SECTION

3 The United States

Today
TEKS 4B, 5A, 6B, 7B, 21C

What You Will Learn… If YOU lived there...

Main Ideas You and your family run a small resort hotel in Fort Lauderdale,
1. The United States has four on the east coast of Florida. You love the sunny weather and the
regions—the Northeast, beaches there. Now your family is thinking about moving the busi-
South, Midwest, and West.
2. The United States has a ness to another region where the tourist industry is important. They
strong economy and a pow­ have looked at ski lodges in Colorado, lake cottages in Michigan, and
erful military but is facing the
challenge of world terrorism. hotels on the coast of Maine.

How will you decide among these

The Big Idea different regions?
The United States has four
main regions and faces
opportunities and challenges.

Key Terms and Places Building Background Geography, history, climate, and popu­
megalopolis, p. 159 lation give each region of the United States its own style. Some differ­
Washington, D.C., p. 159 ences between the regions are more visible than others. For example,
Detroit, p. 161 people in each region speak with different accents and have their
Chicago, p. 161
favorite foods. Even with some differences, however, Americans are
Seattle, p. 162
terrorism, p. 162
linked by a sense of unity in confronting important issues.

Regions of the United States

Use the graphic organizer online
to take notes on the United States Because the United States is such a large country, geographers
today. often divide it into four main regions. These are the Northeast,
South, Midwest, and the West. You can see the four regions on
the map on the next page. Find the region where you live. You
probably know more about your own region than you do the
three others. The population, resources, and economies of the
four regions are similar in some ways and unique in others.

The Northeast
The Northeast shares a border with Canada. The economy in
this region is heavily dependent on banks, investment firms, and
insurance companies. Education also contributes to the econo-
my. The area’s respected universities include Harvard and Yale.

158 Chapter 6
 Regions of the United States

70° ARCTIC OCEAN

RUSSIA N

CANADA
CANADA N
60° 40°
N
0°
18

MIDWEST NORTHEAST
HRW Middle PACIFICSchool World Geography
OCEAN
mg7fvs_usamap013b New York
0 500 1,000 Miles Chicago ATLANTIC
N
Philadelphia
USA Population Locator
WEST
E
OCEAN
0 500 1,000 Kilometers
1st pass – 3/24/05

70°W
W

S
Los Angeles
155°W
160°W

30°N SOUTH
20°N
Houston
PACIFIC OCEAN
0 100 200 Miles Gulf of Mexico
PACIFIC Regions The United States has
0 100 200 Kilometers OCEAN MEXICO
HRW Middle School World History four geographic and economic

90°W
mg7fvs_usamap026da 20°N regions.
0 50 100 Miles
Alaska Inset - Regions 1. Locate What region is located
110°W

Final pass – 7/8/05

0 50 100 Kilometers on the Pacific Ocean?
Projection: Albers Equal Area 2. Analyze What region does
not border Canada?

HRW Middle School World History

mg7fvs_usamap026ea
SomeHawaii
natural resources
Inset - Regionsof the North-
east states include rich –farmland
Final pass 7/8/05 and huge
HRW Middle School World Geography Population of Major U.S. Cities
pockets of coal. Used in the steelmaking
mg7fvs_usamap026ca
process, coal remains
USA Regions Legend very important to City Population
Final pass – 7/8/05
the region’s economy. The steel indus-
1 New York 8,336,697
try helped make Pittsburgh, in western
Pennsylvania, the largest industrial city in 2 Los Angeles 3,857,799
the Appalachians.
3 Chicago 2,714,856
Today fishing remains an important
industry in the Northeast. Major seaports 4 Houston 2,160,821
allow companies to ship their products to HRW Middle School World
5 Philadelphia 1,547,607
mg7fvs_u
markets around the world. Cool, shallow
USA
waters off the Atlantic coast are good fish- New York, New York
Final
ing areas. Cod and shellfish such as lobster
are the most valuable seafood.
The Northeast is the most densely pop-
ulated region of the United States. Much of
the Northeast is a megalopolis, a string of
large cities that have grown together. This
area stretches along the Atlantic coast from
Boston to Washington, D.C. The three other
major cities in the megalopolis are New
York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore.

