The settlement of America and the prehistory of the Indians. Settlement of North America by Europeans
So school years everyone knows that America settled by the inhabitants of Asia, who moved there in small groups through the Bering Isthmus (at the site of the current strait). They settled in the New World after a huge glacier began to melt 14-15 thousand years ago.
However, recent discoveries by archaeologists and geneticists have shaken this coherent theory. It turns out that America was settled more than once, it was done by some strange peoples, related almost to the Australians, and besides, it is not clear on what transport the first "Indians" reached the extreme south of the New World.
First went
Until the end of the 20th century, the “Clovis first” hypothesis dominated American anthropology, according to which it was this culture of ancient mammoth hunters that appeared 12.5-13.5 thousand years ago that was the most ancient in the New World.
According to this hypothesis, people who got to Alaska could survive on ice-free land, because there was quite a bit of snow, but then the path to the south was blocked by glaciers until a period of 14-16 thousand years ago, due to which settlement in the Americas began only after the end of the last glaciation.
The hypothesis was coherent and logical, but in the second half of the 20th century some discoveries were made that were incompatible with it. In the 1980s, Tom Dillehay, during excavations in Monte Verde (southern Chile), found that people had been there at least 14.5 thousand years ago. This caused a strong reaction from the scientific community: it turned out that the discovered culture was 1.5 thousand years older than Clovis in North America.
Most American anthropologists simply denied the scientific credibility of the find. Already during the excavations, Delai faced a powerful attack on his professional reputation, it came to the closure of funding for excavations and attempts to declare Monte Verde a phenomenon that was not related to archeology.
Only in 1997 did he manage to confirm the dating at 14,000 years, which caused a deep crisis in understanding the ways of settling America. At that time, there were no places of such ancient settlement in North America, which raised the question of where exactly people could get to Chile.
Recently, the Chileans suggested that Delea continue excavations. Influenced by the sad experience of twenty years of excuses, he initially refused. “I was fed up,” the scientist explained his position. However, in the end he agreed and found tools at the MVI site, undoubtedly man-made, whose antiquity was 14.5-19 thousand years.
History repeated itself: archaeologist Michael Waters immediately questioned the findings. In his opinion, the finds can be simple stones, remotely similar to tools, which means that the traditional chronology of the settlement of America is still out of danger.
Delays found "guns"
Seaside nomads
To understand how justified the criticism new job, we turned to the anthropologist Stanislav Drobyshevsky (Moscow State University). According to him, the tools found are indeed very primitive (processed on one side), but made from materials that are not found in Monte Verde. Quartz for a significant part of them had to be brought from afar, that is, such items cannot be of natural origin.
The scientist noted that the systematic criticism of discoveries of this kind is quite understandable: "When you teach in school and university that America was inhabited in a certain way, it is not so easy to give up this point of view."
Mammoths in Beringia
The conservatism of American researchers is also understandable: in North America, the recognized finds date back thousands of years after the period indicated by Delea. And what about the theory that before the melting of the glacier, the ancestors of the Indians blocked by it could not settle south?
However, Drobyshevsky notes, there is nothing supernatural in the more ancient dates of the Chilean sites. The islands along Canada's present-day Pacific coast were not glacier-covered, and there are remains of bears from ice age. This means that people could well spread along the coast, swimming across in boats and not going deep into the then inhospitable North America.
Australian footprint
However, the fact that the first reliable finds of the ancestors of the Indians were made in Chile does not end with the oddities of the settlement of America. Not so long ago, it turned out that the genes of the Aleuts and groups of Brazilian Indians have features characteristic of the genes of the Papuans and Australian Aborigines.
As the Russian anthropologist emphasizes, the data of geneticists are well combined with the results of the analysis of skulls previously found in South America and having features close to Australian ones.
In his opinion, most likely, the Australian trace in South America is associated with a common ancestral group, part of which moved to Australia tens of thousands of years ago, while the other migrated along the coast of Asia to the north, up to Beringia, and from there reached the South American continent. .
The face of Luzia was the name given to a woman who lived 11,000 years ago and whose remains were discovered in a Brazilian cave.
As if that weren't enough, genetic studies in 2013 showed that Brazilian Botacudo Indians are close in mitochondrial DNA to Polynesians and part of the inhabitants of Madagascar. Unlike the Australoids, the Polynesians could well have reached South America by sea. At the same time, traces of their genes in eastern Brazil, and not on the Pacific coast, are not so easy to explain.
It turns out that a small group of Polynesian navigators, for some reason, did not return after landing, but overcame the Andean highlands, which were unusual for them, in order to settle in Brazil. One can only guess about the motives for such a long and difficult overland journey for typical sailors.
So, a small part of the American natives have traces of genes that are very far from the genome of the rest of the Indians, which contradicts the idea of a single group of ancestors from Beringia.
good old
However, there are more radical deviations from the idea of settling America in one wave and only after the melting of the glacier. In the 1970s, the Brazilian archaeologist Nieda Guidon discovered the cave site of Pedra Furada (Brazil), where, in addition to primitive tools, there were many bonfires, the age of which radiocarbon analysis showed from 30 to 48 thousand years.
