United States Regions The Southwest North Carolina Geographic Alliance PowerPoint Presentations 2007

The Southwest Region

Landform Features - Oklahoma Interior Plains Osage Plains High Plains Interior Highlands Ouachita Mountains Red River Valley The Panhandle 167 miles long 55 miles wide

Landform Features - Texas Gulf Coastal Plain Central Lowland Great Plains Llano Estacado (Staked Plain) Edwards Plateau Basin and Range

Landform Features– New Mexico Southern Rocky Mountains Sangre de Cristo Mountains Colorado Plateau Basin and Range Great Plains

Landform Features - Arizona Colorado Plateau Basin and Range Sonoran Desert Central Highlands

Major Rivers Colorado River 1,450 mi. Rio Grande 1,900 mi. Pecos River 926 mi. Red River 1,290 mi. Arkansas River 1,459 mi.

The Colorado River It drains a large portion of the North American continent covering 242,000 square miles in the United States and 3,000 square miles in Mexico. The Colorado and its tributaries drain southwestern Wyoming and western Colorado, parts of Utah, Nevada, New Mexico and California, and almost all of Arizona.

Colorado River

Rio Grande New Mexico Big Bend, TX Laredo, TX

The 100 th Meridian Approximates the dividing line between "moist America" (20+ inches of rainfall) and "dry America" (less than 20 inches of rainfall).

Annual Rainfall

Agriculture

Population Distribution

States and Populations Texas22,118,509 Arizona5,580,811 Oklahoma3,511,532 New Mexico1,874,614

Winter

Major Cities - Population CityMSA* Dallas1,188,5805,221,801 Fort Worth 534,694 Houston1,953,6314,715,407 Phoenix1,321,0453,251,876 San Antonio1,144,6462,968,806 Austin 656,5621,249,763 Tucson 468,699843,746 El Paso 563,662701,908 Albuquerque 448,607678,820 *Metropolitan Statistical Area, U.S. Census Bureau

Population Growth: Phoenix

Landscapes

Landscapes

Landscapes

American Indians

Anasazi Cliff Dwellers Mesa Verde NP

Anasazi Cliff Dwellers

Exploration and Settlement

United States

Exploration and Settlement United States

Exploration and Settlement United States

Exploration and Settlement United States 1855

Exploration and Settlement

The Westward Movement The Santa Fe Trail was the main trail into the southwest.

The Alamo Icon of Texas Independence The Alamo was one of several Spanish Missions in Texas. After it fell to the Mexican Army in 1836, it became the rallying cry for Texas independence. Texas became a republic in in 1836 and a U.S. state in 1845

Cattle Trails Cattle were driven in herds from south central Texas to railheads to the north for shipment east to cities where demand for meat was high. Between 1866 and 1890 about 10 million cattle were driven north. Cattle drives ended in the late 1800s due to southern railroads and the barbed wire fence.

John Wesley Powell Expedition In 1869, John Wesley Powell and nine adventure-seeking companions completed the first exploration of the dangerous and almost uncharted canyons of the Green and Colorado rivers, through the present-day states of Utah and Arizona.

State Quarters Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arizona quarters are due out in 2008 Texas

OKLAHOMA – The Sooner State

TEXAS – The Lone Star State

NEW MEXICO – Land of Enchantment

ARIZONA – The Grand Canyon State

Stretch of Road, OK Adrian, TX

Route 66 Amarillo, TX

Route 66 Tee Pee Curios - Tucumcari, NM Palomino Motel - Tucumcari, NM Arizona

Who Am I? Wyatt Earp I was a gambler, gunfighter, and lawman. I drifted through the West working at a variety of jobs from confidence trickster to assistant marshal. During my stay in Tombstone, AZ, I befriended Doc Holliday, who joined with the my brothers against the Clanton gang in the famous gunfight at the OK Corral (1881).

Who Am I? Sandra Day O’Connor I served as a judge in Arizona before being selected to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court in I became the first woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Who Am I? I was born in 1809 and found my way to Santa Fe, New Mexico. I have been a guide, trapper, soldier, and Indian agent. I am best known as a mountain guide. I have a state capital named for me. Kit Carson

Who Am I? Will Rogers : Humorist, stage/film/radio actor; born in Oolagah, Indian territory (now Oklahoma). I am known as the common- but-shrewd man through many mediums - as a popular radio performer, a syndicated newspaper columnist, author of several books. When I died with Wiley Post in a plane crash in Alaska, I was mourned as an authentic American folk hero.

Who Am I? Jim Thorpe I was born in Shawnee, Oklahoma in In 1912 I won gold medals in the Olympic decathlon and pentathlon. I excelled at every sport he played, including the traditional Native American sport of lacrosse. I played major league baseball as an outfielder for six years and dominated professional football during its formative years.

Who Am I? Mickey Mantle : Baseball player; born in Spavinaw, Okla. During my 18-year career as an outfielder for the New York Yankees ( ), I hit 536 homeruns and was voted the American League Most Valuable Player three times ( , 1962). In 1956 I won the American League triple crown with 52 homeruns, 130 runs batted in, and a.353 batting average. A fan favorite, I was elected to baseball's Hall of Fame in 1974.

Who Am I? Steven F. Austin In 1822, I planted the first legal settlement of Anglo-Americans in Texas. I opposed the government of Santa Anna and so forwarded the Texas Revolution. Today, a state capital is named for me.