5/7/2015

1

DATES TO REMEMBER

COURSE EVALUATION PERIOD NOW OPEN• Visit www.hunter.cuny.edu/te ORwww.hunter.cuny.edu/mobilete (for smartphones)

• Sign in with your Hunter netID and password• Complete the evaluation(s)

Check your Hunter email account for notice from the Dean of Students. Can do it on line or on a SmartPhone

May 11: Last day to hand in REQUIRED LANDSCAPE EXERCISE without penalty and last day to hand in pre-approvedextra credit research paper.

May 14: Last class lecture WEDNESDAY, May 20: Exam III: The Final Exam

– From 3 to 5 PM << note different day/time from class– Same format as exams I and II;

focuses on last third of course– Last day to hand in Exam III extra credit exercise and

“Geography in the News” extra credit option.

Regional Landscapes of the United States and Canada

North Pacific CoastProf. Anthony Grande

©AFG 2015

North Pacific Coast

Elongated isolated shoreline area of the West Coast between 34°N and 63°N.

Over 4,000 mi long and up to 150 mi wide (most of it is less than 100 mi wide).

Runs north from the Los Angeles Basin,

Past San Francisco Bay,

Through the Pacific Northwest, and the Inland Passage and the Alaska Panhandle,

Along the Gulf of Alaska coastal plain,

Through the Alaska Peninsula and ending at westernmost island of the Aleutians.

3LA

Alaska Peninsula

SF

Gulf of Alaska

4

North Pacific Coast

When you think about this region, what images come into your mind?

FogVolcanoes

Dense forestsHydroelectricity

Harsh coastlinesSeattleFjords

Cloudy skiesWinter Olympics

OVERVIEW: Physical

Marine subtropical climate from California to AlaskaWettest area of North America.

Tall parallel coastal mountain ranges separating warmer but drier fertile lowlands. Irregular, rocky coastline with little or no coastal plain

Geologically active area. Shaped by earthquakes, volcanism, mass movements.

Northern portion shaped by mountain glaciers that reached the sea.

Heavily forested.

5

OVERVIEW: Human

Isolated from the rest of North America by site and situation.

Difficult transportation between areas.

Over 150 distinct Native American ethnic groups in small coastal valleys (isolated from each other).

Explored by Spanish, Russians, British, and Americans.

Low population density with few large cities.

Diversifying economy still dominated by primary activities: lumbering, fishing, agriculture.

SW British Columbia is the fastest growing area. 6

5/7/2015

2

PHYSIOGRAPHY: U.S. West Coast

There are two major units:

California Coast

Pacific Northwest

7

PHYSIOGRAPHY: California Coast

California Coastal subregionextends westward from the foot-hills of the Sierra Nevada and north of the Los Angeles Basin.

Includes:

Central Valley of CaliforniaSan Francisco Bay EstuaryCoast RangesKlamath Mountains

8LA BASIN

SF BAY >>

KLAMATH MTS

PHYSIOGRAPHY: Pacific Northwest

The Pacific Northwest subregion includes NW California, western Oregon and western Washington State.

Consists of rugged parallel mountain ranges with two major lowland areas:

Puget Lowlands and Willamette Lowlands.

9

KLAMATH MTS

Coast Ranges Linear folded mountain ranges

(3,000- 5,000 ft high in CA; to 7900 ft in WA) rising from the sea and paralleling the coast from LA to Seattle.

The only gap is the Golden Gate.

Height limits the ocean influence to coastal areas by preventing air mass movement inland, creating “rain shadow valleys.”

Olympic Peninsula (WA) is wet-test place in North America and supports a temperate rainforest.

10

Big Sur

The Golden Gate and San Francisco Bay

Tidal estuary of the Pacific Ocean reached via a gap in the Coast Range – the Golden Gate.

Divided into four bays.

Fed by Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers. Has water quality issues from

both urban and agricultural pollution.

Six major fault zones pass through it, giving the area its NW-SE alignment, and subject-ing it to earthquakes.

3

4

Golden Gate

2 1

11

Olympic Nat’l Park on the Olympic Peninsula

• The Olympic Mts. get over 150 in of rain and 250 in of snow annually.

• A temperate rainforest is supported.

• Coastline is characterized by stacks created by headland erosion.

12

5/7/2015

3

Central Valley of California

400 mi long and 90 mi wide

Located between the Coast Ranges and Sierra Nevada.

Former inland sea filled with sediment from rivers eroding the Sierra Nevada. Extremely flat but fertile.

Divided into 2 segments: Sacramento Valley(north) and San Joaquin Valley (south).

Fresno (c.500,000), Sacramento (c.472,000)

and Bakersfield (c.325,000) largest cities; Sacramento Metro Area has over 2.2 mil people.

