Chapter 9: The Changing South

Chapter 9 describes the Changing South and the Southern culture. According to the book racial discrimination and segregation was a reality in the region's past but has much less effect on the regions politics and geography today. Here is the census bureau about the Las Vegas Valley.

People QuickFacts	Las Vegas	Nevada
	Population, 2011 estimate	589,317	2,723,322
	Population, 2010 (April 1) estimates base	583,748	2,700,551
	Population, percent change, April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2011	1.0%	0.8%
	Population, 2010	583,756	2,700,551
	Persons under 5 years, percent, 2010	7.2%	6.9%
	Persons under 18 years, percent, 2010	25.7%	24.6%
	Persons 65 years and over, percent, 2010	12.0%	12.0%
	Female persons, percent, 2010	49.6%	49.5%
	White persons, percent, 2010 (a)	62.1%	66.2%
	Black persons, percent, 2010 (a)	11.1%	8.1%
	American Indian and Alaska Native persons, percent, 2010 (a)	0.7%	1.2%
	Asian persons, percent, 2010 (a)	6.1%	7.2%
	Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, percent, 2010 (a)	0.6%	0.6%
	Persons reporting two or more races, percent, 2010	4.9%	4.7%
	Persons of Hispanic or Latino origin, percent, 2010 (b)	31.5%	26.5%
	White persons not Hispanic, percent, 2010	47.9%	54.1%
	Living in same house 1 year & over, 2006-2010	77.8%	78.2%
	Foreign born persons, percent, 2006-2010	22.3%	19.3%
	Language other than English spoken at home, pct age 5+, 2006-2010	33.1%	28.2%
	High school graduates, percent of persons age 25+, 2006-2010	81.6%	84.3%
	Bachelor's degree or higher, pct of persons age 25+, 2006-2010	21.1%	21.8%
	Mean travel time to work (minutes), workers age 16+, 2006-2010	25.3	23.6
	Homeownership rate, 2006-2010	57.7%	60.1%
	Housing units in multi-unit structures, percent, 2006-2010	33.5%	29.4%
	Median value of owner-occupied housing units, 2006-2010	$251,300	$254,200
	Households, 2006-2010	211,975	979,621
	Persons per household, 2006-2010	2.70	2.65
	Per capita money income in past 12 months (2010 dollars) 2006-2010	$26,993	$27,589
	Median household income 2006-2010	$54,334	$55,726
	Persons below poverty level, percent, 2006-2010	13.1%	11.9%

	Business QuickFacts	Las Vegas	Nevada
	Total number of firms, 2007	54,557	221,260
	Black-owned firms, percent, 2007	5.4%	3.9%
	American Indian- and Alaska Native-owned firms, percent, 2007	0.7%	0.8%
	Asian-owned firms, percent, 2007	10.5%	7.9%
	Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander-owned firms, percent, 2007	S	0.3%
	Hispanic-owned firms, percent, 2007	9.9%	8.1%
	Women-owned firms, percent, 2007	29.5%	28.6%
	Manufacturers shipments, 2007 ($1000)	872,940	15,735,787
	Merchant wholesaler sales, 2007 ($1000)	1,566,589	19,255,893
	Retail sales, 2007 ($1000)	9,178,860	37,433,983
	Retail sales per capita, 2007	$16,394	$14,579
	Accommodation and food services sales, 2007 ($1000)	3,134,003	28,815,533

	Geography QuickFacts	Las Vegas	Nevada
	Land area in square miles, 2010	135.82	109,781.18
	Persons per square mile, 2010	4,298.2	24.6
	FIPS Code	40000	32
	Counties	Clark County

http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/32/3240000.html

Chapter 8: Applachia and The Ozarks

In chapter 8, it focuses on Applachia and the Ozarks and how southern and northern areas play a major role in the differences in Appalachian cultures even though both sections share a relative lack of economic opportunities. The region is relatively poor and is dominated by coal mining and farming, but tourism is beginning to be significant in places. Coal is mentioned throughout this chapter and in relates to Nevada and mining. Nevada's mineral industry beyond 1992 shows signs of significant changes, not in relative importance to the state's economy, but in direction. Nevada's gold production makes the United States the second leading gold producing nation in the world, and published Nevada gold reserves at the end of 1992 total about 138 million ounces. Mineral discoveries, mainly of precious metals, provided the reason for settlement and agriculture and other industries were established to serve the mining population.

http://www.nbmg.unr.edu/dox/nl/nl20.htm

Chapter 7: The Bypassed East

                                       

Chapter 7 discuss about the Bypassed East and how it is relatively cold, receives substantial precipitation, and is generally mountainous. Industries such as fishing and mineral production are a part of the Bypassed East, but fishing remains important to the region and concerns about future prospects are perplexed.

The Bypassed East

Las Vegas

Climate is one of the parts in the book that stood out to me. P. 133, Bridswall mentions that the Bypassed East is no place for people who want a dry, warm climate. I immediately related that statement to Las Vegas because climate is a subtropical desert climate. It is not an area where fog is created and the average rainfall for the Las Vegas Valley is about 3.5 inches.







http://askville.amazon.com/annual-rainfall-Las-Vegas/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=2448444

Chapter 5: The North America Manufacturing Core

Chapter 5 focuses on manufactured products which consists of clothing, food, residences and office towers, transportation and communication, computers and more. According to the book manufacturing is found throughout the more populated regions of North America, but its distribution is not even. Las Vegas would be considered one of the primary financial centers throughout America. Something interesting that many do not know of Las Vegas, Nevada, Agriculture is one of the most important industries, contributing significantly to the economy. Agricultural crops consist mainly of alfalfa hay, sold as cubes and compressed bales, alfalfa seed, potatoes, barley, wheat, rye, oats, vegetables, mint, garlic and onions, and some fruits. Nevada’s total land area amounts to110,567 square miles. Eighty-five percent of the state is
owned by the federal government.

Here's a link about Nevada's Agriculture: http://www.agclassroom.org/kids/stats/nevada.pdf

Chapter 4: Megalopolis

We are learning about Megalopolis areas. According to the book they are located along the northeastern coast of the United States surrounded by large independent metropolitan areas such as Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington D.C. I would say the city of Las Vegas would not be considered a Megalopolis area because not only does Las Vegas contain urban activities and urban forms, but Las Vegas does not contain large green spaces and the recreation as well as substantial agricultural areas are limited. The major thing that Las Vegas lacks would be the waterway transportation because items can't be transported to and from this central inland area.