Hawaii

Hawaii is a chain of Islands that are 2050 miles long found in the middle of the pacific ocean between United States and Japan, composed of 8 different islands. The state capital  of Hawaii is Honolulu found in the island of Oahu. These islands were created by volcanic activity that still exist today.

Climate

Hawaii's seasons are split into two differnt ones which are a dry season , and a wet one. The dry season is from May to October and the winter season is from October to April. The climate in this region is Tropical, and the precipatation varies from the area you are found in due to the diverse environment. Some regions are mountonous , and some are flatter such as Oahu.

Tourism

This region is a very exotic place so tourism has risin up due to its vacation spots they have. Most of the people come from the United States mainland , and a lot of tourism from Japan. They have very nice beaches, and a whole chain of hotels due to this demand for tourism. Other than that they have a very nice envrionment, such as rainforest,beaches, and other outdoor activities.

The North Pacific Coast

The Physical Environment

The North Pacific is a very unique portion of the United States due to it's physical environment and the regions isolation from the rest of the regions around it. The coastline is a feature found in the Pacific Northwest which is a very rocky, coastlines with a lot of cliffs. It is a very mountanous region with a really rough environment, and because of this environment it makes a very rainy and wet region.

Climate

This region of the North Pacific is a very wet region, where the precipitation avarage is around 75 inches. The precipitation can increase as well if they are found close to certain side of the mountains.

Agriculture

The agriculture in this region is similar to that of the east coast .This regions agriculture is kept most only for their own consumption because of their isolation to any other region.

Forest

The high elevations and mountanous environment found in the North Pacific Coast is a result of a lot of forest areas in the region. Here some of the most exotic giant trees are found due to the high precipitation , meaning that lumber is one of the economic factors in the region.

California

California is one of the United States most diverse areas to living environment, and because of its inhabitants. "California is home to more than 12 percent of all Americans" (pg294 textbook). This shows how California is a very populated area, especially in the souther portions of the state.

The Physical Environment

California has a variety of mountain ranges which are the Coast Ranges , and the Sierra Nevada. Californias central portion is one big valley called the Central Valley which lies between these two mountain ranges mentions earlier. In this Valley is where most of the agriculture is found throughout the state. Most of the state to the southern portion, and going east is a very dry desert like environment.

Climate
The north portion of the state is more moist and wet compared to the southern portion of the state. The state has what is called a Mediterranean climate which means they receive moderate precipitation during the winter months, and mild winters, and hot summer mentions in our textbook on (pg 298). The costal portions of the state are much cooler than the interior portion of the state.

Urban California
California is considered mostly a modern urban state . "More than 90 percent of California's residents live in one or another of the states 25 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs)" (pag307). The Los Angeles Area is the biggest city in California, made up of many different cultures, and people from all over the world. Los Angeles was built for people to use automobile transportation, so most of the places are found far from each other throughout the city.  " Today fully half of the central portion of Los Angeles has been surrendered to the automobile, either for roads or parking" (pg309 textbook). This city is also composed of a very diverse population which sometimes is not so good especially in a really populated city , where a alot of these people belong to minority groups. "Greater Los Angeles may be the largest Mexican metropolitan area outside of Mexico; the second largest Chinese metropolitan area outside of China; the second largest Japanese metropolitan area outside Japan; and the largest Korean,Filipino, and Vietnamese areas outside those countries" (pg 312 textbook).

The Southwest Border Area: Tricultural Development

Location/Tricultural Development

This area of the United States takes parts of southern California, most of Arizona and New Mexico, and southern portions of texas. This region is bordered by Mexico at their southern regions. This region of the country is very unique due to the three cultures that impacted the area due to the regions history. "The Southwest is a cultrue region distinguished by coexisting Spanish American, American Indian, and Northwest Europen American (anglo) people" (Page 276 textbook). These three cultures have shaped the region into what it has become today. Out of the three cultures the American Indian population had been kicked out of their land and re stettled into fixed reservation areas that the U.S government provided for them since they took over the land. The Spanish American population is one that is growing by the numbers and make much of the influence in the region. The Anglo people of the area not until recently have taken interest in the area since technology have along them to be in such a rugged desert like area without having to struggle because of the conditions. This also separates the these cultures from each other due to the financial cituations, the Hispanic and Indian American population are generally separated from the Anglo areas.