13

Central Valley: San Joaquin Valley Area

14

Dry Mediterranean-like climate (Csa) needs irrigation. Most productive general farming area (fruits and vegetables) of the US.

Klamath Mountains

Located in NW California and SW Oregon Area of very rugged metamorphic fault block

mountains.

Rises to 4,000 ft.

15

Cascades Inland range running from

N California to southern British Columbia. Volcanic mountains

created by the subduction of the Juan de Fuca Plate under the North America Plate.

Most are dormant. Mt St. Helens (WA) was

the last to erupt (activity started in 1980).

Lassen Peak (1915) and Mt. Shasta are in northern California.

Mt. Shasta 14,162 ft high

16Lassen Peak, 10,462 ft. in LassenVolcanic Nat’l Pk erupted in 1915

Earthquakes and Volcanoes

Dots show epicenters of major earthquakes.

Entire region exists on the NE margin of the Pacific “Ring of Fire” - a geologic zone of earthquakes and volcanism.

17Pacific Plate

Volcanism caused by

Subduction

The Juan de Fuca Plate is being overridden by the North America Plate.

As molten rock moves to the sur-face through fracture zones in the crumbled North America Plate vol-canoes are created.

18

NORTH AMERICAN PLATE

JUAN de FUCA PLATE

5/7/2015

4

Eruption of Mt. St. Helens (1980)

19

Mt. St. Helens Blast Zone

20http://news.yahoo.com/magma-rising-washington-states-mount-st-helens-volcano-102422513.html?vp=1

Natural Reforestation of Mt. St. Helens Blast Zone

21

1980 2013

Ash

Crater Lake

22

FORMATION OF CRATER LAKE About 7500 years ago, Mt. Mazama erupted with such force that its top was blown off, creating a caldera that has since filled with water.

12,000 ft

Area blown off7,500 ft

Lake is 2,000 ft deep

Ave elevation of rim is 7500 ft

Volcano Skylines

23

Mt. Rainier and Seattle, WA70 miles away

Mt. Hood and Portland, OR40 miles away

Mt. Baker and Bellingham, WA30 miles away

Urban areas, on the coastal lowlands, have grown in the shadow of the Cascades and can be affected by an eruption

Lahar Flow

24

LAHAR is a term describing massive, fast-moving mud-flows (ash, debris and water from

melted snow) that may occur af-ter the eruption of a volcano. Greatest danger is at the end of winter.

The chief concern about any volcanic eruption in the Cascades is the creation of lahars.

Evidence of historic lahars are found throughout the region including the suburbs of Seattle less than 70 mi from Mt Rainier. Lahar evacuation route maps are posted around the area.

Mt. St. Helens (1982 eruption)

5/7/2015

5

A structural trough extending from Oregon to Alaska.– created along fault lines

– deepened by glaciers; flooded by sea

– warmer, drier than the highlands

Puget Sound Lowlands (WA), Willa-mette Valley (OR) and the

Fraser Valley (BC) are part of this.

The Strait of Georgia between Vancouver Is and the BC mainland is a flooded part of this.

Northwest Interior Lowlands

25

BC

WA

OR

Inland areas are productive

agricultural areas.

PHYSIOGRAPHY: British Columbia and Alaska Coastal Regions

26

The northernmost area. Extends from Puget Sound (WA-BC) to Attu Island, Alaska.

Dominated by the Coast Mountains.

Volcanic landscape formed by the sub-duction of the Pacific Plate under the North America Plate.

Includes Vancouver Island, Queen Charlotte Islands, Inside Passage, Kenai Peninsula, Alaska Peninsula and the Aleutian Islands.

QUEEN CHARLOTTE ISLAND

VANCOUVER ISLANDPUGET SOUND>>

INSIDE PASSAGE

Coast Mountains

27

Cascades

Coa

st Ranges

Extends from British Columbia to southeast Alaska (panhandle region).

Impedes coastal, overland and inland travel. Peaks create the islands of Alaska’s Inside Passage. St. Elias Mts. (Alaska-Yukon-British

Columbia border) are world’s tallest coastal mountains and site of Mt. Logan (19,700 feet), highest point in Canada.Mountain glaciers reach the sea.

Klamath

Mts.

Alaska PanhandleSouthernmost area of Alaska.

Inside Passage is a maze of deep, scenic navigable water-ways between the islands.

Area was flooded by the sea at the end of the Ice Age. The islands are mountain tops.

Topography limits interaction with the mainland. Transportation is by boat, ferry and small airplane.

Overland travel along the length of the coast difficult or impossible.

28

Juneau, Alaska

Glacier-carved Landscape

29

Glacier-carved U-shaped valley.

