Page 348 - Powerful Social Studies for Elementary Students 4th Edition

320 Appendix C
the world’s major mountain ranges, especially
those that form the “spine” of the Americas).
4. Physical environments (and the ecologies that they are capable of supporting) change as one moves from sea level toward higher elevations. In general, as one continues to move higher, the climate becomes colder and there is less variety in plants and animals. Most plants and animals (and people) are found at low elevations that feature relatively warm climates, flat land, and rich soil. As one begins to ascend, the climate cools, the land is mostly sloped, and the soil becomes rockier. It becomes harder for people to grow crops and for animals to find food. If the mountain is high enough, one eventually will reach a tree line beyond which trees no longer grow. These eleva- tions still support bushes and wildflowers that can survive without rich soil or a warm climate, and animals such as bears, mountain lions, mar- mots, and mountain goats that have adapted to the rough terrain and forbidding climate. Still higher up, there is only rock, sometimes covered in part by snow (or even glaciers). Only species such as lichen and insects, and perhaps a few wildflowers and marmots, can survive in this
environment.
5. Prevailing winds blowing into a mountain range
create weather patterns that may affect entire regions. The mountain range interrupts the flow of clouds and moist air, turning it back on itself and building up the air’s moisture content until it forms precipitation. As a result, there is frequent rain or snow on the windward side of the moun- tain range but dry, even desert conditions on the leeward side (illustrate using diagrams taken from textbooks). This is why the northwest coast of the United States has a wet climate but the Great Basin east of the mountains is very dry (refer to globe or maps to elaborate on this and other examples of mountains’ effects on weather and climate, espe- cially effects on the local region).
People and Mountains
1. In the past, people who did not live in mountain areas tended to view them as forbidding and unpleasant places to be avoided if possible. Prior to modern paved roads and motor-driven vehicles, mountain ranges were significant barriers to trade and travel, as well as significant protection against invasion. Heavy snows often meant that even passes through the mountains were open only
during the warmer months. Even then, they were difficult to negotiate because the roads were often sloped. In many places, one could easily slip off the road and either tumble down a steep slope and get hurt or fall off a cliff and get killed. Mountain ranges were significant barriers to westward migra- tion during the pioneer days when people used horses and wagons to cross over the Appalachians into the Midwest, and later to cross the Rockies and the Sierras in the West.
2. Even then, though, some people lived in the moun- tains. Usually they lived not on the peaks but in val- leys between ranges or in flat areas such as Jackson Hole that lay between surrounding mountains. Some forms of farming and animal grazing were possible in these areas, supplemented by hunting and fishing in the mountains (perhaps embellish here with books or videos on nineteenth-century “mountain men” or other people who have man- aged to live in mountain areas without benefit of modern housing and transportation).
3. Most mountain regions were (and still are) sparsely populated. However, towns developed in a few places because they became centers for local indus- try (typically mining or lumbering operations) or transportation hubs (they were located at a key crossroads or served as the point of departure into a major mountain pass).
4. Today, mountain regions are much less isolated than they used to be, and people can drive through them, using modern roads that snake their way around mountains (and sometimes tunnels that go through them). People in our country have good access to the Appalachians, the Ozarks, the Rockies, and the Sierra Nevada ranges by car or train. They also can fly to these areas and to remote areas in Alaska and Hawaii. Many people take advantage of these opportunities: Instead of thinking of moun- tain regions as unpleasant places to be avoided, most modern people think of them as attractive places to visit to enjoy scenic vistas, hike in national parks, fish in mountain streams, go skiing or moun- tain climbing, or visit art colonies, historic places, or other tourist attractions. Europeans enjoy visiting the Alps for similar reasons.
5. Even today, however, certain mountain regions are still formidable barriers to travel by land and cer- tain mountain communities are still quite isolated. This is especially true of the Himalayan range and the nations of Nepal and Tibet, as well as various mountain regions in Indonesia and South America.
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