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Table of Contents List of Figures 5 Acknowledgements 7 Introduction 9 Geology 14 Hydrology 14 Biology 15 Anthropology 15 Eastern United States 17 New England and New York 17 Box: Plate Tectonics 18 A New Forest for New England 19 The Mid-Atlantic 22 Box: The Interstate System 24 Appalachians 25 The Southern Coastal Plain and the Applachian Piedmont 28 Box: Sprawl 30 Florida 31 Box: Water Colors 33 The Central United States 34 The Great Lakes and the Midwest 34 Box: Glacial Terrain 35 The Mississippi Basin 39 Gulf Coast 43 Head Lvl 3The Mississippi Delta 44 Box: The View at Night 46 Great Plains 47 Box: The Grid 50 Texas 51 Box: Energy 52 The Western United States 53 The Rockies 53 Yellowstone 56 Box: Forest Fires 57 The Pacific Northwest 58 The Cascades 58 The Temperate Rain Forest 60 The Columbia Plateau 61 Box: Water Systems 62 Deserts 63 The Colorado Plateau 65 The Great Basin 66 The Mojave, Sonora, and Chihuahuan Deserts 68 Box: Federal Land 70 California 71 Box: Institutions 74 Canada 75 Maritimes 75 Saint Lawrence Seaway 77 Southern Ontario 79 Figure 3.17.2 Toronto 80 The Canadian Shield and the Taiga 81 Solid Rock 81 The taiga 82 Hudson Bay 83 Along the Edges 84 The Prairies 86 The Western Cordillera 89 Pacific Coast 91 The Tundra 94 The High Arctic 96 The Sky 100 Clouds 101 Weather 103 Box Contrails 104 Box Lightning 105 Box Glories 106 Box Smog 107 Box Why Is the Sky Blue? 107 Boxes 109 HEAD LVL 2; sidebar or box Plate Tectonics 109 HEAD LVL 2; sidebar or box The Interstate System 110 HEAD LVL 2; sidebar or box Sprawl 112 head level 3 Mountainous Areas 115 head level 3 Lowland Areas: 116 HEAD LVL 2; sidebar or box The View at Night 118 HEAD LVL 2; sidebar or box Energy 119 HEAD LVL 2; sidebar or box Forest Fires 122 HEAD LVL 2; sidebar or box Water Systems 124 HEAD LVL 2; sidebar or box Federal Land 126 HEAD LVL 2; sidebar or box Institutions 129 Captions 131 List of Figures Figure 3.01.1 Boston 18 Figure 3.01.2 Long Island 19 Figure 3.01.3 New England Town 20 Figure 3.01.4 Finger Lakes 20 Figure 3.01.5 Megalopolis 21 Figure 3.02.1 District of Columbia 23 Figure 3.02.2 Delmarva Peninsula 24 Figure 3.03.1 Mountain City, Tennessee 26 Figure 3.03.2 The Susquehanna 27 Figure 3.04.1 Nag's Head 28 Figure 3.04.2 Savannah, Georgia 29 Figure 3.04.3 The Southern Forest 30 Figure 3.05.1 The Everglades 32 Figure 3.05.2 Key West, Florida 32 Figure 3.06.1 Industrial Heartland 36 Figure 3.06.2 The Corn Belt 36 Figure 3.06.3 Chicago 37 Figure 3.07.1 Mississippi River 40 Figure 3.07.2 Original Hub 41 Figure 3.08.1 Salt Dome 44 Figure 3.08.2 Mississippi Delta 45 Figure 3.09.1 Salina, Kansas 47 Figure 3.09.2 High Plains Rangeland 48 Figure 3.09.3 Feedlot 49 Figure 3.09.4 High Plains Agriculture 50 Figure 3.10.2 Fredericksburg, Texas 51 Figure 3.10.3 La Frontera 52 Figure 3.11.1 Boulder, Colorado 54 Figure 3.11.2 Aspen, Colorado 55 Figure 3.12.1 Mount Hood 59 Figure 3.12.2 Olympic Forests 60 Figure 3.12.3 Accidental Protection 61 Figure 3.13.1 Grand Canyon 65 Figure 3.13.2 Basin & Range 67 Figure 3.13.3 This is the Place 68 Figure 3.13.4 Amboy Crater 69 Figure 3.13.5 Socorro, NM 69 Figure 3.14.1 San Francisco Bay 72 Figure 3.14.2 Palm