Bypassed
Atlantic
Periphery
“Bypassed East”
• Newfoundland &
Labrador, northern
New England,
Adirondack region of
New York
– A transportation
shadow
• Slow economic growth
• Settled early, but became
increasingly isolated
• Relatively few large urban
areas
Physical Geography
• Topography
– Northern extension of the Appalachian
Mountains
– Green Mountains (Vermont)
• Range to 4,600 ft
• Ice covered during the Pleistocene
– White Mountains (New Hampshire)
• Extend to 6,500 ft
• Upper slopes rugged and steep
– Mountains of the Atlantic Provinces
• <2,200 ft and well rounded
Physical Geography
• Climate
– Maritime impact minimized by
continental and polar air masses (Dfb &
Dfc)
– Labrador Current flows southward
chilling coastal waters
– Generally, the climate is seldom hot,
often cool, and usually damp
Early Settlers
• Early 1600s - initial settlers relied upon three means to
support their livelihood
– Fishing: cod and haddock
– Timbering, especially focusing on white pine
– Agriculture, mainly subsistence
Agriculture
• Present Trends
– < 10% of New England is farmland
– Agricultural peaked during the late
1800s; farms decreased by 66%
– Today’s farming is specialized, single
crop production
• Major Areas and Products
– Aroostook Valley (NE Maine)
• Silty loam soils
• Newest commercial agricultural area
• Suffers from competition with Idaho and Oregon
• Major Areas and Products
– Lake Champlain Lowland
• Serves as a milk shed for the Megalopolis cities of Boston
and New York
• Major Areas and Products
– Prince Edward Island
– Annapolis Valley
Cranberry Farming, Maine
Tulip Farm, Prince Edward Island
Major Agricultural Areas
Economic Mainstays
• Forestry
– Limited role: lack reforestation
– Northern Maine: pulpwood
– Forestry products
– Northern New Brunswick and
Newfoundland: pulp and paper
Economic Mainstays
• Fishing
– Inshore more important
– Nova Scotia: leads all provinces in total
catch each year
– Newfoundland, New Brunswick, and PEI
are 3rd, 4th , and 5th
– Maine lobster industry vitally important
to New England
• 70% of the region’s total catch
Offshore Banks
Economic Mainstays
• Mining
– Natural gas and oil; limited coal in Nova
Scotia
– Plentiful building stone
• Tourism - a mixed blessing?
– Summer and Spring: hiking, fishing, camping,
canoeing, and sightseeing
– Fall: foliage
– Winter: skiing and winter sports
Spillovers from Megalopolis
Canadian Places on the Periphery
Halifax, Nova Scotia
American Places on the Periphery
The Future?
Discussion Questions
The now-bypassed periphery used to be the
“front door” to Europe. Can (or should) the
Periphery return to that past glory?
Since the region is basically at the doorstep
of Megalopolis, might it turn into a place
where Megalopolis residents take away
the Bypassed Atlantic Periphery’s sense of
place?
Related Books
• Irving, John. 1985. The Cider House Rules. New York:
Ballantine.
– Coming of age novel set in 20th century Maine.
• Jenkins, Jerry and Andy Keal. 2006. The Adirondack
Atlas: A Geographic Portrait of Adirondack Park.
Syracuse: Syracuse University Press.
– Everything you wanted to know about anything Adirondack in
concise, one-page essays!
• Montgomery, Lucy Maud. 1908. Anne of Green Gables.
Boston: L. C. Page & Co.
– Famous novel that takes place on Prince Edward Island.
• Wood, Joseph S. 1997. The New England Village.
Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
– A solid historical geography of rural New England.
WebSources
• Nova Scotia Tourism
http://novascotia.com/en/home/default.aspx
• Newfoundland and Labrador Quickfacts
http://www.educationcanada.com/facts/index.phtml?sid=nf&a=1&la
ng=eng
• Native Americans—Algonquian Language Family
http://www.native-languages.org/famalg.htm
• The Great Stone Face
http://www.nh.gov/oldman/
• Atlas of Canada Maritime Provinces
http://atlas.gc.ca/site/english/maps/reference/provincesterritories/m
aritimes