DRY

FJORD: narrow steep-sided inlet created by a mountain glacier as it flows down a valley to the sea.When the U-shaped valley is flood-ed by the sea, afjordis created.

Glacier-carved U-shaped valley.

FLOODED

Climate Controls:Marine West Coast (Cf)

30

RED = warm current

Winds blow from W to E.

Warm ocean current prevents harbors from freezing during winter

even at 60°N.

Westerly windsWarm ocean currentTall north-south mountains

- Cfb/Cfcgroups are unique to this area of N Amer. - Csb is the CA coast. - Csa is in the Central Valley.

Heavy rain and snow totals in the mountains

Variation due to latitude: Alaska’s south coast gets less rain and snow because weather systems do not reach that far north.

5/7/2015

6

Temperatures

Mild winters and cool summers.

Warm offshore ocean current with onshore winds moderate upper middle latitude temperatures.

Temperatures decrease with elevation (H).

Snow occurs where it is cold (H). Not common in the coastal areas S of Vancouver, BC

BUT 100-400 inches in the mountains. (Some mountain roads are open only from mid-June to mid-September.)

31

Mudflows and LandslidesMudflows occur towards the end of the winter rainy season

and especially in areas of CA that experienced brush fires at the end of the previous dry summer season.

Landslides usually occur during and after an earthquake. 32

Mudflows

33

As saturated soil (up to 30%

water by volume) loses inertia on a slope, it can no longer support weight and moves (flows) down-hill.The steeper the slope, the faster it moves and the stronger it is.

Oso, Washington, Mar. 2014

Coastal Erosion

34

Occurs during winter storms as waves batter the shoreline. Houses built at the edge of cliffs “for the view” are undermined and many collapse.Coastal areas are in danger of destruction from tsunami waves. Anchorage, AK and Crescent City, CA have been severely damaged by tsunamis.

Temperate Rain Forest

Olympic Peninsula of Washington has a temperate rain forest biome: warm and humid.

Dense forest: western hemlock, red cedar, Sitka spruce, and Douglas fir(many 200 feet tall).

Lush greenery:mosses, ferns.

35Hoh Rain ForestOlympic National Park, WADouglas fir lumber yard

Oregon

Redwoods National ParkCoastal Giant Redwood trees are found on the windward (wet) side the Coast Range in N. Calif.

36

5/7/2015

7

Native American Settlement

Native American population was relative-ly large because of the moderate climate and abundant year-round food supply.

Culture– 100+ distinct ethnic groups, each

located in a small coastal valley.– Sustained by hunting, fishing and

gathering.– Large, impressive houses and

dugout canoes.– Totem Poles: carved record of

person’s life on a log.

37

European Arrival

Last area of North America to be explored by Europeans (because of the distance from Europe)

Juan de Fuca (1592) for SpainVitus Bering (1740) for RussiaJames Cook (1778) for BritainLewis and Clark (1804) for America

Russian Settlement– First settlements late 1700s.– Fur-trading posts from SE Alaska to N California.– Never self-sufficient in food; expensive to maintain.– Conflict with the British and Americans over Oregon.– Russia sold Alaska to the U.S. in 1867.

38

British Settlement

• Hudson’s Bay Company– Fur-trading operation in Columbia R Basin (early 1800s)

– Was the dominant force from N Oregon to British Columbia until 1830s.

Victoria (1843) at southern tip of Vancouver Island; strategic overlook on the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

City of Vancouver

– Established as a sawmill in 1867.

– Protected harbor made it a seaport.

– Terminus of Canadian Transcontinental RR (1886).

39

American ExpansionSee maps in Historical Atlas pp. 23, 32, 33, 34, 36, 42, 46, 47

Explored by Lewis and Clarke in 1804-07.

John Jacob Astor established fur trade (1810).

Treaty of 1818 extended the US-Canada border along 49°N latitude to the Rocky Mts., not to the coast.

US and Great Britain jointly administer Oregon Country (Rocky Mts. to Pacific Ocean) from 1818-46.

American settlers arrive via the Oregon Trail to Oregon’s Willamette Valley (1840s).

By late-1840s Americans in Oregon Territory were pushing for statehood.

40

Oregon Country

41

The Northwest was contested by Russia (Alaska), Great Britain (Canada), the United States (Oregon) and Spain (Mexico).

Spain withdrew claims after Mexican indepen-dence and Mexico did not focus on the area north of California.

Oregon Country

The OregonTreaty of 1846 set the boundary at 49°N latitude with the exception of Vancouver Is.

While politically acceptable, it disrupted N-S movement in Puget Sound and on the Columbia River.

Became Oregon Territory in 1848; a state in 1859.

42

5/7/2015

8

Regional Economy

Characteristics:– Production of staple products: wood, fish,

agriculture (primary sector).