It is easy to understand that such figures caused great rejection by North American anthropologists. The same Deley criticized radiocarbon dating, noting that traces could remain after a fire of natural origin.
Gidon reacted sharply to such opinions of her colleagues from the United States in Latin American: “Fire of natural origin cannot arise deep in a cave. American archaeologists need to write less and dig more.”
Drobyshevsky emphasizes that although no one has yet been able to challenge the dating of the Brazilians, the doubts of the Americans are quite understandable. If people were in Brazil 40 thousand years ago, then where did they go then and where are the traces of their stay in other parts of the New World?
Toba volcano eruption
The history of mankind knows cases when the first colonizers of new lands almost completely died out, leaving no significant traces. This is what happened to Homo sapiens who settled in Asia. Their first traces there date back to the period up to 125 thousand years ago, however, genetic data say that all of humanity descended from a population that emerged from Africa, much later - only 60 thousand years ago.
There is a hypothesis that the reason for this could be the extinction of the then Asian part as a result of the eruption of the Toba volcano 70 thousand years ago. The energy of this event is considered to exceed the combined yield of all the combined nuclear weapons ever created by mankind.
However, even an event more powerful than a nuclear war is difficult to explain the disappearance of significant human populations. Some researchers note that neither Neanderthals, nor Denisovans, nor even Homo floresiensis, who lived relatively close to Toba, died out from the explosion.
And judging by individual finds in South India, local Homo sapiens did not die out at that time, traces of which are not observed in the genes of modern people for some reason. Thus, the question of where the people who settled 40 thousand years ago in South America could have gone remains open and to some extent casts doubt on the most ancient finds of the Pedra Furada type.
Genetics vs genetics
Not only archaeological data often come into conflict, but also such seemingly reliable evidence as genetic markers. This summer, Maanasa Raghavan's group at the Natural History Museum in Copenhagen announced that genetic data disproved the idea that more than one wave of ancient settlers participated in settling the Americas.
According to them, genes close to Australians and Papuans appeared in the New World later than 9,000 years ago, when America was already inhabited by immigrants from Asia.
At the same time, the work of another group of geneticists led by Pontus Skoglund came out, which, based on the same material, made the opposite statement: a certain ghost population appeared in the New World either 15 thousand years ago, or even earlier, and, perhaps, settled there before the Asian wave of migration, from which the ancestors of the vast majority of modern Indians originated.
According to them, relatives Australian aborigines crossed the Bering Strait only to be displaced by the subsequent wave of "Indian" migration, whose representatives came to dominate both Americas, pushing the few descendants of the first wave into the Amazon jungle and the Aleutian Islands.
Ragnavan's reconstruction of the settlement of the Americas
Even if geneticists cannot agree among themselves on whether the “Indian” or “Australian” components became the first natives of America, it is even more difficult for everyone else to understand this issue. And yet, something can be said about this: skulls similar in shape to the Papuan ones have been found on the territory of modern Brazil for more than 10 thousand years.
The scientific picture of the settlement of the Americas is very complex, and at the present stage it is changing significantly. It is clear that groups of different origin participated in the settlement of the New World - at least two, not counting a small Polynesian component that appeared later than the others.
It is also obvious that at least part of the settlers were able to colonize the continent despite the glacier - bypassing it in boats or on ice. At the same time, the pioneers subsequently moved along the coast, quite quickly reaching the south of modern Chile. The early Americans appear to have been highly mobile, expansive, and well versed in the use of water transport.
Alexander Berezin
The history of the country is inextricably linked with its literature. And thus, studying, it is impossible not to touch American history. Each piece belongs to one or the other. historical period. Thus, in his Washington, Irving talks about the Dutch pioneers who settled along the Hudson River, mentions seven years war for independence, the English King George III and the country's first president, George Washington. Setting as my goal to draw parallel connections between literature and history, in this introductory article I want to say a few words about how it all began, because those historical moments that will be discussed are not reflected in any works.
Colonization of America 15th - 18th century (brief summary)
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
An American philosopher, George SantayanaIf you are asking yourself why you need to know history, then know that those who do not remember their history are doomed to repeat its mistakes.
So, the history of America began relatively recently, when in the 16th century on discovered by Columbus new continent arrived people. These people were of different skin colors and different incomes, and the reasons that prompted them to come to New World were also different. Some were attracted by the desire to start new life, others sought to get rich, others fled from government persecution or religious persecution. However, all these people representing different cultures and nationalities, were united by the desire to change something in their lives and, most importantly, they were ready to take risks.
Inspired by the idea to create new world practically from scratch, the pioneers succeeded in this. Fantasy and dream become reality; they, like Julius Caesar, they came, they saw and they conquered.
I came, I saw, I conquered.
Julius Caesar
Back in those days, America represented abundance. natural resources and a vast expanse of uncultivated land inhabited by a friendly local population.
