The United States and Canada

Geography

What Makes Us Americans?What Makes Us Americans?

Oh Canada What do you know about the land to the north?

Beware of Ethnocentrism….

Challenging StereotypesColbert on Canada

Start at 1:47http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/264536/february-22-2010/better-know-a-riding---vancouver-s-southStart at 2:00

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/264537/february-22-2010/better-know-a-riding---vancouver-s-south---ujjal-dosanjh(interview)

What stereotypes about Canadians and Canada does Stephen Colbert challenge in his ‘better know a riding’?Create a list…

Geography of N. America

What makes us American?Physical Characteristics – What can you identify as US geographical features…Human Characteristics – (cultural features….)

Geography of the Country Impact of Geography on our country’s culture

 

East and West East –

Landforms are olderMountains have been eroded, hilly ground is prevalent Coastal plains have formed along Eastern seaboard and barrier islands have developed The piedmont – area at or near the Appalachian Mountain range

West – Younger landformsSteep mountains, active volcanoes, more diversity of landforms and landscapes…

Deserts, Mountain ranges, low plain lands…

American Geographic Features

Physical Regions – Atlantic, Pacific, Great Basin, Arctic Ocean

Major landformsRocky MountainsPiedmontGreat and Interior PlainsAppalachian MountainsRivers (original super highways) North American

Watersheds

Landforms

The U.S. and Canada have several major mountain ranges:

A.The Rocky MountainsB.The Appalachian MountainsC.Pacific Coastal Ranges

The Rocky Mountains

The Rocky Mountains extend about 3,000 miles from Alaska south to New Mexico. They are younger and taller than the Appalachian Mountains. The Continental Divide is the line of highest points in the Rockies that marks the separation of rivers flowing eastward and westward.

The Appalachian Mountains

The Appalachian Mountains extend about 1,600 miles north to south from Newfoundland in Canada to Alabama.

Pacific Coastal Ranges

A series of small mountain rangesstretch from southern California to Washington. These ranges are low in elevation and right on the coast. They make the coastline rugged and steep. This area is also on the Ring of Fire and has many active and dormant volcanoes. Earthquakes are common in this area.

How do Mountains help define the Geography of N. America

Mountains divide and define the landscape of North America

Create barriers which can led to regionalizationMineral wealth – miningFertile valleys around mountain regions

Ex: Southern Californian valley grow most of the vegetable produce consume in the US

Entertainment/ Landscapes Ex: Appalachian trial, skiing, tourism in CA

Other Landforms

A.The Canadian ShieldB. Interior LowlandsC.Atlantic and Gulf Coastal PlainsD.Basin and RangeE. Great PlainsF. Grand Canyon

Canadian ShieldThe Canadian Shield is a rocky, mainly flat area around Hudson Bay.Large geographic features unique to Canada

Canadian Shield - a massive geological shield covered by a thin layer of soil, caused by long volcanic history

continental ice sheets depressed the land surface (see Hudson Bay), scooped out thousands of lake basins, and carried away much of the region's soil.

Geographic FeaturesThe Canadian Cordillera

part of the American cordillera, stretches from the Rocky Mountains in the east to the Pacific Ocean.extensive area of mountain ranges, basins, and plateaus in western North America

Geographic Features Canadian Arctic

While the largest part of the Canadian Arctic is composed of seemingly endless permanent ice and tundra north of the tree line, The ground in the Arctic is mostly composed of permafrost, making construction difficult and often hazardous, and agriculture virtually impossible

Geographic Features

Prairies/ Plains - These are flat areas that stretch along the Gulf of Mexico in the south and the Arctic Ocean in the north. The Arctic Coastal Plain is tundra.

The Prairies in Canada comprise the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, as they are much covered by prairie.

Great PlainsA largely treeless flat area that extends from Canada down to Mexico. The soil is very fertile and good for farming but the climate can be harsh with cold winters and hot summers. This area also gets many tornadoes.

