4/4/2013 OVERVIEW One region with two parts 300 miles apart Regional Landscapes of the having a similar physical geography. United States and Canada Both parts in relative isolation. Appalachia andthd the Ozarks Prof. Anthony Grande Human geography distinguished by unique ©AFG 2013 cultural development, lack of economic opportunities, poor farming and poverty. 2 Appalachia and the Ozarks Appalachia APPALACHIA Appalachia is a cultural region, a social region Alabama Georgia Tennessee N. Carolina Kentucky Virginia and an economic region. W. Virginia Ohio Maryland Pennsylvania New York OZARKS It is not a physical region. Missouri It is different from the Appalachians Arkansas Oklahoma (Appalachian Mts. or Appalachian Highlands) which is a physical region. Yet Appalachia is located within the Appalachians and owes its identity and uniqueness to the mountain setting. 3 4 Appalachia POVERTY Using economic and social criteria, some definitions enlarge the region and include parts of Mississippi, South Carolina and the Southern Appalachia southern tier counties of NYS. and the Ozarks contain some of the highest levels of poverty in the U. S. These areas are still bypassed for new incentives. Why? They do not have the demographics and locational 5 6 Appalachian Regional Commission needs required by modern enterprises. 1 4/4/2013 Settlement Limitations Appalachian Landscapes • Narrow valleys • Steep hillsides • Lack of flat land • Poor soils • Thick forest cover • Low density network of roads and railroads; few navigable rivers. 7 8 Traditional Appalachian Ozarks Settlement Scenes MO OK AR The Ozarks are a physical region, a cultural region, a social and an economic region all within the SAME boundaries. 9 10 Ozark Culture Hillbilly Persona Term is applied to backwoods settlers of both areas. 11 12 2 4/4/2013 “Hillbilly Mansion” Ozark Tourist Center • Branson, SW Missouri, is known as “the Live Music Show Capital of the World” and the “family-friendly Las Vegas.” • Specializes in country music; has museums and theme parks • Many well-known entertainers have their own theaters. • Grew from a one-venue town in 1960 to become a major tourist and convention destination of the Ozarks. 13 14 TopographyOzark Topography (continued) TopographyThe Ozarks (continued) This area is composed of two regions: This area is rich in minerals and forest products. • Ozark Plateau (north) – Highest and most rugged area is in northern Arkansas. Limited flat land hinders agriculture. – Separated from Ouachita Mts. by Arkansas River Valley. Rural setting and lower cost of living has – It is dissected plateau (separate plateau areas) created by made it a retirement destination. doming. • Ouachita Mts. (south) Scenery, wild rivers for rafting, forests and – Folded parallel ridges run in cultural heritage have made it a vacation an east-west direction. destination. 15 16 The Southern Appalachians Northern Appalachia (New York-Alabama) • Characterization Region of contrasts: Northern portion of Appalachia (PA and NY) is less poor and more modern than the southern portion. Northern portion vs. southern portion • Population Beauty and pollution Settled by people from Europe and New England. Wealth a nd pov ert y (Pennsylvania Dutch really Deutsch = Germans) • Religion A major source of coal. – Less conservative; fewer fundamentalist churches. A landscape greatly impacted by – Catholic and Orthodox Christian church affiliations. coal mining. • Transportation Federally financed development – Mountains easier to cross; access to the coast. – Links between eastern and western parts of programs. Manufacturing Core pass through here. New activities: recreation, second 17 18 homes, and retirement property. 3 4/4/2013 Southern Appalachia Divided States of Appalachia • Characterization 1. Civil War Disparity (see maps in Section 5 of Historical Atlas) • Mountain people of Virginia opposed secession as did those of – Unique culture development: relative immobility plus PA and NY historic isolation • Plantation agric. was not part of mountain way of life – Little in-migration; little out-migration • Mountain part of VA became West Virginia (1863). – Little interaction with rest of country 2. West Virginia: only state wholly within Appalachia • Population 3. In all other states that are part of Appalachia: – Predominantly white, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant – Largest city, chief manufacturing center and/or state capital located outside Appalachia region. – Largest white low-income region of the US – So these areas became marginalized by more – Politically and religiously conservative prosperous/urbane sections of their states. • Less access to education, media, eco. incentives. • Early stereotyped • Less access to the state’s tax base. – Labeled unsophisticated and behind the times; (Especially if you avoid paying taxes!) –“Hillbilly” tag remains. 