1. Physical Geography US and Canada

2. The Continent ▪ Canada: ▪ Second largest country in the world. ▪ The longest non-militarized border in the world (8,900 km). ▪ Trade agreement since 1989. ▪ Several similarities but different societies. ▪ US: ▪ Fourth largest country in the world. ▪ 48 continental (contiguous) states plus Alaska and Hawaii ▪ Mexico ▪ We’ll do Mexico next unit!

3. More about the Continent ▪ Rich in natural resources ▪ Major Landforms: ▪ Eastern Lowlands ▪ Flat plain along Gulf of Mexico and East Coast with good harbors ▪ Bordered by Piedmont plateau ▪ Appalachian Highlands ▪ Appalachians extend 1600 miles from Canada to Alabama ▪ Catskills, Blue Ridge, Smoky Mountains are in Appalachians ▪ 400 million years old ▪ Once as tall as Alps and Rockies

4. More Landforms ▪ Interior Lowlands ▪ Flat land, flattened by glaciers thousands of years ago ▪ Interior Plains, Great Plains and Canadian Shield ▪ Gradually rise from East to Rockies in West ▪ Western Mountains ▪ Rocky Mountains ▪ Series of ranges from Alaska to Mexico ▪ 3000 miles long ▪ Continental Divide in Rockies ▪ Separates rivers flowing east and west ▪ Between Rockies and Coast ▪ Series of ranges: Cascades, Sierra Nevada run from California to Alaska ▪ Part of the Ring of Fire

5. Islands ▪ North Canada ▪ Near Arctic Circle ▪ Largest Islands: Elsmere, Victoria, and Baffin

6. More Islands ▪ Archipelagoes of US ▪ Aleutian Islands ▪ Barren, off coast of Alaska ▪ Hawaiian Islands ▪ Not geographically part of NA ▪ Stretches 1500 miles!

7. Pacific Northwest Midwest South Mid Atlantic States Mountain West Southwest New England Hawaii and Alaska are not part of a region D.C. Regions of the US

8. Resources ▪ Oceans and Waterways ▪ Three Oceans ▪ Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic ▪ Large freshwater lakes ▪ Great Lakes; part of St. Lawrence River system ▪ Mississippi-Ohio-Missouri River system ▪ Land ▪ LOTS of land & Fertile soil make US leading food producer in world ▪ Huge forests ▪ Minerals and Fossil Fuels ▪ Canadian Shield and Western Mountains: Iron, Nickel, copper, gold, uranium ▪ Oil and Natural Gas in Plains, Alaska, and Gulf of Mexico ▪ BUT US largest consumer of fossil fuels

9. Precipitation ▪ East/west gradient in precipitation ▪ Wet air from the Pacific. ▪ When reaching the coastal chain and the Sierra Nevada is forced to gain altitude. ▪ precipitation over the West Side of these mountain chains. ▪ The air becomes dryer as it goes over mountains ▪ Less rain falling over the western part of the Great Plains. ▪ As it moves east, air masses gain in humidity through land evaporation and precipitation levels rise.

10. Climate ▪ Very diversified, ranging from continental humid to sub tropical. ▪ Relatively simple weather system: ▪ Varies from west to east. ▪ Influenced by air masses moving from the arctic (cold and dry) and from the gulf of Mexico (hot and wet). ▪ The southeast section of the United States: ▪ A high precipitation level. ▪ Result of movements of air masses from the gulf of Mexico. ▪ Subject to tropical storms coming from the South Atlantic

11. More Climate ▪ Tundra in far north ▪ Treeless, 40˚ is average in July! ▪ Coastal ranges prevent arctic air from entering interior ▪ North Central and northeast ▪ Cold winters, warm summers ▪ Great for agriculture: Breadbasket of US ▪ Pacific Coast ▪ Marine west coast climate; summers warm, winters rainy and mild ▪ Southwest ▪ Desert climate ▪ Tropical ▪ Hawaii and Florida

12. The Anglo-American cultural space ▪ US and Canada are known as “Anglo- America” ▪ Bound together by geographic, cultural, political and economic ties ▪ As o pposed to Latin America (Spanish and Portuguese cultural origin). ▪ Prominence of English Language. ▪ A few exceptions: ▪ French Canada, Hawaii, US/Mexico border regions, southeast Florida, First Nations and the Black population. ▪ Immigration is changing this space. ▪ English remains the language of power and business.

14. Immigration to the United States, 1820-2002 British Isles Germany Scandinavia Southeast Europe Latin America Asia

15. Transportation ▪ Overcoming space ▪ Always been a challenge. ▪ Massive transport infrastructure (from trails to railways to highways to the information highway). ▪ Transportation ▪ Supports the economic efficiency of the United States and Canada. ▪ Comes with high energy and infrastructure costs. ▪ Transportation uses 27% of all the energy. ▪ The American consumption of energy is 3 times greater than Europeans.

17. Interstate Highway System ▪ Built since the 1950s: ▪ Peak construction during the 1960s. ▪ Mainly completed by 1991. ▪ Currently about 45,000 miles of highways. ▪ Trans Canadian highway is the Canadian equivalent. ▪ Interstates have changed urban spaces: ▪ Reduced the dominance of downtown areas ▪ Providing an alternative locational choice - both for commercial and residential activities: the suburbs

19. Impact of the Interstate System ▪ Impacts on businesses: ▪ Attracted by the lower rents in the suburbs ▪ Availability of parking space. ▪ Near suppliers and customers. ▪ Individual families: ▪ The interstates made commuting much easier (more distance for the same amount of time). ▪ Car ownership increased dramatically ▪ Public transport was relatively neglected in this process. ▪ Suburban America ▪ Made possible by highways and personal mobility. ▪ Reflects American ideals of private ownership and individualism: ▪ Attracted by the more spacious surroundings for housing. ▪ Fled the cities with all of their urban problems. ▪ Increase in the size of housing units. ▪ Automobile dependency

20. Canada Not Just America’s Hat!

21. Canada ▪ Climate and location ▪ Similar to Russia: ▪ Continental scale. ▪ Latitude (plus, it’s stoopid cold) ▪ High dependency to the United States: ▪ Trade 75%. ▪ Each other’s largest trading partners ▪ Resources are in the north while population is in the south. ▪ Provinces and territories combined in a federal system (like what the US has)

22. French Canada ▪ Linguistic and cultural distinctiveness. ▪ Along the St. Lawrence Valley settled in “long lots”. ▪ Montreal is the second largest French-speaking city in the world. ▪ Significant lumber, mining and hydroelectric resources

23. The Northern Frontier ▪ Most of it in Canada with the exception of Alaska. ▪ Many natural resources, but difficult to access: ▪ Distances. ▪ Permafrost. ▪ Low populations concentrated along extraction sites. ▪ Tar sands of Northern Alberta: ▪ More oil than Saudi Arabia. ▪ Trapped as bitumen (oil shale) in sand formations. ▪.Released by Hydraulic Fracturing (Fracking)