World Regional Geography 2012

Overview
Student Digital Stories 2012
Americas' Bioregions--Western Hemisphere
Europe Bioregions
Russia and NIS Bioregions
SW Asia and N Africa Bioregions
Subsaharan Africa Bioregions
South Asia Bioregions
East Asia Bioregions
Australasia Bioregions
Oceanic Bioregions
Links

GE 176 course looks at the world for the regional features, landmarks, cultures, and changes over time, space, and place. Any Pulsipher Editions give excellent reference maps and text for World Regional Geography.—Instructor

Text online study pages
http://bcs.whfreeman.com/pulsipher4e

Student Digital Storytelling
Your posted work here is a personal, virtual reflection on geography in the world of today and/or the past/future.

There are guides to digital storytelling online at places like

http://colbycriminaljustice.wikidot.com/creating-a-digital-story

If you need help using Windows Movie Maker this is a good tutorial:

http://frybreadqueen.googlepages.com/killtheindian%2Csavetheman

Cortney Thurman

Damion Walls

Alexa Fitzsimons Erin Koops

Kristen Mitchell

Christina Rieth

Macaila Shrader-Shanks

candace standley

Jake Nath, Nolan Carter & Fily Perez

Alsace-Lorraine
Zach Arnberger

Tyleen Jensen

Brooke Bursiek and Chelsea Jonte

Scott Ochs

Jessi and Allison

Wes Stephenson

Dylan Helberg, Marco Tamayo, Jeremy Inderlied

Sadie and Michelle

Aaron Spann, Sasha Barrett, Damarius Lowery

The type of music that is playing is Bahamian music rake and scrape

Your posted work here is a personal reflection on one of the select topics Physical Geography, Earth . Include at least two references as web links. These will add to your reporting and demonstrate whether you understand the content of cultural anthropology. This electronic descriptive narrative should be about 300 words with photos and other graphics, usually 1 .jpg uploaded to Files. It can be a map image of the place. Paraphrase, not plagiarism, this must be your own composition—quality work. Insert at least 2 references as URLs. Include your name and the title/topic of your post. Your posted work will be public, indefinitely, on the internet.

Appalachian Mountains
by Abby Mrazek and Emily Torson

Appalachian Mountains, they’re a system of mountains in eastern North America. They first formed around 480 Million years ago during the Ordovician Period. The Applications forms alternating ridgelines and valleys oriented in opposition to any road running east-west. The Appalachian Highlands physiographic division as consisting of thirteen provinces:

1. Atlantic Coast Uplands
2. Eastern Newfoundland Atlantic
3. Eastern Newfoundland Atlantic
4. Maritime Acadian Highlands
5. Maritime Plain
6. Notre Dame and Megantic Mountains
7. Western Newfoundland Mountains
8. Piedmont
9. Blue Ridge
10. Valley and Ridge
11. Saint Lawrence Valley
12. Appalachian Plateaus
13. New England Province

Summary
The mountains are located mostly in the United States but extend into southeastern Canada forming a zone from 100 miles to 300. The system is divided into a series of ranges, with the individual mountains averaging around 3,000 feet (910 m). The highest of the group is Mount Mitchell in North Carolina at 6,684 feet (2,037 m), which is the highest point in the United States east of the Mississippi River. The term Appalachian refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range. Most broadly, it refers to the entire mountain range with its surrounding hills and the dissected plateau region. However, the term is often used more restrictively to refer to regions in the central and southern Appalachian Mountains, usually including areas in the states of Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, and North Carolina, as well as sometimes extending as far south as northern Georgia and western South Carolina, as far north as Pennsylvania and southern Ohio.

Mesa Verde is located in south-western Colorado on part of the Colorado Plateau. The Colorado Plateau has the greatest concentration of National Parks of the United States. Mesa Verde is best known for the cliff dwellings created in the alcoves and canyon walls of the region.

The term mesa is actually incorrect, as the correct geological term is actually cuesta.

The visible geologic formations consisting largely of sandstone and shale date back to the Cretaceous Period .

Mesa Verde lies in a transition zone between arid shrub lands , desert plateau and forested Rocky Mountain environment. The climate is considered to be semi-arid. The annual precipitation may only be 18.4 inches, which is not much different from the level of precipitation annually in areas of western Kansas.

