Human Geography of the U.S.Chapter 6 – An Abundant Land

Population

•United States – 313 million

•Largely populated by many groups of immigrants.

•About 5% of the world’s population live in the U.S.

Early Americans

• 1st people to migrate to North America came from Asia

• Crossed the land bridge across the Bering Strait

Early Americans

• In the 15th century, Europeans began to explore the “New World”

• Spanish arrived first• In 1565, they founded St. Augustine,

FL, the oldest permanent settlement in the U.S.

• The French and English came later• English made their first permanent

settlement in Jamestown, VA in 1607

Castillo de San Marcos FortSt. Augustine, FL

Jamestown, Virginia

Economic Success

• 3 factors have contributed to the overall success of the U.S. economy:• Available natural resources

• A skilled labor force

• A stable political system

Human/Environment Interaction

• The growth of industry changed the development of the U.S. and Canada.

• The West became a source of raw materials.

• Europeans cleared forests for farmland.

Industry and Expansion

• Mass production enabled goods to be produced more quickly.

• Advances in transportation helped get the goods to the marketplace.

World’s Largest Economy

• World leader in agricultural products, manufactured goods, and global trade.

• U.S. produces 10% of the world’s exports

• Leading industries are petroleum, steel, transportation equipment, chemicals, electronics, food processing, telecommunications, consumer goods, lumber, & mining

Agriculture

• Fertile soil, favorable climate, and early mechanization of the country’s farms are mainly responsible for success

• 40% of world’s production of corn

• 20% of cotton• 10% of wheat, cattle,

and hogs

A Diverse Society

• 70% trace ancestors to Europe• Hispanic Americans – 13%• African Americans – 12%• Asian Americans – 4%• Native Americans – 1%

Culture: Religion

• Religious freedom is valued because many of the people who migrated to the region did so to worship freely

• Most are Christians (85%); others practice Judaism, Islam and Buddhism

Culture: Language

• U.S. – primarily English speaking, many Spanish-speaking people live in the Southwest, French-speaking live in southern Louisiana

• Only officially bilingual state - New Mexico – English and Spanish

American Life Today

• About 80% of Americans live in cities and surrounding suburbs

• The move to the suburbs was made possible by the widespread ownership of automobiles (one auto for every 1.3 Americans)

Highlands Ranch, Outskirts of Denver, CO

Culture: Leisure Time

• Playing and watching sports (basketball, baseball, football, soccer, tennis, skiing, ice skating, etc.)

• TV, movies, music, video games• Vacationing (beaches, national parks,

etc.)• Not all Americans live well,

unfortunately 1 in 10 Americans live in poverty

Bryce Canyon National Park, UT

Subregions of the United States

• The Northeast (9 states)• 5% of the nations land, 20% of the

population• Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire,

Massachusetts, Rhode Island, & Conneticut make up New England

• The other 3 – Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey – are referred to as the Middle Atlantic states

The Northeast

• Megalopolis – cities overlap to form a single urban area

• Boswash – largest megalopolis is in the Northeast, between Boston and Washington D.C.

• Stretches 500 miles

• A satellite view of the Boswash region at night. (NASA)

Subregions of the U.S.

• The Midwest (12 states)• Nation’s “Breadbasket”• ¼ of the people live in the Midwest• Its central location and excellent

waterways make the Midwest a trade, transportation, and distribution center

Subregions of the U.S.

• The South (16 states)• Contains more than 1/3 of the population• “Sunbelt” – climate draws millions of tourists

and retirees• Agriculture was the South’s 1st economic

activity, and cotton, tobacco, fruits, peanuts, and rice are still grown there

• Development & manufacturing aided by air conditioning

Subregions of the U.S.

• The West (13 states)• ½ of the land area, about 1/5 of the

population• Includes Alaska & Hawaii• Most rapidly growing region• Farming, ranching, food processing, logging,

fishing, mining, oil refining, tourism, filmmaking, & the production of computers

• Harbors in Seattle & Los Angeles make foreign trade – especially with Asia – important

Seattle’s Harbor