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.

The Inland South (Ch 9)

  San Antonio is part of Texas, therefore a lot of the culture of such city is influenced by the Inland South States.  The picture above represents a little bit of the fauna and flora as well a depiction of native americans in the State.  Pecans tend to grow in abundance along the southern reaches of the San Antonio and Guadalupe Rivers, were regional staples of south Texas native groups.

Nowadays, San Antonio is trying to save its history with restoration of its historical sites.

San Antonio additionally has a culture with a lot of sports fanatics.  Its most famous professional sport team, San Antonio Spurs (Basketball).  For other major sports such as football, San Antonio fans will choose from state teams since it doesn't have one of its own.

http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/cabeza-cooking/inland.html

The Great Lakes and Corn Belt (Ch 8)

The state of Texas is a great producer of corn; the final estimate of corn produced in 2010 was some 301 million bushels on 2,300,000 acres (930,000 ha) of land, totaling to $1.2 billion of crop. A closer look at the rest of Texas' agriculture is as follows:

• Cotton, one of Texas top 10 commodities, was growing wild in the 16th century. Cotton is now a major cash crop of Texas. Texas ranks first in the U.S. for cotton production.

• The top five crops raised in Texas are: Cotton

Greenhouse & Nursery Corn Wheat Hay

• There were 4,474,000 bales of cotton produced in 2008.

• Texas was the leading state in cattle operations and cattle & calves for 2008. There were 149,000 cattle operations and a total of 13,800,000 head of cattle/ calves.

• There were 960,000 sheep and lambs in Texas in the year 2008. They produced 4.2 million pounds of wool, which put Texas first in wool production.

• Texas is #1 in the nation in: Cattle

Cotton Sheep & goats Wool & mohair Hay production

General

• Agriculture is the second largest industry in the state, generating $80 billion for the economy annually.

• Texas has 266,807 sq. miles of land or 172 million acres. • Big Spring, TX - named for one the states largest natural springs. 

• Texas was an independent nation from 1836-1845. 

• Before 1836, Texas was a part of Mexico. • The Alamo in San Antonio is known as the “Cradle of Texas Liberty”.

Even though San Antonio economic sector does not include the Primary Sector, it is obviously a big part of Texas' overall economy. As many might say, San Antonio can hold its own despite the fact that its economy is dependant on the rest of Texas.

Once again the idea of Texas seceding might not so far fetched after all.  They have the will, and the natural resources to do so as well a very good established economy.

As the image below shows, Texas is a network of rivers and lakes.  Besides its rivers and lakes, Texas has direct access to the Atlantic Ocean via the Gulf of Mexico.  The Rio Grande is one of its most noticeable features since it denotes its international border with Mexico.

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corn_production_in_the_United_States
http://www.agclassroom.org/kids/stats/texas.pdf

Megalopolis (Ch 7)

As of March 12, 2014, The Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin and San Antonio metropolitan areas combined into one giant megalopolis rank as the eighth largest mega-region in North America, according to new research by Richard Florida, co-founder of The Atlantic Cities.

The “Dal-Austin” megalopolis’ $723 billion in economic output — more than Sweden’s or oil-rich Saudi Arabia’s — would rank among the world’s 25 largest economies. Just under 12 million people live in the region.

It is of no surprise that Texas feels confident of standing as an independent nation by seceding from the United States.  Not only by its economic output, but Texans are known to be patriotic not only to Country but to State.  Based on first hand experience, those who join the Marine Corps will be asked question close to "What part of the country are you from? Texas or what?".  Goes to show a strong sense of belonging and patriotism by Texans.  

If Texas were to secede, we would lose Him.

Source:

http://bizbeatblog.dallasnews.com/2014/03/dallas-fort-worth-austin-and-san-antonio-areas-combined-rank-as-the-no-8-megalopolis-in-north-america.html/

Periphery (Ch 5)

San Antonio

San Antonio is located at a very desirable location within Texas.  It is within driving distance of Corpus Christi and Houston.  When seen on a larger map, it is noticeable that San Antonio is sorrounded by a web of highways, all leading to several major and small cities within Texas as well as to the Gulf of Mexico.  One major highway that goes right through the heart of San Antonio is the Transcontinental Highway which in Los Angeles is known as "The 10 Freeway".  The 10 Freeway goes from the city of Santa Monica, CA all the way to Jacksonville, FL.  This helps the city connect with lots of economic routes throughout the states.

Five major cities that are within driving distance of San Antonio are

Austin at 73.5 miles

Corpus Christi at 130.5 miles

Laredo at 142.5 miles

Nuevo Laredo at 148.5 miles

Houston at 189.4 miles

Austin, TX is located approximately in the center of Texas, making it ideal destination from San Antonio.

Corpus Christi, located at the Gulf of Mexico, making it a good source of imported goods.

