MKU – Biskra Level: 2nd year Licence

Faculty of Letters and Languages Course: Civilization of the Language

English Language Division Instructor: Dr. Salim Kerboua
Semester II

LECTURE 1: AN OVERVIEW OF AMERICAN GEOGRAPHY

The American scenery, the many different geographic regions, and the various climatic zones
play an important role in understanding the people of the United States, their ideals, dreams, and
of course, their history.

Introduction
The United States of America is composed of fifty states. The main block land is located in the
North American continent, north of Mexico and south of Canada. Its length from south to North
is approximately 2572 kilometers. From the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific, the United States is
4517 km wide. Two states are not located in the continental mainland. Hawaii is situated in the
middle of the Pacific Ocean, and Alaska is situated in the northwestern corner of the North
American continent.
The United States enjoys a lengthy coastline: The Atlantic coastline (3330 km), the Gulf
of Mexico (2625 km), and the pacific (12270 km). The United States also enjoys a diversity of
regions. A network of important waterways covers the country.

The Geographic Regions

1. The Coastal plain
This region includes the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico plains. The Atlantic coastline is
mainly formed by wet lowlands exposed to the storms of the Atlantic Ocean. The plains
are stony and narrow in the north Atlantic coastline, mainly in New England, but they are
wide and flat in the middle and southern Atlantic. Poor soil characterizes New England’s
coastal plains. However, in the South, the black rich soils form the major agricultural
regions. The best examples are the citrus country of central Florida or the Cotton or Black
belt of the Old South.

2. The Appalachian Highlands

Situated in parallel to the Atlantic coastal plains, the Appalachian highlands are old and
range from average height hills to peaks (the highest peak being Mount Mitchell, NC,
2037 km). The Appalachians constitute some kind of natural separation between the
Eastern seaboard and the interior lands. The Appalachians extend from the St Lawrence
River (in Canada) to the State of Alabama in the South. They include the Piedmont
Heights, the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Alleghenies in addition to valleys, lakes (Lake
Champlain in the state of New York is the most important), and a wide range of rivers
and streams.
The largest valley in the Appalachians is the Great Valley. It is a lowland passage cutting
through the entire length of the Appalachians.
The Appalachians contain a great variety of mineral resources mainly coal (in the state of
Pennsylvania). Oil and Iron are also present and played an important role in the early
industrialization of the USA.

3. The Central (Interior) Lowlands

On the western side of the Appalachians, stretch out the Interior Lowlands. They extend
from the Appalachians westward to the Great Plains/ prairies. It looks like an immense
saucer or plate that gradually rises on all sides. There we find the Mississippi River and

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 the Red River Valley (this latter covering North Dakota and Minnesota and famous for its
production of spring wheat). This region is the land of low treeless plains. It has an
extremely fertile soil. There, corn has been being cultivated since the Colonial Era.

4. Great Lakes
The five Great Lakes are situated to the north of the Central Lowlands. 1600 kms long,
they are estimated to contain half of the world’s fresh water. They are, from east to west,
Ontario, Erie, Huron, Michigan, and Superior. These lakes are shared with Canada
except for Lake Michigan. The Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909 regulates the American-
Canadian relations involving the management of the Great Lakes.
The Great Lakes are interconnected by rivers and canals and are vital to water
transportation. They are linked to the Atlantic Ocean by the St Lawrence River (Canada),
the Erie Canal, the Hudson River; and the Gulf of Mexico by the Ohio and Mississippi
rivers.

5. The Great Plains/ Prairies

The Great Plains, prairies are an immense area of high, flat land. They stretch from the
Central/ Interior Lowlands in a continuous rising until they meet the Rocky Mountains in
the West. From north to south they extend from Montana and North Dakota (in the North)
to the Rio Grande River (to the South, to the border with Mexico). The great plains cover
roughly 1/3 of the United States.
The Great Plains is a large area of arid and semi-arid grassland watered by the Missouri
and Arkansas Rivers, flowing from the Rocky Mountains southward to the Gulf of
Mexico.
The area is rich in natural resources such as oil and coal. Some large wheat farms and
cattle farms (ranches) also dominate the economy of the Great Plains.

6. The Rocky Mountains (or the Rockies)

It is a large chain of uninterrupted mountains that cover the western part of the American
continent from Canada in the north to Chile in South America. In the USA, it covers all
the western states of the country. The Rockies is a geologically complex area that
comprises sharp ice-frozen peaks, fertile valleys, flat grasslands and desolated deserts.
Major Rivers like Columbia, Missouri, Arkansas, Colorado and Rio Grande, start in the
Rockies.
South Pass, in Wyoming, is one of the few major breaks that allowed the settlers to move
west in the 19th century. It is sparsely populated region with few cities (Las Vegas) and an
economy relying on minerals’ mining (coal, copper, gold, iron…)

7. The Pacific Coast (Coastal Ranges)

It is an area composed of distinct regions including a system of low mountains, fertile
lowlands, and deserts. It extends from Sierra Nevada and Cascade Range (east) to
Pacific Coast. There are fertile valleys, and the most important one being Imperial Valley
in California.

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Some Major Rivers
Rivers flowing into the Atlantic Ocean (to the east)
1. Connecticut (655 km): Explored in 1614 by Dutch sailor Adrian Block, this river was an
important waterway that opened the interior to settlement.
2. Hudson (492 km): It was first explored by Dutch navigator Henry Hudson. Of great
historic and economic importance, this river contributed to the development of New York
City as a major port. It is running entirely in the state of New York and linked to the
Great Lakes by the Erie Canal. On its bank, occurred the major battle of the American
Revolution (the battleground of Saratoga).
3. Potomac (460 km): it is situated in the southeast. Its starts in the Alleghenies and flows
into the Chesapeake Bay. The federal capital, Washington DC, is situated on its banks.
During the Civil War, it constituted the boundary between the North and the South.

Rivers flowing into the Gulf of Mexico (to the South)

1. Mississippi (5779 km): it is situated in the centre of the United States. It waters most of
the area between the Rockies and the Alleghenies (Mississippi Valley). It is fed by the
Missouri, the Ohio, and the Arkansas Rivers.
2. Missouri (3969 km): It flows from the Rocky Mountains to meet the Mississippi River at
St Louis.
other important rivers of the centre of the USA are the Arkansas (2334 km), the Ohio
(1579 km) and the Rio Grande (3034 km). The latter being a natural boundary between
the USA and Mexico.

Two main rivers are flowing from the Rockies to the Pacific Ocean: Colorado and
Columbia Rivers.

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 The Climate and Vegetation

A. The Climate
The northern hemisphere is favored by the winds; therefore, the United States receives
large quantities of rain. The USA is affected primarily by air masses that blow southward from
Canada, westward from the Atlantic Ocean, northward from the Gulf of Mexico, and eastward
from the Pacific Ocean.

The Rainfall Line

It is a fictitious line—the 50 cm rainfall line, that roughly overlaps with the 100th Meridian—
separates the USA into two parts: a wet east and a dry west.
1. The east (wet)
The eastern half receives much rain (result of the winds that blow from Canada, the
Atlantic, and the Gulf of Mexico.) The region favors agriculture and population
concentrations.
2. The west (dry)
The Great Plains lie in the so-called ‘rain shadow’ of the Rocky Mountains.
Accordingly, deserts dominate the region and agriculture depends much on irrigation;
lesser people live east of the Rockies.
In the west, the Cascade and Sierra Nevada mountains catch most of the rain of the
Pacific. Consequently, the Pacific Coast valleys receive high rain falls—favorable for
agriculture. The Cordilleran and Colombia plateaus, situated between the Rocky and
Pacific Coast Mountains (Cascades and Sierra Nevada), however, receive little rain and
remains relatively dry.

B. The Climatic Regions

Because of the differences in the climate, temperatures vary considerably—ranging from
freezing, to mild, to hot (- 40° C in Alaska, and 45° C in Arizona).
Temperature and rain define the climatic regions of the United States. The climatic
regions, in their turn, condition vegetation; therefore define the economic activity of the different
regions. Different climatic regions are clearly identified:
1. The Subtropical and Tropical (dominates the Southeast)
The Southeast region enjoys a warm, moderate, and rainy climate with no dry season
(subtropical). Southern Florida, however, enjoys a tropical wet and dry climate (tropical) with
two distinct seasons: dry (winter) and wet (summer) with relatively high temperatures.
2. Continental (dominates the Northeast and Midwest)
This climate dominates the mid-western plains, the boundary region of the Northeast and
Great Lakes, and the Rocky Mountains regions:
The northern boundary region (includes the region that extend from New England to
Minnesota and North Dakota, including the Great Lakes area) has also a cold climate with rainy
winters and cool summers. Temperatures are generally low, with much snow in winter.
The Midwestern region has a cold climate with rainy winters; summers though are warm.
The Western mountains’ areas (northern Rockies, Sierra Nevada, and the Cascades) have
the same climate as the New England region: cold, rainy, and snowy.
3. Steppe and Desert (dominates the Great Plains and Southwest)
The Great Plains and much of the Great Basin have a cold and dry climate with droughts
in winter and little rainfall in spring and summer (steppe).
The Southwest receives rain rarely. The climate is very hot and dry (desert).
4. Mediterranean and Marine West Coast (dominates the Pacific Coast)

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 The southern Pacific coastal areas (western California) enjoy a Mediterranean climate.
The three classic seasons dominate: rainy winters, very dry summers, and mild periods between
the two.
In the northern Pacific coastal areas (Western Oregon and Washington), the climate is
warm, mild, and rainy (Marine West Coast)
5. Subarctic and Polar (dominates Alaska)
Southern Alaska has a sub-arctic climate: long freezing winters and short cool summers
(average temperature of -24° C in Jan. and 16° C in July). Northern Alaska and the Arctic Ocean
have a polar climate with extremely low temperatures.

The economy and patterns of life vary according to the nature of the climatic regions. In
the hot and wet southeastern coast, for example, cotton and tobacco agriculture dominate. In the
cold climate of New England, only small-scale farming is possible; and the wheat fields survive
in the dry climate of the Great Plains.
Because of these climatic differences, the USA produces a variety of agricultural
products.

C. Vegetation Regions
Vegetation or plant life is shaped by different factors: rainfall, temperatures, topographic
and soil conditions. Thus, in the humid climates vegetation is dominated by forest; in the sub-
humid areas by grasses; and in the deserts by desert grasses and bushes.
In the United States, vegetation varies from thick forests to deserts. We can thus
distinguish different vegetation regions.
1. Eastern Forests
Evergreen thick forests cover much of the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains (cypress, pine,
oak…). Before European and American settlement, the Mississippi Valley was also covered with
a wide variety of trees. Massive tree cutting and fire destroyed the original forest. Only remnants
are left today.
2. Northern and Pacific Forests
A coniferous forest lies between northern New England and Minnesota and includes
portions of the northern pacific coast (mainly spruce and fir in Maine, white pine in Michigan
and Wisconsin, redwoods in northern California, and red cedar in Oregon and Washington).
Trees cutting reached its peak in the 1890s in Michigan; by 1910 most of the trees
disappeared.
The pacific coast has the tallest and oldest trees in the world. Redwood National Park,
CA, a natural reserve, was created in the 1968 to preserve the trees. The park contains the
world’s tallest tree (112 m) and the oldest ones (Sequoia trees are almost 3900 years old).
3. Plains/Prairies
Tall grass dominates the treeless Central Lowlands. The deep and tangled roots of these
grasses made the prairies especially difficult to plow; yet most of the tall-grass prairie was
brought under cultivation.
The Central Valley of California is also part of the grasslands. Large-scale vegetable
crops replaced the native grasses in the valleys of California.
4. Great Plains
Short grasses dominate the Great Plains. Situated west of the 50 cm Rainfall Line, the
region receives little rain.
In the dry Great Plains, bunch grasses were dominant. Today, ranching and winter wheat
(Texas to Nebraska) and spring wheat (the Dakotas) are dominant.

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 5. Desert
Deserts cover most of the southwest. They are found in the Colorado plateau, Great
Basin, and Columbia Plateau. Varieties of dry harsh bushes and cactus are found in the arid
southwest; also salt places like Great Salt Lake in Utah.
6. Alaska and Hawaii
The tundra in Alaska extends along the shores of the Arctic Ocean, the Bering Strait,
and the Aleutian Islands. It is a treeless area of the arctic region with permanently frozen soils
and low-growing vegetation.
Exotic vegetation dominates the Hawaiian Islands (e.g.: coconut & pineapple).

Sources:

Adapted from Maameri, F. Lectures in American History (OPU,2007)

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