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SCC US Summary
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SCC USCH. 1 Introducton
‘E pluribus unum’ = Out of many, one American motoo It’s a country made up of many parts, in
terms of its states, diferent people and geography. It’s the 4 th largest country in the world. 48 of 50
states lie between the Pacifc Ocean to the west, the Atlantc Ocean to the east, Canada to the north
and Mexico to the south. Alaska and Hawaii lie in the north-west corner of the contnent and in the
Pacifc Ocean, respectvely. the most pronounced feature of the country is its variety.
Geography
Atlantc Plain A coastal strip from the northern states, which
widens into large parts of the southern states. Its soil is mostly poor,
most important natural wealth is found along the Gulf of Mexico.
Much of the naton’s crude oil and natural gas reserves are located.
Piedmont Inland from the Atlantc Plain, the land rises to the
Piedmonto a gently rolling fertle plateau. Along the eastern edge is the fall line, where rivers
running down to the Atlantc Ocean form waterfalls. Cites grew up along this line when
water power was stll used.
Appalachian Mountains the Piedmont rises to the Appalachian
Mountains, an eroded line of mountains from Canada in the north-
east to Alabama in the south-east. they frst delayed European
setlers in moving further inland. Iron, building stone and coal are
found here, but because cleaner fuels have replaced coal, this area is
now among the most depressed.
Central Lowland a vast area stretching from New York (state) to central texas and north to
Canada. It resembles a huge bowl, rimmed by the Great Lakes and the highlands. It’s not
entrely fat and varies in rainfall and temperature. sainfall decreases to the west and as a
result, the forests and felds in the east change into prairies in the west, and long and cold
winters in the upper Midwest change into mild and even warm winters around the Gulf of
Mexico. Oil and gas are found here, especially in Oklahoma, texas and Kansas. the Central
Lowland is also called the ‘Naton’s Breadbasket’ because of the large-scale agriculture.
Great Plains a band of semi-arid territory between Canada and
Mexico, west of the Central Lowland. the plains gradually rise
towards the west. the bufalo grass makes it perfect for ranching,
but thanks to irrigaton, there is also high-yield farming. Low-grade
brown coal is also found here, but it is extremely pollutng.
American Cordillera West of the Great Plains are the socky
Mountains and the Pacifc sanges, with basins and plateaus between them. these Cordillera
mountain ranges make up a third of the contnental US. It consists of an essentally
contnuous sequence of mountain ranges that form the western backbone of North, Central
and South America. From north to south, this sequence of overlapping and parallel ranges
begins with the Alaskan sange and the Brooks sange in Alaska and runs through the Yukon
into Canada. the main belt of the socky Mountains, along with the parallel Coast sanges of
mountains and islands contnues through Britsh Columbia and Vancouver Island. It then
branches into the USo the sockies, the Sierra Nevada and the Cascades and Coast sanges of
Washington, Oregon and California. Near the southern sockies’ western slope is the
Colorado Plateauo a maze of canyons and mesas, of which the Grand Canyon is the largest
, and most famous. Surrounding this plateau to the south
and west is desert. the central sockies consist of valleys
and plains, through which setlers found a route through
the mountains to the Pacifc Oceano the Oregon trail.
the northern sockies have vast wilderness areas and
borders the Columbia basin. Most west on the mainland
is the western arm of the Cordillerao two mountain
ranges with valleys in between. Because of its rich soils and irrigaton, these valleys supply
the naton with fruit and vegetables. the mountains include major earthquake zones, but the
limited water resources is the most serious environmental challenge. the Cordillera is
famous for veins of metal. the discovery of gold and silver led to the Gold sush in the 1850s
and metals such as copper and lead have also been mined. Large occurrences of oil and gas
are found in California and Wyoming, and uranium, oil shale and sof coal are found in the
Colorado Plateau.