There are four major plant communities located within Mesa Verde. At the lowest elevation is the Shrub Steppe, which contains sage brush valleys. Moving up in elevation you will come to Pinyon-Juniper forests.Next are the Mountain shrubs. Located at the highest elevation are Douglas Fir and Ponderossa Pine.

The wild fires of the last decade have contributed to a change in the lifespan of the Pinyon and Juniper. They usually turn over every 400 years, but many were killed in the fires. Now seedlings are starting to emerge, but it will be 100 years before these new seedlings reach full maturity.

Mesa Verde's environment supports many plants and animals, including some that are rare in most other regions of the world and even a few that are found nowhere else. The park is home to over 200 bird species, 74 mammal species,16 species of reptiles, 5 species of amphibians, 6 species of fish (4 of which are native),1000 species of insects. One mammal that stands out is the mule deer, the buck can weigh up to 300 lbs.

One of the native and rare fish is the Colorado pikeminnow, which can be 6 feet long and 100 lbs.

Peregrine falcons and Mexican Spotted Owls are just two examples of animals that are rare elsewhere but due to the parks protection they continue to live and breed here.

The Mesa Verde Tiger Beetle (which can sprint 5 mph) and the Anasazi Digger Bee are new to Colorado and science in general. They have been found at Mesa Verde and Yucca House.

Plants that are exclusively found at Mesa Verde include: Cliff Palace Milkvetch, Schmoll Milkvetch, Mesa Verde Wandering Aletes, and Mesa Verde Stickseed.

Photo credits: Map of Mesa Verde thanks to nps.gov

Please visit these sites for more information:
http://www.nps.gov/meve/naturescience/index.htm

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

http://traveltips.usatoday.com/animals-mesa-verde-national-park-13201.html

Contributors to this page:
Macaila Shrader-Shanks, Candace Standley, Christina Reith

Dryden Baumfalk
Jaeger Thompson
Cameron Crocker

[[< imagehttp://www.lizasreef.com/HOPE%20FOR%20THE%20RAIN%20FORESTS/images/amazon-river.jpg]] Amazon Rainforest Bio-Region
The Amazon Rain forest can be found slightly south of the equator in northern Brazil. The climate of this bioregion is tropical with an annual rainfall between 150 cm and 250 cm. Due to the high amounts of rain fall and warm temperatures ranging from 30-36 degrees C and approximatley 15-25 degree C at night, many thousands of plants, fungus, mosses, and trees grow here along with a diverse range of animals. The rainforest can be broken down into three sections from top to bottom being the canopy, under-story, and forest floor. A large amount of these plants in the rainforest tend to grow on trees so they can reach sunlight that is blocked by the canopy of the trees. Some of the plants are Bromeliads, Orchids, Strangler Figs, and Buttress Roots. Some animals that reside in the rainforest include Anacondas, monkeys, orangutan, frogs, jaguars, and parrianahs with 2,220 other species of fish. The vast amount of plants animals contributes to a very diverse and complex ecosystem making this bio-region one of the most unique on this planet.

www.srl.caltech.edu/personnel/krubal/rainforest/…/www/plants.htmlCached - Similar
http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/amazon.htm

The Rocky Mountains
by: Nolan Carter, Jacob Nath, and Fily Perez

The Rocky Mountains that are located in Western America, and is the largest mountain range in America. This range extends 3,000 miles from the northern most part of British Columbia, Canada all the way to the southern part of New Mexico. The highest peak, which is located in Colorado, is Mt. Elbert at 14,440.
The Rockies provide many tourists with activities to do. During the winter you can ski and snowboard, as well as snowmobile. During the summer you can go hunting, white water rafting, hiking, and a lot of other activities. The Rockies are one of the most visited places in America because of the amount of things there are to do.
Many animals live in the Rocky Mountains such as: Deer, Antelope, Elk, Bears, and Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep. These animals provide hunting and food for the people across America. There are many stops on I-70 in Colorado to stop and see the migration of the Elk and sheep. These stops attract a lot of tourists that are interested in these animals.
Some popular tourists attractions in the Rockies include: Yellow Stone Park, Teton National Park, ski resorts throughout the mountain range, and the Colorado River. The most popular attraction is Yellow Stone Park because it is the first National Park in America.
Overall the Rocky Mountains provide attractions, food, wild life, and many other things. The Rockies are very popular not only in America but foreign tourists visit them as well. This mountain range boosts many economies with all of the national resources and revenue from the tourists.
Sources: http://www.nps.gov/romo/index.htm, http://rockymountainnationalpark.com/

