yeah
0:19united states geography is a story of land and people a land filled with
0:25natural resources from the Rocky Mountains to the Sonora Desert the San
0:29Francisco Bay to the Mississippi the Grand Canyon to Niagara Falls
0:36since 2000 BC when the Native Americans settled on this continent
0:40people from all over the world have made this land their home with lush forests
0:45sweeping prairies coastal plains at bustling cities
0:49the land is as diverse as the people who live here
0:53north to south east to west each region of the United States is a piece of
0:58living history shaping the heart and soul of the nation from sea to shining
1:02sea
1:04yeah
1:06yeah
1:38the United States is a gigantic country in size with an immense variety of
1:44physical features
1:45it stretches from the eastern seaboard on the Atlantic Ocean
1:49nearly 3,000 miles to the west coast on the Pacific Ocean and north to south
1:55it's over 1,600 miles from the southern tip of Texas to the Canadian border
2:03but this is only part of the country the part called the continental United
2:08States two states hawaii and alaska stretch the borders 2,500 miles west
2:15into the Pacific and north to within the Arctic Circle the u.s. covers a huge
2:21area of the globe over 250 million people live in the United States people
2:30representing every race religion and culture on the globe for me
2:35what's been called the great melting pot
2:38what's it like to live in different parts of this enormous nation
2:45how did the United States come to be what it is today
2:51why are the cities and towns located where they are and how did geography
2:58influence how the nation grew
3:05the answers to these questions require a closer look at the land the climate and
3:11the natural resources
3:15hmm
3:17there
3:19issues
3:26hello
3:31yeah
3:37yeah
3:52yeah
4:06yeah
4:14the history of the United States did not begin with the declaration of
4:20independence in 1776 nor with the first european settlement at Jamestown it did
4:27not begin in 1492 when Columbus reach the new world
4:31it didn't even begin countless centuries before when the first Native Americans
4:37called indians by columbus set foot upon the continent
4:44the story of the country really began millions of years ago with a formation
4:49of great mountain chains the Appalachians in the east and the Rockies
4:56in the west and with the creation of the lakes the rivers the coastal plains
5:08and the prairies
5:19for this is a story of how men and women from all over the globe adapted to the
5:26physical features of the land and to the climate
5:31it's also a story of how the land the climate and the natural resources and
5:37shape the growth of civilization and forge the character of the people
5:45the first people to live on this land where the Native Americans when the
6:01first europeans arrived
6:03most Native Americans were living in the eastern half of the continent the
6:08climate in the East encourages abundant plant growth which provides good animal
6:13habitats and made the east the most liveable part of the country the Native
6:18Americans in the East lived in a forest of gigantic trees which completely
6:23covered the land so tall and dense where the trees that no underbrush could grow
6:29and a man could walk freely through the open forest
6:34they live in harmony with nature and add little negative impact on their
6:39environment
6:40in addition to using the lakes rivers and streams as natural transportation
6:46routes they also built roads and trails and carried on trade and commerce across
6:52the entire continent they had trade contacts with other Native Americans as
6:58far away as Mexico and Central America
7:05yeah
7:07while canoes and boats may travel by water fairly easy mountains and canyons
7:13may travel by land difficult and often impossible
7:18so it was only natural that people should settle and build their towns
7:23beside these natural transportation routes
7:26this is why most towns and cities came to be located where they are the first
7:35permanent English settlement in America was made in 1607 at james down
7:40largely because it was inside one of the best natural harbors in North America
7:44most of the early settlements along the east coast were located in the best
7:52natural harbors the mouths of rivers inside bays in behind islands
7:59Boston is inside massachusetts bay
8:06New York is at the mouth of the Hudson River and sheltered by Long Island
8:14Philadelphia is just up the Delaware Bay
8:21Baltimore is on the chesapeake bay
8:31both Charleston and Savannah are at the mouths of rivers and protected by
8:35coastal islands harbors were the primary concern when the first settlers were
8:42arriving from European ships
8:45eventually they began moving inland following the rivers and streams to the
8:50west
8:53yeah
8:57yeah
8:58yeah
9:00but soon they ran up against the Appalachian Mountains and seemingly
9:05could go no further
9:07this mounta