Jean Gottmann, a French geographer, coined the term Megalopolis in order to describe the densely populated urban corridor of the northeastern United States. Mammoth Lakes a place where people get away from the urban sprawl and reconnect with nature. The five major cities that comprised Megalopolis were Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington. Early settlements were located along the coast or on the banks of a major river because waterways served as major transportation corridors.
Although Megalopolis was largely urbanized, agriculture was an important part of the economy of early settlements. Because of the climate, the region provided year-round precipitation, which meant that farmers were able to grow crops without irrigation. A specialty crop grown in Megalopolis was cranberries, while Mammoth Lakes had none.
The climate varies drastically from the north to the south of Megalopolis.There are longer, harsher winters and shorter, cooler summers to the north of Megalopolis. The Winter storms can bring blizzard conditions and heavy snows that disrupt transportation. Mammoth Lakes’ transportation can also be block by forms driving and air. Late summer and fall can bring occasional hurricanes from the south Atlantic; Mammoth Lakes doesn’t have hurricanes, but there are earthquakes from tectonic or magmatic activity.
The major cities of Megalopolis in early days of the United States were port cities.These cities were located along the fall line, which was the highest point upstream that ships could navigate. The area had rapids and waterfalls, which made it an ideal spot for the building of water wheels for powering early industries. These cities grew because they were centers of trade; they transported raw materials from the hinterlands to Europe. Currently, shipping is done in containers that are transferred back and forth from trucks, railroads, and giant ships that travel across the oceans. The New York and New Jersey is a busy container port, while Mammoth Lakes, CA doesn’t have one, but the Los Angeles container port is the busiest and has a dominant shipping industry. Los Angeles also leads the world in the motion picture, television, and recorded music industry.
Tourism sites in the Megalopolis region include the Empire State Building, Times Square, and Central Park in Manhattan. Some tourist sites I like to visit are the Antietam Battlefield and Gettysburg Battlefield (picture of the left). While the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range has some of the most spectacular scenery and Mammoth Lakes is in the heart of it all. Mammoth Lakes is centrally located near the most prized national and state parks in the west, Yosemite National Park (picture on the right).
Mammoth Lakes, CA 