Basin and RangeThis area is mostly in Nevada and it consists of rocky outcroppings of rock and large depressions.

Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon was formed by water erosion from the Colorado River. The canyon is 277 miles long and ranges in width from 4 to 18 miles. Most of the canyon is in Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona.See the Grand Canyon skywalk at youtube!

Geographic FeaturesMany of the plains and flatlands are Canada’s and US’s agricultural heartland

The great plains = the “bread basket” of the US

Canadian Arctic contains many natural resources & has a new transportation zone

Ie: natural gas, oil deposits, and mineral wealth. North West Passage has opened as a result of global warming

Unique features = great natural parks & dangerous meteorological areas.

Ie: the Grand Canyon and Tornado Ally

Groups of Islands

A. Hawaiian archipelago - A group of 19 islands and islets in the Pacific Ocean that formed over a hotspot in the earth’s crust. The largest island, Hawaii, has an active volcano.

B. Aleutian Islands - A chain of over 300 small volcanic islands that extend from Alaska to Russia.

Volcanic Island

Constantly changing geographic features caused by Plate Tectonics

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRfEGvp6wDU

Rivers

Some major rivers in the United States are:

A.MississippiB.St. LawrenceC.ColoradoD.ColumbiaE. Rio Grande

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the second longest river in the United States with a length of 2,340 miles. The river is an important transportation route from the grain producing states of middle America to the Gulf of Mexico.

St. Lawrence River

The St. Lawrence River connects the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean. The river has a system of locks that allow large ships to transport loads of minerals and goods. Part of the river serves as the boarder between Canada and the United States.

Colorado River

The Colorado River flows from Colorado to the Gulf of California. The river formed the Grand Canyon by erosion and it is an important source of fresh water in an arid region. The Hoover Dam on the river provides electricity for Los Angeles.

Columbia River

The Columbia River is the fourth largest river in the U.S. and the largest river in the Pacific Northwest. The river has many dams that are used to create hydroelectric power. The dams have also impacted the local salmon industry.

Rivers Provide… Transportation

Rivers provided the first ‘super highways’ of the United States

Natural ResourcesLots of Major Cities are built along these rivers (ie: Portland) or uses the water from these rivers (ie: Las Vegas uses Lake Mead).

Energy Dams create electricity One of the reasons New England became the center of the Industrial Revolution is the many waterways throughout the region

Tributaries Off of each major river many tributes feed smaller communities and provide water for agriculture.

Other Water Features

Some other important water features are:

A. Gulf of MexicoB. Great LakesC. Arctic OceanD. Pacific OceanE. Atlantic OceanF. Hudson Bay

Importance: - These water features often provided ports and easy access to transportation - Majority of North American population lives along these water features (for better or worse…)

Climate

Canada and the United States are in the middle and high latitudes. The most common climates are:

A.Humid Subtropical and ContinentalB.Semiarid and AridC.Marine West Coast and

MediterraneanD.Tundra and Icecap

Climate

Most of the Eastern United States is humid subtropical. This climate zone has a mild winter and hot humid summers. The Northern states are humid continental. They have much colder winters but the summers can still be hot and uncomfortable.

Climate

Semiarid = Great Plains into the SouthwestArid = SouthwestMarine West Coast = Coast of Oregon and WashingtonMediterranean = Coast of Southern CaliforniaTundra = Northern Canada and AlaskaTropical Wet = Hawaii

The tundra is a flat treeless plain with lichens, shrubs,and some flowers.

The taiga is a coniferous forest that grows in subarcticclimates. Only coniferous trees grow because of the Lack of sunlight in the wintertime.

Human-Environment Interaction

Humans adapt to the environment

To Weather – To Terrain –

Humans change the environment to fit our needs

Ex: Creating Land, Farming, deforestation, Global Warming, Dust Bowl

Humans conserve environmental resources

Ex: National Parks

How have humans adopted to their

environment in North America?

