Term
What is the Township & Range System (Public Land Survey) and why was this system so important to Thomas Jefferson?
ch13 |
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Definition
| The land (Townships) is split into areas 6x6 miles. This is divided from 36 sections from 640 acres. The land was originally split into 4 sections of 160 acres for the Yeoman farmers and then split between families with in each section. The township axis is from N-S while the range axis is from E-W. |
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Term
How do German and Yankee farmers differ in their settlement patterns and relationship to the land?
ch13 |
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Definition
| The Yankees saw the land as an economic opportunity. They lived in the US for generations and the land was abundant. They were more likely to keep the farms intact for reasons of profit. The Germans (Yeoman’s) saw the land as a part of sacred trust. They were more likely to divide the farms among offspring. They came to the US more recently from a land starved Europe. |
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Term
Why did Chicago have such an ideal location and how did it take advantage of its strategic location to become America’s second largest city?
ch13 |
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Definition
| Chicago had such an ideal location because it is located on Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Chicago River. It is the shortest portage between the Great lakes and Mississippi. |
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Term
Where is La Tierra Tejana, who lives there and how do the people of the region define themselves?
ch15 |
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Definition
| La Tierra Tejana is the land between the Nueces & Rio Grande in Texas. It was seized during the Mexican-American War (1846-48). Mexicans live there and it is their only “homeland” in the US. La Tierra Tejana has 33 counties in South Texas and 70% of them are Tejanos (Mexicans). The economic mainstays are ranching and farming. They identify themselves as Mexican in culture and social organizations. |
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Term
Why did the cattle drives from Texas take-off after the Civil War and what factors eventually brought about their demise?
ch15 |
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Definition
| The Civil War had depleted cattle stocks in the North, and in Texas there were 3-6 million wild Texas Longhorns. By 1870 over 700,000 cattle were driven north annually. The further longhorns were driven north, the more problems they faced which eventually brought about their demise. Barbed wire was brought about in 1873-74, which prevented cattle from finding forage & seeking shelter. Many cattle would die along the fences because there may have been forage and/or shelter on the other side that they waited to try to get to until their death. Also in 1885-86 summer droughts led to fires, which destroyed forage and winter brought sub-freezing temperatures to Austin. |
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Term
Why was Texas a desirable place for American immigration and what eventually prompted Texas to fight for secession from Mexico?
ch15 |
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Definition
| Texas was a desirable place for American immigration because the inevitable result of encouraging Anglo colonization was a conflict with Mexican rule, so Tennessean Americans were among the early Texas settlers. Texas’s fight for secession from Mexico soldiers charged a band of 157 Texans barricaded inside the mission of San Antonio de Valero (The Alamo). All Texans killed. |
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Term
Why is fire essential to the preservation of tall grass prairies, how do grazers affect this and what are the ecological benefits of preserving this ecosystem?
ch16 |
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Definition
| The prairie needs fire to exist. Burning removes old growth, controls the establishment and spread of invasive and woody plant species, puts nutrients back into the soil, and promotes the growth and abundance of native prairie grasses and forbs. In turn, wildlife habitat is improved, native prairie plant communities are enhanced, and forage productivity is increased. |
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Term
What is the difference between an extractive versus a renewable economy and how does this relate to agricultural practices on the prairie?
ch16 |
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Definition
| An extractive economy is a resource-based economy, dependant on harvesting or extracting natural resources for sale or trade. The renewable economy focuses on sustainable agriculture, clean energy, and human health. |
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Term
Compare and contrast the two major narratives (progress & environmental decline) that have been used to describe the settlement of the Great Plains.
ch16 |
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Definition
| Progress in the Great Plains had to do with the Homestead Act of 1862, which provided the 160 acres of undeveloped federal land to the people west of the Mississippi River. Also, there were new technologies that were a progress of the settlement of the Great Plains. These were the Colt Revolver, Barbed Wire, Windmill, Steel Plow, Railroad, and Harvester. The environmental decline of the Great Plains was the destroying of the fauna and the destroying of the flora where the Gold Rush abused timber & forage along waterways. |
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Term
Why did the Platte River emerge as the major east-west transportation artery and what impact did settlers, using this and other major overland routes, have on the landscape?
ch17 |
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Definition
| The Platte River emerged as the major east-west transportation artery in the US because land routes followed the river as an important wagon road to the west. It was used on the Oregon Trail and runs E/W. It’s the most effective low elevation/sweet water route. |
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Term
What is the Ogallala Aquifer, how has it impacted agriculture on the High Prairie, and how sustainable is its use?
ch17 |
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Definition
| The Ogallala Aquifer benefited farming on the High Plains because it stored water and channeled it across the High Plains fields. This area has the world’s largest meat packing plants and the water deeds the cattle and helps produce the grains they eat. It allows agriculture, using it faster than it can be replenished. |
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Term
Where is the Hispano homeland, how is it subdivided geographically and why is it in decline?
