THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Physical settings
“America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination
and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand.”
-Harry S Truman-
 Meet the team
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
~Physical settings of the US~

I. CLIMATE

~By group 4~
 -Keep calm-

Home to a variety of climate

Continental climate dominates
Average temperature: 53.4°F / 11.2°C (recorded in 2022)

-Keep that American dream-

 -Keep calm-

Natural disasters

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 ~Physical settings of the US~

II. GENERAL GEOGRAPHY

~By group 4~
 -Keep calm-

The West
Diverse geography, including vast mountain ranges
Home to rugged cliffs and sandy beaches.
Includes arid deserts like the Mojave Desert and the Great Basin.

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 -Keep calm-

The East
A mix of coastal plains, rolling hills, and mountain ranges.
Known for its major cities: New York City, Boston,
Philadelphia, and Miami.

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 -Keep calm-

The Midwest
Heartland" of America - Great
Plains (flat lanes).
Major producer of corn, wheat, and
soybeans.

The Great Lakes, including Lake Michigan,

Lake Superior, and Lake Erie, border the
northern part of the Midwest.
Major cities: Chicago, Detroit, Minneapolis,
and St. Louis.

-Keep that American dream-

 -Keep calm-

The South

Coastal plains to mountainous terrain.

Significant geographical feature: The Mississippi
River and its delta.
Major cities: Atlanta, New Orleans, Houston,
and Miami.

-Keep that American dream-

 -Keep calm-

The Northwest
Characterized by its lush forests,
rugged coastline, and volcanic
landscapes.
Known for its temperate rainforests,
particularly in the Olympic National
Park and the Hoh Rainforest.
Major cities: Seattle, Portland, and
Vancouver.

-Keep that American dream-

 -Keep calm-

The Northeast
Densely populated and highly urbanized
Historic landmarks: Statue of Liberty, Freedom Trail and
Independence Hall.

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 ~Physical settings of the US~

III. ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS

~By group 4~
 -Keep calm-

WILDFIRE
Major contributor: heat waves
Used to be wildfire season, but it
now happens year-round
14000+ wildfires recorded
(taken in 2021)

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 -Keep calm-

AIR POLLUTION

Ozone pollution Particle pollution

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 ~Physical settings of the US~

IV. CULTURAL REGIONS

~By group 4~
THE NORTHEAST

New England (6 states): Maine, New

Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode
Island, Connecticut

Middle Atlantic states: New York, New

Jersey, Pennsylvania

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 THE SOUTH

From Virginia and Maryland to Texas and Oklahoma.

Characterized by its distinctive history
of slavery, plantation economy, Civil
War, segregation, and civil rights
movement.

-Keep that American dream-

 THE MIDWEST

From Ohio and Michigan to Kansas and Nebraska.

Often be called the heartland of America.

Known for its ethnic diversity, and its cultural
traits of pragmatism, modesty, and hospitality.

-Keep that American dream-

 THE WEST

West of the Great Plains along with Hawaii and Alaska.

Associated with the frontier spirit, the gold rush,

the Native American cultures, the environmental
movement, and the innovation and entertainment
industries.

-Keep that American dream-

 1. New England
2. New York
10 6 Metropolitan
5.1 2 1
3. Pennsylvanian
9 3 4. Southern
NEVADA
7
5.2 5.1. Upper Midwest
5.2. Central Midwest
8 6. Rocky Mountain
4 7. Mormon
8. Interior Southwest
9. Pacific Southwest
12 10. Pacific Northwest
11
11. Alaskan
12. Hawaiian
 1. THE NEW ENGLAND REGION

Occupied by New Englanders in 1800

Majority of people are Roman Catholics.
 1. THE NEW ENGLAND REGION
Occupied by New Englanders in 1800
Majority of people are Roman Catholics.
Many outstanding universities and fine colleges are
concentrated in this region.
 2. THE NEW YORK METROPOLITAN REGION
Restricted to New York City
Populous region.
and its environs.
 2. THE NEW YORK METROPOLITAN REGION

America’s business and financial capital.

New Yorkers: cold and distant, with
little sense of community, their
expectations are high.
 3.
3. PENNSYLVANIAN
PENNSYLVANIAN REGION
REGION

Was founded as a Quaker colony (1680s).

Includes most of Pennsylvania and

neighboring portions of New Jersey,
Delaware, and Maryland.

