The South West Border - Below The PNW, Big in Diveristy

The theme to Chapter 14's Southwest Border seems to be population, so I shall center into this human geography theme. 

The Southwest Border is the cusp between south of North America and Mexico, our neighboring country.  East to west, it dips into Texas, covers most of New Mexico, Arizona, southern California, and slightly bumping into Colorado. The transitional areas are above, and while it may not be marked on the map above, the transitional area varies more going into Mexico. But since this material covers US & Canada, transitional areas going south does not quite pertain.

Hopi housing reservation.

From the previous blog, the Southwest overlaps into the Empty Interior a bit (within the Four Corners). The Empty Interior's arid to semi-arid climate is shared by the Southwest. During years of settlement, the Anglos were discouraged from its aridity, since it did not provide lush vegetation or agriculture. As a result, there were a substantial number of Native Americans in this region. Was it due to the fact that most Native American tribes got to stay, or was it because tribes from other US regions migrated there because invasion wasn't active in the Southwest? #humangeographerquestion.

map of Native American Reservations, present day.

In present day, that aridity has attracted Anglos, particularly those who are retiring. Also, the Southwest is considered a tri-cultural region: Latinos (25%), Anglos (74% WOW), and Native Americans (just 1% now) make up the tricultural population.


While it lasted, the Native Americans were the most culturally diverse of the three. The groups were Navaho, Pueblo, Papago, Hopi and Utes. The Hopi, being one of the largest, shares a huge chunk their reservations within the Four Corners. Around the Hopi are scattered reservation of the rest of the tribes.

Mexico more than strongly influenced the Southwest border. During the 1800's, The Mexican War begun a fight between Texas (US) and Mexican territory when Texas was annexed in 1845. After the secession, the Mexican population was low, but not for long. Immigration from the lowest Mexican populations increased dramatically during the 20th century. Territory may have officially been removed from Mexican ownership, but it did not stop the people from claiming the land in other ways. The proximity of the two countries promotes lots of "point of entry" migration, south to north.

Many push factors in the Southwest region for the rise in Mexican population during the 20th century. The proximity and ease of border-crossing allowed for geographic accessibility. Due to economic growth in the US, job availability was high. In present day, the pull factors became almost the opposite of its original push factors: the Mexican population became widespread, and the unemployment rate spread right with it. U.S. Border Patrol is enforcing entry stronger than ever. Current Mexican Drug War is another possible push factor.  

Maquiladoras in Mexico

Maquiladoras & NAFTA - CROSS BORDER ECONOMY

A pull and economic factor of the Southwest. Maquiladoras were initiated in the 1960's as "coupon houses". They are assembly plants that import duty-free components and raw materials. The finished goods are then exported to US. In 2000, it was recorded that there are 4,000 maquiladoras between Mexico and Tijuana, 1.2 million employees.


NAFTA took into effect in 1994. It was an established trade agreement between Mexico, Canada, and the US in which there was a reduction and regulation of trade tarrifs, barriers, and quotas between all three members. It helped standardize the financial and service exchanges between the three. As a result, it created jobs for Mexicans as US companies, which encouraged the US to invest more in the Mexican market. Mexican exporters increased their sales to both US & Canada.


Not a lot of commonalities between the Southwest and Northwest. Well, they're BOTH west. There is a Latino population in parts of the Pacific NorthWest. In present day, according to the US Census, there is 14% Hispanic Population in Wasco County. This explains perhaps a spreading of the Latino population that stems from the Southwest point-of-entry border. For a fact, I have many relatives whom are of Mexican descent who started off in Los Angeles, and kept moving north until they settled in Wasco County and surrounding. Many found jobs in the agricultural sector.