3/29/2012 OVERVIEW Appalachia and the Ozarks • One region with two parts 300 miles apart Regional Landscapes of the – Similar topography United States and Canada – Similar history of human settlement • Both parts in relative isolation OZARKS Appalachia andthd the Ozarks Missour i – Transportation impeded by mountain setting Arkansas Oklahoma Prof. Anthony Grande – Poor transportation promotes isolation ©AFG 2012 – Landforms responsible for human settlement pattern • Human geography distinguished by APPALACHIA Alabama Georgia Tennessee – Unique cultural development (created in part by isolation) N. Carolina Kentucky Virginia W. Virginia Ohio Maryland – Lack of economic opportunities; poor farming conditions Pennsylvania New York – Poverty 2 3 Appalachia Appalachia Appalachian Landscapes When viewed with economic and social criteria, some definitions enlarge the region and include parts of Mississippi, South Carolina Appalachia is a cultural region, a social and all the southern tier counties of NYS. region and an economic region. It is not a physical region. It is different from the Appalachian Mts. (or Appalachian Highlands) physical region. Yet Appalachia is located within the Appalachians and owes its identity and uniqueness to the mountain setting. 4 5 6 Appalachian Regional Commission 1 3/29/2012 Traditional Appalachian Settlement Limitations Ozarks Settlement Scenes MO OK AR • Narrow valleys. The Ozarks are a • Steep hillsides. physical region, a • Lack of flat land. cultural region, a • Poor soils. social and an • Thick forest cover. economic region • Low density road/ all within the same railroad coverage. boundaries. 7 8 9 Ozark Culture Hillbilly Persona “Hillbilly Mansion” Term is applied to backwoods settlers of both areas. 10 11 12 2 3/29/2012 Ozark Tourist Center OzarkTopography Highlands (continued) Topography TopographyOzark Highlands (continued) This area is composed of two regions: This area is rich in minerals and forest • Branson in SW Missouri is • Ozark Plateau products. known as “the Live Music – Larger northern area. Show Capital of the World” and Limited flat land hinders agriculture. – Highest and most rugged area is in northern Arkansas. the “family-friendly Las Vegas.” – Separated from Ouachita Mts. by Arkansas River Valley. Wilderness setting and lower cost of • SiliiSpecializes in coun try musihic; has – It is dissected plateau (separate plateau areas) created by museums and theme parks doming. living has made it a retirement • Many well-known entertainers • Ouachita Mts. destination. have their own theaters. – Southern part of the region Scenery, wild rivers for rafting, forests • Grew from a one-venue town in – Folded parallel ridges run in 1960 to become a major tourist an east-west direction. and cultural heritage have made it a and convention destination of the – Hot Springs, Arkansas is a spa vacation destination. Ozarks. and the site of one of the first 13 national parks (1921). 14 15 The Southern Appalachians Creation of the Appalachian Topography (New York-Alabama) Appalachian Mountains • Region of contrasts: Ancient folded mountains, once higher than the Himalayas, Four physiographic sub-regions: Beauty and pollution. caused by tectonic plate collisions (460 mya) as Africa a) Blue Ridge Richness and poverty. and North America came together. • Abrupt rise from adjacent Piedmont • A major source of coal. to the east. Western Maryland • A landscape greatly road cut • Narrow in north, widens in south. impacted by coal mining. • Crestline preserved in national parks. • Federally financed develop- • Natural gaps through the ridge: ment (TVA and ARC). – Potomac River – James River • A growing focus on new –New River activities: recreation, second homes, and retirement property. 16 17 18 3 3/29/2012 The Blue Ridge Great Smoky Mountains AppalachianTopography Topography(continued) 2 b) Ridge and Valley Blue Ridge Parkway National and state Blue Ridge Mts. parks preserve some • Parallel series of of the highest peaks of highlands and the Appalachians, all lowlands around 6600 feet high. • Ridges: resistant shale and sandstone; forested • Valleys: softer limestone; good The Blue Ridge Parkway Located in North Carolina, farmland. connects Shenandoah NP with Mt. Mitchell (6684 ft) is the Great Smoky Mountains NP. highest point east of the Mississippi River. 