A center of immigration.
3.
3. PENNSYLVANIAN
PENNSYLVANIAN REGION
REGION

Religion: Presbyterian and Quaker

 4. THE SOUTHERN REGION

The largest region geographically and

has over one-fourth of the country's
total population.
Begins in southern Delaware and
Maryland and moves west over
Virginia and West Virginia, crossing
southern Ohio into Indiana and
southern Illinois.
Includes most of Missouri and
Oklahoma and nearly all of Texas.
 4. THE SOUTHERN REGION
Is the most distinctive of the regions.
The South has produced not only a variety of African-American
musical forms, such as “Blues,” but also several other influential
and perennially popular styles, particularly “country music.”
Today these separate styles have been largely integrated as
“country western.”

The capital of this

development is
Nashville, Tennessee.
 4. THE SOUTHERN REGION
RELIGION
Nashville is also a centre of the development of popular religion.
Is the only major region without a large Catholic presence.
Among American regions, the South has been noted for its hospitality and
friendliness, as well as its relatively relaxed and unhurried way of life.

Along with these traits, there has

been a peculiarly Southern emphasis
on personal honor and valor.
 High homicide rate in
comparison to the North.

Relatively severe prison sentences have long characterised the South, as have
educational and health levels below the national average.
However, the region’s literary and musical creativity has been outstanding.
Geography division
The primary division in Southern
geography has always been between
the lowland and upland South.
The lowland South

Stretched from Maryland south along the coast to northern Florida and then
west to the Mississippi Valley and southeast Texas.
The area of the great cotton plantations with large numbers of slaves.
After the Civil War, it was the area with the severest racial problems, for the
war generally left behind in these sections a very poor, uneducated, but
majority black population.
The upland South

The upland South lay inland from this belt.

The soil was poorer, farms were smaller, and slaves were few. Further up,
there were two mountain areas of the South: the Appalachians of the north-
central South and the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas to the west.
Here life was hard and isolated, and blacks were generally absent.
An area of very poor farms, and the discovery of coal led to the conversion
of much of the Appalachian South into a mining belt that eventually became
well-known for its industrial violence.
 The Western South of Texas and Oklahoma

The Western South of Texas and Oklahoma developed a more open,

aggressive, assertive, and optimistic version of Southern culture
based on the riches of livestock and oil.
Houston and Dallas now rank alongside Atlanta and Nashville as the
leading cities of the South.
 Southern Louisiana
Was originally established as a French colony.
The area is largely Catholic in religion.
Its race relations have been characterised by an
attention to the “degree” of racial mixture, and there
is still a considerable French-speaking population in
rural areas.

Archdiocese of New Orleans Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis

 Southern Florida
The area has recently developed along different
lines from the rest of the South (the reason for
this distinction was population movements).
First has been the influx of northerners for
retirement or recreation.
More recently a new wave from the Cuban middle
class has arrived in the Miami area, followed by an
influx of Latin Americans, mostly of the middle
and upper classes.
Many observers consider Miami a major Latin
American city. Latin culture in Miami
 5. THE MIDWEST REGIONS

North
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 5.1. Upper Midwest

Includes central Ohio, Indiana, and North

Dakota

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An area of strong Scandinavian, Ohio
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German, Swiss, Dutch, and New
England influence.
 5.1. Upper Midwest
The area's educational standards and aspirations are lofty,
and this tradition persists.
Politics: This region spawned the Farmer-Labor and Progressive parties.
 5.2 Central Midwest
Includes central Ohio, Indiana, and
Illinois, most of Iowa and Nebraska,
northern Missouri, western Colorado,
and Kansas.

A transitional area, with strands of Nebraska Iowa

Indiana
all three East Coast traditions Ohio
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(most strongly rooted in the Mid- Mi

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Atlantic area).
 5.2 Central Midwest
Influenced by The South and New England

Harvest Festival in Illinois Peach Cobbler

 5.2 Central Midwest
Its later immigrant is a mixture of those European
peoples who entered the country after the Civil War

The Central Midwest has not

attracted large numbers of recent
2016 immigrants.
 5.2 Central Midwest
The “cultures” of Chicago, St. Louis, and Kansas City
determine most of its life.

Deep Dish Pizza Chicago-Style Hot Dog Kansas City Jazz

 5.2 Central Midwest
Religion: the only region with significant sections in which the
Protestant sects most identified with the country.
6. The Rocky Mountain Region

Includes 3 states: Colorado, Wyoming, and

Montana.
Is the least well-defined of the cultural
regions.
 6. The Rocky Mountain Region

The people are much more interested in their

separate identities than in the development of
a regional sense.
Its population density is the lowest in the
continental United States.