The United States 159

 United States: Land Use and Resources
Seattle
CANADA
Wheat S
Apples Wheat Gre
Wheat Wheat at
La
ke

60˚W
s
Corn Dairy
PACIFIC Wheat Corn Dairy
Dairy Wheat G
Apples
Berries
40˚N
OCEAN G SoybeansCorn Corn Detroit
Chicago Wheat
G
Grapes
mg7fvs_usamap027ba S New York
˚W

San Corn Corn Corn Corn

Wheat
W
0

Francisco Soybeans Washington, D.C.

14

HRW-MS Geography Maps

˚
130

G Denver Corn Corn

Soybeans
U.S.: Land Use and Resources Cotton Tobacco Tobacco
70° ARCTIC OCEAN Los Wheat Soybeans
RUSSIA N Locator Tobacco
Soybeans
Angeles Soybeans
Final pass--7/11/05 Wheat Rice Cotton Tobacco
Cotton ATLANTIC
CA Cotton Soybeans
60
°N NA Cotton Atlanta OCEAN 30˚N
Bering DA Soybeans
AK S Wheat Peanuts
Cotton
0°

Sea Cotton
120˚W
18

Houston Rice
°W

Cotton
170

Oranges
140°W
150°W

Gulf of Mexico

70˚W
0 400 Miles Miami

90˚W
0 400 Kilometers PACIFIC OCEAN
MEXICO Land Use
Sugarcane 20˚ N
N
Land Use Major Resources Cotton Major products
W
155°W
160°W

Cotton Major products E Coal Commercial farming

HI
Commercial farming
S Copper Livestock raising
Pineapple
20°N
Livestock raising Fish Forests
PACIFIC OCEAN Forests G Gold Limited economic activity
0 100 200 Miles Limited economic activity Natural gas 0 250 500 Miles
110˚W

10 0˚W

10˚N
0 250 500 Miles Oil
0 mg7fvs_usamap027da
100 200 Kilometers 0 250 500 Kilometers
Silver
HRW-MS Geography0Maps 250 500 Kilometers S Projection: Albers Equal Area

United States Land UseAlbers Equal Area

Projection:

Human-Environment
Alaska inset Interaction This map
1. Identify What major natural resource is found in
shows
Final pass the major land uses and resources
– 7/11/05 Pennsylvania?
of the United States that affect the daily 2. Contrast How is land use in the Northeast different
mg7fvs_usamap027ea
lives of Americans. from land use in the West? HRW Middle S
HRW-MS Geography Maps
HRW Middle School World Geography
United States Land Use
mg7fvs_usamap027ca
Hawaii inset
United States Land Use
Final pass – 7/11/05
Legend Replacem
At least 40 million people liveReplacement
in this South’s cities,
Final pass such as Atlanta, have grown
– 7/19/05
urban area. All of these cities were founded along with the economy. The Atlanta met-
during the colonial era. They grew because ropolitan area has grown from a popula-
they were important seaports. Today these tion of only about 1 million in 1960 to
cities are industrial and financial centers. more than 5 million today.
Other places in the South have also
The South experienced growth in population and
The South is a region that includes long industry. The Research Triangle in North
coastlines along the Atlantic Ocean and the Carolina is an area of high-tech compa-
Gulf of Mexico. Along the coastal plains nies and several large universities. The
rich soils provide farmers with abundant Texas Gulf Coast and the lower Mississippi
crops of cotton, tobacco, and citrus fruit. River area have huge oil refineries and pet-
In recent years, the South has become rochemical plants. Their products, which
more urban and industrial and is one of include gasoline, are mostly shipped from
the country’s fastest-growing regions. The the ports of Houston and New Orleans.

