The Atlantic Periphery (Chapter 5)

First of all, the Atlantic Periphery and the Antelope Valley are located at end opposite ends of the North American continent; they also each lie next to a different ocean, with the Antelope Valley in relatively close proximity to the Pacific Ocean while the Atlantic Periphery is of course next to the Atlantic Ocean. The Atlantic Periphery experiences a very different climate than the Antelope Valley, with the former experiencing cool summers and snowy winters, while the latter experiences very hot summers and cold but generally dry winters. The Atlantic Periphery experiences high levels of precipitation year-round, while the AV's desert climate produces very little precipitation. Of course, the flora and fauna of these two regions are very different as well; the Atlantic Periphery is heavily forested, while the AV is a high-desert region.

Below is a picture of northern Maine in the month of February, followed by a picture of the AV taken in late January. Notice the thick covering of snow in Maine, while the only evidence that it is winter in the AV is the light dusting of snow on the San Gabriel Mountains in the distance.

Northern Maine in the Atlantic Periphery during February:

(Source: http://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/2012/03/12/northern-maine-counties-work-toward-joint-regional-plan/)

Palmdale in the Antelope Valley during January:


The landforms in the Atlantic Periphery are also different from those in the AV. The Atlantic Periphery states are connected to the Appalachian Mountain chain, and the landscape has been shaped by the erosional process of glaciers, leading to the formation of such features as the Great Stone Face, pictured below:


(Source: http://www.panoramio.com/photo/5869607)

The Antelope Valley is connected to the San Gabriel Mountains and the Tahachapi Mountains, and the landscape hasn't been much affected by glacial processes as it has been by the geological processes of faulting and sedimentary uplift and compression. For example, the Devil's Punchbowl in Pearblossom, pictured below, is a well-known geological feature in the AV that was formed by pressures and uplift processes from the Punchbowl and Pinyin Faults as well as the San Andreas Fault.

(Source: http://californiathroughmylens.com/devils-punchbowl-los-angeles-hikes)

Finally, the economies of these two regions are also significantly different from each other. The Atlantic Periphery's economy is strongly tied to the primary sector, through extraction of resources from the sea, such as fishing, and from the forest, such as through logging. On the other hand, the Antelope Valley economy has a less significant connection to the primary sector, and instead is highly dependent on the quaternary and tertiary sectors, through the aerospace industry and several service industries. Ultimately, the Atlantic Periphery and the Antelope Valley both possess very distinctive geographies, and it is interesting to compare and contrast them with each other.