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People can survive on every continent and in every region of the planet. To do so, they may adapt to the environment they find, or they may change the environment to meet their needs. The possibilities are limited only by imagination and materials.
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▲ Lombard Street is on Russian Hill in San Francisco. It has eight sharp turns in one block! No wonder it’s said to be the most crooked street in the world. But the turns aren’t for looks. They’re an adaptation to the geography of San Francisco, a city built on so many hills that more than 40 have names. Russian Hill has a natural grade of 27 percent. That’s too steep for most vehicles to climb. It’s also hard for pedestrians. The sharp turns create a gentler incline. That makes the street better suited for travel of all types—an effective adaptation to a hilly environment.
Grade is the degree of inclination of a road or hill.
Extremes Around the World
People all over adapt to the geography where they live. They also adapt the geography to their lives.
▲ This home in Wales was built to have as little impact on the environment as possible. First, a hillside was carved out so the house wouldn’t stand out. Mud and stones removed from the hill were used to create the walls and foundation. Air coming through the foundation cools the refrigerator. Solar panels collect the energy needed for electricity.
▲ Jukkasjärvi, Sweden, is 120 miles north of the Arctic Circle. It has a hotel that gets built and rebuilt each winter. Icehotel is made with thousands of tons of ice from the Torne River. It’s an extreme example of people adapting to their environment. The structure is made of river ice. The ice also supplies the raw material for plates, glasses, sculptures, and other designs. Each spring, the Sun thaws the hotel walls, and they return to the river.
Patchwork Quilt
From high above, farmlands often look like patchwork quilts. The strips of land have different colors due to the different crops planted. Here is a photograph of a flower farm in Carlsbad, California.
▲ People can create usable land where it didn’t exist before. One example is Harbor Island in Seattle. The area used to be wetlands, formed from river mud left behind as the Duwamish River flowed out to sea. Then, 24 million cubic yards of soil were brought in and piled onto the mud. That created a new landform. Harbor Island is the largest human-made island in the United States. It’s the site of a busy port, petroleum storage terminals, and shipyards.
Think Piece!
Lake Mead doesn’t just provide water to Las Vegas. It serves people in the surrounding states, too. It also supplies water to irrigate California’s farmland, where 80 percent of our winter vegetables come from. How do you think this problem of water shortage can be solved?
