Fluent Essays

This milestone activity is the first of several activities that will build toward your complete final project for the course. For this milestone activity, complete a worksheet with the presentation speaker notes that you will use for your final project presentation.Before starting this activity, review Milestone One Worksheet Student Example document within the Student Example Folder.To complete this assignment, review the Milestone One Worksheet Guidelines and Rubric document.Address the questions in the Milestone One worksheet. Once you have completed the questions, upload and submit your saved file to the learning environment to finish this assignment. geo_200_milestone_one_worksheet_student_example.docx geo_200_milestone_one_worksheet_guidelines_and_rubric.docx Unformatted Attachment Preview GEO 200 Milestone One Worksheet Guidelines and Rubric Student Name Here Part I: Current Global Region 1. Identify Your Current Region: Core of North America 2. Map of Current Global Region: Provide a map of your current region. In the box below you may provide a link to your map, insert an image, or make note that you are submitting an additional file with this worksheet. Include a citation to give credit to the resource from which you are obtaining your image. Note: The box will expand to accommodate your image. 1 2 Nijman, Jan, et al. (2015). World Today: Concepts and Regions in Geography. Wiley. 3. Location of Current Global Region: Discuss where your current region is located, addressing the absolute and relative location of the region. Include citations for your resources using APA style guidelines as needed. The North American Core region comprises the area from the eastern border of Massachusetts at 41.6929’, -69.9324’ west to St Louis, MO at 38.6174’, -90.1838, and north to south from Ottawa, Ontario at 45.3823’, -75.6688’ to Washington, D.C. at 38.8988, -77.0392 (Google, n.d.). While this area includes Boston, MA and Ottawa, Ontario, it excludes the New England states of New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine, due to their lack of economic development compared to other areas included in the core region (Nijman, 2015). The upper portions of Michigan and Wisconsin mark the northern border of the Core region, with Iowa and Missouri as the western border, and Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia bordering the south. This region includes areas once key to manufacturing, known as the Rust Belt, including Detroit, Michigan, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, areas of farmland such as in Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, and many major metropolises, including: New York City, Toronto, and Philadelphia, leading the Core to be considered the economic center of North America. Nijman, Jan, et al. (2015). World Today: Concepts and Regions in Geography. Wiley. Google (n.d.). Map of North American Core Region. Retrieved from: https://www.google.com/maps 4. Characteristics of Current Global Region: Explain what key sociocultural (human) and physical characteristics define this as a region. Include citations for your resources using APA style guidelines as needed. Running a few degrees north and south of 40’ latitude, areas of the Core region are primarily represented by a climate of hot, humid summers, and cold, harsh winters. While areas of the Atlantic coast from Washington, D.C. up to Boston, MA, experience more pleasant summers due to coastal breezes, the Blue Ridge portion of the Appalachian Mountains running through Pennsylvania is a temperate rainforest, causing that area of the Core Region to experience near constant summer rainfall (Gannon, 1998). Due to climate change, the Core has experienced increasing severe weather events. Coastal areas are now coping with rising sea water levels, frequent flooding, and more intense hurricanes. Western areas, of this region, are reporting higher rates of tornado activity, higher summer rainfalls, leading to soil erosion and flooding, and drier winters. These weather events comprise the majority of natural hazards in the region. The East Coast Fault line does run through this region, but, generally, causes little cause for concern due to its long history of minor events, or inactivity (USGS, Fault Lines, n.d.). The Core benefits greatly from its landscape of rivers, such as the Ohio River and Allegheny River, and large bodies of water, such as Lake Erie, that are included in, or border, it (USGS, Water Resources, n.d.). Prior to the advent of highways, or car travel, these water ways gave the Core region means for its economic advancement. With rivers to efficiently transport goods, and raw materials, across the country, and seaports to then ship goods internationally, water was a key means for the development of the Core as a notable region of North America. 