geography test 2

 River Drainage Systems

◦Mississippi River & Tributaries (Ohio, Missouri, Red)

◦St. Lawrence River & Great Lakes

 Eastern Seaboard (Atlantic Coastline)

◦Unique Characteristics:  Indentations, Islands, River

◦Chesapeake Bay

 The Fall Line

◦Break-bulk point

◦Major Cities

Physical Geography (Highlights)

 Canada: 

◦Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal

Main Street Corridor

◦Baby Boom Generation:  1946-1964

◦Role of Immigration

 Demographic History

◦Megalopolis:  DC, Philly, NYC, Boston

◦Chicago, LA, San Fran, Vancouver/Seattle

◦DFW-Austin/Round Rock/San Antonio/Houston

 United States:  Widely dispersed

 Stages of European Settlement

◦First Stage (Colonial): 1600-1750

◦Second Stage: 1750-1850

◦Third Stage: 1850-1900/1910

 1750-1910 – 160 Years

◦North America completely transformed

 Native Americans

 Westward Migration

 Black Exodus

◦1900: 90% in South; Now: 55%

 Rural-to-Urban Migration

◦1800: 5% Urban; Now: 80%

 Growth of the Sun Belt

◦Economy, Cost of Living, Air Conditioning

 Nonmetropolitan Growth

Settlement Patterns of Today

◦Township:

36 mi² square; a measure of distance (6 mi.) N/S of a baseline

Range:

a measure of distance (6 mi.) E/W of meridian

◦Section:

1 mi² block of land (160 acres, subdivided into lots for ownership)

◦After 1785: Settlement by rectangular plots of land

◦After 1785: Settlement by rectangular plots of land

 Consequences of Mechanization

◦Fewer laborers, Larger farms, Distant ownership

 Urban decentralization / Sprawl

◦Metropolitan Areas & Suburbs

◦Edge Cities: Business, Industry, Commerce, Residence in a “suburb”

 Transportation has shaped the American city

◦Before 1888:  Pedestrian/Horsecar City

◦1888-1920: Streetcar Suburbs expand city footprint

◦1920-1945: Automobile suburbs for the middle class

◦1945-Present: Freeway/Expressway suburbs

 Consequences of Sprawl

◦Shrinking urban population and tax base in cities

◦Concentration of unemployment and poverty in cities

Gentrification

◦Selective revitalization of dilapidated neighborhoods

◦What happens to the people who lived there?

 New Urbanism

◦Higher-density, mixed-use, pedestrian-scaled design

◦Walk to work, walk to school, walk to entertainment