160 Chapter 6
 The Midwest
The Midwest is one of the most produc- F OCUS ON
tive farming regions in the world. The R EADING
As you read
Mississippi River and many of its tributaries
about the
carry materials that help create the region’s Midwest, sort the
rich soils, which are good for farming. Mid- details into three
categories.
western farmers grow mostly corn, wheat,
and soybeans. Farmers in the region also
Farms with fertile soils like this one in Wisconsin raise livestock such as dairy cows.
cover much of the rural Midwest. The core of the Midwest’s corn-growing
region stretches from Ohio to Nebraska.
Much of the corn is used to feed livestock,
such as beef cattle and hogs.
To the north of the corn-growing
region is an area of dairy farms. States with
dairy farms are major producers of milk,
cheese, and other dairy products. This area
includes Wisconsin and most of Michigan
and Minnesota. Much of the dairy farm
region is pasture, but farmers also grow
crops to feed dairy cows.
Large white containers, shown here at the Port of
Many of the Midwest’s farm and fac-
Houston, store oil from the Gulf Coast. tory products are shipped to markets by
water routes, such as those along the Ohio
and Mississippi rivers. The other is through
Millions of Americans vacation in the the Great Lakes and the Saint Lawrence
South, which makes the travel industry Seaway to the Atlantic Ocean.
profitable in the region. Warm weather and Most major cities in the Midwest are
beautiful beaches draw many vacationers located on rivers or the Great Lakes. As
to resorts in the South. You may not think a result, they are important transporta-
of weather and beaches when you think tion centers. Farm products, coal, and
about industry, but you should. Resort iron ore are easily shipped to these cities
areas are an industry because they provide from nearby farms and mines. These nat-
jobs and help local economies grow. ural resources support industries such as
mg7fvs_usamap027aa
Many cities in the South trade goods
HRW-MS Geography Maps
automobile manufacturing. For example,
and services
United with
States LandMexico
Use and countries in Detroit, Michigan, is the country’s leading
Final pass – 7/11/05
Central and South America. This trade is automobile producer.
possible because several of the southern One of the busiest shipping ports on
states are located near these countries. For the Great Lakes is Chicago, Illinois. The city
example, Miami is an important trading also has one of the world’s busiest airports.
port and travel connection with Carib- Chicago’s industries attracted many immi-
bean countries, Mexico, and South Amer- grants in the late 1800s. People moved
ica. Atlanta, Houston, and Dallas are also here to work in the city’s steel mills. Today
major transportation centers. Chicago is the nation’s third-largest city.

The United States 161

 The West rotate slowly. This sprinkler system waters
The West is the largest region in the Unit- the area within a circle. From the air, parts
ed States. Many western states have large of the irrigated Great Plains resemble a
open spaces with few people. The West is series of green circles.
not all open spaces, however. Many large The West also has rich deposits of coal,
cities are on the Pacific coast. oil, gold, silver, copper, and other miner-
One state on the coast, California, is als. However, mining these minerals can
A CADEMIC home to more than 10 percent of the U.S. cause problems. For example, coal miners
V OCABULARY population. California’s mild climate and in parts of the Great Plains use a process
process a series
wealth of resources attract people to the called strip mining, which strips away soil
of steps by which
a task is state. Most Californians live in Los Ange- and rock. This kind of mining leads to soil
accomplished les, San Diego, and the San Francisco Bay erosion and other problems. Today laws
area. The center of the country’s entertain- require miners to restore mined areas.
ment industry, Hollywood, is in Los Ange- In Oregon and Washington, forestry
les. Farming and the technology industry and fishing are two of the most important
are also important to California’s economy. economic activities. Seattle is Washing-
The economy of other states in the ton’s largest city. The Seattle area is home
West is dependent on ranching and grow- to many important industries, including a
ing wheat. Wheat is grown mostly in major computer software company. More
Montana, Idaho, and Washington. than half of the people in Oregon live in
Much of the farmland in the West and around Portland.
must be irrigated, or watered. One method Alaska’s economy is largely based on
of irrigation uses long sprinkler systems oil, forests, and fish. As in Washington and
mounted on huge wheels. The wheels Oregon, people debate over developing

Olympic National Park

One of the largest sections of coastal
wilderness in the United States, shown
here, stretches along the Pacific coast in
Washington’s Olympic National Park.

