1. Bypassed Atlantic Periphery

2. “Bypassed East”
Newfoundland & Labrador, northern New England, Adirondack region of New York
A transportation shadow
Slow economic growth
Settled early, but became increasingly isolated
Relatively few large urban areas

3. Physical Geography Topography
Northern extension of the Appalachian Mountains
Green Mountains (Vermont)
Range to 4,600 ft
Ice covered during the Pleistocene
White Mountains (New Hampshire)
Extend to 6,500 ft
Upper slopes rugged and steep
Mountains of the Atlantic Provinces
<2,200 ft and well rounded

4. Physical Geography Climate
Maritime impact minimized by continental and polar air masses (Dfb & Dfc)
Labrador Current flows southward chilling coastal waters
Generally, the climate is seldom hot, often cool, and usually damp

5. Early Settlers
Early 1600s - initial settlers relied upon three means to support their livelihood
Fishing: cod and haddock
Timbering, especially focusing on white pine
Agriculture, mainly subsistence

6. Agriculture Present Trends < 10% of New England is farmland
Agricultural peaked during the late 1800s; farms decreased by 66%
Today’s farming is specialized, single crop production

7. Major Areas and Products
Aroostook Valley (NE Maine)
Silty loam soils
Newest commercial agricultural area
Suffers from competition with Idaho and Oregon

8. Major Areas and Products
Lake Champlain Lowland
Serves as a milk shed for the Megalopolis cities of Boston and New York

9. Major Areas and Products
Prince Edward Island
Annapolis Valley
Cranberry Farming, Maine
Tulip Farm, Prince Edward Island

10. Major Agricultural Areas

11. Economic Mainstays Forestry Limited role: lack reforestation
Northern Maine: pulpwood
Forestry products
Northern New Brunswick and Newfoundland: pulp and paper

12. Economic Mainstays Fishing Inshore more important
Nova Scotia: leads all provinces in total catch each year
Newfoundland, New Brunswick, and PEI are 3rd, 4th , and 5th
Maine lobster industry vitally important to New England
70% of the region’s total catch

13. Offshore Banks

14. Economic Mainstays Mining Tourism - a mixed blessing?
Natural gas and oil; limited coal in Nova Scotia
Plentiful building stone
Tourism - a mixed blessing?
Summer and Spring: hiking, fishing, camping, canoeing, and sightseeing
Fall: foliage
Winter: skiing and winter sports

16. Spillovers from Megalopolis

17. Canadian Places on the Periphery
Halifax, Nova Scotia

18. American Places on the Periphery

19. The Future?

20. Discussion Questions
The now-bypassed periphery used to be the “front door” to Europe. Can (or should) the Periphery return to that past glory?
Since the region is basically at the doorstep of Megalopolis, might it turn into a place where Megalopolis residents take away the Bypassed Atlantic Periphery’s sense of place?

21. Related Books
Irving, John The Cider House Rules. New York: Ballantine.
Coming of age novel set in 20th century Maine.
Jenkins, Jerry and Andy Keal The Adirondack Atlas: A Geographic Portrait of Adirondack Park. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press.
Everything you wanted to know about anything Adirondack in concise, one-page essays!
Montgomery, Lucy Maud Anne of Green Gables. Boston: L. C. Page & Co.
Famous novel that takes place on Prince Edward Island.
Wood, Joseph S The New England Village. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
A solid historical geography of rural New England.

22. WebSources Nova Scotia Tourism Newfoundland and Labrador Quickfacts
Newfoundland and Labrador Quickfacts
Native Americans—Algonquian Language Family
The Great Stone Face
Atlas of Canada Maritime Provinces