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DATES TO REMEMBER Regional Landscape Studies NORTHLANDS <<
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The Desert Southwest
Extends along the Mexican border Regional Landscapes of the from the Gulf of Mexico United States and Canada to the Pacific Ocean. The Desert Southwest Includes parts of Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Prof. Anthony Grande Utah, Arizona, Nevada
©AFG 2017 and California.
Parts of Chapters 2, 3, 10, 18, 19 Overlaps the Empty Interior and includes the in American Landscape South Pacific Coast (Monterey - San Diego), Texas High Plains and South Texas Gulf Coastal Plain.4
No humidity/arid conditions Mexican border area Desert Southwest Spanish place names OVERVIEW Southern California When you think about this region, Cactus Varied, harsh topography: plateaus/mountains/basins. what images come into your mind? Cliff dwellings Grand Canyon Climatic aridity is a physical unifier. Sunny skies Navajo Human adaptation to aridity is the cultural unifier. . Distinct Tri-Cultural Region with unique characteristics, place names and acculturation: Spanish with roots in Mexico: settlement and colonial heritage (language/religion) are chief regional identifiers. Native American: historic settlement and Indian culture is a secondary unifier. European-American: late arriving but dominant population o International Zone: cultural and economic landscapes integrated with that of northern Mexico, but a politically tense closely monitored border area from end to end.
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The Border The Four Corners Landscape El Paso-Juarez Crossing A unique political geography and photo opportunity!
Mexico USA Beach at San Diego Crossing at Arizona desert Matamoras- area Brownsville, TX
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Review map handout from Physiography of the “Empty Interior” The San Andreas Fault Desert Southwest
FAULT 1. Mountains (W Texas, E New Mexico) BLOCK San Andreas fault SOUTHERN ROCKIES Southern 2. Plateaus (S CO, S UT, NW NM, N AZ): California Zone COLORADO PLATEAU 3. Fault Block Structures (Southern California, W Arizona, S. Nevada): BASIN and RANGE EXOTIC RIVER: (a perman- 4. Coastal Ridges (SW California): ent river flowing through a desert) PACIFIC COAST RANGES Colorado River (with the Green and Gila) and Rio San Andreas Fault: Cuts through Grande (with the Pecos) Southern California from the Gulf of are the major exotic rivers California to San Francisco Bay. flowing through the south- Sections of the fault east of LA are west desert region. “locked” (have not moved in hundreds of years) 9 and are closely monitored by geologists. 10
C a l I f o r n I a Salton Basin Salton Landscape: Combo Geology of Natural and Human Factors Salton Basin occupies a During the 1905 spring floods the Colorado depressed fault block that R. broke its banks and flowed downhill by is >200 ft. below sea level. way of an irrigation canal into Salton Basin, • It once was the northern creating a freshwater lake. Each year the lake’s Desert Arizona water has become saltier. Filling the breach in 1906 by dumping end of the Gulf of Califor- rock from railroad cars into the gap. nia and contained sea All-American Canal Desert water (blue area). provides the area with • It was blocked from the fresh water for irrigation gulf as sediment from the from the Colorado R. El Centro, Colorado Plateau (brown California Dashed line = area) carried by the Colo- ancient shoreline rado River collected and
enlarged its delta at the Mexicali, Mexico head of the gulf. 11 12
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• Area of semi-arid (BS) and Climate desert (BW) climates. Hot and Southwest Deserts dry most of the year. • Mediterranean climate (Cs = 1. The Mojave Desert is located at summer dry, winter wet) is found the south end of the Great Basin. in coastal So. California. 2. The Sonoran Desert occupies an area south of the Colorado • Arizona-California-Nevada 1 border area is the hottest, Plateau extending into Mexico. driest part of N. America. 3. The U.S. portion (northern end) of 2 the Chihuahua Desert covers Death Valley is here. El Paso the Rio Grande Valley from “The Monsoon” occurs in 3 Albuquerque, NM to the July/August. It is just a series Precipitation Edwards Plateau of Texas. of thunderstorms created as Elevation interrupts the desert in AZ, Pacific Ocean moisture is NM and northern Mexico. sucked in by low pressure over the Colorado Plateau. 13 14
Chihuahua Desert Arroyo in northern Arizona Southwest Southwest Deserts
Deserts Many dry river (arroyo) and lake Each area has unique flora (playa) beds exist and are prone to flash flooding. and fauna. Oasis: Area where water is close Saguaro and Organ Pipe to the surface. Becomes the focus cacti are native to the Sonoran. of life in the area: wildlife/human. Joshua Trees are found in Sand dunes make up a small per- the Mojave. centage of the desert landscape. White Sands NMon, NM Saguaro Organ Pipe Joshua Tree Palm Springs, CA
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Santa Ana Santa Ana Winds Winds and Fire
Low humidity, hot temperature plus wind creates a severe fire hazard.
