Hawaii And The Pacific Islands (Ch 17)

 

Let's begin with a snapshot of Hawaii, leaving us with the desire to be in that particular state.

San Antonio might literally be on the other side of the world from Hawaii.  The process by which Hawaii was formed is very different from that of San Antonio.  The culture of Hawaii will be different from that San Antonio.

Hawaii's influence will be from pacific Islanders but that of San Antonio is from Latin America, specially Mexico. 

The cuisine, as discussed earlier, will differ from location to location.  San Antonio's cuisine will be associated with that of Mexico, tacos and burritos will be in abundance.  Just as in popular culture, many will define hawaii's cuisine with pineapples, Spam, and peanut butter reeses' candies.  Thats just a fraction of its cuisine.  Spam is a staple of Hawaiian restaurants, but it's not indigionous to the islands. 

Given choices, most will pick Hawaii over San Antonio, given that Hawaii is known worldwide, unlike San Antonio.

YOU TUBE VIDEO



Sources
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpijTxhbltg

The Pacific Northwest (Ch 16)

The Pacific Northwest is made out of Washington, Oregon, Alaska and Canada's western coast.  The area of San Antonio could not be any more different that the Pacific Northwest of the United States.  One of its big differences is the weather, for The Pacific Northwest has heavier precipitation than San Antonio.

The Pacific Northwest has become very conscious of its enviroment and various steps have been taken to preserve its natural resources.  About Texas, the opposite might be argued given the slogan of "Everything is Bigger in Texas", which bring us to the constant sight of big trucks in cities such as San Antonio.

Technology is associated with the state of Washington, Microsoft is a big name that comes to mind as well as big name industries such as Starbucks coffee.

 

California (Ch 15)

California is a very diverse cultural and geographic region. There are people from different cultural backgrounds living in the state of California.  One could make the argument that San Antonio, TX could be part of California based on the heavy influence California and Texas have from Mexican culture. 

As seen in the picture above, California's primary economic is the tourism. There are many locations, it's the land of Hollywood. The city of San Antonio is the seventh most populous city in the United States and the second most populous one in Texas.  

The population of San Antonio is large enough to support its own tourism industry, but not capable enough to compete with that of california.







sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Antonio

MexAmerica (Ch 14)

The MexAmerica area of the United States is the area where two cultures collide, that of Mexico and the so called "American" culture.  In San Antonio, the culture might be defined as Mexamerican considering the distance it has from the border of Mexico and its heavy influence from such culture depending on its citizens, many of whom are from mexican ancestry.

Mexamerica area is defined by its people as well by its cuisine which is heavily influence by its Mexican roots.  San Antonio falls under this Mexamerica and it's seen in its architecture, people and cuisine among others factors. Besides its mexican influences, Texas BBQ is big in San Antonio.

The Rocky Mountain Region & The Intermontane West (Ch 12 & 13)

The following is a list of peaks over 8,000 feet in Texas, and all within driving distance from San Antonio, Tx, making it ideal for outdoor activities within the vecinity;

• Guadalupe Peak 8,749
• Bush Mountain 8,631
• Shumard Peak 8,615
• Bartlett Peak 8,508
• Mount Livermore 8,378
• Hunter Peak 8,368
• El Capitan 8,085

These mountain regions in Texas have become a habitat for several animals and plants making it an ideal attraction for adventure seekers from those in the inner cities such as San Antonio. Texas might not have a region it can call "The Rockies" but obviously it has its own version of such with abundant diversity.

Guadalupe Peak is the highest natural point in Texas, with an elevation of 8,751 feet (2,667 m). It is located in Guadalupe Mountains National Park, and is part of the Guadalupe Mountains range in southeasternNew Mexico and West Texas.

As seen, the intermontane west covers a gigantic area that dwarfs the area of San Antonio, even the entire sate of Texas.  This feature makes tis gigantic area very diverse and rich in various aspects.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guadalupe_Peak

https://www.tsl.texas.gov/ref/abouttx/mountains.html

The Great Plains (Ch 11)

  Just like the other regions, the Great Plains Region of Texas contains many unique places too. Some of the Major Cities are Amarillo, Odessa, and Lubbock. Some of  the sub-regions and points of interest are the Llano Basin, and the Edwards Plateau.  Amarillo is approximately 7.5 hours away from San Antonio.

The North Central Plains are bounded by the Caprock Escarpment to the west, the Edwards Plateau to the south, and the Eastern Cross Timbers to the east. This area includes the North Central Plains around the cities of Abilene and Wichita Falls, the Western Cross Timbers to the west of Fort Worth, theGrand Prairie, and the Eastern Cross Timbers to the east ofDallas. With about 35 to 50 inches (890 to 1,270 mm) annual rainfall, gently rolling to hilly forested land is part of a larger pine-hardwood forest of oaks, hickories, elm and gum trees. Soils vary from coarse sands to tight clays or red-bed clays and shales.


Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Texas
http://justtofresh.weebly.com/great-plains.html

The Coastal South (Ch 10)

Corpus Christi, Rockport, Galveston, Houston, Texas City, Beaumont and Port Arthur are cities and ports on the coastal part of Texas.  They have direct access to the Gulf Of Mexico and to the trade that comes through it.  These location additionally are connected to San Antonio via highways which gives San Antonio that ability to benefit from the goods that come from these cities.  It is also a reason for the prosperity of San Antonio having access to these trade routes.

Besides of having a diverse economy and sources of goods from different cities, San Antonio has has very diverse population which has allowed it to be an attractive destination for new settlers.

As previously mentioned in chapters, tourism in San Antonio is given to its colorful attractions and rich history as an early city, and most famously by "The Alamo".

San Antonio has a bright future ahead of it, being a tourist attraction and located to several other tourist destinations will be appealing to potential newcomers.  It'll make the city grow financially as well as for its population.