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Part 2 : The North Atlantic seaboard

Define the North Atlantic Seaboard :

The term seaboard indicated a shoreline space which the interface between an hinterland and maritime space, here the Atlantic Ocean. The seaboard is both a space of production and exchanges. When the seaboard is dynamic, we can see a coastal location process : concentration of people, ports, cities, … The North Atlantic seaboard goes from the north of the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico south. It’s composed by the East part of the three countries of the NAFTA (North American Free Trade Area), born in 1994. This seaboard goes through nearly 4000 km. The thickness of the Seaboard is very unequal : reduce to a coastal trait of a few hundred meters (some coast of the Southwest of the USA and of the Gulf of Mexico) to more than a hundred kilometers (Great Lakes, Mississippi water basin).

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I A Space of power with striking contrasts Source 1 : Map of territorial organization in North America : see above Source 2 : Main Street America

Source 3 : Miami

Aerial view of Miami beach, coast with luxury hotels and building of affairs along the Golad coast, by James Randkley

Photo of Miami Seaport with on the background the CBD et cruise boats terminals. Photo from Simon Hare.

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Source 4 : Cancun aerial view (from tourist agencies catalogue)

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Source 5 : Houston seaport (Photo from James Dillard) Source 6 : Aerial view of Manhattan, www.aerialarchives.com

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Source 7 : The US-Mexican border, NASA satellite view, October 5th , 2006

Satellite photo of the Americano Mexican border in Texas.

El Paso

Juarez

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In the background Juarez, on the foreground El Paso, in the middle ground : the Rio Grande river Questions : I Spaces with striking contrasts : ► Work of introduction : Study each landscape (description and activities for each) Main Street America : This area is composed of the Great Lakes : from the West to the East : Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario linked to the Saint Laurent River basin. Each lake and the Saint Laurent River are connected by channels and seaways that allow economic exchange on a big transportation street. This area contains also big metropolises connected to the rest of the world : Chicago, one of the impulse center for globalization because of the presence of agricultural products stock exchange; Detroit, center for car production in the USA even the crisis in this division of economy; Toronto, one of the economic center in Canada. This area is an interface between Canada, the USA and the Atlantic ocean. It’s used as a Seagate on the American territory. It allows to connect the Great Plain with the Megalopolis and exportation spaces like the Atlantic Ocean. Miami : on the photo, various aspects of the city appear. First, the luxury hotel and cruise boat allows us to see the tourist activity in Miami which is divided into two aspects. There is seaside tourism on luxury hotel and resort built on the embankment on the coastline. Florida drains each year more than 40 millions of tourist and Miami is one of the tourist center. There is also cruise tourism: Miami is the first port fro cruise in the world, sending boats to the Caribbean zone. Second, on the second plan of the second photo, we can see container that allows us to admit that Miami is also a commercial port turned to container transport, which is the most important in the world today. Finally, in the background, we can see high buildings and skyscrapers that allows us to identify a CBD. Indeed, Miami is the second bank center after New York because it relays a lot of investment from North America and South America to the Caribbean area. This allows us to say that Miami is completely integrated in the financial network of Globalization. Cancun : on the photo, various aspects of the city appear. The luxury hotels, seaside resorts and beaches allow us to see the tourist activity in Cancun. There is seaside tourism on luxury hotel and resort built on the embankment on the coastline. Cancun is a very important center for tourism on the Gulf of Mexico and in the Caribbean area, especially for seaside tourism. Cancun is one of the main destination for tourists from the USA, for example students for Spring Break. Houston seaport : on the photo, various aspects of the city appear. This photo allows to see the petroleum production and activity which is the main activity of Houston seaport. We can see it on the storage. We can also see it because of tubes, refineries, petrochemical factories, pipelines for transformation, storage and transport for petroleum. In the background, we can finally see skyscrapers