Smoke plume 3 hrs later 17 18 Adiabatic warming of already hot, dry winds.
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Los Angeles LA Basin Inversions
Smog P 2. Hot Mojave Desert air forms a lid over Smog (smoke + fog) is a type of air A LA Basin>>> C pollution created when by- I 4 products of combustion mix Desert F 3 with atmospheric moisture. Coast Ranges I (Originally caused by the mixing of C soot with fog in coal burning areas.) In the Los Angeles Basin Los Angeles smog is caused the problem is heightened by when vehicle emissions react a combination of natural local 1. Weak ocean winds push polluted weather and topographic LA air against the mountains. with sunlight to form photo- 3. The winds cannot break through chemical pollution. This mix conditions that prevent the dispersion of contaminants. the layer of hot Mojave desert air. includes particulates and ozone. 4. Winds (and pollution) are forced to double back over the LA Basin, warm- ing as they descend, and trapping 19 20 pollution within the inversion.
Area of Water Deficiency and Competition Desert Area Urban Sprawl Because of the climate and Phoenix, AZ Albuquerque, NM the increase in urban Percent Irrigated Farmland by County populations plus irrigated agriculture, there is a great competition for water.
The metro areas of El Paso, Albuquerque, Phoenix, Tucson and Las Vegas are growing at a fast rate. Southern California Conurba- tion (Santa Barbara-San Diego) needs water from outside its area.
https://earthshots.usgs.gov/earthshots/Las- Vegas#ad-image-1 21 22
Colorado River The Central Water Use Arizona Project Population and economic booms in Nevada, Arizona and southern
California need water. Delta region of In 1915 nearly the entire flow of the Mexico Colorado R. allocated mainly to Arizona Water is diverted from the Gila River Basin and California. In 2015 half the flow Morelos Dam is the last US dam on the and moved to the Phoenix and Tucson areas. Colorado before it crosses into Mexico goes to upstream states. International agreement provides Mexico with a minimum flow to US irrigation canal seasonally flush the delta region. Allocation formula is now facing severe strains due What’s left to years of below-average precipitation in the basin of the and high rates of population growth in the region. Colorado R. 23 24
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Glen Canyon Dam Human Geography: and Lake Powell Three Population Groups Native population Hispanic population dates (1% of total population) has a long history in back more than 400 years the region. with arrival of Spanish • Ruins are scattered explorers and missionaries. throughout the area. • Today’s population (25% of • The Navajo are the total population) is mainly of largest of the area’s tribes. Mexican heritage and experiencing rapid growth.
European-Americans are the largest group (74% of total). • Arrived in mid-1800s with American expansion westward
Lake Powell • Population is mainly northern European heritage.
Evidence of drought 25 26
American Indians Chaco Culture of the Southwest Four Corners area is the center of Chaco • Earliest inhabitants of region but Culture, an advanced Native American least integrated into U.S. society. (In part to preserve their culture.) society that thrived from AD 900 to 1200. • They are located in areas that Anglo Numerous national and state parks preserve the ruins, culture and memory of these ancient people. settlers rejected because of dryness. The area has been declared a World Heritage Site. Largest groups: • Many different tribes live on . Navajo . Apache Evidence of urbanization: reservations in the region. . Pueblo . Papago monumental public/ceremonial buildings . Hopi distinctive multi-level multi-family houses . Utes kivas for religious ceremonies Navajo hogan storage buildings = trade/commerce network of carefully built roads Indications of advanced engineering know-how
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Chaco Culture Mesa Verde Nat’l Park National Historic Park
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Canyon de Chelly Nat’l Mon. The Acoma Pueblo, New Mexico First settled c.1,100 AD, it is called “Sky City” because it sits atop a mesa.