– Distance from major markets of U.S. and Canada increases costs.

– Cheap electricity is a asset.

– Tourist industry is growing.

43

Wine Making

44

Excellent combination of climate, soil and slope.

Climate conditions are similar to those of the wine producing regions of Europe. This allowed Spanish vines to be transplanted in California. Vines from other areas of Europe came with settlers.

Areas of OR, WA and BC now have vineyards, too.

Forestry

Major economic activity of the regionBritish Columbia: 54% of Canada's timber.

Washington, Oregon, California: c.50% of U.S. total

o Large-scale logging activityTrees are large; produce much square footageClear-cut harvesting method

o Tree species vary with regionDouglas fir major lumber tree (houses, plywood)

o MarketsForest products are shipped great distancesAll parts of US&C; Asian countries, esp. Japan

45

Cutting and Milling

46

Clear Cutting: A harvesting method where entire areas of forest are cut down without regard to size and species of tree.

Logging Methodology:Trees are sorted, trimmed of branches and the logs are cut to transportable length on site for truck transport to the mill.

The area will be replanted with hybrid seedlings of one specie.

Lumber mills are located within the forest.

At the mill the logs are cut into usable lengths for easier transport

Forestry Industry

47

OREGONBRITISH COLUMBIA

WASHINGTON OREGON

BRITISH COLUMBIA

Hydroelectric Power and Dams

Region’s hydroelectric potential unmatched in North America Rugged topography and deep

canyons. (40% of U.S. potential in Oregon and Washington)

Abundant precipitation with no dry season.

Dams on the Columbia River regulate water flow (flood control and navigation), impound water for irrigation and produce electricity cheaply. 48

5/7/2015

9

Fishing

• Once the lifeline of the region especially that of Native American.

• Area of cold water species.

Whale and salmon populations have been greatly reduced by overfishing and human interference.Dams on the rivers of the Pacific NW have

interfered with salmon migration to upstream spawning areas.

49

Fish Ladders

Fish ladders have been built around dams to aid salmon moving up stream to spawn.

50

Present Population Distribution

• Faster growth than national averages in both the U.S. and Canada.

• British Columbia is the fastest growing area.

• Home to 3% of U.S. population and 10% of Canada’s population.

• Most people live within the interior lowlands from the Fraser River to Willamette Valley.

• Few large cities: – San Francisco Metro Area

– Sacramento, CA

– Vancouver and Victoria, BC

– Seattle, WA

– Portland, OR

– Anchorage, AK51

Anchorage

• Alaska’s largest city with about 300,000 people and 40% of its population.

• Established (1914) as a port for the construction of the Alaska Railroad.

• Grew as a transportation hub and military base because of its harbor and connections to the interior.

• Today is a shipping center.

• Devastated by 1964 earth-quake and tsunami

52

Vancouver

• Canada's 3rd largest (605,000 people) andfastest growing city.

• Metro area of more than 2.3 million people.

• Western HQ for Canadian businesses.

• Gateway to the Canadian Rockies (hosted the 2010

Winter Olympics) and interior Canada.

• Tourist hub for the Inside Passage.

• Canada's busiest seaport:Wood products; wheat. 53

Largest U.S. city of the Pacific Northwest since late 1800s; has over 600,000 in city/3.5 mil metro area

Founded as a logging center, became dominant with coming of RRs (1883) and as an outfitting point to Alaska, esp. after gold was discovered (1890s) in the Klondike;

Second largest container port in U.S. Since WWI, the home of Boeing Aircraft.

Diversification: Computer technology (Microsoft); research & development, medical biotechnology, forest products, banking and finance.

54

Seattle

5/7/2015

10

Portland

Has a pop. of over 590,000 people with a metro area of over 1 million.

Ranks high among livable cities

More diversified economy than Seattle’s with better access to interior via Columbia River.

- Shipment of grain from eastern Washington.

- Large, deep port with easy access to the Pacific.

- Iron and steel, clothing, food processing, computer technology

55

Northern ConurbationSan Francisco Bay Area

OAKLAND

SAN JOSE

SAN FRANCISCO

56

San Francisco (c.812,000)• Northern edge of Spanish

North America.• SF was the supply port and

financial center for the 1849 Gold Rush.

• Terminus of first transcontinental RR. (Union Pacific RR).

• Largest west coast city until 1920.

• Large numbers of Asian immigrants, esp. Chinese

• Excellent harbor; access to interior.

• Cultural center.

Other AreasEast Bay: - industrial and

shipping. Oakland is the largest city (c.395,000)

Silicon Valley: the name origin-ally referred to the large num-ber of local firms that manu-facture silicon chips. Now synonymous with technology. San Jose (c. 967,000) is the largest city of the entire region.

Urbanized area with over 6.5 million people.