Hawaii

Paradise?

-The geology found in denver includes a basin near Denver that creates a large amount of petroleum for the city.  Denver has rock formations dating back to Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic eras.  In Jefferson county, there are large amounts of crushed stone at the foot of the city that contribute to the creation of concrete.  The nearby Rocky mountains were formed from plate tectonic shifting less than 80-55 million years ago. (USGS)  The soil of Denver consists is made up of seitz in some areas, which is volcanic rocks.

Percent of Population Change 

-The population of Denver is on the rise and starting to become more diverse than it was in recent past as that of Hawaii also.  The population of Asians in Hawaii is a lot higher than that of Denver's predominately white makeup.  Hawaii and Denver can be considered similar because they both have weather patterns that seem to be unpredictable and they both have high rates of tourism.

References:
http://planet-sl.org/sle-conference/images/stories/SLE2009/denver_colorado_panorama.jpg (pic 1)
http://rmgsc.cr.usgs.gov/rmgsc/index.shtml
http://www.denverinfill.com/images/blog/2008-07/2008-07-10_pop_city.jpg (pic 2)
http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/metro/Denver/Figure_2_Denver.jpg (pic 3)

The North Pacific Coast

-When you look at the overall landscape of Denver, it is beautiful.  It might have its flaws of smog in the downtown district on certain days, but the scenery is very appealing.  Due to precipitation occurring in the Spring, the city has a very green appearance.
-The railroads were what made Denver the city it is today.  When the mining was booming at such a fast pace, the railroads were used in order to ship the mined goods to other cities and states.  The Union Station found in the city is used as part of the light rail system and part of Amtrak.  The city uses its light rail system as one of the main modes of public transportation.
-Denver does not make any list as far as ranking as a livable city, but had a median household income of 60,344 in 2008 (MetroDenver).

The flag of Colorado

References:
http://www.metrodenver.org/demographics-communities/demographics/income.html
http://flagsandanthems.com/media/flags/flag-colorado.gif (pic 1)

California

-Many people from California seem to be moving out and Colorado seems to be one of the locations as to where some are heading.  With the hot summer days and colder nights in Denver, Californians might feel like they are at home in another state.  The humidity in Colorado is not a huge problem, but the threat for thunderstorms and hail is real.
-Denver had a earthquake on November 7,1882 that caused little damage, but this city has very little earthquake activity unlike that of California.
-The advantages of living in Denver are good weather, the school system seems to be strong, the business market is pretty large, a wide variety of entertainment that include museums, and a low cost of living compared to California.  The disadvantages are that there are no large bodies of water besides the rivers for someone used to living in California and that the weather has extreme changes.
-Denver has the Chessman Reservoir running through it and in order to slow down the drought that has been occurring since 2002, the denver water administration has implemented the Moffat collection system project.
http://www.denverwater.org/SupplyPlanning/WaterSupplyProjects/Moffat/Video/
-Denver has been exceeding the limits of the EPA as far as parts per million of smog pollution and is continuing to rise.  The reason for this has to do with the high population and the high amounts of particle pollution coming from automobile transportation.

 References:
http://www.nrel.gov/data/pix/Jpegs/10647.jpg(pic 1)
http://www.denverwater.org/

The Southwest Border Area

-"“The aridity of Arizona, New Mexico, and bordering areas in Utah and Colorado discouraged large scale Anglo agricultural settlement in the nineteenth century" (Birdshall, etc...).  What brought the Anglo settlement to Colorado was the discovery of gold and silver.  Denver originally was inhabited by Native Americans, but the miners took over the land because of the need to escape their jobs in the mountains.  Denver has such of a wide array of cultural influences that it is hard to distinguish one.  The Ute tribes were one of the larger tribes found in Denver, but then their population decreased which led to the rise of the Cheyenne and Kiowa tribes.  These two tribes along with the Arapaho fought the white settlers in 1863 for over two years.

-The hispanic population in Denver is 18%, according to the 2000 census, which puts them second highest after the white percentage.  As stated in the text,  the percentage of hispanics living in Colorado is 17.1% (Birdshall, etc...)  With the high amounts of immigration into the United States, many Hispanics probably choose Denver because it is one of the larger urban centers in the US.  The NAFTA has helped out Denver because of their large export economy with Canada and Mexico.  The state wage according to the state website is $7.36 per hour.


