North American regions: The Intermountain Highlands (1967)

the Arid land is sparsely populated one can travel for hundreds of miles and see only a solitary Shepherd an occasional industrial prospector looking for new veins of ore a farmer irrigating his Fields fields that would be Aid without this water the sparse population is Con concentrated around and in the few scattered Urban headers of the region these cers require fresh water for people and industries and so in those isolated areas where water can be made available we find most of the cities of the region Salt Lake City Utah Albuquerque New Mexico Phoenix Arizona Reno Nevada Pocatello Idaho Yakama Washington these and other cities of the Highland region are all situated in isolated areas where sufficient water is available the region we are studying is just east of the Pacific coast The Inter Mountain Highlands region here are its major cities this huge rugged region may be characterized by three Geographic factors scattered Urban centers sparse population and arid lands the region is embraced by mountains the Rocky Mountains on the East the Sierra Nevada Cascade and Coast ranges on the west these mountains contribute to the dryness of the region the mountains are barriers against the prevailing rain carrying winds from the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico this means that the interner mountain Highlands lie in the rain Shadows of their bordering mountains the Region's high altitudes are another deterrent to adequate rainfall for air at high elevations is generally drier than air closer to sea level with little rainfall there is relatively little water drainage in The Inter Mountain Highlands in fact within the entire region there are only six major rivers forming two river systems the Columbia snake Fraser system flowing in a generally Northern Direction and the Colorado hila salt system flowing in a generally Southern Direction in some areas where there is only interior drainage permanent Salt Lakes are the major bodies of water the Great Salt Lake of Utah is the largest and most spectacular of these the dryness of the region particularly in Arizona and the neighboring states of the Southwest has been a challenge to its people since prehistoric days of Indian settlement centuries ago Indians built their peblo into the sheer walls of this Mesa today's descendants of these early inhabitants earn their living in much the same way as did their ancestors they use Ancient sources of water and ancient farming techniques where the Arid lands of the Southwest will support some natural vegetation livestock is raised by ranchers cattle are more successfully grazed in the less arid Northern Uplands of the region some of the largest ranches on the continent are located in The Inter Mountain Highlands it has always been a problem producing sufficient food for even a sparse population on lands that are Aid and topographically unsuited for extensive farming a partial solution is irrigation water from the Region's few Rivers is channeled often over long distances to areas where soil and topography are favorable to farming for example Lush fields of sugar beets and potatoes as well as fields of Wheat and Alfalfa are part of a productive irrigated Oasis surrounding Salt Lake City Utah this is one of the Region's oldest cities like the other scattered Urban centers it grew to service the people and process the crops of its irrigated farming Oasis the people of Phoenix Arizona in the Salt River Valley Oasis processed the products of neighboring rural communities one of these products is cotton normally grown in a moist climate cotton is grown here on irrigated land extensive irrigation also makes possible the growing of truck crops Orchards on irrigated lands produce citrus fruits farther north apple and peach trees thrive on the irrigated lands of the Colombia River Valley Oasis the leading urban center of this Oasis is Yakama was Washington locally produced fruit is processed in its factories and still farther north in the province of British Colombia Factory workers in urban centers around Canada's Okanagan Lake handle the produce of this Oasis So within the Arid and semiarid lands of The Inter Mountain Highlands water that has been diverted for irrigation has helped establish agricultural oases Within These oases some of the Region's scattered Urban centers have developed near these cities are irrigation projects that are part of extensive Public Works among the largest is grand koui dam on the Columbia River the dam backs up Lake Roosevelt a 150 Mi long man-made Reservoir 4,000 miles of canals carry this water to the fields such Public Works have created jobs and helped Supply electrical power for the increasing population of the urban centers a more traditional form of employment mining has been responsible for the establishment of certain other Urban centers in a region where mining for gold and silver was once done on a small scale there are now huge mines producing large amounts of copper zinc and Lead ores stretching from Bingham Canyon Utah to Rebel Stoke British Columbia the Region's mines yield ores once considered too poor to be mined profitably improved smelting and refining methods together with electric power from the Region's dams have increased the yields from these ores metal production in The Inter Mountain Highlands is helping to meet the growing demands of industrial consumers for metallic minerals the mining of mineral fuels petroleum natural gas and coal is limited although enough fuels are produced to power the Region's Industries for the most part products manufactured by these industries contribute little to the economy of other regions of the continent Industries here generally manufactur products to fill the needs of consumers within the region for items such as concrete pipe Lumber and wood products and processed foods industrial expansion in the region is hampered by sparse population and Scattered Urban centers which mean limited consumer markets and high Transportation costs so the scattered Urban centers which are fewer and farther apart than in any other Continental region are generally located where mining or irrigated farming is possible the sparse permanent population of the region is concentrated in these communities yet the Arid lands contribute in a special way to the Intermountain economy by attracting tourists a growing source of income annually thousands come from around the world to admire the spectacular arid Landscapes of the region great tracks of land like the Grand Canyon in Arizona have been set aside as national parks this is Bryce Canyon in Utah with its magnificent Rock spires Zion National Park Utah is the setting for many western films whose locals often reflect the wide variety and topography of the region White Sands National Monument in New Mexico Mexico is a desert an artificial lake lake me behind Hoover Dam is the center of a great summer recreational area in the Northwest particularly in Canada Resorts feature winter sports the varied recreational areas attract many people and have expanded to care for the needs of growing numbers of tourists dud ranches are increasingly popular in the southwest other tourist attractions include numerous recreated or restored mining towns of the mid 19th century where the spirit of the wild adventurous boom towns of early mining days still lives this is a modern Boom Town Las Vegas Nevada like Phoenix Tucson and Reno it is a quiet community by day but at night it's a city of entertainment a blaze with light a vacationer city tourists the temporary population of The Inter Mountain Highlands are vitally important to the Region's economy recent economic developments like Government research centers have helped increase the permanent population these centers established in the wastelands of the region are attracting scientists and technicians who enjoy the pleasant yearr round climate and Open Spaces they live in newer housing developments in urban centers that were once nothing but unimproved desert lands and this is a relatively new kind of Housing Development a city designed for the retired and the elderly such communities are rapidly multiplying in the south West as they prove ideal for older citizens seeking to spend their retirement years in a warm dry climate these then are among the most recent residents of The Inter Mountain Highlands a vast region composed mainly of arid lands which pose many problems for large-scale development for human use it is a region that supports a relatively sparse population yet human endeavor and Technology have made some arid lands yield Agricultural and mineral wealth that