If you look a little more back in time, then, presumably, the first people who appeared on the American continent were from Asia. According to Steve Wingand, this happened about 14 thousand years ago.
The first Americans probably wandered over from Asia about 14,000 years ago.
Steve Wiengand
Over the next 5 centuries, these tribes settled on two continents and, depending on the natural landscape and climate, began to engage in hunting, cattle breeding or agriculture.
In 985 AD, the warlike Vikings arrived on the continent. For about 40 years they tried to gain a foothold in this country, but yielding in superiority to the indigenous people, in the end, they abandoned their attempts.
Then, in 1492, Columbus appeared, followed by other Europeans, who were attracted to the continent by greed and simple adventurism.
Columbus Day is celebrated on October 12 in America in 34 states. Christopher Columbus discovered America in 1492.
Of the Europeans, the Spaniards were the first to arrive on the continent. Christopher Columbus, being an Italian by birth, having received a refusal from his king, turned to the Spanish king Ferdinand with a request to finance his expedition to Asia. It is not surprising that when, instead of Asia, Columbus discovered America, all of Spain rushed to this outlandish country. France and England followed the Spaniards. Thus began the colonization of America.
Spain got a head start in the Americas, mainly because the aforementioned Italian named Columbus was working for the Spanish and got them enthusiastic about it early on. But while the Spanish had a head start, other European countries eagerly sought to catch up.
(Source: U.S. history for dummies by S. Wiegand)
At first, meeting no resistance from the local population, the Europeans behaved like aggressors, killing and enslaving the Indians. The Spanish conquerors, who plundered and burned Indian villages and killed their inhabitants, were especially cruel. Following the Europeans, diseases also came to the continent. So the measles and smallpox epidemics gave the process of extermination of the local population a stunning speed.
But from the end of the 16th century, powerful Spain began to lose its influence on the continent, which was greatly facilitated by the weakening of its power, both on land and at sea. And the dominant position in the American colonies passed to England, Holland and France.
Henry Hudson founded the first Dutch settlement in 1613 on Manhattan Island. This colony, located along the Hudson River, was called New Netherland, and its center was the city of New Amsterdam. However, later this colony was captured by the British and transferred to the Duke of York. Accordingly, the city was renamed New York. The population of this colony was mixed, but although the British prevailed, the influence of the Dutch remained quite strong. Dutch words have entered the American language, and the appearance of some places reflects the "Dutch architectural style» — high buildings with sloping roofs.
The colonialists managed to gain a foothold on the continent, for which they thank God every fourth Thursday of November. Thanksgiving is a holiday to celebrate their first year in a new place.
If the first settlers chose the north of the country mainly for religious reasons, then the south for economic reasons. Without ceremony with the local population, the Europeans quickly pushed him to unsuitable lands for life or simply killed them.
The practical English were especially firmly established. Quickly realizing what rich resources this continent conceals, they began to grow tobacco in the southern part of the country, and then cotton. And to get even more profit, the British brought slaves from Africa to cultivate plantations.
Summing up, I will say that in the 15th century Spanish, English, French and other settlements appeared on the American continent, which began to be called colonies, and their inhabitants became colonists. At the same time, a struggle for territories began between the invaders, and especially strong hostilities were fought between the French and English colonists.
Anglo-French wars were also going on in Europe. But that's another story …
Having won on all fronts, the British finally established their superiority on the continent and began to call themselves Americans. Moreover, in 1776, 13 British colonies declared their independence from the English monarchy, which was then headed by George III.
July 4 - Americans celebrate Independence Day. On this day in 1776, the Second Continental Congress, held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, adopted the United States Declaration of Independence.
The war lasted 7 years (1775 - 1783) and after the victory, the English pioneers, having managed to unite all the colonies, founded a state with a completely new political system, whose president was the brilliant politician and commander George Washington. This state was called the United States of America.
George Washington (1789-1797) - the first president of the United States.
It is this transitional period in American history that Washington Irving describes in his work
And we will continue the topic Colonization of America" in the next article. Stay with us!
"Canada" - The volume of falling water reaches 5700 or more m? / s. Ottawa. Ottawa is the capital of Canada. Fauna. It borders the USA, Denmark and France. Area - 9984 thousand square meters. km. (second place in the world). Until 1855 it was called Bytown. Heather, sedge, shrub birch and willow grow here. These include the Notre Dame mountains, the Shikshok massif, the Kibkid mountains.
"Discovery of North America" - Negroids. Mongoloids. Mulattos. Population. Caucasians. Key dates geographical discoveries in America. People from Europe and Africa. Eskimos. Metis. The past. Traveling North America. Indigenous. Sambo. Indians. History of discovery and research.
"Mainland North America" - Task: determine the average July temperature for all climatic zones. The Cordilleras are rich in both sedimentary and igneous minerals. Christopher Columbus - Bahamas and Antilles, Caribbean Sea. In summer, the temperature depends on the latitude of the area and increases when moving from north to south.
