**The 12 American Indian Geographic Regions of North America
(Eastern Woodlands, Mississippian Woodlands, Great Plains,
Southwest, Great Basin, California, Northwest Coastal, Northwest
Plateau, Arctic, Subarctic, Mesoamerica, Caribbean. See General Geography Resources
Good In-Class Links:
Other Good Ones:
In-Class Activities:
Mapping Exercise (See List of Locations)
Map Analysis Worksheets (See Worksheets)
Video: The Edwards Aquifer: A Texas Treasure
Essay:
Select five American Indian nations located in different
areas of the Southwest. Explain how geography affected their lifestyle.
Be sure to use specific examples from class discussions.
Optional Activities:
- Salt Map
- Wall Mural
Exam Terms:
- Blackland Prairie
- Staked Plains (Estacado Plains or Llano Estacado)
- Edwards Plateau
- Hill Country (Llano Basin or Burnet-Llano Basin)
- Trans-Pecos
- Guadalupe Range
- aquifers
- Sierra Madres
- Central Highlands (Volcanic Highlands)
- chinampes
Other terms:
- longitude
- latitude
- savanna
Outline of Class Discussion
Introduction: Define territory (map handout and
transparencies); Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Mexico
Many ways to geographically divide the Southwest:
cultural map (southeast, arid America, mesoamerica -
cultural similarities through region), but these can
be subdivided
Texas has four natural regions: the Coastal Plains,
the North Central Plains, the Great Plains, Mountains & Basins
Each of these regions can be subdivided into geographic regions.
The Coastal Plains is the larges natural region in Texas beginning on
east coast and extending into Mexico as the Gulf Slope;
Northwest boundary=Balcones Fault or Escarpment - this fault
usually accepted boundary between lowland & upland Texas; below
soils brought from above, above fault eroded
Includes:
- Piney Woods or Pine Belt - forests (pine & hardwood),
rolling hills, broad valleys; from Red River to 25 miles from coast; adaptable
soils, iron, oil, minerals
- Post Oak Belt - two strips from Red River to San Antonio, includes
Tyler & College Station; mixed soils, sandy soils, post oaks
- Blackland Prairie - also Central Texas Prairies; rich black soil;
includes Dallas
- Gulf Coast Plain or Coastal Prairie - from Corpus to the Sabine River, 100
miles inland; low & marshy with rich soil and sand islands
- South Texas Plain (sometimes combines with Coastal Plains) - Corpus to San
Antonio to Del Rio including the Rio Grande Plain and valley to Sierra Madres Oriental in Mexico; rich soil, eroded areas and plains to
scrub & cactus vegetation
North Central Plains includes area from Blackland Prairie to Caprock, Red River to Colorado River)
including:
- The Cross Timbers - From Ft. Worth to Abilene separated east & west by
- The Grand Prairie (aka Ft. Worth Prairie) that includes Ft. Worth - often fewer trees,
limestone based
- The Rolling Plains including Abilene, Vernon & Wichita Falls
Great Plains from Mexico into Canada and in Texas includes:
-
The High Plains - southward to Midland and Odessa including Amarillo, Lubbock, Plainview with "Caprock" limestone
escarpment dividing from Rolling Plains
- The Edwards Plateau - broken tableland includes portions of Austin and San Antonio
- The Llano Basin or Hill Country - smallest geographic section in Texas but major rivers;
was heavily populative by American Indians
Basin & Mountain Region (or Trans-Pecos) - mainly west of Pecos River so sometimes called the "Trans-Pecos;"
deserts and mountains, includes El Paso, Big Bend, Pecos Valley-Stockton Plateau including
Guadalupe Range (highest in Texas - 8,749' peak); Hueco Mountains, Diablo Plateau, Davis Mountains,
Big Bend, and Upper Rio Grande Valley
In addition, fourteen major rivers including three Texas boundaries (Sabine ("Cypress"), Red, and Rio Grande (Pueblos called it
"Posage" - river of great water)
- In East - Trinity, Neches, and San Jacinto