References:
http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite/CDLE-LaborLaws/CDLE/1240336908932

The Empty Interior

-The Rocky Mountains "still have remnants of glaciation found in the central Rockies and the Sierra Nevada's" (Birdsall, etc..).  The South Platte River is a river that is formed from the glaciation of the Rockies and heads through all Denver.  The Colorado river provides water for California, Nevada, Arizona  and couple other western states.
-Although the empty interior has a high level of Mormon influence, Colorado only has an average of 2% percent of the population survey practicing the Mormon faith according to the Pew forum , so Denver does not have a strong influence of this faith.  
-The federal and state government own about 43% of Colorado, with a lot of land being dedicated to  forest and parks.  In these forest and parks, there are tons of wildlife that live there.  With Denver being such a metropolitan city, animals try to stay away from nearby city life.

-According to the U.S. Energy site, "Colorado’s oil shale deposits hold an estimated 1 trillion barrels of oil — nearly as much oil as the entire world’s proven oil reserves. However, oil production from those deposits remains speculative."  As shown in the Chapter 12 map, the oil deposits in this state are quite high.


References:
http://religions.pewforum.org/maps
http://www.nrcm.org/documents/publiclandownership.pdf
http://naturalunseenhazards.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/800px-mule-deermule-deer-buck-at-rocky-mountain-arsenal-national-wildlife-refuge-outside-of-denver-co.jpg (pic 1)
http://www.eia.doe.gov/state/state-energy-profiles.cfm?sid=CO

The Great Plains and Prairies

-The perceptions of Denver, Colorado include that the weather is bad, that there are terrible winters and that it can't beat states like California.  There are perceptions that Denver has no city life and that it is just one of the great plains and prairies.  These tend to be wrong because "cities such as Denver and Calgary occasionally bask in abnormally balmy, midwinter days with temperatures over 50 degrees fahrenheit" (Birdsall,etc...).  There are around 300 days of sunshine in Denver, Colorado with there being an average of 55.4 inches of snowfall each year, according to their weather website.  For as far as Denver not really having a city life, "Denver is one of the largest cities on the plains" ( Birdsall,etc...).  Denver has a huge downtown with sports teams, business, tourism, and skiing nearby.  
-As far as financial responsibilities, "Denver  is a regional office center as well as the focus of financial activity for energy resource development on the norther plains as well as the interior west."  (Birdsall,etc...)
-The physical geography of Denver includes the Rocky Mountains are helpful in calming the winters and the South Platte River travels all throughout Denver.

--Colorado faced a huge drought from 1976 to 1977 due to the lack of rain and heavy snow, but with Denver strictly using these two forms of weather, another drought is starting to occur.  Wildfires are a huge problem throughout the plains in the past and present day because of the high numbers of high temperatures that include the highest number of days over 90 degrees in 2008(NOAA).  In October, 2010, the NOAA put out a wind advisory for Boulder and Denver because there were winds of up to 100 mph.  The average annual cost of water for someone living inside Denver is $330 per year, according to the city website.

-Colorado mostly uses coal for it's energy resources with gas and hydroelectricity for the remaining demands.  Denver is trying to clean up it's image, so with these potentials of solar and biomass, solar, wind, and geothermal shown above, these are the ways to start.




References:
http://www.weather.com/weather/monthly/USCO0105?from=36hr_topnav_undeclared

http://www.personal.psu.edu/jsw265/blogs/review_of_meteo_101/CO%20Topo.jpg (pic 1)

http://www.weather.gov/
http://www.denverwater.org/BillingRates/RatesCharges/2011Rates/
http://www.eia.doe.gov/state/state-energy-profiles.cfm?sid=CO (pic 2)

The Agricultural Core

-The latitude and longitude of Denver is 39° 44' 21" N/104° 59' 3" W.  With these coordinates and the prairielandscape, only certain crops are grown in Colorado.  The crops that are grown in Colorado are corn, hay and wheat.

-"Today, 40 percent of private land in the United States is used for agriculture. While 24 percent of that land is in the Rockies, the region produces only eight percent of the total agricultural commodities in the United States" (USDA).  With the cause of these farmlands being a higher increase in development being mostly due to increase in population, the majority of the population is white (65.3%), while the black population comprises (11%) of the population and Hispanic has the second highest with (31.7%) (Census 2009).  Denver is located on the west side of the Great Plains and faces the Rocky Mountains to its' westside.  The soil makeup of Denver consist of seitz, which is a form of volcanic rock that contributes to the forest landscape found in the mountains. When settlers first settled in Denver, the focus was on gold and silver, with little focus on agriculture.  In present day, there has been a shift to current agricultural products being corn, wheat, and hay throughout Colorado.  
-The public transportation system is growing in Denver and in the past with choices including the light rail and bus.  Union Station located in Denver use to be a prime stop for transportation throughout the country, but now faces limited traffic

Here is a picture of the current light rail transportation system found in Denver.