"North America Geography" - "Guiana Triangle". dominant religions. Hinduism, Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism. Latin America. Northern part of the USA. Catholicism, Protestantism. Colonization - development Colonists - settlers. Mesoamerica. The name of the subregion. Traditional beliefs, Protestantism. Geography of cultures of modern America.
"North America" - The peoples and countries of North America. Most of the residents speak English. to the North basin Arctic Ocean applies major river Mackenzie. West. The Colorado River belongs to the Pacific Ocean. The cave contains underground rivers connected to the Green River system. In Canada - in English and French, in Mexico and Central America - mainly in Spanish.
Natural Areas of North America - Working with the Geo 7 Disk 1. Open the Geo 7 folder on your desktop. Determine geographical position natural zones. Main content: Climate. Author: teacher of geography of the municipal educational institution "Poyarkovskaya secondary school No. 2" Gladchenko G.V. Tundra-marsh. Group work. Wolverine, skunk, raccoon, gray squirrel. Soils. Chestnut chernozems.
There are 11 presentations in total in the topic
abstract
on the topic: "North America"
Geographical position
From the history of the discovery and exploration of the mainland North America is the third mainland of our planet in terms of area, which is 20.4 million km2. It is similar in outline to South America, but the widest part of the continent lies in temperate latitudes, which has a significant impact on its nature.
Determine the features of the geographical location of North America yourself. Draw preliminary conclusions about the nature of the mainland based on geographical location data.
The coasts of North America are strongly dissected. The northern and eastern shores are especially indented, and the western and southern ones are much less. The different degree of indentation of the coasts is explained mainly by the movements lithospheric plates. In the north of the mainland is the vast Canadian Arctic Archipelago, as if frozen into the ice of the Arctic. The Hudson Bay extends into the land, covered with ice for most of the year.
The Spanish conquistadors, as in South America, were the first Europeans to discover southern territories North America. In 1519, the campaign of E. Cortes began, which ended with the conquest of the Aztec state, located where modern Mexico is located. Following the discoveries of the Spaniards, expeditions of other European countries were equipped to the shores of the New World. At the end of the XV century. John Cabot, an Italian in English service, discovered the island of Newfoundland and the coast of the Labrador Peninsula. English navigators and travelers G. Hudson (XVII century), A. Mackenzie (XVIII century) and others explored the northern and eastern parts of the mainland. At the beginning of the twentieth century. Norwegian polar explorer R. Amundsen was the first to sail along the northern coast of the mainland, and established the geographic position of the Earth's North Magnetic Pole.
Russian exploration of Northwest America. Russian travelers made a great contribution to the study of the mainland. Independently of other Europeans, they discovered and mastered large expanses of the northwestern part of the continent. Then the map of this part of American soil was still being born. The first on it were the Russian names of the islands discovered in the middle of the 16th century. during the voyage of Vitus Bering and Alexei Chirikov. On two sailing ships in 1741, these Russian navigators passed along the Aleutian Islands, approached the coast of Alaska, and landed on the islands.
Kupets G.I. Shelikhov, who was called the Russian Columbus, created the first Russian settlements in America. He founded a trading company, promoted the fur trade and sea animal in the northern islands of the Pacific Ocean and in Alaska G.I. Shelikhov conducted active trade with local residents and contributed to the exploration and development of Alaska - Russian America.
Russian settlements were established in most of the north west coast up to 380 s. sh., where the fort was built - a Russian fortress on the Pacific coast. This fortress in the XIX century. they often visited expeditions that Russia equipped to study the World Ocean and hitherto unknown lands. The memory of Russian explorers of Northwest America is kept by the names of geographical objects on the map: Chirikov Island, Shelikhov Strait, Velyamnov Volcano, etc. Russian possessions in Alaska were sold to the United States of America in 1867.
Relief and minerals
In the structure of the surface of the mainland, plains predominate, mountains occupy a third. The relief of the eastern part of the mainland was formed on a platform, the surface of which long time collapsed and levelled.
The relief of the northern part of the mainland is dominated by low and elevated plains composed of ancient crystalline rocks. Low hills overgrown with pines and spruces alternate here with narrow and long lake basins, some of which have bizarre coastlines. Many thousands of years ago, a huge glacier covered most of these plains. Traces of his activities are visible everywhere. These are smoothed rocks, flat tops of hills, heaps of boulders, hollows plowed by the glacier. To the south are the rolling Central Plains, covered with glacial deposits, and the flat Mississippi Lowland, most of which is formed by river sediment.
To the west lie the Great Plains, which rise like majestic steps of a gigantic staircase to the Cordillera.
These plains are composed of thick strata of sedimentary rocks of continental and marine origin. The rivers flowing down from the mountains cut deep into them and formed deep valleys.
