Ch. 7 Megalopolis

     Megalopolis contains Boston, New York, Washington, Baltimore and Philadelphia. The region is the most populated area in North America. The region has precipitation year round, and mild weather. The southern parts are humid & hot during summers, with mild winters. The northern & inland part has longer colder winters, and summers are short and cool. Hurricanes, blizzards and flooding are major threats. Megalopolis’ land has been drastically modified by humans like the Great Lakes/ Corn Belt. 
     The region has thrived due to its location near the Atlantic Ocean. The diversity of the region is large due to early settlement. One large city in the region is New York, who thrives economically, due to its location adjacent to the water, just like Chicago. New York is a major financial center of the world. National parks, Mountains and beaches attract many tourists to the region. Megalopolis’s population is dense and overcrowded, which is a major factor on homelessness. The cost of living in the region is very high, it is very ethnically and racially diverse. Despite some problems it has, Megalopolis still thrives.

Book Used:

Hardwick,Shelley, Susan Wiley. The Geography of North America 2nd Edition. Pearson College Div. 2012. 

Megalopolis

Hurricane Sandy

Ports in the Atlantic Coast

New York City

Busy Streets of New York (Largest City in U.S)

Ch. 5 Atlantic Periphery

     Canadian Provinces of Newfoundland & Labrador, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island compose part of the Atlantic Periphery. Vermont, north-eastern NY, most of New Hampshire and Main compose the other of the region. As most know the Atlantic Periphery was the first portion of North America to be explored & settled by European and later followed by British and French explorers. Despite its early settlement the region’s population is declining. Most of the Atlantic Periphery is located in the Appalachian Mountains. Much of the land was affected by glaciers and erosion. Lakes and ponds can be found in the inland areas, which attract campers, fisherman, tourist, and hunters. The cities and towns were settled in the harbor area. 
     In terms of economy the region is weak and must depended on surrounding regions. The Atlantic Periphery lacks natural resources, and it's isolated. The land is not suitable for much agriculture productions, yet Main produces a great portion of North American’s blueberries and cranberries. The region is covered with forests, therefore their economy thrives due to forestry. Tourism brings a great amount of money, since there is lots of hiking, fishing, boating, and camping areas for tourist to enjoy. Due to low levels of population the cost of living is low, which attracts businesses. Even though the region doesn't thrive well enough compare to other parts of North America its scenery is a beautiful place to visit.

Book used:

Hardwick,Shelley, Susan Wiley. The Geography of North America 2nd Edition. Pearson College Div. 2012.

Town in Nova Scotia

Cranberry Cove Farm in Maine

Appalachian Mountain 

Ch. 4 The North American Political Economy

     During the 1850, around 56% of the workforce in Chicago was secondary sector jobs. As the years progressed the secondary sector decreased to 17%. In 1990 the tertiary sector grew to about 80%, and made Chicago a leading city in employment. Chicago’s economy is successful due to some key industries; Business & Financial Services, Health Services, Manufacturing and Transportation & Distribution. Today Chicago has over 1 million employees in the industries described above. Some jobs that Chicago is abundant in are Accounting, Advertising, Legal Services, Recruiting, Security services, Specialized design and Management services. 
       Chicago’s manufacturing industry continues to change due to the wind energy innovations and the green building materials, as well as the high-tech products. The health service industry is also major to Chicago’s economy, which employs about 525,000 people. Another major industry is their Transportation & Distribution since 1850’s. They have become a major crossroad of American global trade, due to its location to Lake Michigan. Overall, Chicago is an important commercial and financial center to North America.

Cites Used:

http://www.city-data.com/us-cities/The-Midwest/Chicago-Economy.html

http://www.worldbusinesschicago.com/data/key-industries

Book Used: Development, Security, and Cooperation, Policy and Global Affairs, Indian National Science Academy, Chinese Academy of Sciences. National Academies Press, Jun 26, 2001

Ch. 3 Historical Settlement of North America

     Chicago’s history began when Louis Joliet, who was a Canadian explorer, along with Jesuit Jacques Marquette explored the land in 1673, making them the first Europeans. Of course the Europeans were helped through their exploration by local Native Americans. Yet, the first permanent settlement was not until 1781, by Jean Baptiste Point de Sable, who was an African American from Santo Domingo. The choice for Chicago’s settlement was chosen strategically due to the proximity to Lake Michigan, which was used for trade. It wasn't until 1837 that Chicago became an official city. As time went by, Chicago began to grow in population size, during the transcontinental railroads.
     One huge disaster well known was the Great Chicago Fire on October 8, 1871. The causes are still unknown, but it started in the barn behind the O’Leary’s house. The fire died out two days later, when rain finally began to fall. The disaster left approximately 100,000 people without homes, and killed 300 people at most. The fire had a great economic cost to the city; nevertheless Chicago was able to recuperate from that devastation. The city quickly began to rebuild and within 6 weeks there were about 300 buildings being constructed. Chicago’s land price began to rise drastically during the late 19th century, and it lead to the constructions of higher buildings. In 1885, the first skyscraper in the world was built by William Le Baron Jenny, the Home Insurance Building.

Website used:

http://www.aviewoncities.com/chicago/chicagohistory.htm

Great Chicago Fire

House Settlements

Home Insurance Bldg.

Ch. 2 North America's Environmental Setting

     Chicago's land form was created by ice glaciers. The glaciers have worked over time and have formed some of the great lakes, such as Michigan Lake, which borders Chicago. Much of Chicago's land is flat. It has some important rivers that connect to Lake Michigan. Early settlers reversed the flow of the rivers using many canal locks. By doing so it created an increase water flow from Lake Michigan, which eventually reached the Mississippi river. Chicago has cold snowy, windy winters, and warm humid summers. The best time to enjoy the weather would probably be during spring and fall, and of course winter if you enjoy the snow. The average high tempter for Chicago is 84 degrees, during July. The lowest temperatures are during the months of January & February, which can reach an average of 32 degrees. Chicago is in the grassland vegetation zone as noted by the book. It has some wetlands, and swamps, and some still waters which are the lakes and ponds.

Websites used: 

http://www.isws.illinois.edu/atmos/statecli/general/chicago-climate-narrative.htm

http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USIL0225

http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/namerica/usstates/illand.htm

The Rivers in Chicago

Chicago's weather 

Beach during winter

Every year the Chicago river gets dyed green on March 15 at 9:30 pm,
which is a privately funded operation and a tradition for over 40 years.