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of the CBD where the main chemical petroleum companies have their headquarters. Houston is the impulse center for petroleum activities and rates level all over the world because the main TNCs for petroleum are located here. New York : on the photo, various aspects of the city appear. First, on the foreground, we can see the first CBD of Manhattan, where the WTC was located and where Wall Street is because of the Skyscrapers. This CBD is one of the main impulse area for globalization and especially its financial aspect. On the second plan, we can see New York city organization with residential districts and the main docklands areas. In the background, we can see the second CBD and the older one with the Empire State Building and behind one of the most famous area of New York : central park. This photo shows that Manhattan is the heart of NYC and one of the main hub and impulse center for globalization. The Americano-Mexican border : this photo shows us twin cities from side to side of the border. These cities have the same aspects and the same form of constructions and seem to be only one city. However, a line going through the border divided it into two parts and only some checkpoints allow to cross it. So, there’s a separation between both to avoid migrations from Mexico to the USA whereas El Paso is a center of command for a lot of activities (maquiladoras for example) made in Juarez. ► Question 1 : Thanks to all the sources, which are the activities on the North Atlantic Seaboard ? Which are the fitting out linked to them ? There are various activities : - tourist activities on the seashore (Miami, Cancun) and on the maritime space : Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean area. There are a lot of fitting out to answer the tourist demand :

o yachting port, marinas (first plan on Miami photo), cruise harbor with passengers terminal (Miami is the first cruise harbor in the world)

o modification of landscape and coast by embankments and platforms o creation of seaside resorts on Florida and Mexican coast : Miami, Cancun with very

narrow littoral cords (embankment and drainage) - Industrial harbour activities: transformation of petroleum in Houston (tubes, refineries, petrochemical factories, pipelines), creation of a ship channel to connect port with sea. - Exploitation of maritime resources :

o Petroleum in the Gulf of Mexico (oil platforms) o Fishing in North Atlantic, along Labrador Stream and in Florida

- Exchanges on both interfaces : Main Street America and US-Mexican border : o Use of the Saint-Laurent seaway, interface between the USA, Canada and Europe :

agricultural products, coal from the USA, Iron Ore from Canada to the Great Lakes region, investment …

o US-Mexican borders : exchanges of products : agricultural and manufacturing from Mexico, Investment from the USA

- Financial activities in the main CBD’s : NY, Miami, Chicago, Houston - Agriculture : Mexican plain, Mississippi basin.

► Question 2 : Which are the impulse centers linked to globalization ? Justify. The impulse centers are CBDs seen in landscapes presented before: - Manhattan with its two CBDs among which the one understands(includes) the first stock exchange in the world as well as of numerous companies headquarters = > one of the impulse centers of the financial and economic decisions of the world. It belongs to the megalopolis, the center of decision of the globalization, the industrial area and population, political and historic center of the United States. - big cities with international plan activities. It is the case of Miami and Houston. The first breaststroke the dividends of tourism but also is the point relay towards fiscal paradises of the Caribbean islands. The second manages the money of petrochemical industry and it is there that are made the main decisions of energy and oil companies which have their headquarters in Houston CBD. We can add here Montreal, Toronto and Quebec.

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We can see that the main impulse center are in the hyperpower and its main outskirt in the MEDCs but on the North Atlantic seaboard, there is no impulse center on the Mexican coast. II A Space integrated to globalization but deeply organized into a hierarchy A. A hierarchy created because of the integration into Globalization 1. Referring to case studies seen on Part 1 chapter 1 and to information above, try to define the space hierarchy in the North Atlantic Seaboard. A very important hierarchy was created because of globalization : - first level : very important impulse centers :

o Megalopolis (Boston, New York, Philadelphie, Baltimore, Washington) o Main Street from Chicago to Toronto

- Second level : o Coastal cities : Houston, New Orleans, Miami o Hinterland cities : Atlanta, Dallas, Montreal

- Third level : Mexican coast where cities have less weight : Veracruz, Tampico, Monterrey

B. International flows define a role of international interface for the North Atlantic seaboard.

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Source 1 : International migrations

in 2006

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Source 2 : Hispanic population in the American states, US census, 2005

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Source 3 : Tourist flows in 2005

