The Agricultural Core - A Multiplication Of The Dalles' Agriculture

The Agricultural Core governs fields of crop growing throughout the midwest. Its as if the sole purpose of the agricultural core is for crops to grow. The flat land allows for no worries in the whole erosion department. Iowa is pretty much a cornfield in its own, and its surrounding states grow corn, legumes, wheat, hay, and even built flour mills so they can be processed on-point and shipped on its way through the lakes.

It reminds of how a few years ago, before learning that Iowa's land is practically covered in corn, I attached this band and song to my repertoire of geographic associations.


I digress. Back to serious geographic material.
The agricultural core has strong physical geography. Its formation strongly reflects the agriculture, much like it does in the Pacific northwest.  There is a "longitudinal"divide in the agricultural region which I believe gives it a sense of balance. On the Easter side, rainfall dominates and provides certain crops. On the Western side, it is dryer, the region takes a break from the high water carrying capacity of the land. These influences relate to that of the PNW in a sense: there are dry regions as well as wet regions. While scattered in the PNW, they are laterally side-by-side in these region of the Midwest.
Its continentality keeps up with its strong seasonal range. There is little risk of drought.
Agriculture is lucratively possible thanks to its little-hilly terrain. The flat land also does for good water drainage. There are also visible results of glaciation.


REGION SIMILARITY ALERT
The soils involved in the Midwest are what makes the crops flourish. Alfisols and mollisols. It just so happens that its the mollisols themselves that also dominate the PNW's soil type! Mollisols are superbly suited for grain production (such as corn in the state of Idaho). The soil is formed under grasses, most likely as a result to stay moist and rich in nutrients. Organic content is high, and its A-horizon goes as deep as 5 ft. All of these facts demonstrate the importance of the Core region. The nutrient richness of the soil types provide crop growth. A lucrative and important aspect to both US regions (Core and PNW).







Wheat and meat are another important development in the Core. Wheat is a year-round, reliable good where shipping and break-in points determine wheat distribution. Meat is from the livestock. As livestock feeds off the grains and wheat, it makes for domestick livestock. Hogs and pigs seem to dominate a large part of the Core region.

While such regions may not be too populated or urbanized, it is also regions such as these where it is best that urbanization stays at bay. The space and fields are needed to feed the entire United States.

The Coastal South - Pretty Much The Opposite of The Dalles

Humid in the summer, hurricane-filled, influx of tourists and migration, a history of slavery, large extractions of oil. Pretty much the complete 180 of The Dalles & Portland, Oregon. Culturally and regionally, geographically opposite. Allow me to demonstration...

Courtesy of 50states.com with illustrative editing by yours truly.

Voila! The PNW and Southern Coastlands most definitely lie across and opposite from each other.
The region is so strong and large, that it covers several states within the sliver of the region. South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Missisipi, Louisiana, Texas, and even Mexico.

Seriously, these two regions couldn't be more opposite. Let's start off with the climate & vegetation.

Humid, subtropical climate consists of warm, humid summers, mild winters, therefore a long growing season. Long growing season is from 9-12 months, Southern Florida being pretty much the whole 12 months. The crops grown in such a region are crops that cannot be grown elsewhere in the United States. The abundance in crop is so great that double-cropping is a possibility. Citrus and grapefruit are the top crop that practically give the Southern Coastlands their name, coming number one after Oregon's southern neighbor California on the West Coast.
 Sugar cane and rice are other vital crop that are harsh-climate resistant. Their ease to grow in the Southern Coastlands are important to the rest of the country.

The epic fields of crop are not the only thing that makes the coastal south so vibrant. There's a reason why retirement folks join in on the fun. The mild weather is a great pull factor. There's plenty of entertainment as well. Tourism is high thanks to DisneyWorld, Universal Studios, Mardi Gras in New Orleans, baseball training camps, the attractive beaches of Florida and South Carolina, and the Kennedy Space Center are huge pull factors as well for people.

Trade...where does it begin? With so much crop activity, trade and export is something that definitely keeps the region moving. Its proximity to the open Gulf of Mexico makes for the facilitation of shipping. There are large river estuaries, sheltered bays, rivers, railroads, and channels that open more of the trade and shipping avenues.

Wind velocity due to hurricanes. Yikes!

With all its wonderfulness, the southern coastland does have its "flaws". The long growing season does have one setback in a particular region of Florida: the most southern area suffers of winter freeze. The winter freeze section is small, and even good as it can stave off diseases among citrus, but if the freeze prolongs the citrus goods go bye-bye. Hurricanes are also a huge danger to the entire region. They can be destructive to crop and infrastructure. Year after year, the region faces such factors that are fragile to its people and economy.

The environmental concerns are area of long-term concern. Water and petroleum are being extracted at a rate that is destructive to the land. The land is too flat for reservoirs, dams, and there are sinkholes.

So, in conclusion, the Eastern Southern Coast has its many factors, both good and bad. It makes the PNW look pretty tamed. I guess that's another reason why they're opposites, right?

The Changing South - Correlations with The PNW?

The only thing I fount that the state of Oregon and any state in the south have in common is: Timber. There's timber production in Virginia & North Carolina, and Oregon state happens to be active in timber production as well.

While Oregon is amongst one of the number-one producers of timber in the nation, the southern states Virginia and North Carolina's production of pulp, paper, and furniture is very important in the south. The 1880's-1890's provided the beginning of a new transportation system (railroad) and its expansion, which also meant the beginning in exploitation of timber resources. After 1936 it was when pulp and paper manufacturing really broke through. Timber for furniture was important too.

A more recent map on timber production in the states. Notice that concentration on both the PNW and the south. TIMBERRRRRR!!!

