North America’s Heartland Farms and factories Dispersed, rural, white, Protestant population Clustered, urban, Black and immigrant population.

North America’s Heartland

• Farms and factories

• Dispersed, rural, white, Protestant population

• Clustered, urban, Black and immigrant population

Physical Geography

• Topography (relief/elevation)• Gently rolling

• Resists erosion

• Enhances proper drainage

• Very few unused areas

• Conducive to large-area mechanization

Physical Geography

• Climate• > 30 inches of precip/year• Rainy season = growing season (~April to Nov)• Limited precip variability

• Amounts, frequency, and timing all beneficial

• Growing seasons ~five months long• Mainly “Continental” climate (D)

Physical Geography

• Soils• Two major types:

• Alfisols• Formed under moderate moisture and

coniferous/mixed forests• B horizon has not been leached

• Mollisols• Formed under grasses• Dark brown/black color rich in organic matter• Deep surface horizon among most fertile soils in

the world

Soils

Physical Geography

• Hydrology– Glaciation = Great

Lakes!– Mississippi River and

Tributaries– Chicago River reversal

Chicago River

On St. Patrick’s Day

Normally

Historical Settlement

• Pre-1600 Native Americans

• French exploration

• British & Treaty of Paris

• American Government takes control

• 1812-1832, Tribal Lands ceded to US

• Hydraulic engineering of Erie Canal & Chicago River

Historical Settlement

• Late 19th – early 20th century = European immigration to cities– Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Toronto,

Hamilton, Ottawa– Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Ontario

• Post WWI = The Great Migration– African American; later, Arab

Canada Historical Settlement by Ethnicity

Population

• Settled by the late 1800s

• Predominantly white culture originating from Northwestern Europe– Germany, The Netherlands, British Isles, and

Scandinavia

• Limited Black population

• Much of the agricultural core has declined in population since the 1930s

Political Economy

• Primary Sector Activities

• Secondary Sector Activities

• Tertiary & Quaternary Activities– Government centers, Indianapolis and

Columbus– University communities: Ann Arbor, Iowa City,

Champaign-Urbana– Mayo Clinic

Typical “Midwest” Farmscape

Agriculture: Corn Belt

• Feed grain & livestock farming

• Corn best suited for Midwest environment and ensured a good economic return

• Crop rotation systems in use by 1820

• Advantages of corn– High grain yields– Can be grown closer together– One word: silage– Loves the Heartland climate and soil!

Agriculture: Dairy Belt

• Climate prevents feed grain maturation

• silage, oats, barley, and hay crops to support large dairy herds

• Large part of the country's dairy products: e.g., ½ country’s cheese

Agriculture: Fruit Growing

• Cherries• Apples• Grapes

Agriculture: Soybean

• Soil “reconditioner”

• Versatile crop• Stable in world

market

Industry

• Straddles the U.S.- Canadian boarder

• Heavy manufacturing concentrated throughout the Ohio Valley and along the southern shores of the Great Lakes– (Also around Megalopolis)

• The “agricultural” heartland (NW, W, & S) blends with the “manufacturing core” (NE, E)

Core Area

• Portion of a country containing the economic, political, intellectual, (and cultural) foci

• Often the center of creativity and change

• Accessibility Network

Heavy Industry

• Convert large volumes of raw materials into products of higher value

• Small acreages of HI = massive percentages of overall production

Steel Production

Automobiles

Honda manufacturing plant in Marysville, Ohio

A Manufacturing Core?

• Key advantages/needs of a manufacturing core:– Raw Materials

– Labor

– A Market

– Transportation

– Energy Availability

Contemporary Places: Canada• Economic core, largest city, major industrial

centers, and prime agricultural land• The Golden Horseshoe

– Toronto, Oshawa, Hamilton, St. Catherines-Niagra

Toronto, Canada

Contemporary Places: America

• Chicago– An urban center which overcame unfavorable

characteristics of its site and evolved to prominence based on its situation

– Site Disadvantages• Established on the swampy margins = pest habitat & bad

water• Chicago River too small to be effective transportation link• Almost completely destroyed by fire, 1871 (Miss O’Leary)

– Site Advantages• Optimum transportation hub• Regional rail hub of western manufacturing core

Rust Belt

Contemporary Places: Corn Belt

Discussion

How is the fundamental economic transition away from primary economic sector to tertiary and quaternary economic sectors impacting the Heartland?

Is the term “Heartland” an adequate description of this North American landscape?

Related Books• Borchert, John R. 1987. America’s Northern Heartland: An

Economic and Historical Geography of the Upper Midwest. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.– Solid overview of the heartland

• Carney, George, ed. 1987. The Sounds of People and Places: Readings in the Geography of American Folk and Popular Music. Lanham, MD: University Press of America.– One of the leaders in music Geography, this compilation edited by Dr.

Carney is the authoritative work.• Hart, John Fraser. 1991. The Land that Feeds Us. New York: W.W.

Norton and Company.– A classic work by a classically-trained geographer

• Lipset, S. 1990. Continental Divide: The Values and Institutions of the United States and Canada. New York: Routledge.– A work of comparative political economy between the US and Canada.

• McCann, Larry D. 1987. Heartland and Hinterland: A Geography of Canada. Scarborough, Ontario: Prentice Hall Canada.– Older, but still valid look at Canada’s overall geography.

WebSources

• Great Lakes Information Networkwww.great-lakes.net

• National Corn Growers Associationwww.ncga.com

• Explore the Midwestwww.explorethemidwest.com