Laredo TX and Nuevo Laredo (Mexico) are the border cities just at approximately 2 hr drive from San Antonio which makes it an ideal location to import goods from Mexico, unfortunately is also a source of illegal contraband from Mexico.

http://www.gomapper.com/travel/list-of-cities-near/san-antonio.html

Political Economy (Ch 4)

The city of San Antonio has a very diverse economy.  The secondary sector (manufacturing and industry), the tertiary sector (personal services such as healthcare and retailing), and the quaternary sector (government, financial services, research and development, education, journalism and media) are the major economic sectors of the city.

San Antonio has had a steady economic growth and has earned a top ranking among large Texas cities. The largest employment sectors in San Antonio are services, manufacturing, and government. The large concentration of government workers is due mainly to the location of four military bases in the area—three Air Force bases (Brooks, Lackland, and Randolph) and one Army post (Fort Sam Houston) which belong to the  quaternary sector have a large military personnel population which contributes to the over all economy of San Antonio by catering to needs of service members as well as their families.

San Antonio is headquarters for the largest military establishment in the United States. The bases provide employment to approximately 74,500 military and civilian personnel and have an economic impact on the local community of approximately $4.9 billion.

Early military presence.

Contemporary military presence in San Antonio.

The service sector is the largest and fastest growing sector of the economy, largely because of increased demand for health care and business services as people migrate to this city increasing population.  San Antonio's  tourism industry is a vibrant and colorful one.

San Antonio River Walk

The Alamo

San Antonio Tourism

Source:
http://www.city-data.com/us-cities/The-South/San-Antonio-Economy.html

Settlement (Ch 3)

San Antonio is one of the oldest European settlements in Texas and was, for decades, its largest city. Before Spanish colonization, the site was occupied for thousands of years by varying cultures of indigenous peoples. The historic Payaya Indians were likely those who encountered the first Europeans.

Development of the Spanish colonial city followed construction of a fort in 1717. A Catholic mission and trading post were also established, and the town developed as the capital of Tejas, a province of colonial Spain. It was the northernmost settlement associated with the Hispanic culture of the Valley of Mexico.

After Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1821, white American settlers entered the region from the United States. In 1835, the white Americans gained control of San Antonio in the fighting that gained independence for what became the Republic of Texas. One of the most famous battles between the Mexican Army and the Americans was the Battle of The Alamo where Mexican General Santa Anna gained a victory.  But, in the end, Texas won the war.  In 1846 Texas was annexed by the United States of America, and became a state.  

Battle of The Alamo

General Santa Anna

Source:

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

Environmental Setting (Ch 2)

San Antonio is part of the mild midlatitude climates.  It's humid subtropical, without dry seasons but with hot summers. Generally the weather is great year-round.

Additionally, San Antonio gets its fresh water from the underground Edwards Aquifer.  The Edwards Aquifer is a unique groundwater system.  It is one of the greatest natural resources on Earth, serving the diverse agricultural, industrial, recreational, and domestic needs of almost two million users in south central Texas.  The city has a semi-arid climate, and water from the Edwards is the reason that 18th century Spanish missionaries were able to establish footholds like the Alamo.  San Antonio and many other cities in the surrounding region were able to grow and prosper without developing surface water or other water resources because of the Edwards Aquifer.

In recent decades, demand for water in the region has increased well beyond the Aquifer's capacity to provide, and there are increasing concerns about the welfare of endangered species and regional economies that depend on springflows from the Aquifer.  For these reasons, waters users of the region are facing tough decisions about who owns, controls, and uses Aquifer water.

  


Source:
http://www.edwardsaquifer.net/

Introduction (CH 1)

Welcome to San Antonio, TX

San Antonio (Spanish for "Saint Anthony") is the seventh most populous city in the United States of America and the second most populous city in the state of Texas, with a population of 1.3 million. It was the fastest growing of the top 10 largest cities in the United States from 2000-2010, and the second from 1990-2000. The city is located in the American Southwest, the south–central part of Texas, and the southwestern corner of an urban region known as the Texas Triangle.

San Antonio was named for Saint Anthony of Padua, whose feast day is on June 13, when a Spanish expedition stopped in the area in 1691. Famous for Spanish missions, the Alamo, the River Walk, the Tower of the Americas, the Alamo Bowl and host to SeaWorld and Six Flags Fiesta Texas theme parks, the city is visited by approximately 26 million tourists per year according to the San Antonio Convention and Visitors Bureau. The city is home to the four-time NBA champion San Antonio Spurs and the annual San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, one of the largest in the country.

San Antonio was once part of Mexico until February 28, 1845, when the U.S. Congress passed a bill that authorized the United States to annex the Republic of Texas, and on March 1 U.S. President John Tyler signed the bill.  All this after Texas gained its independence from Mexico.

Source:

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