References:

http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2002/Ag_Atlas_Maps/Crops_and_Plants/Field_Crops_Harvested/Corn/Corn%20for%20Grain,%20Harvested%20Acres-chor.gif (pic 1)

http://www.coloradocollege.edu/stateoftherockies/010%20Report%20Card/productionB.pdf (USDA)

http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/08/0820000.html

http://www.coloradofirst.org/images/lightrailmap2008.gif

The Southern Coastlands

-With it's high elevation and low humidity, growing crops and gardening are quite a feat in Denver, Colorado.  Denver experiences many fluctuations in the temperatures that it experiences, its high amount of snow and having an average of 155 frost days per year according to colorado state, which makes the growing season very short.  The average amount of rain falling in Denver is 1.50 inches, with May having the highest amount of rain on average with 2.60 inches.  
-Denver's land use is most industrial, commercial, and residential, which puts agriculture last.  The increased amount of migration to Denver, Colorado is due to many factors, but the main one is the migration of highly-eduated workers from other states that include Florida and California.  The climate of Denver is also a huge pull factor for retirees and the fact that there is a low crime rate.

Lightning is also a huge hazard in Denver, Colorado with 75 people dying and 350 people getting injured, according to the National Lightning Safety Institute.

-To make life possible in Denver, Colorado, water is a key element and the water for this city comes from the snowmelt of the Rocky Mountains.  Colorado has trading partners with people all over the globe that include Canada, Mexico, China, Netherlands and Germany (MetroDenver).  The amount of oil and gas production for Colorado is on the rise because of political differences being solved involving permits.  According to a study done by the Department of Environmental Health and Public Health, Denver received a D in environmental quality.

Interesting Fact.- Did you know that Coors was the first company to use an all aluminum can for the production of their beer?

References:

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/garden/07220.html

http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USCO0105

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_4076232
http://www.metrodenver.org/international-trade/exports
http://www.denvergov.org/DEH/HomePage/HealthStatusReport/tabid/433184/Default.aspx
http://www.inbeer.net/extra/images/new_releases/CoorsLight-AluminumPint.png (pic 2)
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqLITs9yEtChnU5Wi1c2TJuqQzgTKBf2zAjVzZU6U7vPoOfZxVa27zseAWz2RRsNFMzrYpntfMyxOHMQvVEJsFllLnFIXUXCY1oXsNJjvg_SvZAFD8DJXi_Z8snIo071DH8Rl-sXCkxA/s400/lightning-small.png (pic 1)

The Changing South

-The geographical advantages that Denver has are the Colorado River, Rockies, and where gold was discovered in Colorado at Pike's Peak shown below

-The majority of people are Protestant, Christian or have a Roman Catholic background in Colorado, which would lead me to believe that Denver has these three main religions incorporated into it's city.

-As stated in the book, Denver boomed as a result of people moving from the South in order to get into the manufacturing market.  In creating such a strong metropolitan and having a strong environmental resume, greenery like this will provide an awe inspiring view for residents.

References:
http://www.52perfectdays.com/files/articles/denver-colorado-springs.jpg

Appalachia and the Ozarks

-In comparison to the Appalachian and Ozark, Denver has the Rockies which are a massive geographic area in the United States.  The makeup of the Rocky Mountains are made up of volcanic rock from 70 to 40 millions of years ago according to the USGS.  In these large mountains, the minerals that can be found here can found are copper,gold, lead, molybdenum, silver, tungsten and zinc.  The Rocky mountains also contain large amounts of coal, natural gas, shale with natural gas being the main source of heating according to the textbook.
-In reading the textbook, there was a chart stating that in 2005 38,510 tons of coal was mined from Colorado which is providing us cheap energy, with pollution drawbacks.

This map gives a breakdown of the migration patters of people moving in and out of each state.



-According to a 2009 census data analysis,18 percent of people living in Denver are living in poverty.  There have been pushes by religious leaders and groups to help bring this percentage to bring down this percentage.
-In an article written by the Denver Post, Colorado is making the first steps by switching from coal to natural gas.  There was pollution being spread over Native American land and with this switch, the plan on closing the gap on the Air pollution act.
-The leftover mining pollutants have been creating toxic sites in the communities near Denver, which is causing for environmental groups to call for massive cleanups of toxic chemicals.  For more information read the sixth reference.



