Chapter 12 - The Great Plains and Prairies

Chapter 12 talks about the continuous plains and prairies that are located in the center of the United States. The landscape does have variation with it going from prairies to badlands which are created by sedimentary rock erosion. The Great Plains' weather is not identical to Santa Barbara; droughts, thunderstorms, tornadoes, and wind is not common in Santa Barbara.

Chapter 12 also discusses the countless novels, films, songs, and television shows about the Great Plains. In comparison, one book comes to mind when I think about Santa Barbara: Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell. The novel is based on a true story about Juana Maria who was left alone on an island on one of the Channel Islands off of the California Coast. In the end, she is rescued and taken to the Santa Barbara Mission.

Not so much ABOUT Santa Barbara:

• The final scene in The Graduate is set in Santa Barbara.
• Several scenes in the 1966 version of Batman were filmed at Stearns Wharf.
• The television show Psych follows a crime consultant in the city of Santa Barbara.

[Sources]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Island_of_the_Blue_Dolphins

http://quarriesandbeyond.org/states/ca/images/santa_barbara_mission/ca-santa_barbra_missn_5471_gardn_juana_maria_plaq.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Barbara,_California

Chapter 11 - The Agricultural Core

As stated previously, agriculture dominates the land use in Santa Barbara county. Strawberries, lemons, winegrapes, and vegetable crops are among the most fruitful in the area. Much of the success of agriculture can be attributed to Santa Barbara's climate. Elevations ranged from sea level to mountains over 6,000 feet giving Santa Barbara county various micro-climates which have naturally led to many agricultural regions.

The Santa Ynez Valley has been a big cattle-grazing land but until recently has become site for horse-breeding and wineries and vineyards.

The Lompoc Valley has prime soils which make it an ideal are for a variety of crops such as apples, cherries, and flower seeds.

The Santa Maria Valley is the prime agriculture trade center of the county. Many farm residences and agriculture processing plants are located in Santa Maria. One-half of the area's irrigated acres are vegetables and strawberries. More than half of the county's farm income comes from these crops. The foothills in the Santa Maria Valley are used as vineyards and beef cattle are grazed on the surrounding hillsides.

 

Santa Barbara's abundance of agriculture is also a negative aspect: it is also a leading source of water pollution. Rain water and irrigation water that washes over fields full of salts, metals, nutrients, and pesticides run off into the water nearby.



[Sources]

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=8&ved=0CFgQFjAH&url=http%3A%2F%2Flongrange.sbcountyplanning.org%2Fprograms%2Fgenplanreformat%2FPDFdocs%2FAgricultural.pdf&ei=T5LhTo_TBOariQLq-YWODw&usg=AFQjCNFBMWlIMSJqOpUf7jcjP-JlLMQLhw&sig2=haCH0MJIausOhZr_VbcWtw

http://www.sbck.org/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=7

Chapter 10 - The Southern Coastlands: On the Subtropical Margin

Chapter 10 discusses the Southern Coastlands of the United States which are comprised of parts of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and all of Florida. This environment is categorized as subtropical; the climate is humid, the winters are mild, and the summers are hot. Santa Barbara, in comparison, is a Mediterranean climate which is actually a variety of the subtropical climate.

In contrast to the Southern Coastlands hazards of hurricanes and winter freeze, Santa Barbara's most prevalent hazard would have to be wildfires. The Jesusita Fire on May 5, 2009 burned more than 8,000 acres and destroyed over 80 homes. The fire burned through the Santa Ynez Mountains to the hills above Montecito.

Satellite image of the Jesusita Fire burn scar on May 10, 2009, taken from the Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite . Image shows the northern part of the burned area, which stretches from the outskirts of Santa Barbara (hidden beneath clouds) into the Los Padres National Forest.

Santa Barbara takes pride in the many fruit orchards it has all over the county. One successful crop that has cultivated in and around the county are lemons. Lemons are a subtropical fruit that bloom and bear fruit almost all year long. In 2007, over 1500 acres of lemons were grown in the Santa Barbara county.