Questions : 1. Using the map, explain which are the main regions where the migrants enter the North Atlantic Seaboard ? The Northeast seaboard - Canada and the United States - is the privileged front door for migrants. Two thirds of migrants arrive at Montreal, Toronto, New York … These cities play a major role in the exchanges of information, exercise an exceptional migratory attractiveness on the rest of the world. The brain drain attracts high-level migrants. They have capacity to keep(preserve) this rank of global cities. They are the main gateways of the USA. This region is particularly touched by the Brain Drain. But the map also shows that the Southeast, especially Florida and Texas are attractive for people leaving Latin America and Carribean Islands. Miami is a very important Gateway for Cuban. 2. Due to immigration, what is the phenomenon strengthen in American cities and states? The latinization of the Atlantic seaboard strengthens: It is very important for the South because of the migrations of the poverty from Latin America and Caribbean islands. For example, Miami became a Latino metropolis by presence of numerous Cuban refugees. But in this metropolis, there is a very strong spatial segregation: the Latin American bourgeoisies settle down as tourists or double-residents. They often have two capitals: theirs and Miami where we find Argentinean, Brazilian, Venezuelan districts. But, this latinization also strengthens in Montreal, Toronto, Chicago, Philadelphia or New York. In New York we speak about black ghettos (Harlem), but we speak a lot about Spanish Harlem where Latinos Yankees is absorbed by Latinos Dominicans. 3. What kind of drawbacks could appear because of the increase of Latin population? Consequence : cultural mix. There is a important influence of Anglo-Saxon culture because English is the vernacular language, but there is moles of resistance. In the North, Quebec and Nouveau Brunswick are French-speaking. In the South, the Latino Spanish-speakers are enough powerful to maintain Spanish next to English. More the Latinos migrants have a powerful language and culture. They come from different countries but all speak Spanish (except Brazil) the bilingualism spreads in Texas, for example. There is thus a phenomenon of integration and cultural mix.. 4. What kind of other flows can be seen between the USA and Mexico ?

o

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Tourist flows from the USA to Mexico : the South is the big tourist seaboard of North America. Florida welcomes 40 million tourists a year: it is the first world tourist region. The tourist seaside resorts of the Mexican coast welcome at the same moment national tourists (10 in 15 %) but also tourists from the United States and Canadian (about 90 % in Cancun) Source 1: Map of international trade

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Source 2: Map for energy supply in the USA

1. What kind of merchandises can be seen by flows in the USA and why ?

Raw materials: petroleum and gas are in the Gulf of Mexico, in Texas and in Louisiana. These resources arrive at exhaustion. The hydrocarbon phenomenon plays to the full in Mexico (gulf of Kampuchea) which is one first oil powers in the world under the shadow and the protectorate of the United States (94 % are exported towards the United States!). The agricultural resources: the strong eruption of tropical cultures is made under the influence of big firms of the northeast which control productions. The citrus fruit culture in Florida (competed by Sao Paulo) is dominated by Coca-cola and Tropicana. The technical, financial, commercial support of the United States allowed the development of such an agriculture on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. The megalopolis is here again, the main gateway. - Financial flows: In the North, it is necessary to insist on the exceptional place of certain cities, the world stock markets: New York, Chicago, Toronto, first Canadian financial center, Montreal occupies the second place. In the South of the United States we can see the development of real industrial metropolises, by the relocation from the northeast and, from around thirty years, by the contribution of credits intended for

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research and development. The credits from Houston (NASA) favored the South. Miami is the second banking place of the United States (after New York) for all investments of capital from Latin America, acting as refuge. The money laundered in Caimans, in the Bahamas is transferred in Miami which center offers an accumulation of banks but where customers are nearly all foreigners. III The various spaces of the North Atlantic seaboard :