In the east of the mainland are the low mountains of Appalachia. They are badly destroyed, crossed by the valleys of numerous rivers. The slopes of the mountains are gentle, the peaks are rounded, the height is a little over 2000 m. The Cordilleras stretch along the western coast. The mountains are extremely beautiful. They are dissected by deep river valleys, which are called canyons. Deep depressions are adjacent to mighty ridges and volcanoes. In the northern part of the Cordillera, their highest peak rises - Mount McKinley (6194 m), covered with snow and glaciers. Some glaciers in this part of the Cordillera slide down from the mountains into the sea. Cordillera formed at the junction of two lithospheric plates, in a compression band earth's crust, which is crossed here by many faults. They start at the ocean floor and end up on land. The movements of the earth's crust lead to strong earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, which often bring a lot of grief and suffering to people.
Minerals in North America are found in almost all of its territory. Deposits of ores of metals predominate in the northern part of the plains: iron, copper, nickel, etc. The sedimentary rocks of the Central and Great Plains, as well as the Mississippi Lowland, contain a lot of oil, natural gas, and coal. In the Appalachians and their foothills lie iron ore and coal. The Cordilleras are rich in both sedimentary (oil, natural gas, coal), and igneous minerals (non-ferrous metal ores, gold, uranium ores, etc.).
Climate
The position of North America in all climatic zones, except for the equatorial one, creates great differences in its climate. Other factors also have a significant impact on the climate.
The surface of the land and the ocean affects the properties of air masses, their humidity, direction of movement, temperature and other properties in different ways. The Hudsons and the Gulf of Mexico, which extend deep into the land, have a significant but different effect on the climate.
Affects the climate and the nature of the relief of the mainland. For example, in temperate latitudes, sea air coming from the west meets the Cordillera on its way. Rising up, it cools and gives a large amount of precipitation to the coast.
The absence of mountain ranges in the north creates conditions for the penetration of arctic air masses to the mainland. They can spread to the Gulf of Mexico, and tropical air masses sometimes freely penetrate far to the north of the mainland. Large differences in temperature and pressure between these masses create conditions for the formation strong winds- hurricanes. Quite often vortices appear unexpectedly. These powerful atmospheric tornadoes bring a lot of trouble: they destroy buildings, break trees, lift and carry large objects. Natural disasters are also associated with other processes in the atmosphere.
In the central part of the mainland, droughts, dry winds, dust storms are frequent, carrying particles of fertile soil from the fields. There are intrusions into the subtropics of cold air from the Arctic, snow falls.
The northern part of the mainland lies in the arctic climate zone. Cold arctic air dominates here throughout the year. The lowest temperatures in winter are observed in Greenland (-44-50 °C). Fog, heavy cloud cover, snow storms are frequent. Summer is cold, with negative temperatures. Under these conditions, glaciers form. For subarctic belt characteristic harsh winter, which is replaced by a cool summer with cloudy, rainy weather.
Most of the mainland from 600 to 400 s.l. lies in the temperate zone. Here the winter is cold and relatively warm summer. It snows in winter, it rains in summer, but overcast weather quickly replaced by warm and sunny. Significant climatic differences are inherent in this belt, which is associated with the characteristics of the underlying surface. In the eastern part of the belt, winters are cold and snowy, and summers are warm; Fogs are frequent on the coast. In the central part of the belt, the weather conditions are different. In winter, snowfalls and snow storms are not uncommon, frosts are replaced by thaws. Summers are warm, with rare showers, droughts and dry winds. In the West temperate zone maritime climate. The average temperature in winter is about 0°C, and in summer it rises only to +10-12°C. Wet, windy weather lasts almost the whole year, the wind carries sleet and rain from the ocean. The climate features of three more belts are already familiar to you.
Climatic conditions in most of the mainland are favorable for growing various crops: in the temperate zone - wheat, corn; in the subtropical - rice, cotton, citrus; in the tropics - coffee, sugar cane, bananas. Two, and sometimes three crops a year are harvested here.
Like South, North America is rich in water. You already know that their features depend on the relief and climate. To prove this dependence and to find out the differences between the waters of North America and the waters of South America, conduct another study using maps.
The most big river North America - the Mississippi with a tributary of the Missouri, collecting water from the Appalachians, the Central and Great Plains. This is one of the most long rivers on Earth and the most water-bearing river of the continent. The main role in its nutrition is played by rains. Part of the water the river receives from the melting of snow on the plains and in the mountains. The Mississippi smoothly carries its waters across the plains. In the lower reaches, it winds, forms many islands in the channel. When snow melts in the Appalachians or rain falls on the Great Plains, the Mississippi overflows its banks, flooding fields and villages. Dams and diversion channels built on the river have greatly reduced flood damage. In terms of its role in the life of the American people, the Mississippi has the same significance as the Volga for the Russian people. No wonder the Indians who once lived on its banks called the Mississippi "the father of the waters."
The rivers flowing from the eastern slopes of the Appalachians are swift, full-flowing, and have large reserves of energy. Many hydroelectric stations have been built on them. At the mouths of many of them are located big cities-ports.
A huge water system is formed by the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River, which connects them to the Atlantic Ocean.