Rocky Mountain National Park

 6. The Rocky Mountain Region

The attitudes of the people in the Rocky

Mountain region have always reflected its
extreme topography and climate.
The attention of the area is focused on its
mineral and environmental resources and their
exploitation.

Rocky Mountain National Park

 6. The Rocky Mountain Region
It is a frontier area, the last area to be settled, the
true home of the cowboy and the sheep herder, the
skier, the hiker, and the climber.
 7. The Mormon Region
The Mormon region of southeast Idaho and
Utah illustrates most vividly the difference
between defining regions by physical
geography or economic criteria and defining
them in cultural terms.
 7. The Mormon Region

Utah was established in the middle of the 19th century in the New England
tradition as a model state based on a particular religious vision.
Aside from the region’s overwhelming adherence to the Mormon religion,
it is notable for its very high educational and health standards.
The emphasis on family and community has led to a high birth rate.
8. The Interior Southwest Region

Confined largely to the states of Arizona and

New Mexico.
The basic pattern here was one of coexistence
among Spanish-Americans, Texans, tourists,
and several Native American people.
 8. The Interior Southwest Region

The climate is harsh but less harsh than to the north. The topography is
dramatic, and variations from one part to another may be extreme in
temperature, precipitation, elevation, and vegetation.
This is a new frontier of settlement for many people, yet the oldest
cultures in America, Native American and Spanish, give the region a feeling
different from the rest of the West with its more garish newness.
 9. The Pacific Southwest Region
The region is primarily California, indeed, for many
people, “the West” is California.
Climate: the geography of the region is extremely
varied, with very hot and very cold areas within a
few miles distance.

The attitude and faith of the people: highly

democratic and optimistic
Its wealth has made it possible to meet the needs of
its general citizenry more adequately than elsewhere.
 9. The Pacific Southwest Region

Education:
The system of higher education has long been the envy of the entire country.
The first major state to make higher education easily available to all its citizens.
With several of the country’s leading research universities and private colleges,
the region now rivals New England in higher education.
9. The Pacific Southwest Region
 9. The Pacific Southwest Region

Economic
California agriculture feeds the country with many speciality crops and
provides a large percentage of its fruits and vegetables.
The new computer industry is concentrated here, as was the movie industry
in its heyday.
The region has become a favourite tourist destination for all Americans.
 9. The Pacific Southwest Region

Apple Park, Silicon Valley, California

 10. The Pacific Northwest Region

Comprises the states of Oregon,

Washington, and the greater part of Idaho.
Most of the region is a high, relatively flat
and undifferentiated plateau.
 10. The Pacific Northwest Region

Best known for its beautiful coastline, green interior,

rainy weather, and spectacular mountains.
The western coastal part of this region is more
populated and much milder than the interior.
The countryside is also more extensively forested,
and it enjoys generally heavier rainfall.
10. The Pacific Northwest Region

Cannon Beach, Oregon State Mount Rainier National Park, Washington State
 10. The Pacific Northwest Region

This region has a sparse population and has developed slowly

The society is homogeneous, largely white, and interested in the
environment and wilderness that surrounds it.
One does not find here the beach-and-Hollywood culture of
California because of the weather and none of its major cities is
near the open.
11. The Alaskan region
Is both a state and a region or group
of proto-religions.
A frontier area with a low percentage
of native-born.
Problem: Harsh climate and the high
cost of living -> unlikely to soon
become a stable cultural area.
 12. The Hawaiian Region
Be granted America’s statehood in 1959.
Aside from extreme Florida, this is the only tropical region of
America.
The only region where nonwhites dominate life.
This is a region with many ethnic groups (Japanese, Filipinos,
Chinese,…)
12. The Hawaiian Region

The Hawaiians traditionally have been

characterised as relaxed people.

Problems: Their lifestyle appears threatened

(by the shift to tourism and the cutting up of
the limited open space for housing.)
 References
Stevenson, D. K. (1998). American Life and Institutions. Ernst Klett Verlag.
Luedtke, Luther S. (1992). Making America. The University of North Carolina Press.
Britney, Amanda. (Aprl. 5, 2023). "Geography of the United States of America." ThoughtCo.
thoughtco.com/geography-the-united-states-of-america-1435745.
Christensen, J. (19 Apr. 2023). “A quarter of Americans live with polluted air, with people of
color and those in Western states disproportionately affected, report says”. CNN.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/19/health/state-of-the-air-2023/index.html.
“Annual 2022 National Climate Report”. (12 Jan. 2023). National Centers for Environmental
Information (NCEI). https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/monthly-
report/national/202213.
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