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.