Cross-Border Economy

The United States and Mexico border have very different economies which are separated by a fence, but belong to the same region. The this makes the region even more unique , espeically those cities that close in proximity through the different countries. Once Mexico made a program that allowed the United States to cross the border, and create labor intensive manufacturing industries that provides jobs for a poor Mexico which are having problems with jobs for its people. Some people from Mexico cross the border to go work in the United States due to their poor economy. Most Americans only travel to Mexico to enjoy vacations at resorts that exist in Mexico. El Paso, Texas , and Cuidad Juarez are called twin cities but belong to different countries this shows the close proximity shown in the map at the bottom.

The Empty Interior

" North America's largest are of sparse population south of the Arctic stretches from the the Rocky Mountains' eastern slopes west to the Sierra Nevada of California, the Cascade Range of the Pacific northwest, and the Coast Mountains of British Columbia" (pg252 textbook).

The Phsyical Environment

This area of the United states has a very rugged terrain making it a hard place to live. The area is surrounded by different mountain chains, and extensive platues in between them. The mountains in this area of the United States are very tall, rugged, and pointy. The other feature of this region are the plateaus which make up most of the Empty Interior, that is why most of the scenic places such as the Grand Canyon are one of the most visted places visited because of the snenic look that erosion has cause on the plateaus.

The Grand Canyon to the left and the above image is part of the snake river valley in the southern part of idaho. Here smililar erosion has carved canyons, but the difference is that the Grand Canyons are much deeper making it a bigger attractions to peoples eyes.

Boise/Nampa, Idaho are part of the Empty Interior , and we can see it due to is physical characteristics and climite that it is part of  this region.

Climate

The climate of this area due to it's precipitation is arid or semiarid. It is a very try regions except for the higher elevations regions. the images below show how the Boise area looks in time of summer , and in the winter when its hot and dry. The Empty Interior also holds all if not most of the regions of desert that exist in the country. Every vacation I decided to go to Boise, Idaho I find myself driving through the Empty Interior through most of nevada, southeast oregon, and finally into Idaho.



Boise, Idaho (SUMMER)

Agriculture

" Irrigated crops dominate agricultural production in the Empty Interior(figure 13.5) in the text book shows the areas. This helps population with is sparse in the area stay in the location and provide some economic value to the land they own. The image at the bottom shows an example of the irrigation that is used in the idaho areas.









Boise, Idaho (WINTER)



Irrigation in Idaho

The Great Plain and Prairies

The Region of the Great Plains

The Great Plains and Praries is a very long and flat land full of grasslands. Despite some regions being less attractive than others. "The Sand Hillsof nebraska, the Badland of South Dakota, the Alberta uplands, the Manitoba lowland-there are a few examples of the Great plains landscapes that are  different both geologically and in their apperance" (pg 233 text book). The great plains have different environments in respect to thier region. The west side of the Great Plains is much more drying than the east portion.

Montana left , Sand Hills Nebraska on the right,  Badlands South Dakota below. These are just a few different features of the environment that the Great Plains pocess.

Agriculture

The Agriculture in the Great Plains is large scale and machinery intesive. The whole region usually produces the same kinds of crops due to the environment of the great plains that make those crops suitable for their production. The crop that is mostly grown in the region is Wheat. "Wheat is by far the most important crop grown in the region, combining crop tolarance of dry conditions with large, reliable market demand" (pg241 textbook).  The system of irrigation usually used in the regions is center pivot irrigation systems throughout the great plains.  "Draw on subsurface water, each circle shown to the right is 1/2-mile in diameter"( pg 245 textbook).