A. An impulse center : the megalopolis Source 1 : The Megalopolis, one of the largest center in the USA and the World : The region known as Megalopolis is a heavily populated area extending more than 800 km (500 mi) along a northeast-southwest axis from southern Maine to southern Virginia. Although it encompasses only 130,000 sq km (50,000 sq mi), or about 1 percent of the continent, Megalopolis held some 45 million people in the late 1990s, the second largest population of any U.S. region. It contains the world's greatest concentration of urban areas. Three characteristics define Megalopolis as a distinct region: high population density, major urban centers growing toward one another, and a large demand for primary goods that are brought in from other regions. Moreover, it is a region of social and economic superlatives—urban conveniences and problems, great wealth and poverty, high population concentrations, and one of the world’s most varied population mixes. The region sits on the coastal plain along the northeast edge of the United States. The eastern boundary of Megalopolis is the Atlantic shoreline. […] Megalopolis lies along a busy oceanic route that extends across the North Atlantic to Western Europe. The presence of the sea has played an important role in the region’s economy since the colonial period. Early merchants transported goods via ocean trade routes, while rivers and land routes promoted trade with interior regions of the colonies and promoted economic growth. Trade and commerce were leading generators of wealth until the mid-1800s, when manufacturing became dominant. After World War II (1939-1945), the basis of the region’s economy shifted to service industries. In the late 1990s, service industries remained the basis of the region’s economy. Megalopolis houses the headquarters of 33 percent of the largest industrial corporations in the nation, 28 percent of the largest retailing companies, 44 percent of the largest life insurance companies, and 60 percent of the largest diversified financial companies. Tourism is also important throughout this region. New York City is one of the top tourist attractions in the nation for international travelers. Almost continuous beaches attract summer visitors, who support resort towns. Most states in the region have capitalized on their rich historical background to attract tourism. Agriculture is important to meeting the demand for food from this large urban area. Commercial fishing has declined, though the region still accounts for about one-quarter of the U.S. catch. Chesapeake Bay yields more crabmeat than all other parts of the country combined. […] The region has a high population density, with more than 350 persons per sq km (900 per sq mi). Density ranges from low in rural Virginia to more than 30,900 persons per sq km (about 80,000 per sq mi) on Manhattan Island in New York City. Megalopolis has a high population growth rate as well, adding continuously to the 45 million people, or one-sixth of the nation’s citizens, who live in this region. Megalopolis is a region of extensive urban metropolitan areas, many of which are located a relatively short distance from each other. New York City, the nation’s largest city, is located here, as is Washington, D.C, the seat of government in the United States. Other major urban areas focus around Boston, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, Maryland. Extracted from Encarta Online Encyclopedia, http://www.encarta.msn.com, 2008. Source 2 : BosWash, the American Megalopolis : The BosWash or Bosnywash or Boshington megalopolis is te name for a group of the metropolitan areas in the northeastern United States, extending from Boston to Washington D.C. […] The cities are also linked economically, and by transports and communications.

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According to the French Geographer, Jean Gottman, BosWash “provides the whole of America with so many essential services”[…]. The Megalopolis contains a reported population of 45 millions, or 16 % of the the population of the USA (0.7 % of the world population), probably two or more global cities (New York, D.C. and Boston) and four of the world’s fifty largest metropolitan areas – Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore-Washington – as well as the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ1, the White House and the US Capitol, the UN Headquarters, the headquarters of ABC, NBC, CBS and the New York Times Company as well as the Washington Post, and six of the eight Ivy League Schools2. The high-speed Amtrak train, the Acela Express3, runs on the Northeast Corridor, an electrified rail line extending the length of BosWash area, Insterstate 95, arguably one of the most vital highways in the country, is also a major transportation route for the BosWash area.

Extracted from Wikipedia, www.bookrags.com/wiki/BosWash, 2008 Source 3 : Ports and airports in the Megalopolis : The Port of New York/New Jersey is the largest port complex on the East Coast of North America and is located at the hub of the most concentrated and affluent consumer market in the world, with immediate access to the most extensive interstate highway and rail networks in the region. In addition, The Port Authority directly oversees the operation of seven cargo terminals in the New York-New Jersey region. Each terminal offers comprehensive shipping services, a qualified, highly productive labor force and competitive pricing. […] The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey also operates […] John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Newark and LaGuardia Airports. […These three] airports handled nearly 100 million passengers in 2005, […] setting a new annual record for passenger traffic for the region’s three major airports. The Port Auhtority’s airports handled4 more passengers than any other airports in the nation in 2005. Kenneth J. Ringler Jr. said : „In addition to handling more passengers than any other airport system in the country, we also offer more nonstop flights to more destinations than any other airport system, and lead the nation as an international passenger and cargo gateway as well”

Extracted from Port Authority of New York and New Jersey website. Source 4 :

1 The NASDAQ (acronym of National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) is an American stock exchange. It is the largest electronic screen-based equity securities trading market in the United States. With approximately 3,200 companies, it lists more companies and on average trades more shares per day than any other U.S. market. 2 Name given to the eight best American universities : Harvard, Princeton, Yale, University of Pennsylvania, Duke, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 3 Acela Express (often called simply Acela, leading to early confusion with the Acela Regional and Acela Commuter) is the name used by Amtrak for the high-speed tilting train service operating between Washington, D.C. and Boston via Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York along the Northeast Corridor (NEC) in the Northeast United States. 4 S’occuper de, traiter