References:http://freelargephotos.com/001115_l.jpg(pic 1)
http://www.atlasvanlines.com/migration-patterns/images/migration-map-2010.gif(Pic 2)
http://geomaps.wr.usgs.gov/parks/province/rockymtn.html
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/08/08031.html
http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_16801051

http://www.thewitness.org/archive/julyaug00/toxictour.html

The Bypassed East

Population Distribution of Denver 2000

Fishing in Denver in the early 1800's

-The first settlers in Denver were Native Americans and the early European settlers did not come until around the mid 1800s.  The reason for the attraction of the European settlers was that gold was found at a place named Pikes Peak.  The original name of Denver was St. Charles and faced destruction in the 1860's by a large fire wiping out the city. (City-data.com)
-The South Platte River served as the spot for fisherman in these early times and fishing is a large attraction for tourist and residents today.
-Agriculture is not common in Denver and can be found in cities nearby.
-The average income in the city is $60,344, which is higher than the national average.  


References: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/Colorado_population_map.png (Pic 1)
http://coloradogambler.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/page18.Z-3110.jpg (Pic 2)

The North American Manufacturing Core

-For all you green people out there, Denver has "the largest solar inverter production facility in the United States and SMA’s first manufacturing plant outside of Germany." (Denvergov.org)  The popular luggage that goes by the name of Samsonite was started in Denver, but has recently moved.  Other companies that were started in Denver were the chocolate company Russell Stovers and is the home to the headquarters of one of the largest gold producing companies named the Newmont Mining Corporation.  As mentioned earlier, mining is a huge part of Denver's economy due to its location near the Rocky Mountains.  The main economies in Colorado according to the economic development corporation are aerospace, aviation, bioscience, broadcasting and telecommunications, energy, financial services and software

-The book focuses on the shift of the Industrial Revolution and Denver faced a huge boom during this era because of mining.  People were building makeshift homes in order to become part of the booming mining business here that still exist today.  The South Platte River with its constant flow of  also made it possible for the this city to thrive.  The train station seen below was important in the shipping of goods to Denver in industrial times, but faces lower usage in modern day times.

-As mentioned in one of the slides, Denver Colorado claims to have 300 days of sunshine a year.  This is good for business and for city growth because people flock to cities with tons of sunlight as seen in California.

-If interested in the university system, the main schools are the University of Colorado Denver, Metropolitan State College of Denver and the Front Range Community College that provide the city with a well educated population.

References

http://www.metrodenver.org/industries-companies/industries

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRYFmEsjJpMO3lRdoCJ82zNmvpcqQxN2qTdpVaOh4e42NLwhVsL6bXCkpo7UEMbcN5H3EUHi8DAbi80YzAdug04IrefA8keZNVxR_ejBU4vHKjiYIQ1kIFLZBsj5jl3RCrOCRYfdouan4/s1600/_MG_3020_2.jpg (pic 1)

Megalopolis

Denver is becoming part of huge megaregion, but is not part of eastern Megalopolis.  Huge areas of settlements can be found in the Front Range that goes from Denver to Casper, Wyoming and then down into Santa Fe, New Mexico that connect along interstate 25.  This region cannot contend with the eastern Megalopolis, but population is supposed to rise due to its high metropolitan setup.
-With retail businesses having a projected 5 percent increase in 2011 and the median home prices increasing around 2 percent, the recession did not hit Denver the hardest according to the metro Denver economist.
-People see potential as Denver being a strong economic city, so tons of development is going into the cities business infrastructure.  Other pull factors include the safety of living and the cities environmental background that include denying the right to have the Olympics in 1967 because of environmental issues.
-Another thing that helps make Denver such a largely populated region is the fact they have a lot of sports teams that include the Colorado Rockies, Denver Nuggets, Denver Broncos and the Colorado Avalanche.
-Like every city in the country, sprawl is happening at a very rapid pace into mountains and nearby forest.


References
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/MapofEmergingUSMegaregions.png (pic)
http://www.metrodenver.org/

Foundations of Human Activity

-With it's high population of 600,000 people, Denver ranked twenty fourth among most populous cities in the United States. (Census.gov)  People are moving to Colorado from areas like California for job opportunities, lower rent,overpopulation, and change in weather.  The city is made up of 80 "neighborhoods" and contains a lot of architecture that was built after WWII, but the suburbs went with the new style of buildings.

This station used to be a very popular in the late 1800's, but now it used for Amtrak purposes on a very low scale.

-The early settlers of Denver were American Indian of Cheyenne, Lakota, Kiowa, Navajo descent from census data and their numbers are on the rise.
-From 1990 to 2000, the population increased by about 50,000 people according to the census bureau.
-As stated in the book, Denver was ranked 21st in terms of metropolitan population rank.  If you are a young person looking for a job, Denver is the place to go because the job market is booming and the income is higher than the national average.
-Having such a diverse group of people, not one single cultural influence can be established.  To check out all of the different types of cultures, there are a couple museums that were created because of the cities desire to make downtown Denver beautiful.  Some museums include the Museo de las Americas and the Black American West Museum and Heritage Center.  If museums are not your thing, Denver supposedly has one of the nation's largest events for different cultures that include Cinco De Mayo, the Cherry Blossom Festival and the Denver Pow Wow that can be found on the city website. 