Geographic Features Canadian Arctic

Location = Yukon Territory, Northwest Territory, Baffin Island and NunavutThe ground in the Arctic is mostly composed of permafrost

This makes construction difficult and often hazardous, and agriculture virtually impossible

What is Permafrost

A thick subsurface layer of soil that remains frozen throughout the year, occurring chiefly in polar regions.

Permafrost Melting in Siberia - http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/45829669#45829669

What is Permafrost - http://videos.howstuffworks.com/science/permafrost-videos-playlist.htm#video-30792

Adapting to the Arctic Background information

Arctic is named for the north polar constellation ‘Arktos’ – Greek for ‘Bear’It has been inhabited by humans for close to 20,000 years Includes all of Greenland, northern parts of Alaska , Canada, Norway, & Russia. Boundary is defined by

the northern limit of stands of trees or the line of average July temperature of 50 F or the Arctic Circle line of latitude 66 degrees, 33 minutes North. (the sun never sets on the summer solstice.

Adapting to the ArcticVariety of land & animals

Ice SheetsTundraLarge mammals (caribou, bears, wolves, etc.),

many have adapted to living in the ArcticHow?

Examples of Animals Adapting to the Arctic

Cold tolerant organisms have evolved various methods for coping with very low temperatures. Some animals hibernate, take shelter, or even migrate to warmer areas. Others, such as Antarctic seals, have warm fur and a thick layer of blubber for insulation. Arctic plants tend to be small and grow low to the ground and can be coated with hair and wax to avoid wind chill. Some insects, amphibians and microbes can even withstand being frozen solid.

Indigenous people in Canada

Background Information: Inuit (Arctic based natives) and Metis (mixed European and First Nation Ancestry) tribesFirst Nations – group of over 630 aboriginal tribes in Canada (half located in Ontario and British Columbia)

Each tribe has its own history, culture and traditions but the First Nations often deal with the Canadian government collectively through the Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (AFN) Assembly of First Nations is an organizations that seeks to protect the rights of native groups and treaty obligations

How is Inuit Culture changing?

Young population New Technology

Changes in CultureTraditional Culture‘A Boy among Polar Bears’

Hunting Why is hunting so important to Inuit culture?

Why is carving so important to Inuit culture?

How do Inuit children traditionally learn about their culture? Why do they think this is so important?

Changes

‘tales from the Arctic circle’

How has geography effected the modern developments of Inuit culture?How has technology changed Inuit culture?How have people adapted to living in a remote, cold area .in a modern era?

What values and culture traits remain the same?

Human-Environmental Interactions Information to find: Arctic

Name of Tribe: Inuit/ Inuktitut

History:  Believed to have crossed the Alaskan land bridge around 1000 AD, spreading eastward across the artic

Staple Crops:  

Traditionally fishers and hunters with a Semi-Nomadic way of life until the mid-1900s = gather grasses, tubers, roots, stems, berries and seaweed which were persevered for year round use.

Myths or Spiritual Beliefs: 

 

The Inuit practiced a form of shamanism based on animist principles. They believed that all things had a form of spirit, including humans, and that to some extent these spirits could be influenced by a pantheon of supernatural entities

The Geography of the artic greatly influences Inuit beliefs: Ex: Some Inuit looked into the aurora borealis or northern lights, to find images of their family and friends dancing in the next life.

Regional plant and animal life:

  

Hunting dominated society – especially whaling until the late 1300s.

Hunt – walrus, caribou, seal, narwhals, polar bears, muskoxen, and birds(75% of the traditional Inuit diet comes from protein)

Environment (Biome):

  

 Arctic Zone – subarctic and tundra climate

Settlement patterns (location,

movement) and housing structures:

 Settlement History: The Arctic tree line serves as the unofficial southern border of the culture. The Inuit spread eastward from Alaska to Greenland until the 17 th century when they come in contact with Europeans. Movement: Inuit hunted using qajaq (kayaks) and moved about in umiaqs (larger open boats made of wood frames covered with animal skins, for transporting people, goods and dogs.). In the winter the Inuit used dog sleds Housing: during the winter they lived in Iglus as temporary housing but in the summer they lived in tents or sod and driftwood houses