In Oregon, timber is manufactured for plywood and furniture as well. The state's timber industry is actually global, whereas the timber industry in the south is more regional. This is in due to the type of wood and pulp other parts of the nation and world demand: Oregon seems to have a larger variety.

(source by textbook and OSU. Map found in

Appalachian & Ozarks - Did Some Migrate to the PNW?

As mentioned in the entry on The Dalles & Oregon's migration, many did migrate west, away from the East, in order to establish. Let's see what this PNW town and Appalachia & Ozarks have in common...

The Appalachia & Ozarks region are surrounded by mountains. Although not very high, they "promote" isolation, and more challenges in terms of transportation. This region of the states offers plenty of land, and extraction of resources (which will be explained later), and not a whole lot of "megalopolitan" activity. Looks like The Dalles and such region have that in common: large space and land.

There's a chance that those who lived in Appalachia & the Ozarks took a chance and headed west, hence the Westward Expansion. The PNW definitely had more to offer, land-wise. Opportunity is greater for agricultural abundance, therefore there was opportunity for profit.

As I did my own Google search for curiosity (and blogging) sake, here's a slight explanation on The Westward Expansion from Appalachia to the PNW:



During the 1830s and '40s, the flood of pioneers poured unceasingly westward. Michigan, Arkansas, Wisconsin, and Iowa received most of them. A number of families even went as far as the Pacific coast, taking the Oregon Trail to areas in the Pacific Northwest. In 1849 fortune seekers rushed into California in search of gold. Meanwhile, the Mormons ended their long pilgrimage in Utah.

- History Channel.com on The Western Expansion  

The "Other" Port Land in the Bypass East.

(Since my emphasis is on a PNW town, I thought I might throw in the coincidence of The Two Portlands on behalf of my Bypass East entry.)

The Dalles neighbor Portland definitely has plenty going on. Portland, Oregon has a sort of "sister" or "cousin" city located in The Bypassed East: Portland, Maine!

Aside from the name, both cities have plenty in common: both port cities, both provide fish agriculture, and both have needle-leaf forest trees.

Their differences:
Portland, Oregon has:

• a higher population growth (about 6% since 2000, according to the Census).
• provides salmon from the Columbia River, and other fish from the Pacific Ocean.
• Not located ON a port directly, but has a river and ocean about 70 miles away on the PNW.

Portland, Maine has:

• delicious lobster and crustaceans as their fish agriculture
• a lower population growth (less than 2%)
• Directly located on a port in the East Coast

The cultural difference are great between both cities as well. Portland, Maine really does serve as a port city on behalf of the Bypass East, whereas Portland, Oregon has many more attractions and becoming more urbanized. This is especially lucky for a The Dalles: if one wants to get away from the scenery and quitesome, Portland offers more or less day/night life.

BBC Travel gives a slight insight on the two here. I guess we will really know when we check it out.

Manufacturing near The Dalles

The map on the left shows that Portland is actually a center of manufacturing, as well as a major manufacturing region. The text nor the legend indicate what type of manufacturing activity there is. One other thing that the map tells us that its the ONLY area in the state of Oregon in which there is any manufacturing activity. This could be due to the goods it provides nearby: game from the port, the agricultural goods from The Dalles, et cetera.
Under-lapping the manufacturing activity also lies livestock and specialty crop, which explains the delicious cherries and peaches that I remember seeing in the fields. There seems to be wide activity of dairy productions throughout The Dalles, and next to The Dalles seems to continue on with livestock ranching. The dairy production with livestock activity is pretty self explanatory (livestock = cows, dairy production = milksheds).

 There is definitely a lot of "open space" surrounding Portland and The Dalles. The lack of population density has allowed for more room to produce (manufacturing, livestock, dairy and crop production). Their proximity to each other makes for convenience of transporting goods in that region of the Pacific Northwest.

This map also demonstrates more on manufacturing region activity. The pattern is evident: manufacturing activity tends to cluster within or around urban cities. North of Portland is Seattle with its manufacturing region, and north of Seattle is Vancouver. There seems to be a "linear" regional pattern in the Pacific Northwest. This could be in due to the "city port" activities that are attributed. Manufacturing is necessary for export of goods. If goods are available near the port, it is in its best interest to establish manufacturing in order to generate revenue and so forth. The Eastern US does seem to have a denser amount of manufacturing activity, and is probably more complex in terms of import/export, transportation, and goods itself. The PNW does not seem as complex, but definitely important. Having manufacturing activity near a town like The Dalles (as well as other PNW locations) is most definitely a win-win deal.

Megalopolis - No Such in the Beaver State

While Megalopolis is located in the Eastern United States, The Dalles is far from a megalopolis, both distance and theme-wise. In the Beaver state, Portland, Oregon would have to be the most urbanized area. This is the beginning of the introducing the term PORT CITY.

84 Miles west of The Dalles, running adjacent to the Oregon-Washing border, you'll find Portland, the closest main city (Google map).

Within the last ten years, Portland has indeed grown. The 2010 Census tells us that its the 29th most populous city in the United States (pdf source - Census Profile). As for Wasco County, the population in 2000 was at 23K and has gone up to about 25K.

Although the harbor is another approximate 70 miles more west, Portland benefits its goods for the rest of Oregon to enjoy. It's got the Pacific Ocean to the west, and the Columbia River to the north.

The "megalopolis" stage in a city such as Portland is way at its beginning.  Efforts to maintain the city sustainable, is taking steps forward into becoming a busy, urbanized city without the environmental hazards of pollution, traffic, et cetera; something that Eastern US's Megalopolis has endured through since it grew.