3 The North American core region, due to its history as a region of ports, travel, and commerce is one with a range of people, languages and cultures. For example, while the official language of the entire region is English, you can still, today, find areas where Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, German, and a Dutch are all spoken. The region is culturally diverse as well. In Pennsylvania, for example, you have in that one state the blue collar city of Pittsburgh with its history of steel mills, in the central more rural portion of the state you have a strong Amish culture with agriculture, rejection of technology, and can find horse and buggy travel competing with car traffic, and in the eastern part of the state you have urban Philadelphia a city rich in history at the time of the revolution and a modern urban cultural center of arts, music and of course politics (Greater Philadelphia…2014). The range of urban, historic, agriculture and blue and white collar cultures found in Pennsylvania are a good representation of the range of cultural influences found throughout the Core region. While the region is predominantly Christian in religious practice, with Lutheran, Catholic, Protestant represented, you can find a range of non-Christian religious affiliations such as Judaism, Islam and Buddhism (Pew Research…n.d.) Racially, the region is white, and has a number of racially segregated cities including Boston and Detroit. Boston today is still considered one of the most racially segregated cities of the region with distinct areas of people of African American, Italians, Asian, and Middle American descent (Tucker, 2019). As this region includes both urban, agricultural and mechanical areas, it is one of the most densely populated regions of North America. In New York City, the most densely populated city in the US, there are 27,000 people per square mile (Dept. City Planning, 2015). Comparatively though, Detroit is one of the regions least populated cities and one that has seen a sharp drop in population density in the past 70 years, moving from the country’s 5th most densely populated city down to 18th (Owens, Rossi-Hansberg, 2019). The region has seen similar increasing disparities when it comes to economic development as well. In areas that historically have built economies on secondary and tertiary goods as opposed to raw or primary materials, such as Boston, New York City, and Washington, D.C., continue to experience positive economic development and influx of goods, ideas and people. Unfortunately for areas in the region that depended on raw goods such as the steel refineries, coal mines, and factory economies, their cities and people have suffered losses. Detroit, with its dependence on the automobile industry has seen such a downturn when the factories outsourced to cheaper labor in other counties and people were suddenly unemployed when the factories closed (Owens, Rossi-Hansberg, 2019). Those areas today continue to struggle economically in the core region and suffer the continued loss of people, goods and ideas. Department of City Planning (2015). Population – New York City Population. Retrieved from: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/planning/planninglevel/nyc-population/population-facts.page Gannon, Robert (1998). In a Pennsylvania Rainforest. Penn State News. Retrieved from: https://news.psu.edu/story/141546/1998/05/01/research/pennsylvania-rainforest Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance (2014). 2014 Portfolio. Retrieved from: https://www.philaculture.org/sites/default/files/2014_portfolio_spreads_0.pdf Owens III, Raymond and Rossi-Hansberg, Estaban (2019). Rethinking Detroit. Retrieved from: https://www.princeton.edu/~erossi/RD_App.pdf 4 Pew Research Center (n.d.) Religious Landscape Study. Retrieved from: https://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/ Tucker, Riley (2019). Examining Racial Segregation in Boston at Different Geographic Scales. Boston Area Research Initiative. Retrieved from: https://www.northeastern.edu/csshresearch/bostonarearesearchinitiative/2019/02/08/examining-racial-segregation-in-boston-at-differentgeographic-scales/ United States Geological Survey (n.d.). Water Resources. Retrieved from: https://www.usgs.gov/mission-areas/water-resources United States Geological Survey (n.d.). Where are the fault lines in the Eastern United States (east of the rocky mountains)? Retrieved from: https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/where-are-fault-lines-eastern-united-states-east-rocky-mountains?qt-news_science_products=0#qtnews_science_products 5. Interactions of Current Global Region: How have humans and the environment interacted to produce observable landscapes in your current region? Include citations for your resources using APA style guidelines as needed. The Core region’s landscape has been notably influenced by human development and infrastructure. Pennsylvania is rich in coal, resulting in changes to the topography from coal strip mining, and damage to the areas watersheds from coal-mine drainage. Essentially removing mountain tops to gain access to coal deposits, strip mining is incredibly devastating to the ecology of the region. Not only do the risks of landslides increase, but freshwater streams are often destroyed or buried, forests are razed and burned releasing their stored carbon dioxide into the atmosphere contributing further to global warming, and entire ecosystems disappear (US Census…2019). The Erie Canal that runs along the Hudson River of New York, also distinctly changed the landscape. By facilitating