Resources of the Great Lakes Region of North America

The rich and beautiful Great Lakes region has fertile and vast lakeside plains, complex and diverse terrain, rich resources, beautiful natural scenery, developed economy, dense towns, and concentrated industrial and agricultural production. It plays an important role in the economies of the United States and Canada. occupies an important position. Judging from the complex topographic conditions, climatic conditions and natural landscapes, the Great Lakes region of North America is an obvious transition zone. It is the watershed between the Gulf of Mexico and the Arctic Ocean. Many important rivers south of the Great Lakes region flow from north to south into the Mississippi Channel and directly into the Gulf of Mexico; many rivers north of the Great Lakes region flow from south to north or from west to northeast into Canada's Hudson Bay or the Atlantic Ocean. . The Great Lakes region is located between 42° and 48° north latitude, with high latitude and a relatively obvious continental climate. The winter is long and cold, and the growing season is short; the winter lasts for 5 months in the north and 4 months in the south; the summer is short and cool, and sometimes hot weather occurs. In the southern area of ??Lake Michigan from September to October, the mornings and evenings are relatively cool and slightly chilly, but by noon there is enough sunshine and it feels warm.

The natural scenery in the southern part of the Great Lakes region is very beautiful, especially in summer and autumn. Along the shores of Lake Michigan and Lake Erie, the lakes and waters are very beautiful. Especially in the lakeside area, a wide variety of coniferous and broad-leaved forests grow everywhere. In winter and spring, the climate is cold and the scenery is relatively monotonous. Only in summer and autumn, the red maple leaves and green pine and fir complement each other, forming a beautiful scenery in this area. The natural scenery, as well as the endless jungle and green grassland by the lake, is like a green ocean.

In the forests of the Great Lakes region, there are also many precious wild animals, such as American elk, bears, wolves and foxes. There are American minks, water monkeys and beavers in the lakes. Occasionally you can see the extremely rare North American bison.

The Great Lakes region not only has beautiful scenery, but also has abundant underground resources, with large reserves, many varieties, good quality, and convenient mining conditions. The Appalachian Mountains east of the lake are the most important coal fields in the United States, containing half of the country's reserves. The west and south of Lake Superior are important iron ore producing areas in the United States, with reserves accounting for about 80% of the United States. At present, the main mining areas in the Great Lakes region are Meshabee, Cuyuna, Market, and Menominee. Among them, Mesabi's mining volume ranks first in the country. There are also rich mineral resources such as limestone, manganese, uranium, gold, silver, copper and salt along the coasts of Lake Huron and Lake Michigan.

The Great Lakes have important shipping value and play a great role in promoting the economic development of nearby areas. The five Great Lakes are not only connected to each other, but there are also many natural waterways and canals that connect them to the ocean. For example, Lake Ontario connects to the Gulf of St. Lawrence via the St. Lawrence River in the east; Lake Erie connects to the Atlantic Ocean near New York via the Erie Canal and the Hudson River; the Illinois Canal to the southwest of Lake Michigan communicates with the Mississippi River, and all the way from the Great Lakes Southward into the Gulf of Mexico. In order to allow large ocean-going ships to sail directly to the coast of Lake Superior, the westernmost part of the Great Lakes. The United States and Canada have opened a new shipping lane to the St. Lawrence, and many large cities along the lake have direct navigation to some of the world's largest ports. In this way, not only the cities along the Great Lakes are conveniently connected, but also the Great Lakes region has more frequent exchanges with North America and other parts of the world, further promoting the economic development of this region.

The rich iron ore resources and cheap water transportation in the Great Lakes region played a large role in the development of the steel industry in the United States. Currently, there are five major steel industry centers formed on the south and west shores of the Great Lakes, mainly Chicago, Cleveland, and Detroit, followed by Duluth and Toledo. The high concentration of production and capital had a huge impact on the steel industry in the Great Lakes region.

In recent years, there has been a trend of the center of gravity of the U.S. steel industry shifting from the mid-Atlantic states to the Great Lakes coast.

In addition, there are abundant water resources near the Great Lakes. Only near Niagara Falls between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario contains more than 6 million kilowatts of hydropower resources. At present, the United States and Canada have built hydropower stations here respectively, with a total installed capacity of about 3 million kilowatts.

Nowadays, when a traveler roams the Great Lakes region, the quiet and beautiful natural landscapes of 50 years ago, with lush vegetation and lake light reflections are no longer common, replaced by those large Urban buildings stretch along the lakeside. Highways and various railway lines as dense as spider webs are distributed on the fertile land of the lakeside. In the continuous urban areas, there are rows of buildings, tall chimneys, and busy streets. The port terminals and the blue sky of the lake near the city all make people feel that the ecological environment along the Great Lakes is changing and evolving, which is dizzying. The south shore of Lake Michigan and Lake Erie is an important industrial zone and urban agglomeration area in the United States. The main large and medium-sized cities here include Milwaukee, Chicago, Gerry, Lanshen, Detroit, Toledo, Cleveland, and Akron. , Pittsburgh, etc. In the lakeside areas of the Great Lakes, there are many modern city ports. The main lake ports are: Duluth, Chicago, Milwaukee, Bay City, Alpena, Mackinac City, Buffalo, Erie, Detroit, etc. in the United States. Thunder Bay, Sarnia, Goderich, Toronto, Kingston, Hamilton, etc. in Canada.