Alaska the Cordillera split up into three parts, including North America’s highest peako
Mount McKinley. Alaska’s interior is composed of mountains, broken plateaus and fairly fat
valleys with a cold climate. the coast has a milder climate, because of the warm ocean
currents. the Arctc Natonal Wildlife sefuge has been opened to oil exploitaton, the
building of the trans-Alaska pipeline and coastal oil spills.
Hawaii Contains almost a million acres of commercial forest and almost two million acres
of tropical farming. the islands are made up of volcanic mountains, which have much rainfall
on the windward side and more moderate rainfall on the leeward side.
Coastlines and rivers Among the most important physical features of the country are its
coastlines, harbours, ocean currents, and network of lakes and rivers. One of the greatest
water networks is the Mississippi, which
drains the Central Lowland. Because canals
connect it to the Great lakes, it carries a lot
of shipping and in the past supported the
urbanisaton and industrialisaton of the
Midwest. In the west, there are fewer rivers
because of limited rainfall, but there are 3
rivers systemso the Columbia siver, the
Colorado siver and the San Joaquin-
Sacramento delta, which supplies electricity
and water to some states.
Natonal Parks Some parts of the country
are not suitable for urbanisaton because of climate or topography, while other parts have
been deliberately set aside as recreaton areas or wildlife preserves. In the late 1800so
Yellowstone frst Natonal Park. In 1916, Congress established the Natonal Park Service.
there are over 200 Natonal Parks now.
Climate the country varies a lot in climate conditons. the west and southern half of the
US has overall warmer weather. the US can be divided into 6 climate regions, excluding
Alaska, Hawaii and outlying territorieso
1. Northwest Pacifco Wet, mild temperatures all year around.
2. Mid/South Pacifc sockieso Hot and dry summers. Overall very cold winters (exc. California)
3. Midwesto Great summers, extremely cold winters
4. Northeasto Moderately rainy. Pleasant summers, cold winters
5. Southeasto Moderate rain all year around. Warm summers, mild and short winters
, 6. Southwesto Extremely hot and humid summers, short winters
American segionalism America can be divided into cultural regionso
1. Northeasto Can be subdivided into New England
and the Middle Atlantc region
2. Southo suns from Delaware and Maryland south to
Florida and then west as far as texas
3. Midwesto sweeping westward from Ohio to North
and South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas, and
southward from Minnesota to Missouri
4. Westo can be subdivided into the Southwest and
the Northwest, and includes Alaska and Hawaii
Diferent places are marked by diferent habits and
customso
- Northeast densely populated, highly urban
and ethnically diverse. It is the naton’s richest
region and economic and cultural centre. New England is of cultural importance.
American setlers setled ‘on a city upon a hill’ and believed they were supposed to be an
example for the rest of the world. the English (Protestant) setlers also gave the city its
most famous politcal formo the town meetng. Shipbuilding, fshing and trade had
become the mainstays of the region. By the mid-19 th century, it possessed the largest
merchant navy in the world. It was the centre of the Industrial sevoluton. Most of the
money came from Boston, then the fnancial heart of the naton. the cultural life was
very strong. their oldest schools of higher learning (Harvard and Yale) were originally
religious in purpose and orientaton, and gradually became more secular. New England
was also a source of pioneers for the westward movement. Immigrants from Ireland,
Italy and Eastern Europe began to take their places. Much of the older spirit stll survives
today. they have simple, wood frame houses and the white church steeples of small
towns. the Middle Atlantc segion provided 19 th-century America with its muscle. New
York and Pennsylvania became major centres of heavy industry. this region was used as
a bridge between New England and the South. Philadelphia became the home of the
Contnental Congress (led the fght for independence). It was also the birthplace of the
Declaraton of Independence and the US Consttuton. Mighty rivers were turned into
vital shipping lanes. Cites along these waterways expanded into major urban areas. In
the 1800s, New England and the Middle Atlantc segion got welded together by
transportaton routes to one big industrial core. New York is the centre of business,
media and arts. there were a lot of immigrants.
