Chapter 18: Hawaii

The May 22, 1915, explosive eruption of Lassen Peak, California, blasted rock fragments and pumice high into the air and rained fine volcanic ash as far away as Winnemucca, Nevada, 200 miles to the east. In this photograph taken from near the town of Red Bluff, 40 miles west of the volcano, the huge column of volcanic ash and gas produced by the eruption rises to a height of more than 30,000 feet. (Photograph taken by R.E. Stinson; courtesy of the National Park Service.)

We cannot seperate Hawaii from volcanoes. All Hawaiian islands were formed from volcanic activities initiated at undersea magma sources called hotspots. The islands still have several active volcanoes. California has also several active volcanoes. Long before the recent activity of Mount St. Helens, a series of spectacular eruptions from Lassen Peak between 1914 and 1917 demonstrated the explosive potential of Cascade volcanoes. Small phreatic explosions began on May 30, 1914, and were followed during the next 12 months by more than 150 explosions that sent clouds of ash as high as 3 kilometers above the peak. The activity changed character in May 1915, when a lava flow was observed in the summit crater. A deep red glow from the hot lava was visible at night 34 kilometers away. On May 19, an avalanche of hot rocks from the lava spilled onto snow and triggered a lahar that extended more than 15 kilometers from the volcano. We cannot 100 percent ensure the possibility of volcanoes in California.

Source: http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/volcus/ustext.html
img -> pubs.usgs.gov/fs/1998/fs173-98/

Chapter 16: The North Pacific Coast

Park La Brea Los Angeles

British Columbia is the largest lumber producer in Canada, supplying about 54 percent of all timber harvested in that country. In the United States, Washington, California, and Oregon together provide more than half of all timber cut, and Washington and Georgia vie for the lead in pulp and paper production. Even though Los Angeles is urbanized so it doesn’t provide lumber, there is a department for urban forest in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Recreation and Parks Department estimates that there are at least one million trees growing in the City’s 15,000 acres of parkland, spread amongst developed urban parks and growing naturally in coastal and inland areas. This “Urban Forest” is a great asset to the Los Angeles. Forested urban parks are a functional and attractive environment for residents and visitors. Natural areas provide shelter for wildlife and offer an escape for park visitors into the semi-wilderness. I believe an urbanized area like Los Angeles needs more of forest areas.

Source: http://www.laparks.org/dos/forest/urbanforest.htm
img -> michaelbartholomewdesign.com/

Chapter 15: California

Finally, we covered the region of Los Angeles. Los Angeles is located in California. I've covered many features of Los Angeles and California. So, I will just cover what I excited about. Los Angeles has many beatiful beaches. As our textbook shows the picture of a beach surfer in the first page of California, there are many places for surfing and also it is one of the most reputed surfing ares along with Australia and Hawaii. In Los Angeles, California, famous areas for surfing are Malibu, Lunada Bay, The Cove, Haggertys, El Porto, Manhattan Beach, Hemosa Beach, Surfrider Beach, Topanga, Chart House. The origin of surfing is quite interesting. Surfing was originally from the ancient Polynesian culture. Polynesians refer to the native Hawaiins. At that ancient time, the Polynesians enjoyed surfing with just piece of wood. Surfboard riding was as layered into the society, religion and myth of the islands as baseball is to the modern United States. Chiefs demonstrated their mastery by their skill in the surf, and commoners made themselves famous (and infamous) by the way they handled themselves in the ocean.

Source: http://www.surfingforlife.com/history.html

Chapter 14: The Southwest Border Area

The Southwest Border Area is dominated by three main ethnic groups; Spanish American, American Indian, and European American. Similarly, Los Angeles has many ethnic groups. From a metropolitan area that in 1960 was over 80% non-Hispanic white, Los Angeles has been transformed into a city that now has a "majority-minority" population. In recent decades, the ethnic group of Los Angeles varies with Latin American and Asian immigrants. As of the 2005-2007 American Community Survey, the city’s population was 48.7% White (29.3% non-Hispanic White alone), 9.9% Black of African American, 0.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 10.6% Asian, 0.2% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, 27.3% from other race and 2.8% from two or more races. In addition, Los Angeles is home to poeple from more than 140 countries speaking 224 different identified languages. Ethnic enclaves like Chinatown, Historic Filipino, Koreatown, Little Armenia, Little Ethipoia, Tehrangeles, Little Tokyo, and Thai Town provide examples of the polyglot character of Los Angeles. Since there are many people, languages and different cultures, there’ve been many multicultural problems and conflicts.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org; factfinder.census.gov;
img -> Linguistic maps created and maintained by Derrick Auyoung on the base of ethnic maps in: "The Ethnic Quilt. Population Density in Southern California" by James P.Allen and Eugen Turner. Northridge: California State University, 1997