Human-Environmental Interactions Information to find:

North South East West

Name of Tribe:

 Tlingit Hopi Iroquois Lakota

History:        Staple Crops: 

 

Fish,      

Myths or Spiritual Beliefs: 

 

       

Regional plant and

animal life:

  

       

Environment

(Biome):  

     

Settlement patterns (location, movement

) and housing

structures:

       

Your task is to compare and contrast the Inuit tribe to one of the following tribes indigenous to the United States and Canada.

1. Draw conclusions: How did the following tribes establish unique cultural traits dependent on their environment?

Ethnic Demographics in Canada

The North

Tundra:Animals that inhabit the tundra (Caribou) http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/planet-earth-pole-to-pole-caribou-migration.htmlPolar Bears http://animal.discovery.com/videos/planets-best-polar-bear-tundra-buggy.html

The Arctic Circle: http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/beyond-survival-arctic-circle/

How to survive in the Arctic

How to build an igloo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HebmRUSJpPIInuit Hunting http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xLS_H2B6hg&feature=relatedHow is Inuit culture changing (modern vs. traditional)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpwQGCP19T4&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=033GBrdphZY&feature=related

National Geographic Battle of the Arctic Giants 2012

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxO6WHXA0nA

Physical Features – Regional Traits1. How does geography create different regional traits?2. How has history created different cultural regions?3. How do you connect these different regions & cultures together to create a common American culture?

Regionalism

Clusters of like areas that are distinctive by their uniformity or description

How have formal and perceptual regions in the US impacted culture and politics?

How do we define our regions?

1.Legal Regions?2.Regionalism based

on early settlement patterns?

3.Belt Regions?4.Cultural Regions?

5 Themes of Geography

RegionRegion is an area on the earth’s surface that is defined by certain unifying characteristics. The unifying characteristics may be physical, human, or cultural.

What are the 3 types of regions?

Regionalism

Clusters of like areas that are distinctive by their uniformity or description (similar characteristics, either physical or human).

Many regions are perceptual

How do we define our regions?1.Legal Regions2.Regionalism based on early settlement

patterns3.Belt Regions4.Cultural Regions

Regionalism1. Legal Regions – US census Bureau Regions

2. Regions based on settlement patterns

"American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America."

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/entertainment/july-dec11/colinwoodard_11-24.html

3. Belt RegionsBelt Regions of the US – portions of the country that share certain characteristics.

First applied to growing regions – follow lines of latitude and have similar climates, soil conditions.

Usage has expanded to other economic, climatic and cultural concentrations.

Often vague borders

Ex: Bible Belt, Snowbelt, Sun Belt…

4. Cultural Traits by RegionEX: Observations of Stephen Fry in Maine….

Language – accents People – hard workers (immigrant heritage)Landscape, animals, food (insiders knowledge)

• http://video.yandex.ru/users/stephenfry-ru/view/5/?cauthor=stephenfry-ru&cid=3

Maine – 6:30

Cultural Regionalism within StateThe Quiet Corner

noticeably more rustic in character than the more suburban towns to the west under populated and isolated in contrast with the rest of Connecticut, with many of its towns having populations below 5,000.

Greater HartfordNot dependent on out-of-state metropolitan areas such as New York City or Boston. It is on the fairly level land of the Connecticut River valley with soil less rocky than that of other areas in the state

Cultural Heritage associatedwith human geographic features

Rural vs. Urban Urban - More than 75% of the people of Mexico live in cities of over 50,000 inhabitants

contemporary life in its cities has become similar to that in neighboring United States and Europe.

Rural - Most Mexican villagers follow the older way of life more than the city people doBlending of Cultures across borders – Tex Mex

What are at least 3 examples of cultural diffusion occurring along the Mexican/ US border that Tony Bourdain highlights?

Are we becoming more culturally unified or do

regional traits still exist?