The Amazon Rainforest
Alexa Fitzsimons, Erin Koops
The Amazon Rainforest is the largest tropical rainforest on Earth. The rainforest covers 40% of South American continent. The vegetation of the Amazon recycles carbon dioxide into oxygen so it is known as the “Lungs of our Planet.” Twenty percent of Earth’s oxygen is produced by the Amazon Rainforest. The Amazon River gives this rainforest its name. This rainforest gets about 9 feet of rain every year, fifty percent of this precipitation returns to the atmosphere. An estimated 90% of Amazon rainforest plants are used by Amazon natives have not been studied.The Amazon Rainforest is also known as the Amazonia. The Amazonia covers more than half of Brazil. In this rainforest there are over 500 mammals, 175 lizards, and over 300 other types of reptiles. One third of the world’s birds live here. Some examples of the animals found in the Amazon are: harpy eagle, monkeys, kinkajous, sloths, reptiles, and many types of birds. Also about 30 million insect types are found here. In the Amazon there are four layers or communities. These four layers are: Emergent layer, canopy (main layer), the understory, and the forest floor. The emergent layer is the tallest and has trees that can be as tall as 200 feet. These trees also rise well

above the canopy. The leaves here are covered with a think waxy surface that helps hold water. The canopy has trees with smooth oval leaves which allows water to flow off and helps prevent the growth of fungi, mosses, and lichens. The understory gets a small amount of the available sunlight about two to five percent. The forest floor is the lowest layer. In this layer there are no plants growing here. The floor is covered with decomposing vegetation and organisms that break down into usable nutrients. Many nutrients are locked into this biomass.
Sources:
http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/amazon.htm

http://www.unique-southamerica-travel-experience.com/amazon-rainforest-facts.html

Post here.

Tyleen, Brooke, Chelsea
Swiss Alps

The Alps mountain range curves in an arc from the Rivera coast, which is on the Mediterranean Sea, into Switzerland, Germany, Austria, and Slovenia. The Alps cover a range of 125 miles. The Alpine Mountains cover 60% of Switzerland. The peaks of the Alps are permanently snowcapped, as they reach above the snowline of between 8,000 and 10,000 feet. Below this is a treeless zone filled with pastures that have been used for the grazing of cattle and goats. Other agriculture is done in the valleys and foothills. On the slopes, fruit growing and viticulture occurs. Many of the Alpine rivers are formed by the glaciers. They were the first mountain system to be studied extensively by geologists. Many of the terms used for mountains and glaciers were originated from the studying of these mountains. The Alps are divided into more than 40 subunits by rivers and other topographic features.

http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Alps.aspx
http://www.swissworld.org/en/geography/the_three_regions/the_alps/

Wes Stephenson
Jeremy Indurlied
Courtney Thurman
Dylan Helberg

Russian Bioregions Taiga also known as "The Boreal Forest"

Taiga is one of the world’s largest land biome and makes up 29% of the world’s forest cover. This biome stretches from Russia to North America and covers parts of Canada, Alaska, Sweden, and Finland. Also this regain covers the northern part of Norway, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Japan on the island of Hokkaido.
The biome has the lowest annual average temperature recorded outside the tundra and the permanent ice caps. The most extreme winters can be experienced in the northwestern region of Russian. The interesting feature of the region is being categorized as a subarctic climate you can also experience a very large range of temperature between seasons but only for a short amount of time as for the time span of the summer usually last only for about 1 to 3 months and during that time the temperature gets up to about 10 degree Celsius. The harsh and dominant winters are what this region is most known for with temperatures being anywhere from -65 to -86 degrees Fahrenheit.

There is a huge amount of wildlife in the region due to its size and spreading across most of the upper region of the world. In Canada’s boreal forest alone there are over 85 different species of mammals, 130 species of fish and 32,000 species of insects. Although there is that many types of different species the weather still plays a factor with reptiles and amphibians because the need to regulate their body temperatures and most of them hibernate during the winter months.

The threats that come along with this region are mainly in part to do with harvesting of timber. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, large areas of Russia has been impacted by the human threat of logging. There has been several protection acts implemented to save some of the boreal forest like in Canada they have around 8% of the forest is protected from and development. They also practice clear cutting in Canada which means that they cut down the majority of trees in given area and then replant a one certain species the following season.