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Source 5 :

1. Using Photos and map, define the term megalopolis . A megalopolis is vast urban set integrating strongly populated, industrial and tertiary regions, and based on an framework of metropolises. The term Megalopolis, invented by the geographer Jean Gottmann in 1960, is used to indicate the conurbation (that is the urban set established on 800 km long, on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean between Boston and the Bay of Chesapeake. The present big metropolises are from north to south: Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington DC. It contains 45 millions of inhabitants. 2. Using Photos, map and sources, answer the following question : Which are the signs showing that this megalopolis is an impulse on the scale of the United States and the world? The signs are on the world level: - presence of numerous CBDs who manage the main financial and economic flows of the planet notably with the first global city of the world: New York. - networks of communication which integrate this region into international flows as well in term of transport of persons, goods and information with notably the presence of hubs like New York. - Gate of entrance of migrants coming from all horizons, notably within the framework of the brain drain. - presence of 6 of 8 big American universities among the best to the world: Harvard, Princeton, Yale, University of Pennsylvania, Duke, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The signs are on the scale of the United States: - connection with the main axis of transport and spaces of influence in term of business of the United States and North America notably the Main Street America, integrated space of exchange between the United States and Canada. - first economic center of the United States in spite of a massive redevelopment in services domain - First urban area of the United States - First center of consumption and redeployment of agricultural productions of the Great Plains. Quels sont les signes qui montrent que cette mégalopole est un centre d’impulsion à l’échelle des Etats-Unis et du monde ?

B. An example of international integration : the Main Street America

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Source 2 : Map of Main Street America : 1. Define the expression Main Street, locate this set thanks to the map. It gives an idea of concentration and an important passage. This set is indeed located in one continental interface, between Canada and the United States. The Main Street extends from Quebec, on the estuary of Saint Laurent, to Chicago in the South of Lake Michigan. 2. Which are the signs which allow to measure the economic integration between both countries in

the region of the Main Street America? The signs which allow to measure the integration are: - exchanges are important between both countries - transport networks connect both sets, in particular channels. Fitting out allow to connect Windsor and Detroit (tunnel, bridge) - the towns landscapes are identical (CBD and suburbs): phenomenon of " twin cities " as Detroit and Windsor - economic evolutions are symmetric notably the industrial redevelopment with the development of computing and biotechnologies - existence of companies integrated on both sides of the border - installation of American employees in Canada, in good residential area of Windsor 3. Show that links are however asymmetrical between both countries. For the benefit of which

country? Justify. Nevertheless, integration appears to give more advantages to the United States. Because: - it is the American capital which were invested at first in Canada, notably in heavy steel industry and automobile domain (Detroit: headquarters of General Motors). There is thus a dependence of the Canadian zone towards the United States, which contributed to the difficulties of this region with the decline of the heavy steel industry. - The region in Canada is also of in-migration basin to the American migrations, notably for installation of qualified manpower. Some spaces are also transformed to answer a demand of leisure activities: spaces of holiday resort, on Canadian side, on the lake Erie, because of the saturation and of urbanization, on the side of the United States (Cleveland, Buffalo).

C. The New South : Florida and Texas : Source 1 : Florida activities, extract from Encyclopaedia Britannica, article Florica, 2007. Florida produces about three-fourths of the nation's citrus fruit and is second only to California in vegetable production.

Source 1 : Saint Lawrence Seaway : International waterway 2,342 mi (3,769 km) long, consisting of a system of canals, dams and locks in the St. Lawrence River and connecting channels between the Great Lakes; opened 1959. It provides passage for large oceangoing vessels into central North America. The seaway includes a 27-ft (8-m) deep waterway, a canal, and seven locks between the port of Montreal and Lake Ontario. The seaway has created a fourth seacoast accessible to the industrial and agricultural heartland of North America and has brought oceangoing vessels to lake ports such as Buffalo, Cleveland, Toledo, Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee, Duluth, and Toronto. The maximum vessel size is 730 ft (223 m) in length with a cargo capacity of 28,000 tons. The shipping season has been extended to 250 days (mid-April to mid-December) by increased use of icebreakers and air pumps to control ice formation in the locks. Iron ore, wheat, and coal are the principal cargoes carried of the seaway. Construction of the project was authorized by Canada in 1951 and by the USA in 1954. The Columbia Encyclopedia, Six Edition, 2001.

