Ch 14: The Great Plains and Canadian Prairie

"There was such a relationship between the buffalo and the American Indian - the Indians would eat them, live inside their pelts, use every part of the body. There was almost no separation between the people and the animals."

                                                                                           Val Kilmer

Buffalo once roamed the Great Plains area freely and it existence was beneficial for the area and the society on multiple levels. Massive herds of this terrestrial mammal inhabited the Great Plains of the United States and the Canadian prairie without burdening the environment like the current cattle do to the ecosystem. The Buffalo Commons is a concept assume that returning the area to the buffalo will help in restoring its natural balance.

Catalina Island still have buffalo herds roaming the lands. There was no buffalo on the island prior to the 1920's and when the island was used as a filming destination for Hollywood movies, they needed to bring some on the island, 250 of them to be exact. Currently, the Catalina Island Conservancy has kept the buffalo numbers from growing too large by moving some of them to ranches in the main land.

Here is a buffalo tour in the Island:

YouTube video posted by TheAlohaRobert

Ch 13:The Midwest

"The lakes are something which you are unprepared for; ... so anterior, so superior, to all the changes that are to take place on their shores, even now civil and refined, and fair as they can ever be."

                                            Henry David Thoreau

The abundant natural glacial lakes in the Midwest region are one of the most recognizable feature of the area's landscape. To illustrate, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota have more than 10,000 natural lakes in their boundaries. The following YouTube video illustrate the effects of glaciation on the Midwest region and the Devil's lake in particular.


Unlike the upper Midwest states, Santa Catalina Island has only one natural perennial lake called Echo Lake. To get to the lake, you have to hike for about an hour because it is located at 1,300 feet altitude. To guarantee that you don't get lost, you will need a decent trail map that you can find from the Santa Catalina Island Conservancy.

Credit: photo taken by the Virtual Tourist site user mht_in_la

Ch 12: The Ozarks

“Let us read, and let us dance; these two amusements will never do any harm to the world.” 

                                                                                     Voltaire

Catalina Island has a long history with music and musicians, you can enjoy great weather and great music. The island hosts variety of music festivals such as "Catalina Island Blues Festival", "JazzTrax Music Festival", and "Festival of World Music". One of the reasons why many music organizations choose Catalina as the place to host their festivals is the proximity from Hollywood, the center of art. Other factors like the island's nice weather and its laid back enthronement also play a key role in choosing Catalina to host many art festivals.

The Ozark country music is derived from a British and German origins. The stereotypical perception of music in the area is dominated by the "Hillbilly" music. However, many people prefer the local music genre known as the fiddle jam. "The Old Time Music, Ozark Heritage Festival" is a music festival that was established by the West Plains Council on the Arts through funding by the Missouri Arts Council and the Missouri Folk Arts Program with a main goal to preserve the authentic music or the Ozark region. If you are interested in attending this festival, check this website out: http://www.oldtimemusic.org/

Ozark Fiddle music clip

Ch 11: Gulf Coastal Plains and Mississippi Valley

"In America today you can murder land for private profit. You can leave the corpse for all to see, and nobody calls the cops."
                                                           Paul Brooks

Both Santa Catalina Island and the Gulf Coast area specifically Louisiana suffered from wetland loss. Chris Mayda states in his book A Regional Geography of the United States and Canada that Louisiana still considered "to have more coastal wetlands than other Gulf Coast States" but the wetlands is continuously degraded and converted to suit human agriculture and economic needs. The Gulf Coast wetlands is considered the natural home of multiple species including migratory birds and ducks, and the loss of those wetlands have a direct negative effects on the numbers of wildlife dependent on the marshes and swamps. 

Similarly, the loss of wetlands in Catalina Island also have negative impact on the wildlife on the island. To illustrate, Santa Catalina Island shrew is outnumbered by other species mainly because its natural habitat, wetlands, is degraded due to overgrazing by other non-native species like the feral cat.

Santa Catalina Island Shrew
Photo: Frank Starkey

Ch 10: Florida

“The sun shines east, the sun shines west, but in Avalon the sun shines best."

                                                                                                         Unknown / Local Resident

Catalina's Sunset 

Florida have a tropical climate because of its subtropical location which helped greatly to support tourism flow in the State. The humid weather does not stop millions of people from visiting the fun attraction on the island. According to one of my friends, who visited Orlando, Florida three months ago, the weather may change within few minutes. One minute is clear and quite and few minutes later is cloudy and dark.
Florida also has it share of seasonal hurricanes. Hurricanes strike parts of Florida annually causing lots of damage to the beaches.
Catalina much like Florida, have seen its share from tropical storms and hurricanes. For example, in July 2006 there was one major storm that left the visitors as well as locals startled. The effect of such storm on the small Island can be dramatic because local businesses rely on the tourists and if there is a major storm like that, many people will stay away from Catalina and the economy would suffer.