Population Patterns Chapter 6 Section 1

Objectives:  Identify the People of the United States and Canada  Explain waves of immigration  Analyze Population Density and Distribution

The People  About 5% of the world’s population lives in the United States and Canada.  285 million people in U.S. and 31 million people of Canada.  Many are immigrants, and most are historically recent immigrants.

Waves of Immigrants  North America’s first immigrants likely moved into the region from Asia thousands of years ago.  Today their descendants, known as the Native Americans, number 2.5 million in the U.S. and 700,000 in Canada.  Other waves of immigration came later, including Europeans, Asians, Africans, and Latin Americans, creating diverse nations.

Reasons for Immigration:  Political Freedom  Example?  Religious Freedom  Example?  Economic Opportunities  Example?  Rich Natural Resources  Example?

Population Density and Distribution  Although the United States and Canada are “nations of immigrants”, their populations differ in terms of density and distribution.  Slightly larger than the U.S in land area, Canada only has an average population density of only 8 people per square mile.  Why?

 About 90% of Canadians live in the narrow strip of land along Canada’s border with the United States.  The poor soil of the Canadian Shield steered settlement towards the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence lowlands.  Other farming and ranching areas include the southern part of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta and the Pacific Coast of British Columbia.

 U.S. population density: 77 people per square mile.  Seems crowded, but outside large urban areas the population is widely distributed.  Northeast and Great Lakes region most densely populated, and historic commerce centers.  Another population cluster is the Pacific Coast.

 Since the 1970s the American South and Southwest have become the fasting growing areas.  Nicknamed the Sunbelt for its mild climate, it draws employees to its growing manufacturing, service, and tourism industries.  Retirees and Immigrants

 The least densely populated areas of the U.S. include:  The subarctic region of Alaska  The parched Great Basin,  Parts of the arid or semi-arid Great Plains.  Why?

Closure:  What did you learn today?

Objectives:  Explain Urbanization  Identify the differences between Coastal and Inland cities  Analyze future trends

The Cities  Both U.S. and Canada have agricultural societies, but also have experiences urbanization, the concentration of population in cities.  Cities grew as use of machines in agriculture gave rise to commercial farming.  Today, most people in the United States and Canada live in metropolitan areas.  A metropolitan area includes a city with a population of at least 50,000 and outlying communities called suburbs.

 More than 80% of the U.S. lives in the countries 276 metropolitan areas.  Canada contains 25 metropolitan areas which are home to about 60% of the Canadian population.

Coastal Cities  Much of the population lie in coastal areas where healthy economies support large populations.  Along the northern Atlantic coast, a chain of closely linked metropolitan areas form a megalopolis, or “great city”- nicknamed Boswash.  Include Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington D.C.

 Other important U.S. cities include Miami, New Orleans, and Houston.  Houston, which connects to the Gulf of Mexico through the Houston Ship Channel, is the southern end of a developing megalopolis.  Pacific megalopolis: stretches from San Francisco through Los Angeles, to San Diego.  All three have major ports.

 Seattle is a major coastal cities that features growing computer industries (along with San Francisco and Silicon Valley)  Vancouver is one of the largest cities in British Columbia and is an important shipping center.

Inland Cities  In Canada, ships teach the cities of Quebec, Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa through the St. Lawrence River, the Ottawa River, and the Great Lakes.  Detroit is situated around The Great Lakes  A megalopolis links the Great Lake cities of Chicago, Milwaukee, and Cleveland with Pittsburgh, a freshwater port on the Ohio River.

 Other major U.S. and Canadian inland cities:  Cincinnati, on the Ohio River  Minneapolis and St. Louis on the Mississippi River  Winnipeg, on the Red River  Saskatoon and Edmonton on the Saskatchewan River  Atlanta  Denver  San Antonio  Regina  Calgary

Future Trends  Like most developed countries, the U.S. and Canada have low birthrates, which increase the population by only 0.5% annually.  Immigration accounts for most growth.  One of the benefits of living in the region is mobility, the freedom to move from place to place.  In a typical year 1 in 6 U.S. residents relocate.

Closure:  Today I learned…  For example…  Therefore…  Clearly…

Classwork/Homework  Page 137 1, 3-6