This Land Is My Land
On The Beauty Of America
I've been everywhere, man
I've been everywhere, man
Crossed the deserts bare, man
I've breathed the mountain air, man
Of travel I've had my share, man
I've been everywhere
America is a massive country. Over 2,600 miles long and 1,500 miles tall, she stands as the fourth largest nation on Earth. But despite her size, America has a population density of 91 per square mile, which places her 186th out of 248 nations and territories on Earth. Compare this to nations like the U.K., Germany, and China, who have population densities of 715, 605, and 385 per square mile. Translation: America has A LOT of wide open spaces. The spirit and culture of America is intrinsically tied to the frontier and the open plain. Of mountains, valleys, and canyons. Of rivers, lakes, and coastlines. Of forests, deserts, and prairies. America has every biome you can think of, and all of it is the birthright of each and every American.
This birthright was set in stone by President Theodore Roosevelt, an avid outdoorsman and conservationist. Throughout his entire eight-year presidency (1901–1909), Roosevelt used his authority to establish 150 national forests, 51 federal bird reserves, 4 national game preserves, 5 national parks, and 18 national monuments on over 230 million acres of public land. That’s more land than all of the previous 25 presidents combined. Now the U.S. has over 400 National Parks throughout all 50 states. Some of these are the most unique and beautiful locations on Earth, that all Americans should see before they die.
America is a wide open country. When people think “American,” the first images that they think of are covered wagons, Manifest Destiny, and herds of buffalo numbering in the millions. The open plain is as American as apple pie and baseball. And rightfully so, for America is home to the world’s second largest grassland, the Great Plains. It is a stretch of open prairie that covers over 500,000 square miles between the Rocky Mountains and the Mississippi River. This stretch of land has some of the best soil on the planet, but it wasn’t easy to tame. It took Americans over 150 years to settle across the Great Plains, battling the elements, hostile tribes, and wild animals. But pacify it we did, and the rich soil has made America the farming capital of the world: more food is grown here than anywhere else. This also makes America one of the few First World nations that is self-sufficient in its food production. We could ban all imports tomorrow and still produce enough food to sustain ourselves. Spend any time outside of the city, and you will see wide open spaces as far as the eye can see. You’ll feel the wind in your hair and feel a sense of freedom in your bones unlike anywhere else on Earth. An America without wide open spaces wouldn’t be America at all.
America is a wet country. With giant glaciers, mighty rivers, eerie swamps, crystal clear oceans, murky estuaries, and the Great Lakes, America has some of the richest waterways on Earth. Only Brazil and Russia have more fresh water than America. But what makes America special is where that fresh water is located. The Mississippi is our largest river, and with its many tributaries, it stretches across 32 states right through the heart of America. She starts in Lake Itasca, Minnesota, and ends over 2,000 miles south in New Orleans, Louisiana. Having a massive river in the middle of the country was, and still is, a major benefit to American trade and communication networks. It is much easier and economical to move goods by water than by road or rail. Other rivers, such as the Colorado River, have carved massive canyons into the rock, forming some of the most spectacular sites in the whole country, most notably the Grand Canyon itself.
Additionally, America has 21% of Earth’s surface fresh water contained in its five Great Lakes. No other country on Earth has that much accessible fresh water, and, again, it is centrally located. Standing along the shores of the Great Lakes, in Chicago, Detroit, or Cleveland, you’d think you were looking at an ocean, they are such truly massive bodies of water. Near Buffalo, New York, the water flows down one of the largest waterfalls in the world, Niagara Falls. America also has 110 million square miles of wetlands and 10,000 miles of coastline. From snow-covered mountains to river deltas, America will never run out of water.
America is a woodland country. From moss-covered rainforests in the Pacific Northwest to the giant redwoods of California. From the pines of the Black Hills to the oaks of New England. America has the fourth most forests in the world, covering over 1.2 million square miles, and that number is increasing every year. While nations like Canada and Brazil are losing forests every year, America is planting more trees than ever. Most of our forests are east of the Mississippi and were a crucial part of early American history. The vast lumber made for rich trade, strong structures, and powerful ships. America has focused on a powerful navy from the very beginning, thanks to our towering forests.
America has several different kinds of forests as well. In the Pacific Northwest, there are rainforests that receive over 80 inches of rain per year. A couple hundred miles south of that, you’ll find Redwood National Park, home to the largest trees in the world. The tallest is Hyperion, a Coastal Redwood that stands 380 feet tall, taller than both the Statue of Liberty and Big Ben. Hyperion is estimated to be around 700 years old, making it older than America itself. Some trees are even older. Methuselah, a Great Basin bristlecone pine, is 4,750 years old — that’s as old as the Great Pyramid of Giza. Heading east to the Rockies, you’ll find snow-covered conifer trees up the mountainside. In the South, you’ll find eerie willows throughout our wetlands and swamps. Throughout New England, you’ll find deciduous trees that turn all different colors in the fall. You’ll see mountains of Appalachia in shades of yellow, red, orange, and brown, like something out of a Van Gogh painting. Aside from the Great Plains, Americans are never too far away from a forest.