19 20 21 The Delaware Water Gap Appalachian Topography 3 Shenandoah Valley part of the Great Valley Located between PA and NJ in the c) Great Valley Ridge and Valley area, the water • Between the Blue gap was created as the ancient Delaware River cut down through Ridge and Ridge & a growing Appalachian fold. Valley sections. • Historic route between the southern and the northern areas. • Early agricultural area. 22 23 Many Civil War battles were fought here. 24 4 3/29/2012 Caves of the Appalachians AppalachianTopography Topography(continued) 4 Appalachian Plateau Hundreds of caves exist in the d) Appalachian Plateau is divided into 2 portions: Many rivers dissect the Blue Ridge and Ridge & Valley Allegheny Plateau and Cumberland Plateau plateau making overland sections. They were created by travel slow and difficult. ground water dissolving soft • Allegheny Front is a The section of I-64 across sedimentary rock formations, steep escarpment on West Virginia was the most usually limestone. eastern edge of the Allegheny plateau. Plateau expensive stretch of the sys- tem based on cost per mile. Cumberland • Significant barrier to early Plateau Allegheny westward movement. Front The New River cuts a deep gorge in the Appalachian Plateau of southern West Virginia. The bridge is the world’s longest arch structure and shortened the trip across the gorge from 45 minutes to 1½ minutes! 25 26 27 Human Geography of Routes of Settlement and Increasing Isolation Appalachia and the Ozarks Cultural Diffusion • As population grew, available farmland was • Earliest settlers of Appalachia limited: – Scots, Irish, English, Germans – Insufficient flat land for large farms – Settlement late in colonial era (late 1700s) Pennsylvania – Unsuitable for plantations, therefore, few blacks culture hearth – Entered Great Valley in southern Pennsyy,lvania, • Bypassed in westward movement then moved south into Virginia – Unsuitable for mechanization, economies of scale • Post-revolution arrivals (early 1800s) Migration routes into Appalachia – Far from major crossings of Appalachians – Adequate flat land for farms (25-50 acres) – No early rail lines – Forests with abundant game – East coast residents and new arrivals skipped the Migration routes – Wood used for building and fuel area for the area west of the Appalachian into Ozarks Plateau. 30 28 29 5 3/29/2012 Increasing Isolation Unique Regional Cultures Develop POVERTY • Slow urbanization • Relative immobility + historic isolation Southern Appalachia – Southern emphasis on agriculture – Little in-migration and the Ozarks con- tain some of the high- – Few products to sell; no manufacturing – Little out-migration until late 20th century est levels of poverty – Little interaction with rest of country • Ozarks are settled in the early 1800s in the U. S. (after Louisiana Purchase). • Population make-up remained constant – Physical conditions similar to the Southern – Predominantly white, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant While no longer isolated, Appalachians the regions are still by- – Largest white low-income region of the US passed for new economic – Area by-passed by movement west. – Politically and religiously conservative incentives. • Early on labeled unsophisticated and These areas do not have the demographics and 31 behind the times: “Hillbilly” tag remains. 32 locational needs required by modern enterprises. 33 Northern Appalachia Divided States of Appalachia Agriculture • Includes Pennsylvania and New York • Civil War Disparity • Low urbanization rate (>50% the people are rural). • Mountain people of Virginia opposed to secession • Populated by people from Europe and • Plantation agric. foreign to mountain way of life • Farms New England. • Mountain part of VA became West Virginia (1863). – Primary region of owner-operated farms. • Religion • West Virginia: only state wholly within Appalachia – Tenancy rare. – Less conservative; fewer fundamentalist churches. • In all other states that are part of Appalachia: – Few resources, many farmers – Catholic and Orthodox Christian church affiliations. – Largest city, chief manufacturing center and/or capital • Rugged topography • Transportation located outside Appalachia region. •Poor soil – Appalachian areas marginalized by more prosperous/ – Mountains easier to cross; access to the coast. urbane sections of these states • Short growing season in many areas – Links between eastern and western parts of • Less access to education, news media, economic – Small farm sizes (ave. 100 acres) Manufacturing Core pass through here. incentives. – Many part-time farmers. • Less poverty is evident. • Less access to tax base (esp. if you avoid paying 34 taxes!) 35 36 6 3/29/2012 Cades Cove in Great Agricultural Products Specialty Crop Areas Smoky Mts. NP • General farming (no one crop dominant) • Shenandoah Valley, Virginia – Once state’s breadbasket, but lost out to Great Plains • Animal husbandry (cattle/sheep/goats) –Hay – Corn (fodder) - best use of steep slopes – Apples • VllValley-area crops – Turkeys • Pennsylvania valleys – Tobacco - Apples - Dairying –Dairying – Tomatoes - Cabbage - Grains – Apples • Tennessee Valley – Corn for animal feed (historically it was distilled – Fodder crops