The Cultural Geography of the United States and

CanadaMr. Marston

Dominion Christian High SchoolMarietta, Georgia

Geography Fall 2009

Chapter 6: The Cultural Geography of the United

States and Canada• Objectives• 1. Describe the peoples of the region,

and explain how physical geography affected population and economic development patterns

• Identify factors that led to the rise and expansion of the region

• Explain how culture reflects the region’s past, and discuss present-day educational and health care systems

Time for a little Canadian payback

• http://video.google.com/videosearch?gbv=2&hl=en&safe=active&q=Canadians%20making%20fun%20of%20americans&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=iv&start=0#

Top 5 things Canadians admire about their country

• Maple leaf • Hockey • Canadian Flag • Beaver • Canadarm

Population Patterns

• Immigration: the movement of people into one country from another.

5% of the world’s population lives in the U.S. and Canada.

350 million U.S.35 million Canadians

Berengia Land Bridge

“Indigenous peoples”

• “First Peoples” in Canada• Native Americans: well, they

happened to arrive a little earlier than the Europeans, but were they “native” or indigenous? Ehhh, No.

• Migrated to North America

Potential dates of Migration

Population Density and Distribution

• Canada: 8 people per square mile• U.S.78 per square mile

• Most Canadians live within a few miles of the border with the United States (most of the country is uninhabitable)

• Fastest growing part of U.S. is sunbelt (American south and southwest) Why??

Answer

• Economy• Mild climate (Hey Im tired of

shoveling snow)• Why are you Yankee types here?• Retirees

Hey, that looks like Bender!

Additional Terms

• Urbanization: the concentration of population in cities.

• Most people in Canada and the U.S. live in urban areas. For what reasons?

• Metropolitan area: city with a population over 50,000 and outlying communities called suburbs.

• 80% of U.S. lives in metropolitan areas• 60% of Canadians live in metropolitan

areas

Answer

• Jobs• Education• Health Care• Cultural Opportunities• Dating?

Important Cities

• Megapolis: super/mega city (NE United States)

• California: San Francisco to San Diego• U.S. (New York, Washington, D.C.,

Boston, Philadelphia, Charlotte, Atlanta, Miami, Houston, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, and Seattle)

• Canada: Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Quebec, Montreal, and Ottawa)

Capitals

Future Trends

• U.S. and Canada have low birth rates

• Immigration accounts for most of population increase

National Anthems

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meLpuF9UMvk&feature=fvw

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNc5YldLcHs&feature=related

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBoItR59REQ&feature=related

Deplorable Canada song

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWZZ-NdZheQ