Hawaii

Although Hawaii is far from mainland of North America it ceded into the US. Because of its relative isolation it has its own distinct plant life and landscape. The Hawaiian islands were formed by a moving volcano also known as a hot spot. As the tectonic plate moves and spews forth land the islands are formed in a chain. The volcanoes that create these islands are shield volcanoes with wide sloping sides and do not have a explosive eruption as seen in the movies. Instead the lava slowly flows down the sides without much excitement. Many tourists flock to experience the foreign and stunning landscape. This has both positive and negative effects on Hawaii. Much revenue comes through the tourism business. Most of the businesses are owned by large corporations so the locals get low-paying jobs. The large amount of tourism destroys the landscape and creates pollution. Also because it is a tourist hot spot the cost of living goes up for the natives. To me the negative impacts outweigh the benefits of tourism.

The Pacific Northwest

The Pacific Northwest starts from Oregon, past Washington and British Colombia, to Alaska. It is also refers to the coastal region that borders the Pacific Ocean. Also because of the ocean the temperatures are moderate with mild winters and cool summers. The two major mountain ranges are the Cascade Ranges and the Coastal Ranges. The ranges create orographic precipitation, which is the warm moist air condensing on one side of the mountain creating rainfall, while the other side has minor precipitation. This is similar to California's Rocky Mountains which blocks the moist ocean air and causes a rain shadow on the Great Basin. With large amounts of wheat farming the Pacific Northwest has many craft breweries. Alaska is isolated from the rest of the 48 states and relies on air and sea transportation. It is the largest state in the United States, being more than three times larger than California. More than half of this land is owned by the federal government.

California

California is on the western edge of the United States, bordering the Pacific Ocean. This allows trade to Asia by crossing the ocean. The city of Los Angeles is located in the southern part of California, has a relatively hot climate with occasional rainfall. But moving towards the coast the temperatures get cooler because of the ocean cooling the air. The Sierra Nevada Range resides in California. This range blocks the moist air on the west side of the mountain which condenses and precipitation occurs on the west side of the range. On the other side the dry air flows down the east side of the mountain creating the Great Basin. The Sierra Nevada blocks the prevailing winds causing little precipitation in the Great Basin.

MexAmerica

MexAmerica borders Mexico and travels up north to southern parts of California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. Because the Mexico is so close to these states much of Mexican culture is also infused in the United States. There was much conflict over the territory between the US and Mexico which resulted in the Mexican-American War. After the war ended the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ceded states over to the United States. Living in Los Angeles the population is very diverse with a large portion being the Hispanic population. Much of Hispanic culture was adopted in these parts of the United States. Los Angeles has good tacos.

The Rocky Mountain Region

The Rocky Mountain is a mountain range that extends from the northwest of Canada down towards the New Mexico in the United States. The mountain range travels in a northwest and southeast direction. On the west side of the mountain there lies the Great Basin and on the east the Great Plains. The plant life is largely effected by the altitude of where the plants reside. The Rockies is rich in minerals of all kinds and is mined for its resources. California also was largely populated because of the prospect of gold. Migrating from east coast to the west coast you must pass the Rocky Mountains, unless you go down towards New Mexico where the Rockies stops.

The Great Plains

The Great Plains is aptly named for its large expanse of plains and prairie land. In the Great Plains most of the land is flat, which helps farmers grow more crop. This is why their prevalent primary sector is agriculture. Driving from the east towards Los Angeles would be uphill although it will look flat. California is not flat like the Great Plains but have mountains and valleys throughout the state. Unlike tourism in Los Angeles where people flock from different places, most tourism in the Great Plains rely on other residents in the Great Plains. Hazards that occur in the Great Plains but not in California are tornadoes. The flat land plays a role in the suitability of tornadoes because they can wreak havoc across the flat land unhindered. But in California because of the peaks and valleys the tornado would be stopped. Also temperature in the Great Plains have very extreme ranges, from freezing cold to blistering hot. The temperatures change depending on the season. Because California is a coastal state, the temperature is more under-control by the ocean. This is called the maritime climate where the ocean cools the body of air and plays affects the climate.

The Coastal South

The Coastal South is on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. The climate is hot and humid summers with mild, wet winters. They are prone to hurricanes and tropical storms because of the climate and location. Hurricanes are prominent because of the warm ocean water, which creates a lot of water vapor. In California, hurricanes barely occur because of the cold Pacific Ocean. Many retirees move to the Coastal South for the warm climate. Also there is tourism is popular for the warm weather, and beaches. Also Disneyland located in Orlando is a big attraction for Florida. California also has a Disneyland and is a major attraction in California as well. People from all over the country go to Disneyland to have a fun time.

The Inland South

California is not associated with the Inland South, it is on the opposite side of the country. The Inland South includes Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania, excluding Florida and Texas. The Inland South starts from the part of the Atlantic Coastal Plain, to the Piedmont, over the Appalachians, then to the North America Interior Lowland. The Appalachia is the area on the Appalachian mountain. The Ozarks is the area on the mountain between Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. These areas have similar cultures although they are apart. They have their own distinct culture, music, and religion because they are isolated. California is not associated with the Inland South, it is on the opposite side of the country.