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Hispanic • Immigration trend to U.S. Hispanic Population – 1900-2010: 4.6 million people 2010 US Census Population in – Late 1980s: 75-90,000/yr – 2000 to 2010: c.171,000/yr the Southwest • Much of it illegal - crossing the border without documentation • Estimated 6 million illegal Mexican residents in 2011; rate has slowed. • Push factors (to leave Mexico) Church Affiliation – Mexican population growth – Widespread unemployment •HistoricPull factors – Ease of crossing – Available jobs People of Hispanic and Roman Catholic • Have transplanted their heritage and Mexican-origin predominate culture to the Southwest. in the Desert Southwest and especially in the border region. 33 34
Spanish Toponomy Spanish Exploration in the Southwest o Adobe: structure made from sun-dried bricks (adobe) In western North America, Mission: religious outpost Spanish explorers came in o contact with Plains Indians o Presidio: military outpost or fort plateau Pueblo dwellers o Hacienda: estate or plantation or ranch (rancho) and Pacific coastal tribes. o Porciones: land grant o Pueblo: town or village . Playa: dry desert basin (covered with silt and salt that can be covered with water after a storm) . Arroyo: stream bed (usually dry, but can flash floods) . Laguna: lake • San and Santa: honorific meaning saint or holy one. • Los, Las, La, El: article of speech meaning “the.”
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Spain in Western Occupance Sequence Spanish Colonial Claims North America Became a buffer zone Spanish Exploration against English, French in North America (mid-1500s) and Russian expansion . California was thought • Upper Rio Grande to be an island. Valley (El Paso to Santa . Territory was made Fe: present day New Mexico) part of Mexico. in early 1600s. . San Diego Bay was • Arizona around 1700. entered in 1542. . Lower Rio Grande (Only other large bay is San • . Francisco Bay). Valley (Laredo-Matamoras) 1763 . Area was never a and East Texas after 1650 1820 focus for settlement: 1700. far from Mexico City and had no riches. • California starting in 1769 with a string of missions from San Diego north of San Francisco.
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Mission and Presidio at Goliad, TX Colonial Land Spanish Colonial Landscape Grants for Ranching . Mission: Came first. Consisted of a church and houses for the priests and their support staff, usually South Texas within a walled compound. . Haciendas (estates) were established for ranching and vineyards in surrounding areas. Livestock and plantings were bought from Spain. The main house had an inward design focused on courtyards. . Presidios (forts) were built to house troops to protect the missions, haciendas, settlements, mines and trade South routes. Texas
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Ideal Pueblo Presidio La Hacienda de los Martinez Taos, N.Mex (c.1800)
This was the main house on the Rancho Martinez. The colonial Spanish settlement (pueblo) was built around the mission (with its church) and public plaza. If warranted, a presidio
(fort) was erected nearby Mission Complex to protect the residents and their property.
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Mission-based Santa Fe, New Mexico Urban Landscapes Santa Fe is the 3rd oldest European-founded city in Mission church, fronting a large the US (after St. Augustine, FL and Jamestown, VA), and is the oldest public plaza, became the core of continuous capital city in North America. Was the settlement and now is the “Old administrative center of Spanish holdings north of Mexico. Town” of the region’s cities. • San Antonio •El Paso • Santa Fe • Albuquerque • Tucson • San Diego • Los Angeles • Santa Barbara All Spanish towns in the Southwest were built around a church and plaza. 43 44
Mission Ruins of Salinas Mission, near Albuquerque, NM California Missions Trail Churches The California Missions were Mission San Xavier, Tucson, AZ linked by road (El Camino Real) and located a day’s journey apart. The Alamo, San Antonio, TX Most were established by Franciscan missionaries. Fr. Junipero Sera is the most famous of them.
Mission San Miguel, c. 1610, Santa Fe, NM
Mission San Francisco de los Tejas, 1731 San Antonio, TX 45 A similar trail exists in Texas. 46
Result of Missionary Activity Political Geography Terms . Missionaries were more successful gaining converts from the sedentary Indians than from What is the difference between a “cession” and an the nomadic tribes. “annexation”? . Missionary system destroyed much of the native culture and tended to exploit Indians as a cheap labor force. Cession: Land that is given or sold through treaty; . Close living and daily interaction exposed the “ceded” to another party. Indians to European diseases for which they Annexation: Land within one political unit that is seized had little immunity. by another unit and incorporated into (made part of) that . Epidemics greatly reduced the native population. unit. . Established a unique settlement and cultural – It is made legitimate by the recognition of an appropriate pattern throughout the Southwest and California. agency within that entity and/or by an international body.
