I just performed an interesting exercise for my geography class, one which made me think about the town in which I live.
We had to name our town, it’s relative location and the region in which it could be found. Your standard stuff. But then we were to describe it as a place: its landscape (rivers, hills, etc.), its wildlife, the architecture, religions, livelihoods, transportation and communication. To name a few.
Next we looked at how people interact with the town’s environment. How did we adapt to or modify our landscape?
Finally, we looked at “movement.” This has to do with migration.
It was fascinating to actually stop and think about these things as they relate to my town. Here are my responses to these questions in particular. How would you answer these questions about your own town? Don’t post it here (unless you want to). But perhaps these questions will feed your curiosity and think about your town in a different way. If you’d like a better definition of the terms and concepts before you ask and answer these questions for yourself, check out Five Themes of Geography.
Here are some of my responses, edited:
We are only a 15 minute drive from both Massachusetts and New York. For this reason we are commonly referred to as living in the Tri-State Region.
3. It’s a small, sleepy little town in the Berkshire foothills. When I say “small,” I mean small. It is entirely possible to drive through the town without even realizing you’ve done so. While route X runs through it, the town proper is located off of the main drag. Route Y leads to Main Street, but route Y also looks like a small country road. Even if someone wandered down into town, it could still be missed. The churches (only 2 left, the others having been converted for secular uses) are spread out. The town hall is in an old bank building, and most of the businesses- there are only a handful- are located in large, older houses in the Victorian style. This is largely a farming community, however, with a greater proportion of land to people
It is heavily forested. As a result we have bears, coyotes, bobcats, foxes, turkeys and deer all around. Some of the land is owned and maintained by The Nature Conservancy.
The Housatonic river runs through (my town) and forms the Great Falls from which our town takes its name. The falls are now owned by CL&P for use in the hydroelectric plant at its base. Depending on the amount of rainfall, the company will either dam the 80 ft. falls or let them run. When running, it draws kayakers from all over. People are welcome on the property, and there are trails around the falls and through the woods near the plant. The Appalachian trail runs through here. In fact, this is the only wheelchair accessible part of the trail.
As for communication, the fastest way to spread news is to stop by the gas station on the outskirts of town. Locals always stop through there, and many stay to gossip. There is little that goes on in this town that isn’t known or suspected by all!
4. In terms of movement, it’s varied. A large portion of families have been here for generations. Most of the younger generation leave for college and parts unknown. Some come back to settle down, many don’t. We are also inhabited by a large number of “weekenders” from NYC who travel back and forth almost every weekend.
5. I’ve already mentioned some of the ways in which we interact with our environment here. In addition to the Falls and the farming, we were once a mining town, providing iron for cannonballs, for example. This has long since ended, but a small railroad track goes through our town as result. There are also a couple of limestone quarries.