ch17 |
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Definition
| The Hispano homeland is located in the Rio Grande Valley. It is subdivided into Rio Arriba (north), which is higher & colder, and Rio Abajo (south), which is lower & warmer. The Anglos who began arriving in 1821 cause the decline. Mexico gained independence & Santa Fe Trail opened. The US assumes control in 1848 and railroads come in 1879. |
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Term
What was the key metal being mined in the Northern Rockies, how did the settlement of Butte, Anaconda and Great Falls reflect its production, and what are the environmental consequences?
ch19 |
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Definition
| The key metal being mined in the Northern Rockies was copper. In 1884 Anaconda was a company town built twenty miles west of Butte. Cheap electric power was available at Great Falls, the site of the only major waterfall on the Missouri River. |
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Term
What are the major trenches west of the continental divide in British Columbia and why are they particularly well suited for agriculture?
ch19 |
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Definition
| The Purcell Trench lies about 50 miles west of the continental divide and joins the Rocky Mountain Trench. They are well suited for agriculture because there they have mild winters in the lowlands. The Rocky Mountain structural valleys is the Flathead Valley of Montana, an extensive plain that specializes in livestock farming and orghards. |
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Term
Describe the physical geography of the Palouse region in Washington and why is it particularly well suited to agriculture?
ch19 |
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Definition
| The physical geography was a loessial surface but reworked by wind the area became a dune like landscape of low but steep-sided hills that could not be cultivated without risk of erosion were it not for the rapid infiltration of precipitation on the loess mantled volcanic surface. This land is well suited for agriculture especially between the canyons of Channeled Scablands and became an intensive wheat producing and grain-farming region. |
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Term
How did the Kefauver Commission (1950-51) and the legalization of corporate ownership of casinos (1969) change the nature and location of the casino industry in Las Vegas?
ch20 |
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Definition
| The legalization of corporate ownership casinos changed the nature and location of the casino industry in Las Vegas by leading to town growth. Gambling made Las Vegas be considered as the “Wild West” which led to Resorts (Mob influences) and then Theme Parks. |
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Term
What is a boreal forest and why does it dominate much of northern Canada?
ch22 |
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Definition
| The boreal forest is a vegetation formation with respect to climate of severe winter temperatures that many common hardwood species native to more southern latitudes can’t survive. |
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Term
Why were separate cities built just four miles apart in Minneapolis and St. Paul and how do the cities differ culturally?
ch20 |
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Definition
| : St. Paul is conservative, German and Irish Catholic and Minneapolis is progressive, Scandinavian and Lutheran. Why were they built 4 miles away from each other? Rail system perhaps? |
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Term
What are the political, economic and cultural implications that have made the James Bay project extremely controversial?
ch23 |
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Definition
| The James Bay project was the disruption of native groups, even though they received financial compensation for loss of hunting lands, they were unable to stop the project. Flooding of large areas in northern latitudes may produce ecological changes that are unfavorable in the long run. |
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Term
What was the geographic logic behind the construction of a seaport at Churchill, Manitoba and did this project produce the anticipated results?
ch23 |
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Definition
| A: A seaport was established known as Churchill. A 5 million bushel grain elevator was constructed and a town was built to house workers at the port. |
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Term
What is permafrost, why is it impediment to construction, and how does the construction industry in the Far North get around it?
ch24 |
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Definition
| Permafrost is the “permanently frozen” portion of the ground that is a layer of varying thickness that lies several feet below ground level. Its impediment to construction because buildings and roads my fall apartment is the permafrost begins to melt. The construction industry gets around it by building things on short stilts. |
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Term
Who built the Alaska Pipeline, what obstacles had to be overcome in its construction and does the future hold for North Shore oil in Alaska?
ch24 |
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Definition
| tens of thousands of people from the US came to work on the Pipeline. The obstacles of which it had to overcome was primarily focused on environmental problems. Yes, areas in the North Slope and Beaufort Sea are being looked at for oil. |
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Term
Why did the Russians lose interest in Alaska and why was the US anxious to purchase it?
ch25 |
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Definition
| The reason why Russia lost interest in Alaska was because they financially couldn’t afford it and sold it to the U.S. based on financial instability. The interest of the United States in acquiring Alaska was largely geopolitical— to curtail any possible westward expansion plans of Canada (or Great Britain). |
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Term
Why have salmon runs in the Pacific Northwest been so drastically reduced and how has the industry been mismanaged?
ch25 |
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Definition
| The reason why the salmon runs in the Pacific Northwest has been reduce is because over 50% of the spawning ground have been destroyed. |
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Term
Why did the California Gold Rush take place in 1849 and what were its environmental impacts?
ch26 |
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Definition
| in 1848 John Marshall finds a gold nugget in Sacramento. The gold rush presented opportunity to effectively settle in CA. The environmental impacts that occurred were primarily irreparable destruction of land based on the heavy mining that occurred during that time. It also included major flooding of the land from hydra licking. |
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Term
What is the seasonal weather pattern in the Central Valley like, how does it affect the landscape of the region and how does it work to California’s advantage in terms of agriculture?
ch26 |
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Definition
| The Central Valley weather is usually warm with adequate irrigation water, flat land, and fertile soils. The reason why the area is well suited for agriculture is because of the snow melt effect. |
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