The Niagapa River "sawed through" the hilly limestone upland and connected the lakes of Zree and Ontario. Breaking off a steep ledge, it forms the world-famous Niagara Falls. As the water erodes the limestone, the waterfall slowly recedes towards Lake Erie. Human intervention is needed to preserve this unique object of nature.
In the north of the mainland flows the Mackenzie River, which the Indians call " big river". This river receives most of its water from melting snow. Swamps and lakes give it a lot of water, so that in summer the river is full of water. Most year Mackenzie is icebound.
There are many lakes in the northern part of the mainland. Their hollows were formed as a result of faults in the earth's crust, then they were deepened by a glacier. One of the large and beautiful lakes of this region is Winnipeg, which in the language of the Indians means "water".
Short, swift rivers flow from the Cordillera to the Pacific Ocean. The largest of them are Columbia and Colorado. They start in the eastern part of the mountains, flow through the inner plateaus, forming deep canyons, and, again cutting through the mountain ranges, give water to the ocean. The Grand Canyon on the Colorado River, which stretches for 320 km along the river, has become world famous. This huge valley has steep stepped slopes, composed of rocks of different ages and colors.
There are many lakes of volcanic and glacial origin in the Cordillera. On the inner plateaus there are shallow saline lakes. These are the remains of large reservoirs that existed here for more humid climate. Many lakes are covered with a crust of salt. The largest of them is the Great Salt Lake.
Despite the richness of the mainland in waters, in some areas there is not enough fresh natural water. This is due to the uneven distribution of water, as well as their increasing use in industry, for irrigation, and for the domestic needs of large cities.
natural areas
In North America, natural areas are unusually located. In the north of the mainland, they, according to the law of zonality, are elongated in strips from west to east, and in the central and southern parts, the natural zones are located in the meridional direction. This distribution of natural zones is a feature of North America, which is determined mainly by its topography and prevailing winds.
In the zone Arctic deserts, covered with snow and ice, in a short summer in some places on a rocky surface sparse vegetation of mosses and lichens is formed.
The tundra zone occupies the northern coast of the mainland and the islands adjacent to it. Tundra is called treeless expanses of the subarctic belt, covered with moss-lichen and shrub vegetation on poor tundra-marsh soils. These soils are formed in a harsh climate and permafrost. The natural complexes of the tundra of North America have much in common with the complexes of the tundra of Eurasia. In addition to mosses and lichens, sedges grow in the tundra, and dwarf willows and birches grow in elevated areas, and there are many berry shrubs here. Tundra plants serve as food for many animals. A musk ox has been preserved here since the ice age - a large herbivore with thick and long hair protecting him from the cold. The musk ox is small and is under protection. Herds of caribou reindeer feed on lichen pastures. Of the predators in the tundra, arctic foxes and wolves live. Many birds nest on the islands and coast, on numerous lakes. Walruses and seals off the coast, caribou in the tundra attract many hunters. Excessive hunting causes great harm to the animal world of the tundra.
To the south, the tundra passes into light forest - forest tundra, which is replaced by taiga. The taiga is a zone of the temperate zone, the vegetation of which is dominated by coniferous trees with an admixture of small-leaved species. Soils in the taiga are formed under conditions of cold snowy winter and humid cool summers. The remains of plants in such conditions decompose slowly, little humus is formed. Under its thin layer lies a whitish layer, from which the humus has been washed out. The color of this layer is similar to the color of ash, and therefore such soils are called podzolic.
Black and white spruce, balsam fir, American larch, and various types of pine grow in the American taiga. Predators live: black bear, Canadian lynx, American marten, skunk; herbivores: elks, deer wapiti. IN national parks preserved wood bison.
The zone of mixed forests has a transitional character from taiga to broad-leaved forests. This is how a European traveler describes the nature of these forests: “The great variety of species is striking ... I distinguish around more than ten species of deciduous and several coniferous. A wonderful company gathered: oaks, hazel, beeches, aspens, ash, linden, birch, spruce, fir, pine and some other species unknown to me. All of them are related to our European trees, but still somewhat different - in various small things, in the pattern of foliage, but above all in the pulse of life - some stronger, joyful, lush.
Soils under mixed and broad-leaved forests are gray forest and brown forest. They contain more humus than the podzolic soils of the taiga. It was their fertility that led to the reduction of these forests in most of the continent, to their replacement with artificial tree plantings. Only small forests in the Appalachians.
IN deciduous forests grow beeches, dozens of species of oaks, lindens, maples, deciduous magnolias, chestnuts and walnuts. Wild apple, cherry and pear trees form an undergrowth in them.
The forest zone on the slopes of the Cordillera differs from the forest zone on the plains. Plant and animal species are different here. For example, in the subtropical mountain forests on the Pacific coast, sequoias grow - coniferous trees over 100 m high, up to 9 m in diameter.