162 Chapter 6
these resources. For example, some people The War on Terror
want to limit oil drilling in wild areas of In the 1990s the United States began to
Alaska. Others want to expand drilling to experience acts of terrorism. Terrorism is
produce more oil. the threat or use of violence against civil-
Hawaii’s natural beauty, mild climate, ians to intimidate or cause fear for politi-
and fertile soils are its most important cal or social reasons. Some terrorists have
resources. The islands’ major crops are been from foreign countries, whereas oth-
sugarcane and pineapples. Millions of tour- ers have been U.S. citizens.
ists visit the islands each year. On September 11, 2001, the U ­ nited
States suffered the deadliest terrorist
Reading Check Comparing How is the attack in the country’s history. Wanting
economy of the West different from the econo- to disrupt the U.S. economy, 19 Islamic
my of the South? extremist terrorists hijacked four Ameri-
can jets. They crashed two into the World
Trade Center in New York City and one
Changes in the Nation into the Pentagon.
Because of its economic and military In response, President George W. Bush
strength, the United States is often called declared a “war on terrorism.” He sent mil-
the world’s only superpower. In recent itary forces to Afghanistan, to kill or cap-
years, however, the United States has faced ture members of a terrorist group called
many challenges and changes. al-Qaeda, which had planned the 9/11
attacks. The United States then turned its
Economy attention to Iraq. President Bush viewed
Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein as a serious
An abundance of natural resources, tech-
threat to Americans. In March 2003 Bush
nology, and plentiful jobs have helped
sent U.S. troops into Iraq to remove Hus-
make the U.S. economy strong. The United
sein from power.
States also benefits by cooperating with
Today world leaders are working with
other countries. The three largest trading
the United States to combat terrorism.
partners of the United States are Canada,
In the United States, the Department of
China, and Mexico. In 1992 the United
Homeland Security was established to pre-
States, Mexico, and Canada signed the
vent terrorist attacks on American soil.
North American Free Trade Agreement, or Many other countries have also increased
NAFTA. This agreement made trade easier security within their borders, especially at
and cheaper between the three neighbor- international airports.
ing nations.
Still, the U.S. economy has experienced Government
significant ups and downs since the 1990s. The 2008 U.S. presidential election pitted
In the 1990s the nation experienced the Republican senator John McCain of Arizo-
longest period of economic growth in its na and his running mate, Alaska governor
history. By the end of 2007, the United Sarah Palin, against the Democratic ticket of
States faced a recession, or a sharp decrease Senators Barack Obama of Illinois and Joe
in economic activity. In this recession, the Biden of Delaware. McCain, a distinguished
housing market collapsed, major banks military veteran, was more experienced than
and businesses failed, and an estimated 8.4 Obama, but his support for the unpopular
million jobs were lost in the United States. war in Iraq proved costly. Obama urged the

The United States 163

 President Obama succeeded in passing
health care reform legislation and oversaw
the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.
Slow economic growth, unemployment,
and high federal deficits were major issues
during Obama’s successful bid to win a sec-
ond term in 2012.

Reading Check Summarizing What issues

were most important in the 2008 and 2012 presi-
dential elections?

The 2008 presidential campaign

of Barack Obama captured the   
SUmmary and PReview In this sec-
imagination of many Americans
tion, you learned about the geographic
features, resources, and economic activi-
withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq as soon ties found in different regions of the
as possible. The two men also differed over United States. You also learned that the
how best to deal with the economic crisis economy and terrorism are two impor-
and health care reform. Helped by record- tant issues facing the country today. In
setting voter turnout, Obama won the elec- the next chapter, you will learn about
tion, becoming the nation’s first African ­Canada, our neighbor to the north.
American president.

Section 3 Assessment ONLINE QUIZ

Reviewing Ideas, Terms, and Places Critical Thinking

1. a. Define What is a megalopolis? What major cit- 3. Finding Main Ideas Use your notes to help you
ies are part of the largest megalopolis in the United list at least one main idea about the population,
States? resources, and economy of each region.
b. Compare and Contrast How is the modification
Northeast South Midwest West
of the physical environment in the Midwest similar
Population
to and different from the modification of the physi-
Resources
cal environment in the South?
Economy
c. Elaborate How are the regions of the United
States different from one another?
2. a. Define What is terrorism? What terrorist attack Focus on Viewing
occurred in September 2001?
b. Explain How did a recession affect the U.S. 4. Thinking about the United States Today Identify
economy in 2007? and explain the geographic factors responsible for
c. Elaborate What steps are the United States and the patterns of population in the regions of the
other countries taking in an attempt to combat United States that you have read about in this sec-
world terrorism? tion. What key words, images, and objects might
represent what you have learned?

164 Chapter 6