US States Geography From Sea to Shining Sea 20 Minutes

United States geography is a story of land and people. A land filled with natural resources from the Rocky Mountains to the sonora desert. The San Francisco Bay to the Mississippi, the Grand Canyon to Niagara Falls. Since 2000 BC, when the Native Americans settled on this continent, people from all over the world have made this land their home. With lush forests sweeping prairies, coastal plains and bustling cities, the land is as diverse as the people who live here. North to south, east to west, each region of the United States is a piece of living history, shaping the heart and soul of the nation from sea to shining sea. The United States is a gigantic country in size. With an immense variety of physical features. It stretches from the eastern seaboard on the Atlantic Ocean, nearly 3000 miles to the West Coast on the Pacific Ocean. And north to south it's over 1600 miles from the southern tip of Texas to the Canadian border. But this is only part of the country. The part called the continental United States. Two states Hawaii and Alaska stretch the borders 2500 miles west into the Pacific, and north to within the Arctic circle. The U.S. covers a huge area of the globe. Over 250 million people live in the United States. People representing every race, religion, and culture on the globe. Forming what's been called the great melting pot. What's it like? To live in different parts of this enormous nation. How did the United States come to be what it is today? Why are the cities and towns located where they are? And how did geography influence how the nation grew? The answers to these questions require a closer look at the land, the climate, and the natural resources. She's got more ways of. Men just teasing. Me. Desperate for me and my good women. The history of the United States did not begin with a Declaration of Independence in 1776. Nor with the first European settlement at Jamestown. It did not begin in 1492 when Columbus reached the new world. It didn't even begin countless centuries before when the first Native Americans, called Indians by Columbus, set foot upon the continent. The story of the country really began, millions of years ago, with the formation of great mountain chains. The appellations in the east, and the rockies in the west. And with the creation of the lakes, the rivers, the coastal plains, and the prairies. For this is a story of how men and women, from all over the globe, adapted to the physical features of the land. And to the climate. It's also a story of how the land, the climate, and the natural resources have shaped the growth of civilization and forge the character of the people. The first people to live on this land were the Native Americans. When the first Europeans arrived, most Native Americans were living in the eastern half of the continent. The climate in the east encourages abundant plant growth, which provides good animal habitats. And made the east the most livable part of the country. The Native Americans in the east lived in a forest of gigantic trees, which completely covered the land. So tall and dense were the trees that no underbrush could grow, and a man could walk freely through the open forest. They lived in harmony with nature, and had little negative impact on their environment. In addition to using the lakes, rivers and streams is natural transportation routes. They also built roads and trejo and carried on trade and commerce across the entire continent. They had trade contacts with other Native Americans as far away as Mexico and Central America. While canoes and boats made travel by water fairly easy, mountains and canyons made travel by land difficult. And often impossible. So it was only natural, the people should settle and build their towns, beside these natural transportation routes. This is why most towns and cities came to be located where they are. The first permanent English settlement in America was made in 1607 at Jamestown. Largely because it was inside one of the best natural harbors in North America. Most of the early settlements along the east coast were located in the best natural harbors. The mouse of rivers. Inside bays, and behind islands. Boston is inside Massachusetts bay. New York is at the mouth of the Hudson River and sheltered by Long Island. Philadelphia is just up the Delaware bay. While two more is on the Chesapeake Bay. Both Charleston and Savannah are at the mouths of rivers, and protected by coastal islands. Harbors were the primary concern when the first settlers were arriving from Europe and ships. Eventually, they began moving inland, following the rivers and streams to the west. But soon, they ran up against the Appalachian Mountains. And seemingly could go no further. This mountain range, running parallel to the east coast from Canada to northern Georgia, blocked the European settlers from westward expansion for over a century. One of the first routes to the west was along the saint Lawrence river to the Great Lakes. Another route followed the Hudson and Mohawk rivers to Lake Erie. It was along this route that the Erie canal would be built. Connecting New York City with buffalo, New York, the Great Lakes, and the central part of the continent. During the railroad building era of the mid 1800s. The Appalachian mountain chain proved almost impossible to cross. So the railroads were built around the mountains. At the southern tip of the Appalachian chain, several railroad lines converged. It was at this railroad junction that the city of Atlanta, Georgia was born. It started merely as a railroad switch yard, and grew to become the southeast's principal city. The middle of the United States, west of the appalachians, was explored first by the French. They were traders and trappers who reached the interior from the Great Lakes and via the Mississippi River from New Orleans, a city which the French established. They used the rivers and lakes as their highways. To explore, hunt, trap, and trade with the Native Americans. The French established many towns and cities in the region, and gave them French names. St. Louis, for example, was established with a Missouri River joins the Mississippi. It began as a single trading post at one of the most important crossroads of the river highways. Chicago is another important city founded by the French. Though the pottawatomies