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Spanish Texas Spanish California (Tejas) See atlas pp. 32-36 + 46 California’s status as Mexico in 1824 after independence from Spain. • 1835: Texas declares its indepen- dence from Mexico. East Texas was a backwater of Span- settled by 25,000 Americans who ish Empire continued were given land grants by Mexico. until it became part There were only c.3,000 Spanish/Mexican of Mexico in 1821. settlers in the area. Called Alta California • The Texas Rebellion ensues • 1845: U.S. annexes the by the Mexicans, it (includes the famous Siege of the Texas Republic, claims extended north to Alamo in San Antonio and Mexican Oregon and east to defeat at the Battle of San Jacinto). disputed lands, and admits Texas as a state over the the U.S. Louisiana • 1836: Texas wins the war and Purchase. protests of Mexico. The Mexican officials awarded land grants to gets most of NE Mexico This leads to the Mexican (present-day TX, NM, OK, KS, CO, WY) U.S. citizens (“Anglos”) to encourage settle- War (1845-1848). and declares itself the Texas ment in its empty northern area (1820s-1830s). See pp. 28, 31-37, 40, 42, and 46 Republic. 49 50 in Historical Atlas
Mexico in 1847 California Mexican Cession • From the early 1820s to the mid- 1840s “Anglos” settled northern Mexican War ends in Mexico (most coming by way of wagon 1848 with the Mexican trains on the overland trails but some arriving at San Francisco by ship). Cession. Mexico loses • They continued to have loyalty to See atlas pp. 32-36 + 46. its northwestern land the United States and resented holdings. After the Mexican War Mexican control. • Northwest Mexico (Alta (1846-48), California was • Hearing about the Texas Rebellion California) is transferred to given to the U.S. as part of Americans in Alta California revolt- the U.S. by the Treaty of ed in June 1846 and declared the the Mexican Cession. Guadalupe Hidalgo. California Republic. • California grew rapidly af- Technically it was purchased for • “California Republic” was occupied ter word spread east of the $15 million ($300+ million today) discovery of gold in the but written off to settle pre-existing by U.S. Marines in July 1846 to Mexican debts so no money was protect U.S. citizens and ceased Sierra Nevada Mts. exchanged. to exist as an entity. • It became a state in 1850.51 52
Area of the new northwest- U.S. Territorial Growth Gadsden Purchase ern Mexico purchased in 1853 1853 for $10 million. Purchase proposed by railroad tycoon and diplomat James Gadsden who wants to build a southern transcontinental RR Areas of mountains and dissected plateaus. to make the West dependent on the South but needs a railroad- friendly route to the coast. WHY? • Plans delayed by the Civil War. Southern Pacific RR (1876) opens the area to more Anglos and leads to the growth of So. Calif., esp. the Los Angeles basin.
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Southern Metropolis Landscape of Automobiles •A megalopolis from Santa Barbara to San Diego has been created:c.185 miles 50% of land is devoted to long with over 19 million people automobiles (streets, high-ways, • Rapid 20th century growth: Post WWI parking lots, driveways, repair shops) (1920s-30s) conversion from agriculture to Driving mentality from early days urban: location of the motion picture and with a decentralization (anti-East aircraft industries; perception of open Coast) point of view leading to space and freedom that was in short Single-family houses. supply on the East Coast. No central business districts. • Continued municipal independence, Limited mass transit. despite spreading and merging; many small cities. Low population density • Automobile dependent. Leads to sprawl, congestion and pollution. 55 Chapter 18 in textbook 56
City of Los Angeles Los Angeles Metro Area Metropolitan Los Angeles • Settled by the Spanish as an agricultural fills the LA Basin. pueblo to provide food for the settlers. . Los Angeles is its largest city. . Many cities exist within the • The site of Los Angeles (LA Basin) includes the area making it the 2nd largest largest area of flat land on the California coast. metro area of the U.S. after • Chosen as the terminus of the Southern New York. . The Port of Los Angeles is Pacific Railroad (1870s). an artificial harbor. • The San Gabriel Mts. provided a reliable water source (for irrigation) from its snowpack and rain runoff until the early 1900s.
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San Diego N E X T
The San Diego Metro Area fills a coastal lowland basin focus- ing on San Diego San Diego Bay, one of the few natural harbors on the Pacific. Pacific Coast Ranges (Santa Rosa Mts.) separate it from the arid Imperial Valley.
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