- South Difers most from the other regions. It was devastated socially and
economically by the Civil War, but stayed distnct. traditonally, this region includes the
11 states that formed the Confederacy during the Civil War. West-Virginia and Oklahoma
are arguably southern. In the 17th & 18th century, Britsh colonists setled, especially
Scotsh, Irish and Welsh. Some of the early setlers grew wealthy by raising and selling
crops to Europe. Manual labour was requiredo frst indentured slaves were imported,
later African slaves sold into permanent slavery. 1770so South played role in the
American sevoluton, but afer 1800o interest of manufacturing North and agrarian South
began to diverge. Black Americans created new folk musico Negro spirituals. Coton was
the backbone of the southern economy. the South lost the Civil War and slavery ended.
Solid Southo during seconstructon, southerners all voted for the Democratc Party.
, Gradual change came when the region started with manufacturing. South’s economy is
more varied today. sapidly growing Latno populaton. Southerners are considered to be
more religious, conservatve and less educated. Other stereotypeso they are slow-paced,
resistant to change and more racist.
- Mid-West In the 19th century, immigrants from Germany, Sweden, Norway, Poland
and Hungary setled there. there is a distncton between the industrial and agricultural
region. In the frst 75 years of American history, the area west of the Appalachian
Mountains was not a region at all. there was gently rolling countryside. Further west, the
land became fater and more barren. the key to the region was the Mississippi river. In
the early years, it acted as a lifeline, moving setlers to new homes and goods to markets.
As the Midwest developed, it turned into a cultural crossroads. the region atracted
easterners, and also Europeans. It became known as a region of small towns and huge
felds of wheat and corn. ‘the Naton’s Breadbasket’o because of its fertle soil. Culturally
calledo ‘the Agricultural Midwest’. It’s the American heartland of family farms and small
town, the moral and social centre that mediates between the other regions. Hub of the
regiono Chicago (Illinois). Major Great Lakes port and a connectng point for rail lines and
air traffic. Great Lakes areao ‘the Industrial Mid-West’. the Mid-West has been home to
many new politcal partes (best knowno sepublican). Nowadays states such as Wisconsin
and Minnesota are leaders in social and environmental reform.
- Southwest drier and empter than the Midwest. Its populatons compromise a
diferent ethnic mix. Seized during the Mexican-American war of 1848, the area has a
mixture of old, Spanish-Mexican and Natve American communites and a blend from
people all over the world who came afer 1945. Economyo Catle and sheep ranching,
electronic and aerospace companies, mining, petroleum industries and tourism. thanks
to irrigaton, dry lands have turned into farmland and cites have grown. the region has a
large concentraton of Natve Americans who were forcibly relocated here during the 19th
and 20th century.
- West Was long regarded as a last fronter. Yet California has a history of (Spanish)
setlement older than that of most mid-western states. the US gained sovereignty over
the area in the 1840s, and California, Oregon and Washington atracted many people
when they heard of the green valleys ‘out west’. San Francisco was the frst city to
majorly develop from 1849, because it was the port of entry for the Gold sush ‘Forty-
Niners’. the Los Angeles metropolitan area consists of a group of cites connected by a
maze of highways. It’s home to the Hollywood flm and media conglomerates + major
engineering, energy and technology companies. In the West, scenic beauty exist on a
large scale. In many areas the populaton is sparse. Mining provided fnancial foundaton
for urban areas such as Salt Lake City. Agriculture depends on ranching and forestry,
because water is precious. Both Las Vegas and seno found wealth through the gambling
and entertainment industries. Salt Lake City is the centre of the Mormon faith. It’s the
most homogenous cultural area in the US.
- Alaska sesource and land management are major issues. It’s owned for over 99% by
the federal state and Natve-American governments. Conservatonists try to restrict land-
use to preserve the wilderness. Populaton grew in the 50s/60s, because people wanted
to escape polluton in other states. Oil was found in the north, and interest was gained in
developing Alaska. the state bought the land from the Natve-Americans and the trans-
Alaska pipeline was built.
- Hawaii the state government has been successful in protectng the farmlands and
natural reserves. Majority of Hawaiians is of Asian-American descent people of Japanese
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