5/2/2017
DATES TO REMEMBER
Until May 26: Course evaluation period. Regional Landscapes of the Check your Hunter e-mail for instructions. Smartphone: www.hunter.cuny.edu/mobilete Computer: www.hunter.cuny.edu/te United States and Canada May 12: Last day to hand in REQUIRED ROADTRIP EXERCISE without late penalty. The Great Plains May 16: Last class lecture and last day for pre-approved extra credit (paper or other project). and Prairies May 23: Exam III: The Final Exam Part 2 – From 9 to 11 AM << note different time from class Prof. Anthony Grande American Landscape: Ch. 9 – Same format as exams I and II. ©AFG 2017 also review Ch. 2 and 7. – Last day to hand in Exam III extra credit exercise and Historical Atlas: Sect. 6 “Landscape Analysis” extra credit option.
Perception of the Great Plains Plains Indians Favorable Unfavorable Lived a nomadic lifestyle (hunting/gathering). Native Americans Early 1800s, Easterners • Buffalo (bison) hunting main livelihood. were to first to live on and Northern European • Mobility was limited at first. the plains. They found it immigrants saw it as Acquired horses in 1500s (from Spanish) a good place to live, “wholly unfit for cultivation • Allowed diffusion throughout the Plains. moving with the seasons and habitation.” and following the animals. No trees = Bad for farming. • Increase access to food and shelter. Spanish explorer 1850s-1930s: Area was • Were able to follow the buffalo herds. called the “Great American • Tepees were traveling homes. Coronado (he was raised in dry Spain in the 1500s): “This Desert.” Pushed out of the Great Plains by region is the best I've seen 20th century views: Shaped American westward expansion for producing the crops of by literature (novels) and Holly- • Loss of buffalo (their food) to trophy hunting. Spain. [It is] very flat and wood (movies): dry waste • Transcontinental RR allowed Easterners black [and] well watered by land inhabited by Indians, access to area. the rivulets and springs.” buffalo and cattlemen. • Land claimed by farmers and ranchers. 3 4
See maps on Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump First American Settlers pp.36 and 46 World Heritage Site, Fort MacLeod, Alberta of the atlas.
The buffalo jump was used Buffalo jump sketch for 5,500 yrs by the indigen- First arrivals (pioneers) in 1820s: ous peoples to kill buffalo • Settlement hindered by a lack of trees for building, by driving them off the 35 ft high cliff (escarpment). fencing, fuel and by a lack of water. Agriculturalists bypassed this area (perception!) • Called it the “Land to get across.” • Favored Rocky Mt. foothills and west coast tracts where there were trees. People moved through the area in convoys called wagon trains.
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Wagon Trains Overland Trails Trails were named for their destinations. Wagon trains provided an organized movement west- Wagon train parties were outfitted in ward across the Great Plains. Missouri and crossed the plains by following rivers, ruts and landmarks. . Started as supply lines for Wagon wheels created fur traders. ruts in the ground. . Later used to take settlers Trail masters followed the across the plains by following ruts on their trips across the the rivers west (consult maps). Great Plains and mountains. . Became a means for settlers to get to the Rocky Mts., Oregon and California. Wagon wheel ruts . cut into the sod Wagon wheel ruts cut into soft rock. 7 8
Geologic Landmarks along landmarks were important as guide Settling on the Plains the Oregon Trail posts and gauges of daily distance Homestead Act (1862) opened up the plains to settlers. traveled. Land was pre-divided according to the Township and Range rectangular survey system. “Homesteaders” would select a parcel on a map at the local Land Office and then go out to find the surveyors' markings and see if they liked the parcel. Best land claimed first. Surface water was more important than soil quality. Valley bottoms favored (water + better soil = good farming). All property lines (fences and fields) followed T&R grid (east-west and north-south directions). “Checkerboard” is the original landscape pattern of the region.