The steppe zone stretched from north to south in the center of the mainland from the Canadian taiga to the Gulf of Mexico. Steppes are treeless spaces of the temperate and subtropical zones, covered with grassy vegetation on chernozem and chestnut soils. The abundance of heat here creates favorable conditions for the growth of herbs, among which cereals predominate (bearded vulture, bison grass, fescue). The transitional strip between the forests and steppes of North America is called the prairie. They are everywhere changed by man - plowed up or turned into pastures for livestock. The development of the prairies also influenced them animal world. Bison almost disappeared, coyotes (steppe wolves) and foxes became less.
On the interior plateaus of the Cordillera lie the deserts of the temperate zone; the main plants here are black wormwood and quinoa. IN subtropical deserts Cacti grow in the Mexican highlands.
Changing nature under the influence of human activities. Economic activity affected all components of nature, and since they are closely interconnected, the natural complexes as a whole change. Especially great changes in nature in the United States. Soils, vegetation and wildlife were mostly affected. Cities, roads, strips of land along gas pipelines, power lines, around airfields take up more and more space.
Scientists have come to the conclusion that the active impact of man on nature leads to an increase in the frequency of natural disasters. These include dust storms, floods, forest fires.
In North America, laws have been passed to protect and restore nature. Status is being recorded individual components nature, destroyed complexes are restored (forests are planted, lakes are cleaned of pollution, etc.). In order to protect nature on the continent, reserves and several dozen national parks. Millions of citizens flock to these wonderful corners of nature every year. The influx of tourists has set the task of creating new reserves in order to save rare species of plants and animals from extinction.
North America is home to one of the most famous, the world's first national yellowstone park, founded in 1872. It is located in the Cordillera and is famous for hot springs, geysers, petrified trees.
Population
The majority of the population of North America are from different countries Europe, mainly from the UK. They are US Americans and Anglo-Canadians, they speak English. The descendants of the French who settled in Canada speak French.
The indigenous people of the mainland are Indians and Eskimos. They inhabited North America long before its discovery by Europeans. These peoples belong to the American branch of the Mongoloid race. Scientists have established that Indians and Eskimos come from Eurasia.
Indians are more numerous (about 15 million). The name "American Indians" has nothing to do with India, it is the result of a historical mistake by Columbus, who was convinced that he had discovered India. Before the arrival of Europeans, Indian tribes were engaged in hunting, fishing, and collecting wild fruits. The main part of the tribes was concentrated in southern Mexico (Aztecs, Maya), where they formed their own states, distinguished by a relatively developed economy and culture. They were engaged in agriculture - they grew corn, tomatoes and other cultivated plants later introduced to Europe.
On the map “population density and peoples”, determine where the Eskimos and Indians live, what part of the mainland is inhabited by Americans, Anglo- and French-Canadians, blacks.
With the advent of European colonizers, the fate of the Indians was tragic: they were exterminated, driven from fertile lands, they died from diseases introduced by Europeans.
In the XVII-XVIII centuries. Negroes were brought from Africa to work on plantations in North America. They were sold into slavery to planters. Now blacks live mostly in cities.
The population of North America is about 406 million people. Its location depends primarily on the history of the settlement of the mainland and natural conditions. The most populated southern half of the mainland. The population density is high in the eastern part, where the first settlers from European countries settled. The largest cities are located in this part of North America: New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Montreal, etc.
The northern territories of the mainland, unsuitable for life and occupied by tundra and taiga forests, are rarely populated. mountainous areas with their arid climate and rugged topography are also sparsely populated. In the steppe zone, where fertile soils, a lot of heat and moisture, the population density is much higher.
North America is home to the most developed country in the world, the United States of America. Their territory consists of three parts far removed from each other. Two of them are located on the mainland - the main territory and in the northwest - Alaska. The Hawaiian Islands lie in the central Pacific Ocean. In addition, the United States owns a number of island possessions in the Pacific Ocean.
To the north of the mainland of the United States is another large country - Canada, and to the south - Mexico. There are several small states in Central America and the islands of the Caribbean Sea: Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Jamaica, etc. The Republic of Cuba is located on the island of Cuba and the small islands adjacent to it.
List of used literature
1. “Geography of continents and oceans. Grade 7 ": textbook. for general education institutions / V.A. Korinskaya, I.V. Dushina, V.A. Shchenev. - 15th ed., stereotype. – M.: Bustard, 2008.
The discovery of America radically influenced the worldview and life of Europe. Not only tobacco and potatoes entered the life of a European, but also new diseases.
New Horizons
From the time the West Indies was recognized as a new continent, European ideas about geography the globe changed greatly. In addition to the fact that the inhabited world turned out to be immensely huge, Europe learned about the existence of other peoples whose way of life and mentality were completely different from the usual European values.
Before as indigenous people America turned out to be "cultivated" by Europe, the Old and New Worlds had to endure the conflict of two civilizations that had developed until then in different cultural and temporal dimensions.
Market expansion
By the end of the 15th century, European trade was in serious decline. The dominance of the Genoese and Venetian merchants in the Mediterranean, the capture of Central Asia and the Balkans by the Turks, as well as the restoration of the monopoly of the Egyptian sultans over the Red Sea deprived Europe of full access to goods from the East.
