Chapter 10 - The Southern Coastlands on the Subtropical Margin:
The Southern Coastlands have a
humid subtropical environment, which is responsible for their warm humid
summers and mild winter temperatures. However, as previously mentioned Big Bear
Lake experiences a Warm Summer Mediterranean climate and has colder winters due
to their higher elevation. Big Bear gets tourists due to the many activities
that are available all year round. Such as hiking, camping, fishing, boating,
kayaking, and of course snowboarding/skiing in the winter. Big Bear’s economy
benefits greatly due to these activities. As stated in the text book, “…people
will choose to live where they find it pleasant”; however, the economy in Big
Bear is not nearly the same as larger cities. Most people who decide to reside
in Big Bear are retirees or wealthy families as the economy is not as stable
and jobs are hard to come by.
Big Bear Lake has man made dam that
was originally built back in 1985 as a reservoir to provide irrigation to the citrus
growers that were down below in the Redlands area. It was reconstructed in 1912
under John Eastwood’s unique design (bigbear.us/eastdam.html) to increase the
amount water the dam could store. The dam now stands at 72 ft. tall and has a
capacity of 73,000 acre feet of water.
Courtesy of bigbearhistorysite.com:
Original Rock Dam:
Damn Constructed in 1912:
Chapter 11 - The Agricultural Core
Big Bear Lake isn’t known for its
agriculture as the Agriculture Core is but it does exist. Big Bear has private
and commercial agriculture farming but not quite what everyone would expect.
Big Bear has commercial tree farms to provide Christmas tree’s during the
holidays along with your everyday trees and plants that are typically used for
landscaping. Another commercial farm is Big Bear Farms, Inc.
(http://bigbearfarms.mysite.com), which is an organic farm business that
specializes in producing organic blueberries, elderberries and vegetables. Some of the personal small business farms that
can be found in Big Bear are for sheep, cattle, and horses. Towards the
backside of Big Bear you will find lots with stables and boarding for such
animals. The land is filled with trees, rocks and hard soil, which isn’t the
best for agriculture. Not to mention the freezing winters when the temperature
is known to drop into the single digits.
Big Bear Farms, Inc.
Shay Meadow Boarding Facilities (http://bigbearhorseboarding.com)
Chapter 12 – The Great Plains and Prairies
The Great Plains is known for
having very extreme weather on a regular basis. The summers are usually
scorching hot and the winters are typically very cold. I’ve traveled to Big
Bear many times in summer and winter and find their weather to be warm in the
summer usually in the high 70’s to low 80’s and the winter it’s in the high
30’s to low 40’s during the day. However, they have been known to have some good
winters as we like to call it, especially good for snowboarders like myself. A
few years back, they received a good four to five feet of snow in just a few
days, which doesn’t happen very often. A bad snow storm is no tornado as the
Great Plains experience in the well-known Tornado Alley, but it can be very
dangerous and deadly. Dangerous and deadly as the road conditions are extremely
bad with accidents happening quite often. There have been a few accidents where
people have unfortunately crashed into the side rails and end up down the side
of the mountain; some even into the lake with freezing temperatures. Although
the storms that Big Bear sees are not nearly as bad as those in the Great
Plains, the weather can definitely be unpredictable at times.
Picture taken by me a few years
back during one of their best snow storms in the past few years!
Chapter 13 – The Empty Interior:
Big Bear is part of the San
Bernardino mountain range that is located north and northeast from the city of
San Bernardino. The range is high and rugged topping out at about 11,490 feet.
Being along the San Andreas Fault, the mountains were created by the tectonic
activity about eleven million years ago. The mountain range is covered with
large forested areas consisting of yellow pine, Jeffrey pine, and incense cedar
above 6,000 feet. As you get further into the mountain range you will find
alder, willows and cottonwoods that vary from the typical chaparral communities
around the area.
Even though Big Bear was inhabited by the
Serrano Indians, there became an increasing number of Mormons settling in the
San Bernardino valley. Something the area has in common with the Great Plains
is that the Mormons were settling in for the use of the land. When the Mormons
made their way to San Bernardino, they brought livestock and improved the
agriculture of the area. They were also the first to start a major logging operation
in the mountain range, which changed the landscape drastically.
Complements of
mallardbayresort.com - San Bernardino Mountain Range:
Logging Operation provided by http://score.rims.k12.ca.us/score_lessons/lake_arrowhead/files/timber_times.htm:
Chapter 14 - The Southwest Border Area:
Big Bear happens to fall in the
Southwest border area as described in the text. Big Bear is located southeast
to Los Angeles. The city was founded by American Indians and as I mentioned in
chapter 3, it is now mainly made up of Caucasians at 73.3% and Hispanics at
21.4%. I would have to agree that the weather we experience here in California
plays a major role in the increasing population. At this period in time, the
weak economy is playing a role in the decrease of population in Big Bear. It’s
happening all around us as a matter of fact. We see businesses going under and
people declaring bankruptcy all due to the economic downfall. Big Bear is a
very small town with limited jobs available. This is the last place I would see
people migrating to in order to make a good living. Winter time would be
anyone’s best bet for a job due to the increase of tourism caused by the
snowfall for skiing and snowboarding. Big Bear is more of a resort style
living, not for your everyday “city” life.
Provided by Google Images:
Chapter 15 – California:
Big Bear is in Southern California
only about two hours away from Los Angeles. It is a rural community that is nowhere
near as advanced as Los Angeles. Unlike LA, Big Bear is up in the mountains
with clear blue skies for most of the year with the enjoyable Mediterranean
climate. It does not have the smog looming over the city due to the heavy auto use. As mentioned in chapter 3, Big Bear has a population of
about 5,000 and LA has about 9,800,000.
As you can see that is a tremendous difference in people and makes a big
difference in the environment the residents live in.
Image provided by mnn.com:
LA smog
Image provided by
bigbearhomesandland.com: Clear Sky
Chapter 16 – The North Pacific Coast:
The North Pacific Coast is home to
many trees in the forests such as Douglas fir and redwoods. Big Bear, being
located in the San Bernardino National Forest, is home to the “yellow pine
forest”, which consists of ponderosa
pine, sugar pine, Jeffrey pine, white fir, and incense cedar trees. Both
of which have provided opportunities for logging. Another similarity that Big
Bear has with the North Pacific Coast is fishing. Fishing is popular outdoor
activity in Big Bear and they even hold competitions during the summer. Some of
the common fish that are in the lake are catfish, carp, rainbow trout, large
and small mouth bass, some of which are stocked by the department of Fish and
Game. So grab your polls and head to the lake in the summer for some fishing
fun!!
Enjoy the fishing video below.
Chapter 18 - Hawaii
The only thing that Big Bear and
Hawaii have in common is the large amount of tourists that visit. Hawaii is a well-known
tourist attraction of which most people would love to lounge on the beaches sipping
on a Mai Tai. Big Bear is a place where most love to board down the slopes and head
to the bar to have a few drinks and warm up. The snow that brings all the “flat
landers” to the mountain provides a great source of revenue for the city. The
snow in the winter and the lake in the summer is what makes Big Bear a great place
to visit. Winter is on its way so reserve your rooms now and pack your bags for
a trip to the snow!
Provided by Google:
