Temperate grasslands

The temperate grasslands, or prairies, form a belt between forest

and desert, mainly on the Great Plains but also on the mid-slopes of
the intermontane basins, above the salty desert flats. At the “break
of the plains” on the eastern subhumid margin, invaded by rain-
bearing tropical gulf air in spring and early summer, the grasslands
consist of a dense growth of tall grasses, such as big and little
bluestem and Indian grass, along with many forbs and some small
berry bushes, wild roses, and stunted aspen trees. These are the
tallgrass prairies that once were home to most of America’s bison,
before hunters virtually exterminated the species. Wet prairie exists
in the middle Mississippi basin, where the annual rainfall exceeds
30 inches (760 mm); its origin has been attributed to repeated
burnings by Plains Indians to stampede bison in mass hunts, to
burn off trees and thicken the grass to provide pasture, or to
expedite travel. Farther west, where rainfall drops below 17 inches
(430 mm) in Texas and 15 inches (380 mm) in Alberta, vegetation is
less luxuriant, and midgrass and shortgrass prairies are typical. In
the westernmost parts of the plains, grasses are found only in
bunches, with areas of generally bare ground and gravel between.
The vegetation is made up of bluestem bunchgrass,
thin needlegrass, and tough grama and wire grasses, along with
patches of cacti, sagebrush, or, farther south, mesquite grass. These
regions still pasture many small antelopes, although they mainly
have been turned into rangeland for cattle or sheep. Prairie
dogs still inhabit some areas. Burrowing insects, such as ants, and
mammals are quite common.

Deserts

Desert vegetation is found in intermontane basins and along arid

coasts of the western United States and in northern Mexico.
Extensive salt flats and mountains with rocky soils make this a
harsh environment for all but the most drought-tolerant plants.
Frost and snow are not uncommon in the Great Basin Desert of
Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming, which is dominated by sagebrush and
scattered short grasses. Creosote bush, saltbush, mesquite, yucca,
and many species of cacti, including the treelike saguaro, are
common in the Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts of Arizona, New
Mexico, and northern Mexico. The rocky, cool Mojave Desert of
southeastern California is home to the Joshua tree. Animal life is
primarily reptilian and tends to be nocturnal. The desert tortoise,
now endangered, is the “showpiece” large reptile of the region.

Tundra

Across northern Canada and on the many islands in the Arctic

Ocean lies a vast marshy plain called the tundra. There the growing
season is only 45 to 60 days, and frost is possible year-round. Too
cold for trees, this community contains only a few plant species,
such as sedge, moss, lichen, cotton grass, and heath. In sheltered
areas willow and alder shrubs and some dwarf birches are found.
Shallow permafrost inhibits infiltration of the meagre amounts of
meltwater and rainfall into the ground. This, coupled with the
flatness of the tundra landscape, make for wet, boggy conditions
throughout much of the growing season. Biting flies, mosquitoes,
and gnats are innumerable. Many species of birds summer in the
region; caribou and polar bears are typical large
mammals. Rodents and rabbits are also common.

00:0203:12

The human imprint on the landscape

Before the arrival of Europeans in North America, the impact of
human activity on the environment seems to have been minimal,
aside from the burning of the prairies by Native Americans (First
Nations, American Indians). The attitude of the European
immigrants and their descendants favoured clearing the forests and
killing off the wildlife, with the aim of making room for agriculture
and urban centres. In a continent that was so vast and at the same
time so empty, they also developed the idea that environmental
resources were unlimited and only awaited people to exploit them.
It should be remembered that many of these immigrants came from
a Europe in which, during the agricultural and Industrial
revolutions, there had been an increasing attack on natural
resources, particularly associated with the rise of heavily
industrialized cities. When the United States and Canada became
industrialized, they used coal, oil, iron, other metals, and wood with
extravagance and often with great waste. The waste products of the
factories of these countries started to pollute air, land, and water,
and, as cities with enormous populations began to appear, most
people came to live in an environment sharply modified by human
activity.

By the mid-20th century the people of the United States had killed
off about four-fifths of the country’s wildlife, cut more than half of
its timber, plowed up nearly all of its grassland, and used up two-
fifths of its high-grade iron ore; the country was consuming its oil so
fast that, even with its great resources, it began to import enormous
quantities from other countries. Soil erosion also became rampant,
as agriculture was practiced carelessly or on land with marginal
producing capacity. Conscious of the great drain on the resources of
the country and suffering from the increasing ill effects of pollution,
the United States began attempts to conserve its reserves of soil,
water, fuels, and minerals and to replant forests or otherwise
manage them for efficient regrowth. The country has since come to
lead the world in conservation programs, particularly in renewing
forests and grasslands, conserving soils, and effectively controlling
the waters. Canada, too, has an active conservation program and
was the first North American country to pass clean-water legislation
to help fight the pollution of its lakes and streams. Mexico likewise
has initiated an active, though limited, conservation effort. Other
environmentally positive actions—such as energy conservation and
recycling materials otherwise discarded as solid waste—have helped
in the northern part of the continent to offset the effects of
increased population pressure on the land.

James Wreford WatsonRandall J. Schaetzl

The People
In global terms, North America long remained a relatively empty
and economically undeveloped land until about 1500 CE. After that
the continent began to receive great numbers of people from the Old
World—primarily Europe and Africa—and it underwent a profound
transformation. The discussion that follows primarily covers the
nonindigenous peoples of mainland North America. The
ethnohistory of the North American Indians is treated in more
detail in the article Native American, and that of the Mesoamerican
peoples is discussed in Pre-Columbian Civilizations; for treatment
of the peoples in the Caribbean region, see West Indies.