In addition, Europe experienced a shortage of minted coins, which, through Italian merchants in in large numbers went to the East.
The development of America made it possible to obtain a new source of gold and silver inflow to Europe, and at the same time - a variety of goods that had not been seen before in the Old World. In the future, the American continent became a vast market for manufactured goods from Europe.
Inflation
Already by the middle of the 16th century, an excess of gold and silver imported from overseas to Europe caused a serious depreciation of money. The volume of coins in circulation increased 4 times. The sharp fall in the value of gold and silver led to higher prices for agricultural and industrial products, which by the end of the century had tripled or more.
Inflation also had a downside. It contributed to the strengthening of the position of the emerging bourgeoisie, the growth of its income, as well as an increase in the number of manufacturing workers. This paved the way for the rapid industrial development of the most powerful European countries.
Industrial Revolution
If Portugal and Spain, when developing the American market, primarily benefited from trade, then England, France and the Netherlands increased their production capacity. By exchanging manufactured goods for overseas gold and silver, the bourgeoisie rapidly increased its capital.
England, intensively developing its fleet, pressed its competitors with sea routes, and by the middle of the 17th century, it had completely established complete control over the colonies in North America. From the New World, raw materials and agricultural products were imported to England, and English manufactured goods were delivered to America - from metal buttons to fishing boats.
The rapid growth of production eventually served as the basis for the industrial revolution in England.
Change of economic center
The discovery of America seriously affected the redistribution of economic power in Europe. Following the movement of the main trade routes from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic to the countries Atlantic coast Europe passes and the center of economic life.
The Italian city-republics are gradually losing their former power: they are being replaced by new centers of world trade - Lisbon, Seville and Antwerp. By the middle of the 16th century, the latter occupies a leading position in the trade and financial market: weaving factories, sugar factories, breweries are being built there, diamond processing enterprises are emerging, stock exchanges are opening. The population of Antwerp by 1565 exceeded 100 thousand inhabitants - an impressive figure for Europe of those years.
Colonialism and the slave trade
Quite a bit of time passed after the caravels of Columbus landed on the shores of the New World, and already the largest maritime powers began the colonial redistribution of the world. The first victim on the long path of European expansion was the island of Hispaniola (now Haiti), declared by the Spaniards as their property.
Along with the development economic life in America with new force the slave trade emerged. In Europe, the slave trade became a sort of hereditary royal privilege. With the expansion of the geography of the trading companies of Portugal, Spain, France and England, supplies to the slave markets of slaves increased, primarily from the African continent.
New cultures
The lands of America became an agricultural base, from where crops unknown in the Old World were imported to Europe - cocoa, vanilla, beans, pumpkin, cassava, avocado, pineapple. And some exotic cultures have successfully taken root in Europe: we can no longer imagine our diet without zucchini, sunflower, corn, potatoes and tomatoes.
However, the real conqueror of Europe was tobacco. It began to grow in Spain, France, Switzerland, Belgium and England. Government very quickly looked into new culture perspective and monopolized the tobacco market.
It is curious that Columbus was the first European to try tobacco, and the first victim of smoking was a member of his team, Rodrigo de Jerez, and a political victim. The Catholic Church incriminated Sherry, who was blowing smoke from his mouth, with a connection with the devil and initiated the first anti-smoking campaign in history.
Pest
When Columbus first brought the wild potato to Europe, its small, watery tubers were of little use for human consumption. Centuries of breeding work have made the potato edible: it was in this form that he returned to America.
But in the New World, not only the colonists liked the potato, but also the Colorado potato beetle. The population of the once harmless insect has grown so much that it became crowded within the borders of the American continent.
The pest reached Europe only in the 20th century, but in a matter of decades it firmly established itself in the potato fields of the Old World, and in 1940 it also came to the USSR. Methods of dealing with the Colorado potato beetle were constantly improved, but the insect developed immunity to them with amazing constancy.
Disease
It is known that the Spanish conquistadors awarded the Indians with many diseases that the body of the natives simply could not cope with. But the Indians did not remain in debt. Together with the ships of Columbus, syphilis entered Europe.
The first syphilis epidemic that swept Europe in 1495 reduced the population of the Old World by 5 million people. The further spread of the exotic disease brought disasters to the European peoples comparable to epidemics of smallpox, measles and plague.
Model of a multinational society
After the Europeans set foot on the lands of the New World, they had to learn to live in a multinational society: on the one hand, this is the neighborhood in the new conditions of European peoples - the British, Spaniards, French, and on the other hand, the relationship of the colonialists with the indigenous people of America and, later, Africa.
The model of a multinational society has undergone major changes in America, largely overcoming the costs of racial and religious intolerance. Europe faced the problems of a multi-ethnic society later, but the countries of both Americas, and, first of all, the United States, acted as a model for the neighborhood of such dissimilar peoples.
Once upon a time, Europeans settled in the New World in search of wealth and a better life, centuries later, Europe will turn into a longed-for paradise for millions of migrants.