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Canadian Prairies: Concentra- Cultural Checkerboard Landscape tions of Eastern Europeans with Eastern Orthodox traditions. Concentrations Sizable Métis population; many 1874 Nebraska had a French heritage/culture. Northern Plains: Settled by Swiss, Germans and Norwegians They brought their culture with them: toponomy, religion, farming methods and architecture. Limestone outcrops allowed LUTHERAN them to build stone structures. Southern Plains: Settled by resi- dents of Southern states (including freed slaves) and Spanish/Mexicans. Regional physical characteris- tics created a unique cultural landscape: COWBOY. Hispanic culture predominates Land was divided according to the Township & Range Survey system. 11 closer to the Mexican border. 12
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Towns and Railroads and the Rivers Plains (1860-1880) • The railroads ventured onto First towns (1840s) were the Plains (1850s) after the set- established along navig- First transcontinental railroad linked Council tlement of the agricultural core, the Bluffs, Iowa with Sacramento, CA (1862-1869). able waterways by river annexation of Texas and the end The link continued by boat to San Francisco. Why? freight companies. of the Mexican War (desire to get to • Main Street fronted the Calif. after it was ceded to the US). river (waterfront) and the • The RRs set up towns along focus was the docks. Omaha, Nebraska their tracks after getting gov’t • Towns first spread along land grants or purchasing land the riverbank (called frontage), for their rights-of-way. then inland. • They leased RR land along the tracks to local businessmen.
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Rail Lines: 1870 vs 1890 Towns and Rail lines Towns were built by the RR com- panies for freight depots or work- The railroad rights-of-way followed the routes of the wagon trains from the er housing. Town was laid out before Mississippi Valley to the Pacific coast. people and businesses arrived. – RR agent was put in charge of settle- ment to bring in the right mix of businesses to the town. – RR towns ignored the grid to align with the tracks. 1869: Transcontinental Railroad – Street pattern was “T-shape” which (Union Pacific and Central Pacific) 1876: Southern Pacific Railroad focused on the train station or freight 1883: Northern Pacific Railroad depot. 1885: Canadian Pacific Railway • Main Street business district was at a right angle to the tracks.
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Garfield, Kansas Railroad Routes and the Settlement Landscape of the Plains
The route selected by a railroad as it moved westward determined the location of towns. On the western plains the only service was along the main trans- continental rail lines. • Towns were a set distance apart. Why? Notice anything • No N-S rail lines. Why? about the spacing?
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Problem Landscape Develops Settlement and Technology • Township & Range had no • Railroads can’t do right allowance for public roads angles, tight curves and In western areas intense agricultural settle- and varieties in the topo- steep slopes. Companies ment was delayed until the development of graphic landscape. (Canada purchased parcels that would technologies to deal with the plains allow for curved track sections. adopted T&R in 1871 and incorporat- environment: ed roads of a specific width along • The checkerboard land- alternate boundary lines.) scape was “cemented” – Wood brought in by freight trains allowed for • All roads were laid straight by the designation of state frame buildings and other construction projects. even if the grade was steep. highways and paving of – Barbed wire (for fencing) • Very few curved/irregular rural roads. lines are found on area maps. – Deep-well borers to get to the water and Location of civic and – Results in longer travel windmills to pump up the water. religious places is a result distance between places – Mechanization of grain farming, esp. steel plows. (time/distance factor). of Homesteaders giving away their poorest sections19 . 20
Canada’s Prairie Provinces American Granary Central Plains Northernmost section of the Plains Agricultural focus is Originally controlled by the Hudson’s Bay Co. - Discouraged settlement as interfering with trapping/fur trade on a variety of grains. Became part of Canada in 1870 . Covers the area from Canadian – Adopted and modified Township and Range in 1871. border to northern Texas. – Encouraged settlement but conditions limited its use for farming. . Temperature, growing season – RR came in 1885 but many people just “passed through” on and precipitation determines their way to the Rockies and West Coast. the type of grain grown. – Leases, rather than land grants, controlled the land. Today focus is on grain production. N . Oats and barley in the colder, drier areas as – Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta are Canada’s Montana, North Dakota, main wheat producers. and South Dakota. – Most is exported to Europe via . Wheat (several varieties) is Hudson Bay or St. Lawrence Seaway. the chief crop: Nebraska
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Skyscrapers of the Plains. Landscapes of Expansion after Civil War Open Range (1866-1886) Grain Storage and Southmost Section of the Plains Unbranded cattle running Distribution loose during Civil War. Focus is on ranching in Railroads linking east and Storage. Small grain eleva- Oklahoma and Texas. west coasts. ors or open-air mounds. • Cattle and sheep intro- Cattle drives north to rail heads in Kansas. Distribution. By rail and duced by the Spanish. Collapse in late 1880s. truck to ports for shipment (This area became part of the via water to processing US in 1846.) • Overgrazing. centers. • New cattle-raising • Cattle ranchers use the operations in Midwest. (as op- land extensively • Slipping national economy posed to intensively). Plenti- • Blizzards (1887/1888) killed ful grasslands for cattle cattle. grazing but too warm/dry for • Influx of farmers with new 1800s farming technology. technologies.