Chapter 13: The Empty Interior

Los Angeles is not located in the Empty Interior, but it is close to the region. Tourism has become the major role of the region’s economy. Each year the region’s scenic wonders for some area like the Grand Canyon attract millions of visitors. Also, the Nevada’s gambling operations are included as part of the Empty Interior’s tourist industry, and the state gambling taxes account for 45 percent of Nevada’s revenues. California has also many gambling places. However, the gambling in California has been a problem of the state. According to the statistical report of gambling problem in California by Bensinger, Dupont and Associates, the total number of 2002 calls (including Lottery Help Line) is 11,527. The number of Help Lin Specific Calls has been increasing from 1751 in 1999 to 2998 in 2002. Lastly, the Gambler’s Indebtedness surprised me. The average debt was $26,228.45. In addition, the average spend per year on was $31,218. I guess the statistics surveyed in 2002 so today the problem of gambling might be increased.

Source: http://www.calproblemgambling.org/pdf/HelplineReport2002.pdf

Chapter 12: The Great Plains and Prairies

Extreme weather is one feature of the Great Plains. As a result, there are many kinds of violent natural hazards in the region. Tornadoes are far more common on the Great Plains than in any other area of the world. Other than that, there are threats of Chinook (a winter wind), a blizzard, thunderstorms, and even hail. Similarly, Los Angeles or California seems to have many kinds of natural hazards. The first and major natural hazard will be earthquakes. The cause of earthquakes in California is because it is located in a tectonically active area, where three tectonic plates come together. Sensitive people in California feel small earthquakes often, and there occur some big shakes that all people feel. In 1994, the most recent and powerful one is the 6.7 Northridge earthquake, causing $12.5 billion in damage and 72 deaths. Other than that, there are threats of Volcanoes, Tsunamis, Floods, and Wildfires in California. California has several active and potentially active volcanoes that could pose a hazard. The most notable of these in California are Lassen Peak and Mt. Shasta. Since California is a seismically active region, prone to earthquakes, as well as, to volcanic activity, tsunamis along the coast are a possibility. So, all those three natural hazards, earthquakes, volcanoes, and tsunamis are connected to California’s unstable tectonic plates. Researching on this, I thought there is no place that is totally secure.

Sources: http://daphne.palomar.edu/calenvironment/hazards.htm

Chapter 11: The Agricultural Core

A map of tritium–helium-3 ages measured in drinking water wells from Los Angeles and Orange counties. A general pattern of increasing age away from the artificial recharge areas (where water entering the aquifer reaches saturation) is observed. The red line shows the boundary between younger groundwater and groundwater more than 50 years old. The measured age shows the direction and rate the groundwater in the aquifer is flowing.

We can easily imagine the main feature of the agricultural core with the name of itself. The agricultural core’s environmental characteristics – rainfall, length of growing season, relief, soils and waterways – allow farming to excel. The natural network of waterways permits easy and inexpensive shipment of farm goods to markets and other ports. As Los Angeles gets bigger and bigger, water problems have been issued for a long time. Today, restaurants in Los Angeles don’t provide water to their customers before they request. According to Water Education Foundation, Los Angeles gets its water from four sources; State Water Project, Colorado River, Other Major Water Systems, and Groundwater. The State Water Project is a major source of supply for cities in Los Angeles. The project includes 22 dams and reservoirs, and California is entitled to 4.4 million acre-feet of water annually from the Colorado River. A number of large population centers in California have developed their own extensive water projects. Lastly, I was surprised that about 30 percent of California’s total annual water supply comes from groundwater in normal years, and up to 60 percent in drought years. I never thought of groundwater, and the amount of the usage was interesting to me.

Sources: http://www.water-ed.org/watersources/community.asp?rid=9&cid=562
img -> www.llnl.gov/str/May03/Moran.html

Chapter 10: The Southern Coastlands

Bruno Luconi farms under powerlines

The climate of the Southern Coastlands is humid and subtropical so it gives mild winter and hot summers with a long growing season. According to the textbook, only in Hawaii, southern California, and southwestern Arizona do farmers benefit from growing seasons equivalent to those of the Southern Coastlands. So, I looked into the agriculture of Los Angeles. It is easy to think that there isn’t any farm or farmer in urbanized regions. Of course, it is a challenge but it is also an opportunity. L.A.'s urban farmers are part of a global phenomenon, judging from a report recently published by the United Nations Development Program. Though they are "overlooked, underestimated and underreported," there are perhaps 800 million urban farmers worldwide who produce about 15 percent of the world's food supply, the report concluded. In the Los Angeles area, Southern California Edison is probably the largest owner of what passes for farmland in the city: the thousands of acres of grassy rights-of-way under high-voltage power lines. The utility company rents out 2,000 acres to 300 growers of nursery stock and another 2,000 acres to 100 farmers for all-purpose farming, an Edison spokesman said.

Source: http://www.seasonalchef.com/lafarm.htm