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boreal_forests/taiga
http://thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/boreal-forest

The Aral Sea
Zach Arnberger

The Aral Sea was once the fourth largest inland body of water in the world. In the 1960’s the Soviet Union started a very large scale plan of water diversion for the arid plains of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. Since then the sea has been vastly shrinking, and this shrinking has had a devastating effect on the region. The communities and numerous fisheries around the sea collapsed. The levels of salt in the water began to rise, and the water became infected with numerous pesticides and other farm chemicals. Salty dust from the lakebed blew unto fields and degraded the topsoil, making it harder for crops to grow. The dust (which blows around constantly) also became a public health hazard as it is contaminated with numerous pesticides and although agricultural chemicals. The water of the rivers had to used more a more to irrigate the croplands of the region, and to top it all off, the loss of such a massive body of water made winter colder, and summers hotter and drier.

In 2010, almost fifty years after the sea began to shrink; the UN finally began to take notice. The secretary general of the UN Ban-Ki moon said “The drying of the Aral Sea is one the planets most shocking disasters”. He also urged central Asian leaders to take part in helping to find a solution. At time of him saying this, the sea has already shrunk by more than ninety percent. While Ban is urging cooperation in efforts to save at least some of the sea, efforts are going to end almost fruitless, as leaders continue to struggle over who has rights to the rest of the water, and how it shall be used.
My question now is, if the UN had noticed this before the Soviet Union decided to do it, could the sea have been saved?
Sources: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/WorldOfChange/aral_sea.php,
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/04/aral-sea-almost-dried-up_n_524697.html#s78462

Africa
Kristen Mitchell
Damion Walls

Africa is a place with many different Environments and many different cultures. And with those many different cultures comes many different styles of living and using the Earth for its resources. Over 50% of Africa has inadequate precipitation, 92% of the continent of Africa experiences climatic contrasts; shortage of water where it is needed most and oversupply of water where it cannot be fully used, 8% of Africa has tropical climate with 10 to 12 months of rainfall. Western Africa has roughly 34 Ethnic groups making it the Largest Section of ethnic groups, Southern Africa with 26 ethnic groups, Central Africa with 21 ethnic group, Eastern Africa with another 26 ethnic groups, and Northern Africa with only 5 ethnic groups making it the smallest of the five ethnic groups. And from all of these different Regions we get different resources majority of these region's produces Kaolinite, Limestone, Phosphates, Coal, Iron ore, Chromium, Copper, Gold, Manganese, Lead, Lithium, Tin, Uranium, Zinc, Diamond, Gypsum, Limonite, Marble, Retile, Salt, Zircon and many more resources making it one the highest ranked continents for other Countries to get resources from. Africa has many physical features such as Basin, Plateau, Angola Plateau, Lowlands, Mountains, and Rifts. Africa has 54 Countries that have been separated in to 5 different regions Western, Central, Southern, Eastern, Northern, Africa has the most diverse Countries and with all of the different Geographical areas it makes it a great place for living and learning more about the land and what it has to offer.

Post here.

Tyleen Jensen

Africa Bio Regions
• By: Damarius Lowery
• Aaron Spann
• Sasha Kayann Barrett

Introduction
Good afternoon Mrs. Stephens and classmates, our wiki-project is based on Africa. Reason being why we chose Africa is because the bio-region and the geography seemed to be interesting to us. Also because their placed well on the location of the equator and the high altitude beats all of the other countries in the world which is perfect.

Africa Bio Region Info 1
GEOGRAPHY: Africa is the largest of the three great southward projections from the largest landmass of the Earth. Separated from Europe by the Mediterranean Sea, it is joined to Asia at its northeast extremity by the Isthmus of Suez
Africa's largest country is Algeria, and its smallest country is the Seychelles, an archipelago off the east coast. The smallest nation on the continental mainland is The Gambia.
CLIMATE: The climate of Africa ranges from tropical to subarctic on its highest peaks. Its northern half is primarily desert or arid, while its central and southern areas contain both savanna plains and very dense jungle (rainforest) regions. In between, there is a convergence where vegetation patterns such as Sahel and steppe dominate. Africa is the hottest continent on earth; dry lands and deserts comprise 60% of the entire land surface.