History of Exploration & Human Settlement

330 BC Pytheas of Massalia, a Greek merchant, discovers ‘Thule’ (Iceland?)records a discription of the midnight sun, the aurora, & Polar Ice870 AD Floki Vilgerdarson, a Norwegian Viking, discovers Iceland983 AD Erik Thorvaldsson, known as “Erik the Red” discovers and settles in Greenland. 1594-1610 A driving force for the exploration of the Arctic was the desire of European monarchs to find an alternate trading route to China, a Northwest Passage - many of these expeditions would end in failure  

Famous/ Infamous European Exploration1845-1873 - Sir John Franklin’s expedition aboard Erebus and Terror sails in search of the Northwest Passage. 129 men set off with hopes of finding the passage—but none would return.1878 - Baron Nordenskiöld completes the first successful navigation of the Northeast Passage. This he accomplishes sailing on board the Vega, navigating the northern coasts of Europe and Asia for the first time.1886-1909 -The Peary Arctic Club, led by US Navy engineer Robert Peary, organizes 8 expeditions to the Arctic. in 1908-1909, Peary reports that he has reached the North Pole with his friend, Matthew Henson and four native people.

Human SettlementLand Bridge

Last glaciation was at is maximum around 20000 years agoWater levels dropped about 120 metersA land bridge formed between Russia and Alaska

Two Theories on How:Humans crossed during the shift from glaciation to interglacial period and following an ice free corridor in the ice sheetHumans crossed during shift from glaciation to interglacial period and took boats down the coastTwo theories on when:

23000 BC humans migrated across the land bridge (Nat Geo) Relies upon physical evidence – fossils, rocks, artifacts

10000 BC humans migrated across the land bridge (U of Mich)University College of London and University of Michigan found genetic evidence that shows native Americans share genetic origins with 70 migrants from SiberiaGenetic evidence allows deduction of elapsed time since common ancestors

Human SettlementEvidence for the land bridge theory

Coil pottery Japan/Siberia 15k BCAlaska/Yukon/BC 1.5k BC (much earlier evidence probably lost due to rising ocean levels)Southern Canada, northern US 700 BCUS NE/Canada SE 1 AD

SIDENOTE – possible connection to Navajo coil baskets????

DNA similaritiesClovis spears (found in Manitoba, NM, Alaska, VA)Fossilized animal remains demonstrate movement across continents

camelids, equids from NA to Asia (then went extinct in NA)lions, mammoths from Asia to NA (then went extinct in NA)

Quebec Protections for French culture –

Quebec culture protected under Canadian law Legal system based on French laws … not EnglishFrench one of the official languagesSpecial immigration laws to attract French people

Separatism – Arguments over culture and language resulted in large percentage of the province an independent country.

Splitting a Nation: Québec Separatism in Canada

The ConflictMany sovereigntists claim that Canada has always been

comprised as two separate and distinct nations, one French-speaking (Francophone) and one English-speaking (Anglophone).

Some sovereigntists believe that declaring an independent Québec is the only way to protect the cultural, linguistic, and social equality rights of the majority-Francophone province.

Those who believe in maintaining the status quo for Canada point out that bilingualism is the nation's official policy and that provincial rights are largely unencumbered by federal mandates. Further, as Québec entered the Canadian federation willingly, there is no historical basis for the "two nations" argument.

Historical• Colonized by both England and France in the sixteenth century, competition over commerce set the foundation for rivalry between Anglophones and Francophones. Although the British triumphed over the French by 1763, Francophone society remained largely distinct in the ensuing centuries.Political• Canadian politics at the federal level has been dominated by the sovereignty issue in recent decades, which has made it difficult for any one party to gain favor on a nationwide basis. Currently, Canada's national parties are largely regionally based, with the Bloc Québécois holding sway in Québec, the Reform Party dominating the prairie provinces, and the Liberals holding a majority in Ontario.

The Questions: Should Québec be allowed to create a separate nation, based on French culture and traditions?