- Central - Brazos, Colorado, Nueces, Guadalupe, San Antonio, Lavaca
- West - Pecos, Canadian
Rainfall varies from heavy in East to very little in West
Hot summers, generally mild winters
Hurricanes and tornadoes
Native wildlife includes:
- Birds abundant - today some extinct like Ivory-billed Woodpecker, Greater Prairie Chicken,
Passenger Pigeon, and Carolina Parakeet
- House sparrow NOT native; arrived in 1867 in Galveston
- Boat Tailed Grackle - invaded from tropical America; arrived in Dallas 1947
- Cattle Egret - 1958 from Africa
- Endangered natives include: Whooping Crane, Golden-Cheeked Warbler, Red-Cockaded Woodpecker,
Attwater's Prairie Chicken, Peregrine falcon, Southern Bald Eagle
- Still abundant - Brown Pelicans, Blue-winged Teal, Snowy Egret, Great Blue Heron
- Mammals - natives include Black Bear, Whitetail Deer (most important game animal),
coyote, bobcat, bison in West & North, pronghorn antelope, river otter, mink
- Most recent arrival - armadillo
- Reptiles - American Alligator, snakes
- Fish abundant
Groundwater - Aquifers underlie over half state; principal source for cities
Mexico also extremely diverse; six geographic regions
Southeast Mexico - includes Yucatan; tropical; hostile Indians kept isolated; dangerous
hurricanes, mild winters, hot/humid summers, abundant wildlife, sparse human population but
Maya built astonishing civilization there
Southern Mexico - states of Colima, Guerrero, Oaxaca, Chiapas, S.W. Michoacan; picturesque;
extensive erosion; deep river valleys including Mexcala or Balsas River; highlands (mountains) of
Chiapas; volcanic on Guatemala border; from tropical to subtropical, forests to cacti; provided escape for
Indians, least Europeanized
Gulf Slope - extension of Coastal Plain; abundant wildlife,
includes most of Veracruz including area of volcanic mountains (Lost Tuxtlas),
east slopes of Sierra Madre Oriental, coastal plain crossed by borad river valleys
Meseta Central - between East and West Sierra Madres and slope toward Rio Grande; precious metals attracted Spanish to region;
also fierce Chichimeca Indians
The Central Highlands/Volcanic Highlands - where many complex Indian cultures developed including Tenochtitlan/Mexico City; valley;
spectacular beauty; snow-capped mountains to over 17,000', forests, lakes; includes all or part states of
Puebla, Tlaxcala, Hidalgo, Queretara, Guanajuanto, Morelos, Mexico, Michoacan, Jalisco, and Federal District; earthquakes common; most
important river headwaters (Lerma-Santiago, Balsas, Panuco); varied climate & vegetation; western rim of Sierra Madre Occidental, most famous canyon Barranca de Cobre; mountains important to
survival of a few Indians (Tarahumara, Tepehuan, Huichol, and Cora); fishing important and small animals,
agricultural land relatively scarce, Indians build "chinampas" or "raft gardens; includes
three areas:
- "Tierra Cliente" - eastern hot country, tropical 60-80 inches rain/year, humid, forests and savannas
- "Tierra Templada" - temperate country up to 5-6000 ' elevation along eastern edge of Volcanic Axis, 60-80 inches rain/year to
200 inches in cloud forests
- "Tierra Fria" - north of "Tierra Templada," cold country to 12-13,000'; great variations in rain, temperatures, vegetation
Northeast Mexico - all but southern part arid and dry; includes Baja California peninsula, a huge fault block tilted upward on eastern side; Picacho del Diablo - 10,100 feet
Native wildlife - cochineal or "cochinilla" scale insect used for red dye; rabbits, squirrels, quail, dove,
chacalacas, deer, peccaries or javelinas, coyotes, puma, jaguar, ring-tailed cat, opposums, porcupines, armadillos, anteaters, rodents
Vegetation - corn, beans, squashes, gourds, chilis, tomatoes, chayote, jimaca, chia, indigo, prickly pear ("nopol"), maguey, agave or century plant (fermented for tequila and mescal), avocados, cherry or "capulin," guava
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