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The St. Louis Gateway Arch is part of the St. Louis skyline. (©AP/WWP/James A. Finley)
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This site is about the geography of the United States. And although at the country's physical geography is also discussed , the central interest of this site is not landforms, climate, soils, or vegetation but the human imprint on the landscape.
This does not mean that the physical environment is ignored. In fact, in some instances it holds a central role since it often plays a significant role in the pattern of people's activities. For example : one factor in the importance of New York City is certainly its location on one of the world's finest natural harbors. Southern Florida's long growing season and mild winters enable it to be a leader in the production of oranges, lemons, and sugarcane.
The physical environment helps define human opportunities, but it does not in itself determine human activities. In general, the more advanced the level of technology, the greater the leeway a population has in dealing with the land.
It is obviously impossible to cover all the material that might fit into a geography of the United States. We have therefore chosen to divide the country into a number of areas, each of which has a special identity developed out of several interacting elements. We use these elements to form the themes around which each regional chapter is organized.
Abridged from U.S. State Department IIP publications and other U.S. government materials.
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