The Great Lakes

The Ohio river forms the southern border of the region, the Mississippi river – its western border. Lakes Superior, Huron, Michigan and Erie form the Northern part of the region.

Part of the border between the United States of America and Canada is formed by four of the five Great Lakes (Lake Superior, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, Lake Ontario.

The largest of them is Lake Superior, which as its name implies, is highest above the sea. South of it is Lake Michigan, situated entirely on the territory of the USA. To the east is Lake Huron, from the southern end of which the St. Clair River leads into Lake Erie.

From lake Erie the Niagara river rushes over the famous Niagara Falls into Lake Ontario, out of which flows the St. Lawrence river.

All the lakes are connected by canals or navigable channels to form not only the largest body fresh water in the world, but also the most important unit of inland waterway. The Lakes take a very important place in the economic life of both the USA and of Canada. From Chicago at the southwest end of Lake Michigan, railway lines radiate in all directions – across the Rockies to the Pacific Coast, southwards following the line of Mississippi to New Orleans.

Chicago is the largest city in the region and the second largest city in the country. Chicago is located on Lake Michigan. It is also tied to the Mississippi River by way of canals. Chicago is also an industrial and commercial city dominating the five industrial midwestern states east of the Mississippi. Each of these five states, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin and Ohio, include huge, sparsely-populated open spaces. The biggest cities (next to Chicago) is Detroit, Michigan, home of the great, but now somewhat diminished American gods, Ford, General Motors and Chrysler.

Another important port is Buffalo, at the northern end of Lake Erie. It's the 4^th largest port and the seventh industrial city in the US. The lakes can only be used between the months of April and December, as they freeze in winter.

The region's factories produce steel, heavy machinery, farm equipment and automobiles.

The automobile industry was once concentrated in Detroit, but now it has decentralized to other cities within this region. Cars are assembled and parts are made in such cities as Arkon, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Youngstown, Milwaukee and Indianapolis.

In recent years, industrial growth has declined in the Great Lakes region. Partly, this happens because of the region's dependence on heavy industry while the greatest industrial growth is taking place in the new and newest industries, such as electronics. Another important reason is growing competition from foreign countries, esp. Japan. Competition is especially great in the areas of automobiles and steel.

It is also an important area for farming. Corn, wheat, soybeans and dairy products are the most important agricultural items. Wisconsin is the leading dairy state in the region.

The plains

Further west still, the great plain which occupies the middle of the USA from Canada down to Texas is empty, featureless territory, where one can drive for hours without much change of scene, and where the vastness of America is palpable. The four states forming the heart of the plains, North and South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas have a combined area nearly as great as France and Italy together, and only 5 million inhabitants. Iowa and Minnesota belong here as well. These are the Northern Plains States. Iowa is considered the richest of the farming states of the Northern Planes. Nearly 96 per cent of the land is arable, that is fit for cultivation. it is the leading state in the USA in corn production

Between Kansas and the Gulf of Mexico, the vast flat open spaces of Oklahoma and Texas rear cattle but have grown rich through oil and its associated industries. Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas make up the Southern Planes states. So, oil is the most important natural resource in the Southern Plains states. Except for Alaska, Texas is the biggest state in the Union. Many people migrate to Texas from other states because of its warm climate and the availability of service jobs in the growing cities. Nearly half of its population live in the metropolitan areas of Dallas – Fort Worth and Houston.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14