References:
http://www.slrobertson.com/images/usa/colorado/denver/denver-union-station-2-b.jpg(Pic 1)
http://www.denvergov.org/

Geographic Patterns of the Physical Environment

-Denver has tons of parks and recreation centers with it's largest being City park that is 314 acres shown above.  The water provided to this park is from the South Platte River and the main reason for these large number of parks and recreation centers is because of a urban restoration project called the Greenway Project started in 1974.  Here is a quick did you know fact. Did you know Denver has the largest city park system in the nation with 205 parks in city limits and 20,000 acres of parkland in the nearby mountains?(University of Colorado Website) 
-The seismic activity in the nearby geographic region shows 100 potentially active faults Colorado and more than 400 earthquake tremors of magnitude 2.5 or higher have occurred in Colorado since 1870, according to the Colorado division of emergency management.
-The forest in Colorado are facing destruction from many insects and the main culprit for this destruction is the pine beetle.
http://www.ctv11.com/news.php?video=586
-According to the Denver water website, the majority of water comes from is from snow melting in the mountains with the main water sources being the the South Platte River, Blue River, Williams Fork River and Fraser River watersheds.  The Dillon reservoir is where nearly 40 percent of all of the downtowns water is stored.
-With it's high elevation of 5,280 ft and thin air, Denver has different effects on things we do on a daily basis.  For example, the Colorado Rockies play at Coors field in downtown and the ball travels farther in this ballpark leading to a higher number of home runs.  There are other interesting facts found on the city website that state if you drink alcohol in Denver,you will feel the effects at a faster pace.
-The soil that is found Denver is called seitz and it is found all throughout the Rocky mountains where large douglas fir grow.  This soil is from volcanic rocks and creates a suitable landscape.
-Seasons is what Colorado is known for and with Denver's geographic location, there are four seasons experienced.  The temperature averages around 50 degrees Fahrenheit year round, with winter having tons of snow due to the orographic lift found in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains.  The springtime weather is determined by Pacific storms and Arctic north air, while the summer has temperatures around 90 degrees regularly.  Autumn is when Denver also receives a lot of snow also because of the Pacific storms.
-With its beautiful scenery and seasons, there comes drawbacks to Colorado.  The natural disasters that have been experienced in past history are hurricanes, tornadoes, and wildfires.
-The large Rocky Mountains displayed in the picture in Chapter 1 also contain large amounts of fossil fuel deposits of petroleum, natural gas, and coal.  Some parts of the Mountain are protected, but with high production needed to keep up with nearby population growth, we will see what happens.


References:http://www.colorado.com/ai/Kite_SpreadRESIZE2.jpg
http://www.denverwater.org/

Regions and Themes

-Denver, Colorado is 44.7 miles wide with around 600,000 people living there according to the estimates by the census in 2009.  As stated in the book, from the 1990's to 2000, Denver was one of the counties in the United States to experience a percent in population change of 50 to 191.
-The climate in Denver consist of four distinct seasons with at least 300 days of sunshine a year.  The Rocky Mountains are to the east and the High plains are to the west.  Denver is located within a valley named the South Platte River Valley and is known for having random weather changes due to it's location.  Snow occurs from the months of October to April, with March having the highest amount.  During the summer months though, the temperature reaches into the 90's. 

-The Rocky mountains have a large amount of gold and silver deposits, which lead to Denver to be the huge city it currently is.  Tons of energy companies strategically placed themselves next to these mountains, which has created a stable economy for the people in the city.  Denver serves as a trade spot and has had many huge companies start their businesses here.  Some well known examples are Russell Stover and the luggage company Samsonite.  
-The population density according to the 2000 census is 3,698 people per square mile.  Urbanization boomed in the area known as the Front Range urban corridor due to its prime location in between the west and the midwest states.  The number of people homeless in Denver is lower than other cities because of the strict focus by the mayors to end it.  The pull factors for Denver is starting to boom and become a large haven for job relocation.  The cost of living is cheaper than California, so tons of residents are starting to move to Denver also.  Denver has tons of parks and recreation centers and with it's environmental outlook, it is known as one of the greener cities.
References: 


http://www.turtletrack.org/Art/Maps/DenverCO.gif (pic 1)

http://freelargephotos.com/001535_l.jpg (pic 2)