Africa BIO Region Info 2

Population: Africa's population has rapidly increased over the last 40 years, and consequently, it is relatively young. In some African states, half or more of the population is under 25 years of age. The total number of people in Africa grew from 221 million in 1950 to 1 billion in 2009.
Economy: Africa remains the world's poorest and most underdeveloped continent, the result of a variety of causes that may include the spread of deadly diseases and viruses (notably HIV/AIDS and malaria), corrupt governments that have often committed serious human rights violations, failed central planning, high levels of illiteracy, lack of access to foreign capital, and frequent tribal and military conflict (ranging from guerrilla warfare to genocide.

Conclusion
In Conclusion, Africa is the world’s second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. The continent is surrounded by the Mediterranean sea. Africa straddles the equator and encompasses numerous climate areas; it is the only continent to stretch from the northern temperate to southern temperate zones. The African expected economic growth rate is at about 5.0% for 2010 and 5.5% in 2011.

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Sadie Jarrett
Michelle Odom

Australia’s Bioregions

image link::: http://www.environment.gov.au/parks/nrs/science/images/bioregions.jpg

Bioregions are large, geographically distinct areas of land with common characteristics such as geology, land form patterns, climate, ecological features and plant and animal communities. The world is split into 14 terrestrial habitats of which eight are shared by Australia. The land mass of Australia is divided into 85 bioregions and 403 sub regions. Each of these is a land area formed by a group of interacting ecosystems that are repeated in a similar form across the landscape. The Australian Alps, the Nullarbor Plain, and the Wet Tropics are only three distinct bioregions of Australia.
The Australian Alps are landscapes of dramatic contrasts of ancient mountain ranges, glacial lakes, clear springs and waterfalls, a world of winter snow and summer wildflowers. These alpine and sub-alpine terrains are highly valued for their environmental, cultural, historic and recreational significance. Today, most of these Alps lie within national parks with state and federal governments work cooperatively to manage these reserves as one biogeographical area.
Nullarbor Plain of Australia is also named the Nullarbor Desert and by the Australians as the Nullar-boring. As researchers discovered, the Plain is a dried up sea bed and the history that goes way back along with the magnificent scenery along this Plain is what makes the Nullarbor. It is made up of numerous flat tiers which were made up under the sea. The crustal movements lifted it but with rain and wind it began to smooth the land out. It’s name comes from the meaning for “nothing “ in Latin. The Nullarbor is actually the largest quantity of limestone on earth. It’s a portion of land in between Western and Southern Australia. It also has the largest railway on earth that goes straight all the way through. Meteorites have also been found around the Nullarbor Plain, more so in the area of Mundrabilla. Today, an extensive area of the Plain has officially been made a national park.
The Wet Tropics of Australia host about 3,000 plant species from 210 different families. Around 12 of the world’s 19 families of primitive flowering plants grow here and within these families, and there are no less than 50 species found only in the Wet Tropics. These tropics are home to about 1/3 of Australia’s 315 mammal species- 13 of which are not found anywhere else in the world, including the unique green possums, ringtail possums, fierce marsupial cats, rare bats, tree-kangaroos, rat-kangaroo, melomys, and an antechinus. The Wet Tropics is home to ¼ of Australia’s frogs and little over a 1/3 of the country’s freshwater fish, and it’s also home to nearly half of Australia’s birds, which is more than 370 different species.

By: Jessi Geist
Allison Giersch

The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest reef system and located in the coral sea. It has over 900 islands stretching for over 2600 kilometers. The Great Barrier Reef is the home of many different kinds of animals and species. Some examples are 30 species of whales and dolphins, many sea turtles coming there to breed, birds making their nests, over 13 species of snakes make the reef its home, and not to mention the 1500 different species of fish. It is not just a home for the animals but also to the beautiful kinds of coral as well.