19 20 Creation of the Appalachian Mt. Topography Appalachian Mountains Ancient folded mountains caused by the collision Five physiographic sub-regions: of Africa and North America (460 mya). a) Blue Ridge The Appalachians b) Ridge and Valley Western Maryland road cut c) Great Valley d) Appalachian Plateau e) Piedmont (covered with the South) 21 22 Appalachian Mt. Topography The Blue Ridge a) Blue Ridge Blue Ridge Mts. Blue Ridge Parkway • Abrupt rise from the Piedmont to the east. • Narrow in north, wide in south. • Crestline preserved in national parks. • River gaps through the ridge allowed early The Blue Ridge Parkway settlers to cross the connects Shenandoah NP with Great Smoky Mountains NP. region. 23 24 4 4/4/2013 Great Smoky Mountains AppalachianTopography Mt. (continued) Topography 2 National and state b) Ridge and Valley 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 Mt. Mitchell (6684 ft) in farmland. North Carolina is the highest point east of the Mississippi River. 25 26 The Delaware Water Gap Caves of the Appalachians Located between PA and NJ in the Hundreds of caves exist in the Blue Ridge Ridge and Valley area, the water and Ridge & Valley sections. They were gap was created as the ancient created by ground water dissolving soft Delaware River cut down through sedimentary rocks, usually limestone. a growing Appalachian fold. 27 28 Appalachian Mt. Topography 3 Shenandoah Valley part of the Great Valley c) Great Valley • Between the Blue Ridge and the Ridge and Valley sections. • Historic travel route between the southern and the northern areas. • Early important agricultural area. 29 Many Civil War battles were fought here. 30 5 4/4/2013 AppalachianTopography Mt. (continued) Topography 4 Appalachian Plateau d) Appalachian Plateau. “A dissected plateau.” It is divided into 2 portions: Allegheny Plateau The section of I-64 across and Cumberland Plateau West Virginia was the most • Allegheny Front is an expensive stretch of the system based on cost per escarpmenttt on eastern Allegheny Plateau mile. edge of the plateau. Cumberland • Significant barrier to early Plateau Allegheny westward movement Front The New River cuts a deep gorge in the Appalachian Plateau because of the rugged of southern West Virginia. The bridge is the world’s longest terrain. arch structure and shortened the trip across the gorge from 45 minutes to 1½ minutes! 31 32 Appalachian Agriculture Agricultural Products • More than 50% the people are rural. • General farming (no one crop dominant) • Farming • Herding (cattle/sheep/goats) - best use of – Many owner-operated farms, no corporations. steep slopes – Tenancy rare. – Few resources: • VllValley-area crops • Rugged topography – Tobacco - Apples - Dairying • Poor soil – Tomatoes - Cabbage - Grains • Short growing season in many areas – Small farm sizes (ave. 100 acres) – Corn for animal feed (historically it was distilled – Recent trend: part-time farmers. into moonshine) – Marijuana (the new illegal cash crop) 33 34 Mining Coal • Coal: PA, WVA, OH, KY, TN, AL – Mainly bituminous; anthracite in Pennsylvania. • Allegheny Plateau Beds – Together world’s largest deposit. • Oil – Predominantly bituminous. – First oil well in Pennsylvania (1859); also SW NYS. – Seams up to 10 feet thick. – High-quality oils and lubricants (not fuel); Quaker State • Rise of Coal Mining • Zinc: Tennessee – Post-Civil War new iron and steel furnaces use bituminous coal • Copper: North Carolina/Georgia border – Area coal fueled rise of Pittsburgh and Birmingham as • Lead “steel cities.” – Ozarks Tristate District (OK, KS, MO) – Electricity for East Coast cities and the Manufacturing – SE Missouri Core was first created by coal-powered generators. 35 36 6 4/4/2013 Coal Grades Coal Definitions • Coal is graded by assessing the • Anthracite ("hard“) coal is naturally clean and relative presence of carbon vs. smokeless. waste material. It became the preferred fuel in cities in the mid-1800s and – The higher the percent of was supplied from mines in northeast Pennsylvania. carbon, the higher the grade. The Delaware & Hudson Canal was an important link to get PA coal – The higher the grade, the hotter to east coast cities. the coal burns, and the less the pollution. • Bituminous ("soft”) coal is cheaper and more • Grades in order of purity: plentiful than anthracite but dirtier. peat (LOWEST), lignite (called “brown coal”), It came into demand for railway locomotives and bituminous, anthracite (HIGHEST) stationary steam engines. It is used to make coke. 37