America is a mountainous country. She has not one, but two giant mountain ranges. The Rocky Mountains are the largest, stretching over 3,000 miles from Alaska to New Mexico. The Rockies are around 70 million years old, having formed during the time of dinosaurs. The highest peak is Mount Elbert, Colorado, at 14,450 feet. Weather fronts travel west to east across America, and, as such, the Rockies block off most of the rainfall to the Great Plains to the east — not enough to make it a massive desert like in other parts of the world, but enough to make it difficult for forests to grow, and so the Rockies are what actually forms the great sea of grass that is the Great Plains. To the west of the Rockies lie the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California. Famous for the California Gold Rush, they also block off moisture from the lowlands to the south east. This is where America’s true deserts lie. They cover much of Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, and southern California. While not as dry as deserts like the Sahara, they do contain the hottest place on Earth, the aptly named Death Valley. With a record-breaking temperature of 131 degrees Fahrenheit, Death Valley is no joke.
To the east across the Great Plains and the Mississippi River is America’s second largest mountain range, the Appalachians. They are much older than the Rockies, over 400 million years old, and the tallest point is only 6,680 feet. That peak is Mount Mitchell, North Carolina. The Appalachians are 1,500 miles long and stretch from Maine to Alabama. They are famous for their forest-covered peaks. The woods run so thick that you can’t even see the mountain side. At the southern end of the range are the Great Smokey Mountains, named after their unique weather conditions that result in heavy fog settling down on them, giving the appearance of smoke coming out of them. The Appalachians were the first major obstacle for early Americans in the quest for Manifest Destiny. They fought their way up steep cliffs and through thick forests and reached the other side to find hundreds of miles of hills and forests. They kept going past a giant river to thousands of miles of open prairie. Then to giant snow-covered peaks that kissed the clouds, and onward to deserts and more mountains ’til they finally reached the blue Pacific. That’s the American way. Keep going non-stop until we reach our goal. No mountain will stand in our way.
America is a wild country. From bald eagles to bison, America is home to over 100,000 species of animals. Conservation may have been an Anglo invention, but Americans perfected it. America is a world leader in conservation of species both big and small. The Endangered Species List was an American invention, and our animal populations are monitored closely by the Department of Fish and Wildlife — in no small part due to the help of outdoorsmen of all kinds. America has more hunters and anglers than any other country in the world. Deer hunters in Wisconsin alone outnumber any standing army on Earth. These outdoorsmen from all over the country spend billions of dollars every year in conservation efforts. Organizations like Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Ducks Unlimited, and The Boone & Crockett Club are working day and night to return animals back to their historic populations. They have had amazing success over the last fifty years. Species such as Rocky Mountain elk, white-tailed deer, and wild turkey, among many others, are more numerous than ever before.
From the very beginning America was a nation of hunters, and nobody cares more about the preservation of the natural world than outdoorsmen. Frontiersmen and fur trappers of all kinds were the backbone of American society. They tamed the wild lands and paved the way for the future. They tested their might against fearsome predators and their wit against swift and stealthy game. That tradition is still alive and well, and it will continue long into the future. Travel to any woodland, any stream, any prairie, and you will find a hunter or angler watching over it.
I don’t think the spirit of the Frontier will ever disappear from the American identity. From a young age, I was obsessed with tales of explorers like Lewis & Clark. Of frontiersmen like Davy Crockett, Daniel Boone, and Hugh Glass. Of bandits and outlaws like Jesse James, Butch Cassidy, and Billy the Kid. Of Manifest Destiny and Indian Wars. Of self-reliance and perseverance. Travel to any number of National Parks, and you too will feel this spirit reawaken within you. You greet it with a smile on your face as if it is an old friend you thought was long gone. Your mind starts to wonder: What must it have been like for the first man to lay his eyes on the majesty of the Grand Canyon? What was it like traveling on a riverboat for thousands of miles down the mighty Mississippi? The awe-inspiring view of wild mustangs and bison herds numbering in the millions on the plains of Nebraska? The frigid cold of a fur trapper on the trail of game in the Rocky Mountains? The fear of hearing strange sounds in the night of a Georgia swamp? The excitement of finding giant dinosaur bones in the Black Hills of South Dakota? Just thinking about it brings a tear to my eye.
This Land is Ours. Nobody can take it away from us. No other people on Earth could have pacified such treacherous lands, dealing with all manner of hostile tribes, hungry predators, natural disasters, scorching heat, and blistering cold, and all the while turning it into the most prosperous nation in the history of the world. It is our duty to preserve and admire Her. America is Ours, from sea to shining sea. Her spacious skies and amber waves of grain. Her purple mountain majesties and fruited plains. America is beautiful beyond all words, and she is OURS.
What a great reminder!
Would that we conserve and steward this blessing we have be gifted with well, instead of ignoring or worshipping it like so many today do. We have a duty to preserve it, protect it, and yes, partake of its bounty. A garden is wasted both by being ignored and by being abused.