It is one of the seven wonders of the natural world and it is actually the only living organism that can be seen from outer space. The barrier reef geography is long and complicated. The coral in the reef has been growing for 48 to 58 million years. Coral has to have a certain climate and levels of sunlight to survive, and because of the climate changes it causes the coral growth to decrease and increase constantly. The coral reef at one point died off from so much climate change. Then 20000 years ago the reef began to grow again on the remains of the older reef. Now the reef is a very successful tourist attraction to all individuals. The reef is protected by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. They help keep out fishermen and any other threats to the reef itself. Even though the reef is very successful it can still be in danger of harm. Some examples would be climate change, pollution, fishing, and invasive species. Climate change of course is the biggest fear of all because coral is very fragile and has to have its specific temperature to survive.

http://geography.about.com/od/australiamaps/a/great-barrier-reef.htm

http://www.greatbarrierreef.org/great-barrier-reef-facts.php
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Scott Ochs

Background: The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, but larger than the Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean, and Arctic Ocean). The Kiel Canal (Germany), Oresund (Denmark-Sweden), Bosporus (Turkey), Strait of Gibraltar (Morocco-Spain), and the St. Lawrence Seaway (Canada-US) are important strategic access waterways. The decision by the International Hydrographic Organization in the spring of 2000 to delimit a fifth world ocean, the Southern Ocean, removed the portion of the Atlantic Ocean south of 60 degrees south. Location: body of water between Africa, Europe, the Southern Ocean, and the Western Hemisphere Geographic coordinates: 0 00 N, 25 00 W Map references: World Area: total: 76.762 million sq km note: includes Baltic Sea, Black Sea, Caribbean Sea, Davis Strait, Denmark Strait, part of the Drake Passage, Gulf of Mexico, Mediterranean Sea, North Sea, Norwegian Sea, almost all of the Scotia Sea, and other tributary water bodies Area - comparative: slightly less than 6.5 times the size of the US Coastline: 111,866 km Climate: tropical cyclones (hurricanes) develop off the coast of Africa near Cape Verde and move westward into the Caribbean Sea; hurricanes can occur from May to December, but are most frequent from August to November Terrain: surface usually covered with sea ice in Labrador Sea, Denmark Strait, and Baltic Sea from October to June; clockwise warm-water gyre (broad, circular system of currents) in the northern Atlantic, counterclockwise warm-water gyre in the southern Atlantic; the ocean floor is dominated by the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a rugged north-south centerline for the entire Atlantic basin Elevation extremes: lowest point: Milwaukee Deep in the Puerto Rico Trench -8,605 mhighest point: sea level 0 m Natural resources: oil and gas fields, fish, marine mammals (seals and whales), sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules, precious stones Natural hazards: icebergs common in Davis Strait, Denmark Strait, and the northwestern Atlantic Ocean from February to August and have been spotted as far south as Bermuda and the Madeira Islands; shipssubject to superstructure icing in extreme northern Atlantic from October to May; persistent fog can be a maritime hazard from May to September; hurricanes (May to December)

Environment - current issues: endangered marine species include the manatee, seals, sea lions, turtles, and whales; drift net fishing is hastening the decline of fish stocks and contributing to international disputes; municipal sludge pollution off eastern US, southern Brazil, and eastern Argentina; oil pollution in Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Lake Maracaibo, Mediterranean Sea, and North Sea; industrial waste and municipal sewage pollution in Baltic Sea, North Sea, and Mediterranean Sea Geography - note: major chokepoints include the Dardanelles, Strait of Gibraltar, access to the Panama and Suez Canals; strategic straits include the Strait of Dover, Straits of Florida, Mona Passage, The Sound (Oresund), and Windward Passage; the Equator divides the Atlantic Ocean into the North Atlantic Ocean and South Atlantic Ocean Economy - overview: The Atlantic Ocean provides some of the world's most heavily trafficked sea routes, between and within the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. Other economic activity includes the exploitation of natural resources, e.g., fishing, the dredging of aragonite sands (The Bahamas), and production of crude oil and natural gas (Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and North Sea). Ports and harbors: Alexandria (Egypt), Algiers (Algeria), Antwerp (Belgium), Barcelona (Spain), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Casablanca (Morocco), Colon (Panama), Copenhagen (Denmark), Dakar (Senegal), Gdansk (Poland), Hamburg (Germany), Helsinki (Finland), Las Palmas (Canary Islands, Spain), Le Havre (France), Lisbon (Portugal), London (UK), Marseille (France), Montevideo (Uruguay), Montreal (Canada), Naples (Italy), New Orleans (US), New York (US), Oran (Algeria), Oslo (Norway), Peiraiefs or Piraeus (Greece), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Rotterdam (Netherlands), Saint Petersburg (Russia), Stockholm (Sweden)