Post on 02-Jan-2016
C H A P T E R
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Innisfree McKinnonUniversity of Oregon
Lecture Outline
1North America
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Learning Objectives
• The geographic perspective
• Colonialism
• Scale, region, globalization and human environment interaction
• Cultural diversity
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Learning Objectives
• Differing systems of government
• Thematic geography vs. regional geography
• Formal & functional regions
• Canada as a commonwealth country
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© 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
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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
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Canada
• Canada has highest rate of immigration (total percentage of population)
• Anglophone: English speaking
• Francophone: French Speaking
• Aleut
• Inuit
• First Nations
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Cultural Diversity
• Figure 1.2
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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
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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
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• 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
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• Presidential republic– Executive and
legislative branches fully seperated
Political Complexity
• Commonwealth Country– Parlimentary– Prime Minister head
of country and member of legislative branch
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Political Complexity
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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
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Interconnectedness
• Geography today is study of interconnectedness– Earth's physical system– Global economy– Cultural diversity
• GoogleEarth, Mapquest– Statistical analysis– Visualize interconnectedness
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The Geographic Perspective
• Understanding the connections between the earth's physical systems, peoples cultures, and economies
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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
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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
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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…
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© 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
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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
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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)
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Regional Classification
• Homogeneous– Similar
• E.g., religion, language, climate, etc…
• Heterogeneous– Different
• E.g., Quebec
• Nodal– Core more important
• E.g., San Francisco
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© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc.
© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc.
End of Chapter 1