacific Coast

Economic opportunity and mild climate

Alaska, Great Plains, and Great Basin

Little to no pop.

South and Southwest (Sunbelt) Arizona, NM, and California

Manufacturing, service, and tourism

URBAN AREAS

Urbanization- rural to cities

Metro-area- main city w/50k and outlying suburbs

Urban sprawl- growth of metro area; people move away from city core

GROWTH, DIVISION, and UNITY

1800’s- U.S. doubled in size (addition of Louisiana)

Industrial Revolution

Coal in Midwest = power for machines = emergence of Midwest as industrial power

South

Textile industry

Slavery = Underground R.R. = series of safe-houses for escapees

Movement- Eastern cities to Great Plains (overcrowding)

Dry-farming- cultivating land to catch and hold water

R.R. = spread of manufactured goods

CULTURE

Main language= English

Spanish= 2nd most spoken

Many religions

Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism

Education

Private and Public; 97% literacy rate

CULTURE: THE ARTS

Jazz- blending African rhythms w/European Harmonies

Other notables: LA, NYC

THE CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY of

CANADA KEY TERMS:

LOYALIST PROVINCE,

INUIT DOMINION

PARLIAMENT QUEBECOIS

NAFTA SEPERATISM

POPULATION PATTERNS

Highly developed: big cities; wilderness

Some are descendants of Native Americans

Their settlers moved for the same reasons as the Americans

Ex: Loyalists- to the British Crown came over after the American Revolution

Settled in Maritime Provinces Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward

Island

Provinces- political units similar to states

POPULATION PATTERNS (cont)

Quebec- settled by French; keeps its French heritage

Inuit- Arctic peoples of North America; about 1 million

90% of the people live bet. the U.S./Canada border

Much of Canada is inhospitable

Rugged terrain and bitterly cold

Avg. pop. density = 8 per sq. mi.

Most live in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta

MAJOR URBAN AREAS

Toronto = industry and finance

Montreal = industry and shipping

Vancouver = trade b/t Canada and Asia

Edmonton

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HISTORY and GOVT

Driven by French and English roots, independence and immigration

1400s- John Cabot and Jacques Cartier

1600s- French and British competed

1800s- British and French feared US invasion

1867- Dominion of Canada

Quebec, Ontario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick

Dominion = partial self governance

HISTORY and GOVT (cont)

Independence

1st attempt 1931

British gov’t kept the right to approve constitutional changes

1982

Canada granted full freedom

Constitutional monarchy established

EXPANSION and DIVERSITY

1800s- land from Atlantic to Pacific, and Arctic to US Border

1815-1855- 1 million British settlers

Quebecois- French speaking people of Canada

Klondike Gold Rush

Many Natives booted

1998- Nanavut- “our land”; formal apology

MODERN CHALLENGES

NAFTA

Trading bet. US and Canada

Elimination of trade barriers

What to do w/Quebec?

French nationalists want to start a separatist movement

Want independence

CULTURE

Official languages: English and French

Religions: Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Sikhism

Education and Health-Care:

Private and Public 97% literacy rate Must be in school bet. 6-16 yrs of age Health-Care- gov’t sponsored

THE ARTS British, French, American, and Native

influences

1950s- mass media pushed purchasing of locally produced goods

Early 1900s- art by Natives

Group of Seven- painted the rugged Northern Canadian Landscapes

Writers- Hugh MacLennan & Margaret Lawrence

Toronto- theater and music capital of Canada

FAMILY LIFE One of the wealthiest in the world

High standard of living

70% are married

60% of these have kids

1970s

1 of 10 was 65 or older

Today

1 of 6 is 65 or older

Avg. life expectancy = 80 yrs (highest in world)