However, Santa Barbara's most successful crop to date is the strawberry. In 2009, strawberries brought in a total of $299,442, 100.

“Agriculture... continues to provide a strong base for our local economy, and through the multiplier effect, agriculture and related activities had a total contribution in 2008 of more than $2 billion to the economy."





 [Sources]

http://www.independent.com/news/2009/may/14/santa-barbara-endures-its-most-threatening-natural/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesusita_Fire

http://www.cfbf.com/counties/?id=42

http://www.noozhawk.com/local_news/article/041409_strawberries_remain_santa_barbara_countys_top_crop/

Chapter 9 - The Changing South

California was not part of the changes of the South, including slavery of the African people. However, in comparison to the idea of slavery, many argue that the Spanish missionaries enslaved the Indian people. The idea of slavery in the context may not directly compare to that of the African slaves, but the Indian people were subjected to rapid and violent social and cultural change. The Indian people were pulled from their homes, traditions, families, and made to adapt to a new culture and values. Many forcefully did not submit to this new ways of life and ultimately were violated and subjected to slavery unintentionally.

A little hard to see, but a painting of Indians playing music at the Santa Barbara mission.

Add caption

A painting showing the Chumash Indian's revolt at the SB Mission.

[Sources]

http://www.sandiegohistory.org/journal/78spring/labor.htm

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/search/controller/view/chs-m2626.html

http://americangallery.wordpress.com/tag/american-west/

http://www.sito.org/cgi-bin/egads/showart?show=ham.0129

Chapter 8 - Appalachia and the Ozarks

The Appalachians and Santa Barbara don't really have much in common. The Appalachians topography made it difficult to be used in farming and settlement. However, Appalachia became significantly known for its mining, most notably coal. However, it had a big negative impact on Appalachia's physical geography making it undesirable to live. Poverty rates in the Appalachia's is significant, mostly in Southern Appalachia cultures.

Santa Barbara, in comparison, has had some issues with its physical geography and farming; the county being hilly and including lots of forest. However, Santa Barbara county has found ways to to go around this and has hundreds of successful wineries. The Coal Oil Point in Santa Barbara is the largest oil seep in the world. It hasn't adversely affected the area as much as the Appalachia's farming did, but the oil seep does produce tar balls that wash up on the beach. Also, the oil seep is a natural occurring process whereas the people in the Appalachia's farmed and created the problems. On the topic of poverty, in the 2000, the census data report stated that 13.4% of Santa Barbara's residents were below the poverty line. The per capita income for Santa Barbara then was $26,466. This compared to the actual cost of living shows that the number of people below the poverty line is quite high.

Satellite map of petroleum seep.

[Sources]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Barbara,_California

Chapter 7 - The Bypassed East

Santa Barbara is not included in the Bypassed East. Santa Barbara has been inhabited by people for over 13,000 years. Currently, it is a very popular place to live and visit. There are many neighborhoods with distinct history, architecture, and cultures.

Santa Barbara neighborhood map.

Spanish influenced homes.

Santa Barbara marina.

University of California Santa Barbara.

As specified previously, tourism alone gives the Santa Barbara economy more than a billion dollars per year.

State Street.

Stearn's Wharf.

[Sources]

http://www.danaoneill.com/santa-barbara-neighborhoods/

http://express.ece.ucsb.edu/pictures/aerial_campus2.html

http://www.worldofstock.com/stock_photos/TAC3417.php

http://www.engr.uconn.edu/~garrick/ce254/ce%20254%202009/lecture%20and%20home%20work%20index%202009.htm

Chapter 6 - All about Canada

Since Chapter 6 is supposed to be skipped, considering I'm not blogging about Canada, I thought I would include an interesting crop report on Santa Barbara. (pdf file)

Agricultural Production Report 2009