Springs, California 72 Figure 3.14.3 Los Angeles 72 Figure 3.14.4 San Andreas Fault 72 Figure 3.14.5 Yosemite 72 Figure 3.14.6 The Great Central Valley 73 Figure 3.14.7 Punta Gorda 74 Figure 3.15.1 Bay of Fundy 76 Figure 3.15.2 Gander 76 Figure 3.16.1 The Saint Lawrence River 77 Figure 3.16.2 Thousand Islands 78 Figure 3.17.1 Niagara Falls 79 Figure 3.18.2 Glacial Landscape 82 Figure 3.18.3 Hudson Bay Lowlands 83 Figure 3.18.4 The Mackenzie River 84 Figure 3.19.1 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan 87 Figure 3.19.2 Sand Hills 87 Figure 3.20.1 Columbia Icefield 90 Figure 3.20.2 Rocky Mountain Trench 90 Figure 3.21.1 Pacific Fjords 91 Figure 3.22.1 Barrens 94 Figure 3.22.2 Pingoes 95 Figure 3.24.1 Pack Ice 97 Figure 3.24.2 Ice Cap 97 Figure 3.04.b.1 Sprawl 112 Figure 3.10.b.1 Oil & Gas Field 119 Figure 3.10.b.2 Oil Refinery 119 Figure 3.10.b.3 Nuclear Power Plant 120 Figure 3.12.b.1 Fort Peck Lake 124 Figure 3.12.b.2 California Aqueduct 125 Figure 3.12.b.3 Sewage Treatment 125 Figure 3.14.b.1 Federal Penitentiary 129 Figure 3.14.b.2 University of Wisconsin 130 Figure 3.15.1 The Bay of Fundy 163 [HEAD LVL 1] Acknowledgements The joy of surveying a topic as broad as an entire continent was made even more enjoyable by the many people who lent me their expertise, advice, and enthusiasm along the way. Many of the images and much of the information in this book were provided by various branches of the governments of the United States and Canada. All of the government personnel I spoke with were a credit to their respective agencies, and unfailingly offered me substantial and timely assistance. In particular, Lynn Charron and David Lemieux at Natural Resources Canada, John Hutchinson and Mitch Adelson at the US Geographical Survey, and Gene Donaldson and Jim Grant at the US Federal Aviation Administration deserve special thanks. My education stood me in good stead and I am indebted in particular to the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, where I first learned the art of aerial photo interpretation. In addition, the various friendly academics from around the continent I spoke with throughout the process of writing this book have left their mark on its pages. The people who facilitated my searches through the extensive photo libraries of the private sector include Carole Black at SPOT Image, Dave Ruiz at HJW Geospatial, and Kirsten Kemner at Globexplorer. I am grateful to David Stevenson and Paul Yoon at Progrexion for lightening my image processing headaches. The people at Chronicle Books have been a joy to work with, in particular Jodi Davis, whose unwavering editorial hand has made this book such a great read, and Vivien Sung, whose design work has made it visual feast. Nina Luttinger, who didn't just put up with but loved to have the office littered with maps and photographs, and whose encouragement was indispensable, deserves huge thanks. Finally, thanks to all the seatmates, flight crews, and pilots who have answered my questions over the years.
Library of Congress Subject Headings for this publication: North America Description and travel, Landscape North America, North America Aerial photographs, Landscape North America Aerial photographs