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Ranching “The Wars” An extensive land use activity Range Wars: Conflict between cattlemen and land owners and farmers. – Cattlemen needed to move cattle north to the transcontinental railroad depots in Kansas. – Needed water and grass for the herds. – Conflict of rights: land ownership precepts, water rights and open range concepts. Sheep Wars: Conflict between cattle and sheep ranchers in Southern Plains. – Revolved around disputes over land and water rights. – Cattlemen’s disdain of sheep: overgrazing the range and polluting watering places used by cattle.
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The movement of cattle on hoof (overland) by cowboys Cattle Drive on horseback. Modern Cattle Feed Lots
Ranchers now ship cattle by Hundreds truck and train to feed lots of head where they await being sold.
Cattle drives moved herds to terminals (cow towns) along the east-west transcontinental railroads. Texas Conflicts with owners of land 1902 and water right ensued. Water and air pollution are major issues. Established the vernacular image of the western landscape and cowboy as an iconic American fig- ure even though it lasted just 20 years (1866-1886). 28 27
WATER Control of Water The guidelines that governed Most important resource Riparian Rights Influenced the (English Common Law and East mineral claims under the Right of Coast implementation applied perception of Prior Appropriation are: of the Great Plains. where water is abundant): 1. The claim must be officially the area’s Requires all parties be usefulness by recorded and posted. Contributed to given reasonable use of the Pioneers. 2. Must be continually used and Fueled conflict the “Cattle Wars” water. between land kept up or else it would be lost Chief factor in owners who had Numerous water rights Right of Prior 3. All disputes were settled on a the location of water and cases have been brought Appropriation first in time, first in right farms and people who before the United States Developed in the mid-1800s as a basis. settlements needed water. Supreme Court. way to treat mining claims in the West. Later it was applied to This effectively closed out later settle claims to surface settlers from using available sur- face water and caused conflict water in areas where water especially in times of drought. is scarce. 29 30
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Modern Landscape Missouri River Watershed Pattern The Missouri River Pivot irrigation circles are superimposed on and its tributaries the T&R grid. There is have been dammed a water well in the to create an exten- center of every circle. sive reservoir sys- WELL tem which provides farmers with water for irrigation. Problem: Flat terrain creates long, wide but shallow reservoirs.
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Ogallala In places the water Energy Resources R table has Aquifer O C been lower- K ed more Natural gas Y Wind The Ogallala Aquifer is an than 100 ft. • Panhandle Field is (W Texas, • Inexpensive production M as a result Oklahoma, Kansas) world’s area of Dakota Sandstone, O • Excellent potential U of pumping. largest field 100-400 ft deep, extending • But far from areas of need N Petroleum from South Dakota to Texas, T Stronger A • Panhandle Field I pumps are containing water that origin- N needed to • Wyoming, North Dakota S ated in the Rocky Mts. bring the (deep formations) • Alberta (Athabasca Tar Called “fossil” water: over a water to the surface. Sands) million years old. Coal Water is used for irrigation, live- What • Thick seams, easily mined stock watering and domestic uses. happens • Low-sulfur (less polluting) when • Expensive to ship Aquifer: water-bearing rock formation bedrock is • Wyoming now leading coal- reached? Wind Power: Certainty Rating of the through which water slowly moves. producing state Wind Resources in the US. 33 34
Texas Wind Farms Population Change
Where people are moving to 2010-2013
New landscape feature of the Plains.
+ _ . Young people are leaving._ Older people staying. . Farm mechanization reducing jobs. + . New energy-relating activities drew people to AB, ND, WY and TX in early 2000s, now reduced exploration and production. . Few pull factors, including the transportation system. . Areas attempting to lure people in with history, tourism and recreation. 35 36
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N E X T
Mountains and Plateaus: The Empty Interior
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