named it. Why do you think this one time trading post? Grew into the country's third largest city. Was there something important about its location? Chicago is situated at the southern end of Lake Michigan. And at the southwestern end of the saint Lawrence in Great Lakes water highway. The French explorers discovered that, by a very short portage, they could carry their canoes from the end of the Chicago river to another nearby river, which would then take them to the Mississippi. And eventually to the Gulf of Mexico. Chicago was the main crossroads on a 3000 mile water journey across the middle of the continent. From the North Atlantic, to the Gulf of Mexico. Later, the railroads would connect ocean going ships on the Great Lakes, with all parts of the country. So many of our most important cities grew up at the crossroads of these natural transportation routes. But there were also other influences at work. Like climate and natural resources. A warm and wet climate is good for agriculture. And people settled wherever farming was good. The presence of natural resources, like wood. Coal, iron, and other metals was often the reason for a city's location. Manufacturing industries using the raw materials would provide many jobs and attract people to live there. Cleveland, for example, grew up as an industrial center, because it was near needed raw materials. Iron ore was shipped in a cross Lake Erie, while coal and petroleum came from nearby sources by railroad. Oil refining, manufacturing of iron and steel products, and a central location for shipping, built Cleveland into a major city. The U.S. enjoys an abundance of natural resources. There are many different minerals from gold to iron, and over a 5th of all the coal in the world. Good farmland is also a natural resource. The United States has the largest expanses of prime farmland in the world. And forests. Over half the country was forested, when the Europeans first arrived. Today, even with the pressures of urbanization, almost a third is still tree covered. The climate of the western lands was so harsh and dry that it made settlement west of the Mississippi and Missouri River valleys quite difficult for many, many years. It was extremely hard for the pioneers to travel across deserts and over the Rocky Mountains. It would be natural resources, though, that would finally draw people to the West Coast. But not just any natural resource. It was gold. The gold rush of 1849 brought over 100,000 people to California. The city of San Francisco doubled and tripled in size. It had the best natural harbor on the West Coast, close to the gold fields. It became the major transportation center of the west. Other excellent natural harbors on the West Coast spawned the cities of San Diego, Los Angeles, and Seattle. The United States can be divided up into regions. Areas where there are common patterns in the land, climate, and resources. In the northeast, the New England region is distinguished by its mountainous landscape. Its rocky coastline. Its cool temperatures, and its self reliant people. Fishing and seafaring have been the traditional way of life here. New England, with its great harbors, was one of the first regions settled by Europeans. To the south and west, the middle Atlantic region was settled at the same time, because it, too, had many fine natural harbors. With a warmer climate and less mountainous terrain, many of the early settlers were attracted to this region. Good natural transportation routes, leading to the interior of the country, made the middle Atlantic region a choice spot for business and manufacturing. And made it one of the most populous regions of the country. The southeast region shares a predominantly warm climate. And a land made up mainly of flat, fertile coastal plains. These two factors meant that the region was perfect for certain types of agriculture. Cotton was king. Grown on large plantations. Today, with lots of warm, sunny beaches and world class amusement parks, the southeast is growing very, very fast. It is also close to many other nations in the western hemisphere. Miami has become the gateway to Latin America and the Caribbean. The Midwest and great plains region is an inland area of generally flat, fertile land. With adequate rainfall to make it ideal for agriculture. The Great Lakes and three of the country's largest rivers provide the region with excellent natural transportation routes. This, along with a central location, meant the region was also perfect for manufacturing and business. A well rounded economy has made the area perfect for the growth of many large cities. The south central region is very unique, with a mixture of landforms, from coastal plain, to dry Prairie. To high mountains, it was once part of Mexico. Texas fought to become independent, but the Spanish culture can still be seen throughout the south central region. Though the climate is hot and dry, vast ranges of grasslands brought cattle ranchers to settle the region first. Then it was the natural resources, like oil, which brought a booming economy. Of oil wells and refineries. And the growth of big cities like Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio. The mountain west comprises the largest portion of the Rocky Mountains. And the flat deserts that lie to their west. With a very dry and hot climate, the attraction of this region has always been its natural resources. From gold and silver, on down, minerals have brought many prospectors and miners here. The mountains are forested, and provide much timber. They also provide natural beauty. And tourism, the Pacific west region is perhaps really three distinctively different subregions, which share the Pacific Ocean in common. The West Coast is a very large and diverse area of green coastal mountains in dry inland areas. Alaska is virtually a country unto itself. Vast and rugged, with tall mountains, wilderness, and wildlife. And Hawaii is a group of islands in a warm Pacific waters, with volcanic summits and lush tropical foliage. The Pacific west region is the nation's gateway to Asia, and the Pacific Ocean rim countries. These 7 regions make up a vast and abundantly varied country. There is, in many ways, more blessed than any other nation. United States geography is a story of land. In people, in how they interacted, to shape the heart and soul of the nation. From sea to shining sea.