the westward migration of both goods and people, the Erie Canal led to increased populations in Michigan, and beyond. With increased use of the Hudson River, the canals locks and required dams, the ecosystem of the river was also changed. The canal makes for easier introduction of non-native invasive species, like zebra mussels and round gobies, to the region, which out compete native flora and fauna, causing the delicate ecosystems of the watershed to shift out of balance (Erie Canal…2013). Finally, another significant human influence on the Core region are the number of population dense cities in the region. With tens of thousands of people per square mile in each of these cities, the landscape must be changed to support sanitation, housing, transportation, and employment. In New York City, the once fertile oyster beds that filtered the Hudson Bay contributing significantly to the health of the ecosystem, were destroyed both for food and because of the shipping industry. Now, initiatives, such as the Billion Oyster Project, are attempting to repopulate oysters to restore cleanliness and health to the area (Janis, Birney…2016). In Boston, what was once a small peninsula with numerous bays and waterways, was systematically filled in to create made land for homes, business and other infrastructure. The topography of the city of Boston today would be unrecognizable to someone familiar with the land 200 years ago. Janis, Samuel P., Birney, Lauren B., Newton, Robert (2016). Billion Oyster Project: Linking Public School Teaching and learning to the Biological Restoration of New York Harbor Using Innovative Applications of Environmental and Digital Technologies. International Journal of Digital Content Technology and its Applications, v10:1 pp. 1-14. 5 The Erie Canal and Introduced Species (2003). US Fish and Wildlife Service. Retrieved from: https://www.fws.gov/midwest/fisheries/library/facteriecanintro.pdf United States Census Bureau (2019). Retrieved from: https://www.census.gov/en.html Part II: New Global Region 1. Identify Your New Global Region: Northern (Nordic) Europe 2. Map of New Global Region: Provide a map of the new region you will be moving to. In the box below, you may provide a link to your map, insert an image, or make note that you are submitting an additional file with this worksheet. Include a citation to give credit to the resource from which you are obtaining your image. Note: The box will expand to accommodate your image. 6 7 Northern Europe. Retrieved from: https://ian.macky.net/pat/map/neur/neur.html 3. Location of New Global Region: Discuss where the new region is located, addressing the absolute and relative location of the region you will be moving to. Include citations for your resources using APA style guidelines as needed. Northern Europe contains the countries of: Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland. The majority of the region is bordered by bodies of water: the Norwegian, Baltic and North Seas. Only Denmark, bordered in the south by Germany, and Finland, bordered to the east by Russia, have land-based boundaries outside the region (Nijman, 2015). The island of Iceland is completely surrounded by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, and is over 1400 km from Norway, and the rest of the region. Ranging from 71’ N to 54.59’N latitude this region is known as the Nordic part of Europe, and portions of Finland, Sweden, Norway and Iceland are in the arctic circle (World Factbook, 2018). While much of this region has few people, the areas of Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark closest to western European core countries, are more densely populated and included in the European core as well. Denmark, Sweden and Finland are a part of the European Union, and the countries Northern Europe provide much by way of primary, secondary and tertiary economies to surrounding regions. (2018, February 1). The World Factbook. Retrieved from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/ Google (n.d.). Map of Northern (Nordic) Europe Region. Retrieved from: https://www.google.com/maps Nijman, Jan, et al. (2015). World Today: Concepts and Regions in Geography. Wiley. 4. Characteristics of New Global Region: Explain what key sociocultural (human) and physical characteristics define this as a region. Include citations for your resources using APA style guidelines as needed. Much of Northern Europe is an isolated, remote region. The most northern reaches of the region, being near or part of the arctic, bring a frigid, often inhospitable climate, of ice, snow, and long winters. Areas of Norway though, for example, experience more of a maritime climate with mild winters, cool summers, and plentiful precipitation (World Factbook, 2018). Other portions of the region find their climate influenced by the many mountain ranges found throughout, with colder winters, less precipitation, and warmer summers. A physiography of mountains, fjords, glaciers, and valleys make up the primary topography of Northern Europe. Iceland experiences the most natural hazards of all the countries of the region with seismic activity causing volcanoes and earthquakes. Some of these events, cause minor earthquakes in Norway