MexAmerica (Chapter 14)

The Antelope Valley is included in the Californian portion of MexAmerica, as shown on page 267 of our textbook, which is discussed in Chapter 15. The Antelope Valley is part of the Mojave Desert, and as described in this chapter, it is characterized by very hot and dry weather, which is generally characteristic of the MexAmerican region. I was interested to learn, after reading about the desert tortoise in this chapter, that the Antelope Valley is home to a significant population of desert tortoises. According to the Desert Tortoise Preserve Committee (DTPC), "Located in northeastern Los Angeles County, the Antelope Valley includes some of the most threatened and fragmented desert tortoise habitat. The DTPC is working to protect the remaining desert tortoises and their habitat in this at-risk area."

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management, along with the DTPC, established the Desert Tortoise Natural Area in California City, in the northern Antelope Valley, to help protect the endangered species in its natural habitat. Visitors are welcome to hike along trails through the preserve and hopefully get to see some of the tortoises:






(Sources: http://www.tortoise-tracks.org/wptortoisetracks/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/tt2001spring.pdf, http://deathvalleyjim.com/2011/10/30/desert-tortoise-natural-area-california-city-ca-10282011/)

The Antelope Valley also shares some cultural similarities with the MexAmerican region. The 2010 Census for Palmdale revealed that 54.4% of the population of Palmdale is of Hispanic or Latino origin, which is a significant increase from 37.78%  in the 2000 Census. It is also recorded that 29% of Palmdale residents speak Spanish, compared to 22% of all Californians.

(Sources: http://censusviewer.com/city/CA/Palmdale, http://www.areavibes.com/palmdale-ca/demographics/)

The increasing number of individuals from Hispanic or Latino origins in the Antelope Valley is increasingly influencing the area's cultural identity. As reported in the Antelope Valley Times, 2014 was be the inaugural year for the Miss AV Latina pageant, which included a segment where participants were required to give " a speech focusing on how their culture and heritage shapes their personal identity." The poster is shown below:

(Source: http://theavtimes.com/2014/03/03/miss-av-latina-seeking-contestants/) 

Both Lancaster and Palmdale have their own Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and there is also the Antelope Valley Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, which serve to help Hispanic and Spanish-speaking business owners succeed in the Antelope Valley business community. Ultimately, the Hispanic population within the Antelope Valley is a significant and growing part of the AV's demographic composition and its cultural identity, and in this way the Antelope Valley shares a strong similarity with much of the MexAmerican region.

The Rocky Mountain Region and Intermontane West (Chapters 12 & 13)

In Chapters 12 and 13, we learned about the Rocky Mountain and Intermontane West regions. Chapter 12 discusses the formation of the Rockies due to the collision of continental plates millions of years ago, which generated shock waves while the mountain-building process took place. On page 229 of Chapter 12, Figure 12.2 shows a cut-out profile view of the the landform processes and features that led to the formation of the Rockies. Below is a similar profile view of the Antelope Valley region, provided by the U.S. Geological Society. It shows some of the faults in the AV, including the San Andreas Fault which has formed the San Gabriel Mountains; these faults often lead to earthquakes in the area, similar to the processes that took place millions of years ago in the Rocky Mountain region.

 
(Source: http://pubs.usgs.gov/ha/ha730/ch_b/basin_range3.html)  

The Rocky Mountains and Intermontane West are known for their ski resorts, and surprisingly, although the AV is a desert region, residents of the area can also easily partake in the recreational sports of skiing and snowboarding by driving only 45 minutes to the San Gabriel Mountains, home to the Mountain High winter resort. As the resort's website states, "Mountain High is so close to the Antelope Valley that its night lighting can be seen from Palmdale, Lancaster and the entire surrounding area." This is true! In fact, when I was a little kid, my parents told me every winter that the lights on the mountains was Santa Claus practicing with his reindeer for Christmas.

 



(Source: http://www.mthigh.com/mountain/directions) 

Another similarity between the Rocky Mountain region and the Antelope Valley is that both of these areas are home to wildflowers. As shown on page 232, the wildflowers grow at certain elevations of the Rockies, and the AV is home to consistent flowering of the California state flower, the poppy. In fact, the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve, located in Lancaster, is a state-protected park where each spring visitors can see rolling hills of grassland covered with the beautiful orange poppies, as shown below. This is another similarity between the AV and the Intermontane West, in that both areas have been successful in preserving there natural wonders through government parks. I have visited the Poppy Reserve many times, and it is always a wonderful sight, although the last two years have produced less flowers due to lower rainfall.


(Source: http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=627)

Finally, both the Rocky Mountains and the Intermontane West have created tourist industries through historic preservation efforts, and in a similar vein, the Antelope Valley Indian Museum attracts tourists who wish to learn more about the history and cultures of Natives Americans in southern California. Built in the 1920s, the Museum is home to collections of Antelope Valley Native American artifacts and information about the Antelope Valley area and the history of Native Americans in the area. I have visited it a few times, and it is always interesting to see and learn from.


Inside one of the rooms in the Museum:


Thus, the Antelope Valley shares a surprising number of similarities with the Rocky Mountain and Intermontane West regions.

The Great Plains (Chapter 11)

In Chapter 11, we learned about the Great Plains region of the United States. In particular, we learned about its hydrology systems, such as the significant role that aquifers play in providing water to the area. I was interested to learn that most of the Antelope Valley is also dependent on aquifers as well. The following diagrams from the United States Geological Society (USGS) show how most of the Antelope Valley is dependent on two aquifers:

(Source: http://pubs.usgs.gov/ha/ha730/ch_b/basin_range3.html)

According to a study of the Antelope Valley by the USGS, groundwater in the AV is used for both domestic and irrigation purposes. Since the population of the AV is steadily increasing, demand for water is also increasing and placing a greater strain on the area's water resources. Just as in the Great Plains, the Antelope Valley's water table and aquifers are being depleted at a rate faster than they can be replenished by natural processes, leading to a future "compaction", or collapse, of the aquifers.

Experience suggests that the continued mining of ground water from the Lancaster subbasin will cause additional aquifer- system compaction. The future of ground-water use in Antelope Valley is linked to continuing compaction of the aquifer system and additional land subsidence. The hydrogeologic complexities of the linkages and the associated ground-water basin management challenges will continue to confront AVWG (Antelope Valley Water Group) and other future users of this crucial resource in the arid, high-desert valley.

(Source: http://ca.water.usgs.gov/groundwater/poland/)

Finally, another similarity between the Great Plains region and the Antelope Valley is that both regions experience very high winds. The combination of the AV's strong winds and its sandy desert topography leads to frequent dust storms across the area. The following YouTube video provides a great up-close look at what it is like to be caught in one of these dust storms in the Antelope Valley. Watching the video helps me to imagine what it must have been like to have lived through the Dust Bowl in the Great Plains during the 1930s.




Unfortunately, despite the Antelope Valley's consistent strong winds, the AV has only a single windmill to generate energy, shown below, although a few private homes have their own windmills to generate energy for their own households.




I hope the Antelope Valley and the Great Plains can increase the number of their windmills and ultimately harness most of their wind energy in the future in order to provide a renewable source of energy for the United States.