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Tourism is the largest income-producing activity in the state and has developed into a year-round business. The Atlantic and Gulf beaches that form the basis of the state's popular “vacationland” image are seldom the only destination for the Florida visitor. Other attractions include the large theme parks, professional and collegiate sporting events, golf, hunting and fishing, and an abundance of parkland, including two national parks, two national seashores, a national preserve, five national monuments and memorials, and numerous state parks. As might be expected in a state dominated by tourism, the service industry is the most important employer, accounting for some 30 percent of all Florida jobs. Another 20 percent is in retail trade, also closely associated with the tourist industry. Manufacturing ranks third in employment but on a value-added basis exceeds all sectors but tourism. The electrical and electronics sector leads in manufacturing, followed (in order of importance) by printing and publishing, transportation equipment, food processing, machinery, metal fabrication, clothing, chemicals, and wood products. Together the manufacturing industries employ some 13 percent of the labour force. Florida has a spaceport, the John F. Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, which occupies 88,000 acres. This is not only a major Florida industry but has also become a prime tourist attraction. Source 2 : Florida, a very attractive and tourist state.

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Source 3 : Texas, the oil state

Migratory flows for other states in the USA Migratory flows from Mexico Tourist flows Texan triangle, impulse center for oil production NASA Headquarters Oil production off shore Cruise area Main metropolises, impulse center for oil production and economic Other main cities in Texas Source 4: Texas, a giant for economy

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In total value of farm crops, Texas consistently has ranked in the top five among the states since the mid-20th century and has been a leading producer of grain sorghums, peanuts (groundnuts), and rice. Nearly all of the mohair that is produced in the United States comes from the Angora goats of Texas. The state leads all others in the raising of beef cattle and sheep. The vast cattle empires of the 19th century have tended to shift to coastal areas during the 20th century, reversing the path of cotton. Texas leads all other states in oil and natural gas production. It also ranks first in oil-refining capacity. Oil deposits have been found under more than two-thirds of the state's area, though many finds seem too small for commercial development. Texas also leads all other states in the production of sulfur, crude gypsum, and magnesium. Oil refining is a major processor of raw materials, and oil-field equipment is manufactured. The Gulf Coast area is the centre for the petrochemical industrial complexes. Reflecting a maturing economy, manufacturing has moved toward the fabrication of finished consumer products. The growth of the electronics industry has been outstanding, and other finished goods manufactured in quantity include air conditioners, furniture, boats, household appliances, machinery, leather goods, and clothing.

1. Show that Florida is tourist space, very attractive and linked to the Sun Belt Florida is a tourist state because a lot of activities and the main part of the GDP of that state is due to tourism : - 30 % of employment - seashore resorts with luxurious hotels with pools, seaside activities, …. - Cruise tourism, Miami port is the first cruise port in the world with 1 million of passenger. - Attraction park in Orlando, one park every 10 km - Green tourism around lake and in the national park of everglades, even for hunting, or in the Keys. Florida is also a impulse for finance in the direction of the Caribbean area due to Miami power in this domain. Miami is also a gateway for migrations, especially Cuban and a gateway for trade with one of the most important port for container on the North Atlantic Seaboard. (use here description of landscape about Miami) Florida is also on of the main pole for high technologies: computer science, aeronautic with cap Canaveral and Cap Kennedy and their science park Finally, it’s the second states for production of citrus fruits in the USA with firms like Tropicana.

2. Show that Texan is a very attractive state, linked to the Sun Belt and to oil production. Texas is very attractive for migrants for states with less development in the USA and in Mexico. They are attracted by the flourishing economy in Texas. Indeed, Agriculture is very important in the economy with citrus fruits, breeding especially goats and cows. There is also a very important development of cereals. Texas is one of the most important producer after the Great Plains. But, among all, in Texas, it’s oil production that leads the economy and makes three cities and the states being one of the most important impulse center for oil production in the USA and in the world. Texas is also one of the most important state for high technologies with NASA headquarters in Houston and with computing and electronics companies in the world.