across the water from Iceland, and tsunamis (Nadim, Pederson..2008). Remaining countries of the region have few natural hazards, primarily those related to mountainous terrain: landslides, avalanche, and floods. Nordic Europeans speak a variety of Germanic languages: Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, and Icelandic (World Factbook, 2018). Many of these languages are linguistically similar, to the degree that if you can speak, for example, Dutch, you can likely also communicate reasonably well with 8 those who speak Norwegian and Swedish. In Norway, the indigenous language of Saami has also been listed as an official language of the country. The Finnish language differs in language family from the Germanic languages, so the country of Finland has two national languages: Finnish and Swedish, and many other indigenous languages can be found throughout the country. Within the Northern European region, many language dialects are accepted, and this has led to an important cultural feature where all dialects are considered equally valid, and any written word can be pronounced a myriad of ways. Another important cultural feature of the region is the Viking and Norse heritage (Nijman, 2015). Norse mythology, language, literature is still a part of Northern European culture. Nearly all Northern Europeans are Evangelical Lutheran Christians, a religion that has had a large influence on the culture, encouraging a strong community approach to life (World Factbook, 2018). The population of the region is rather small, about 26 million people (World Factbook, 2018), with the majority of people being in the southern portions of region, and the northern areas being very sparsely populated. While the terrain and climates are challenging, this region as shown an incredibly robust economy. Exporting both primary and secondary commodities such as fish, timber, automobiles, electronics, glassware, and furniture (World Factbook, 2018) have made the countries of this region economically prosperous, leading to their inclusion as core economic regions in Europe. (2018, February 1). The World Factbook. Retrieved from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/ Nadim, Farrokh, Pederson, Stig A. S., Schmidt-Thome, Philipp, Sigmundsson, Freysteinn, Engdahl, Mats (2008). Natural Hazards in Nordic Countries. Episodes, v.31:1, pp: 176-184. Nijman, Jan, et al. (2015). World Today: Concepts and Regions in Geography. Wiley. 5. Interactions of New Global Region: How have humans and the environment interacted to produce observable landscapes in the new region you will be moving to? Include citations for your resources using APA style guidelines as needed. Humans have had a large environmental impact on the Nordic region. Much of the region is incredibly sensitive from an ecological standpoint, and, dating from the time of the Vikings, people have been modifying the landscape. In Iceland, for example, settlers brought flora and fauna to the island from mainland Europe. Domesticated livestock all but destroyed Iceland’s grasslands, and the island also experienced mass deforestation, soil erosion, and loss of wildlife (Harris, 2007). Commercial fishing has impacted the diversity and number of native fish populations in many of Sweden’s major lakes. Invasive species and overfishing have caused negative repercussions for wildlife in the region (Degerman, Hammar…2001). Throughout the region, both land based and marine ecosystems and habitats continue to experience changes and assault due to human activities. The timber industry plays a large part in the environmental risks to the region with land clearing causing loss of habitat, erosion and eutrophication (World Factbook, 2018). (2018, February 1). The World Factbook. Retrieved from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/ 9 Degerman, E., Hammar, J., Nyberg, P., & Svärdson, G. (2001, December). Human impact on the fish diversity in the four largest lakes of Sweden. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11878026 Harris, Richard (December 2007). Viking Farms Tell Cautionary Climate Tale. National Public Radio. Retrieved from: https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16835101 Part III: Comparison of Similarities and Differences 1. Similarities: Based on the physical and sociocultural (human) characteristics you have described, what are the major similarities between your current and new region? The North American Core region and the Northern European region have a few notable similarities. Areas of Northern Europe, particularly those close to Eastern Europe, are considered part of the European economic core due to their development of secondary and tertiary economic resources. This aligns with the reason the areas included in the North American Core are considered the core of economic development in the North American continent. Other parts of Northern Europe, similar to areas of the North American core, provide raw materials for development and export. Both regions include areas of agriculture, timber, fishing, and fossil fuel resources. Though there are many cultural differences, these two regions are primarily white racially and the ma ... Purchase answer to see full attachment