Upload
paulina-cox
View
216
Download
1
Tags:
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Physical Geography
• Three physiographic provinces:– The Northwest
• An extension of the high mountain Cordillera and the Pacific coastal mountains
– The Laurentian Shield• Gentle relief; few hills
– The Arctic, including Greenland• Gentle relief; few hills; Expansive views
Physical Geography
• Terrain– Permafrost– Laurentian Shield
• Ice-scoured plain; low-lying relief
– Arctic• Includes LOTS of different landforms• Many lakes
– Greenland• Craton > 3 billion years old!
Physical Geography
• Basic characteristics of the Region:– Cold temps, long winters, thin soils, poor
drainage, low precipitation
• Climate– Subarctic (Dfc), Tundra (ET), ice cap (EF)– Long winters, short & cool summers– Variable precipitation distinct biogeographic characteristics
• Biogeography– Taiga
• Boreal forests
– Tundra• Lichen, mosses, tiny
things
– Global climate change
Physical Geography
} Defined by treeline
Historical Settlement
Aboriginal Peoples• Four main
cultural groups:– Algonquin-
speaking Crees and Ojibways
– Athabascan cultures
– Aleut– Inuit (eskimos)
Historical Settlement• Early Europeans
– Scandinavian Norse (“Vikings”)
Igaliko, Greenland(built on 1000 year-old Viking ruins!)
Historical Settlement
• Early Europeans, Fur and Fish– French fur traders and trappers in the
Northeast (16th & 17th centuries)– The Hudson Bay Company focused on the
Northwest– Both used water transport and built military
forts to protect their interests
• Alaska’s purchase
Current Settlement
• Aboriginals no longer rely totally on hunting, fishing and gathering
• Often occupy bottom rung on the social and economic ladder
• Native American = in the interior; Inuit = along the coasts and in the Arctic
• Native land settlements key issues
Traditional Political Economy
• Aboriginal people lived off the land, rivers, and the sea, relying on hunting, gathering and fishing to achieve sustenance
• Euro-Americans looked for three things: animals, minerals, trees
• Farming available, but very slim
• Fishing
• Logging/Forestry– The largest area of uncut forest in North
America– Lumber, pulp and paper operations dot the
region from Quebec to Manitoba– The spruce forests south of Hudson Bay are
the prime source for most paper mills
Current Political Economy
• Hydroelectricity– Provides 70% of all Canada’s power– Cheap & abundant– Sells surplus to New York and New England
states, competing with the coal-burning power plants of the Ohio Valley
Current Political Economy
Current Political Economy
• Tourism – Major attractions
• Parks and national forests• Wildlife (big game)• Sport fishing
– The areas closest to the US border receive most of the pressure
Denali, National Park
Grizzly Bear Relaxing
Fly Fishing, Denise Lake
Struggle for Alaska’s Land
• Continuous controversies:
– Developing natural resources
– Safeguarding the last frontier
– Protecting and preserving traditional native population’ way of life
– State’s rights to pursue economic development through exploitation of its natural resources
Chronology of Key Events• 1867: US acquires Alaska from Russia• 1884: Alaska Organic Act: victory for Aboriginal
People• 1959: Year of statehood• 1959: Alaska Statehood Act annexation of 104
million acres, without regard of Aboriginal claims• 1968: Petroleum discovered at Prudhoe Bay• 1971: Alaskan Native Land Claims Settlement
Act, providing one billion dollars and 44 million acres
• 1980: Conservation Act: 104 million acres of parks and refuges and 57 million acres specified as wilderness
Resource Management Strategies
• Preservation:– Removing from or limiting use, saving it for the future
• Conservation:– Balancing use with protection
• Exploitation:– Full or unlimited use
• Multiple Use• Wilderness• Boom and Bust Economy
– Cyclical rapid growth and catastrophic decline
Readings
• San Francisco Chronicle: Greenland likes global warming
• Mayer, Audrey, Pekka E. Kauppi, Per K. Angelstam, Yu Zhang, and Paici M. Tikka. 2005. “Importing Timber, Exporting Ecological Impact,” Science 15 (April): 359–360.– An intriguing cultural & political ecology of the Far North.
• Rundstrom, Robert A. 1990. “A Cultural Interpretation of Inuit Map Accuracy,” The Geographical Review 80 (2): 155–168.– Very cool article on how Inuit peoples use “maps” with
incredible accuracy!
Discussion QuestionsHow does continued Euro-American settlement
influence the once-balanced lifestyle of the Inuit people?
The Arctic Explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson says the “Far” North & Alaska will become a densely settled and fully-integrated region. Why would he say this? Is it really possible? How and why (or why not)?
What kind of effects will occur in the “Far” North & Alaska as the Earth attempts to balance its temperature? Will they be beneficial? Disastrous? Non-effective? Why (or why not)?
Related Books• Berton, Pierre. 1988. The Arctic Grail: The Quest
for the Northwest Passage and the North Pole, 1818–1900. New York: Viking.– The elusive 100-year search for the Northwest
Passage.• Bone, Robert M. 1992. The Geography of the
Canadian North: Issues and Challenges. Don Mills, Ont.: Oxford University Press Canada.– A geographical look at life and landscape of the
region.• Haycox, Stephen. 2002. Alaska: An American
Colony. Seattle: University of Washington Press.– Divided nicely into Russian exploration and the
American period of settlement.
WebSources
• All Things Arctichttp://www.allthingsarctic.com/countries/canada.aspx
• Greenland!!http://iserit.greennet.gl/bgbw/attractions.html
• Extreme Points of North Americahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extreme_points_of_North_America
• Tourism, Parks and Recreationhttp://www.uphere.ca/
• Indian and Northern Affairs Canadahttp://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/ch/rcap/sg/sj26_e.html