The Great Lakes and Corn Belt

The Great Lakes and the Corn Belt include Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Wisconsin, and parts of Canada. This region is also called the heartland of North America because not only is it in the central part of the United States, it was also a prominent factor in early agriculture and mining. The Great Lakes made it possible for minerals and resources to be transported quickly along the lakes and canals. The Erie Canal connected Lake Erie to Lake Ontario which connected to the Atlantic ocean, also provided transport to the East Coast and Europe. Aptly named the Corn Belt, the major agricultural produce was corn. Iowa grew 175 or more bushels per acre and similarly California also grew more than 175 bushels per acre. Another major production they have in the heartland is ethanol. Most of the ethanol comes from the heartland. California only has four ethanol producing plants compared to the hundreds in the central United States.

Megalopolis

The first five major cities in the megalopolis consisted of Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington. These cities extended from the coast to the Appalachian mountains. The megalopolis did not extend westward because of the Appalachians. Los Angeles is part of the Southern California megalopolis which extends all the way from Las Vegas, Nevada even down towards Tijuana, Mexico. The megalopolis in the north-east of the country faces environmental hazards, such as blizzards. The Southern California megalopolis faces earthquakes and droughts. In this megalopolis there are many ethnic enclaves spread throughout the area. Megalopolis have very diverse population with certain ethnicity condensing in certain areas.

The Atlantic Periphery

The Atlantic Periphery includes the north-eastern part of United States up to parts of Canada. The soil is very thin and rocky, there are many lakes and ponds, and is highly eroded because of the effects of glaciation. The harbor cities were booming centers for periphery. The harbor cities were very populated because of the fishing, and trading routes that was easily accessible with Europe. Although Los Angeles is not a harbor city, the city still grew because of the climate and land. There was a lot of flat land and combined with sunny weather and irrigation from rivers, it was an ideal place to grow agriculture. If Los Angeles was a harbor city it would have been even larger today. The Atlantic Periphery mostly relied on its fishing commerce to establish their economy because their soil did not support much vegetation. On the opposite side, Los Angeles relied on its agriculture because it was not a harbor city. San Francisco is an example of a harbor city in California which is a major city still today. Although San Francisco was a harbor city, Los Angeles gained a larger popularity later on because of the movie industry, specifically Hollywood. The Atlantic Periphery was very successful in founding new harbor cities because of the accessibility of trade and  the availability of natural resources.

The North American Political Economy

California has all four sectors of economy, Primary, Secondary, Tertiary, and Quaternary. Examples of the Primary Sector is the agriculture, fishing, mining, quarrying, and logging. The abundant agriculture grown in California include grapes, citrus fruits, almonds, walnuts, and dairy. Wine is also produced in California which falls under the Secondary Sector because wine is manufactured from grapes. Grapes can grow because of the location of California. The Primary Sector needs to be easily accessible to the Secondary Sector. The largest of the sectors is the Tertiary Sector which includes all services. A famous Tertiary Sector is the entertainment service located in Los Angeles called Hollywood.

Historical Settlement of North America

(Link to www.tahg.org)

The first European settlements in the United States were in the east coast. They created the 13 colonies and started to gain their independence from being British colonies to their own independent country. California was not part of this because the Europeans have not traveled west yet. This was mostly because of the terrain of the United States. The Appalachian mountains blocked westward movement until the 1850's. Before the westward migration, California was populated by Native Americans and
was part of Mexico. There was a clash between the settlers in California and Mexico to gain control over the territory. After the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo it ended the battle and split the region of California to the US and Mexico. Although the east created state boundaries by the metes and bounds system, the west created their boundaries with rectangular survey system. That is why the east forms its state boundaries by the topography while the western states have straight lines for borders and look more rectangular.

North America's Environmental Setting

(Link by David Lynch)

Los Angeles sits on the Pacific plate which collides with the North American Plate. These two tectonic plates create the San Andreas Fault which causes most of the earthquakes in Los Angeles. The fault is a transform plate boundary where the two tectonic plates slide past each other. Also the Salton Sea was accidentally created by irrigation from the Colorado River. The Salton Sink, a dry lake basin, needed water for farming but with heavy rain the Colorado River flooded and all the water was irrigated to the Salton Sink creating the largest lake in California (source). Because Los Angeles is on the west coast, there is a maritime influence on the city. This creates lower highs and higher lows. There is less change in the temperature range throughout the year compared the the continental climate. The body of water cools the air creating the maritime climate. Any place that is near a large body of water has a less temperature change.

Introduction

Link by Nserrano

California is 163,696 sq mi out of 3.6 million sq mi of United States, being the third largest state in United States. Also California is the most populated state in the United States. The population density of California is 246/sq mi, while the average in America is 77/sq mi (source). California also contains Los Angeles the second most populated city and has a very diverse population. There was a surge of immigration from Asia and Latin America during the 1960's. According to Garreau's definition of formal region, Los Angeles covers a lot of southern California