Natural Resources in the United States

1. Natural Resources in the United States

2. Farming • Farmland is the most abundant natural resource in the country • Government gave people land if they agreed to farm improve on it in five years • Homestead Act (1862) • Opened up the Great Plains to farming • Exports equal $50 million annually • Nebraska 90% Farmland

4. Forestry • Began in New England • Used to make barrels, ships, and lumber • Shifted to the South after the American Revolution • Rivers could be used for transportation year round • By 1930, most forests in the East were converted to farmland • Indiana • Most logging takes place in the Pacific Northwest

5. Forestry contd. • Trees are a renewable resource • Logging companies have strict regulations they must follow • This conserves and allows for replenishing of forests • Forests have also been included in National Parks • This helps preserve the forests as well as the plants and animals that live in them

8. Mining • Most abundant mineral in the United States is coal • US produces one fifth of world’s supply • Pennsylvania, West Virginia • Oil and Natural gas can also be found here • Texas, Alaska • Other precious metals are found in the US • Copper - Gold • Lead - Titanium • Uranium - Zinc

12. Movement • New Technologies in transportation helped the US economy grow • Raw materials had to be moved to factories for production • Travel was difficult in early years because of geography

13. Water • Many paper companies were built on rivers and other bodies of water to allow raw materials to be easily obtained • Georgia Pacific • Manmade waterways were eventually created to expand water transportation across the country • Canals • Steam power created a faster mode of transportation along water ways

16. Land • As railroads developed, land transportation became more important than water • Goods could be transported wherever track could be laid • Transcontinental Railroad • Automobiles allowed transportation to be done anywhere in the United States despite geography • Tucking • Interstate Highway System

18. Telecommunications • Communication relied on paper exchange • Wells Fargo - Pony Express • Samuel Morse invented the telegraph • 1837 • Spread over the continent • Grew along side railroad lines • Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone • 1876 • 1915 – Telephone lines stretched from coast to coast • Today, fiber optics, satellites, and wireless technology spread information across the world

23. Free Enterprise • The US is devoted to freedom and independence • Free Enterprise system • Individuals can profit from their own businesses in an open market • Anyone can be successful if they work hard and follow the rules • This idea draws many immigrants to the United States