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NEW YORK
Mean center of U.S. population Lake
WISCONSIN
ONSIN
WISC
WISCONSIN
State border WISC ONSIN Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
MICHIGAN Lake Erie
IOWA Chicago PENNSYLVANIA New York
NEW 40°N
INDIANA OHIO Pittsburgh Philadelphia JERSEY
ILLINOIS Columbus MARYLAND
Indianapolis 1810 1800 1790
DELAWARE
MISSOURI Mississippi R. 1920 1900 Cincinnati 1870 1860 1840 1830 1820 Washington D.C.
1930 1890 1880 1850 ATLANTIC
1950 1910
Charleston
St Louis 1960 1940 WEST OCEAN
1980 1970 Louisville VIRGINIA
1990 Ohio R. VIRGINIA 0 50 100 Miles
2000 KENTUCKY 0 50 100 Kilometers
2010 APPALACHIAN MOUNTAINS Richmond
Springfield NORTH 0 300 600 Miles 35°N
TENNESSEE CAROLINA 0 300 600 Kilometers
ARKANSAS
Area of map

Figure 7.7 Mean center of population of the United States, 1790–2010. Where was the mean population center of the United States
located at the start of each century: 1800, 1900, and 2000? Do you think the mean center of the U.S. population distribution will continue
to move southwest in the future? Why or why not?

Ti
AP® Exam Tip
AP® Exam
p
7-2 What factors influence population
distribution? This course requires you to be able to explain how human
geographic patterns are shaped by physical geography.
The explanation for this Module, then, will not focus on
Factors That Affect Population how climate zones are shaped, but on how climate zones
shape human settlement patterns.
Distribution

Both physical factors (such as landforms, climate,
water bodies, and disease) and human factors, espe- Physical Factors: Elevation and Bodies
cially culture and economic development, have worked
over the millennia to produce the complicated spatial of Water
patterns of population distribution that we observe to- The physical features of Earth, including elevations
day, reflecting one of the most fundamental themes in and bodies of water, play a major role in population
geography — human–environment interaction. These distribution.
factors may vary according to the geographical scale of
analysis. At the global scale, for example, climate con- Elevation The term elevation refers to the distance
ditions and access to water may be the key factors, but above sea level. For example, an elevation of 1000 feet
other factors such as landforms (e.g., mountain ranges, indicates 1000 feet above sea level. Humans prefer to
plateaus, and plains) may shape the variation in local live at lower elevations, especially in the middle and
population distribution. higher latitudes. Living at lower altitudes allows the

12 Unit 2 Population and Migration Patterns and Process
©2021 BFW Publishers. Sample material is NOT FINAL and corrections will be made prior to publication.

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