Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
RUSSIA
NORTH AMERICA:
MAJOR DEPOSITS OF FOSSIL FUELS
20
°
180
°
MAJOR FIELDS
MAJOR PIPELINES
Gas
Gas
30
°
Oil
Oil
170
°
ALASKA
(UNITED
STATES)
Coal
0
500
1000
1500 Kilometers
40
°
0
500
1000 Miles
160
°
150
°
C A N A D A
50
°
U N I T E D
S T A T E S
140
°
60
°
MEXICO
130
°
120
°
90
°
Figure 12.8
Major Deposits of Fossil Fuels in North America.
North America is the world's largest
energy consumer, and the country is also endowed with substantial energy sources.
© H. J. de Blij,
P. O. Muller and John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
(1868-1958) developed a basic model explaining where
industries would cluster. Weber helped develop locational
studies in economic geography by focusing on the loca-
tion of manufacturing facilities. In
Theory of the Location of
Industries
(1909), Weber focused on specifi c factors that
would pull industry to particular locations.
Weber's
least cost theory
focused on a factory own-
er's desire to minimize three categories of costs. The fi rst
and most important of these categories was
transportation
.
Weber suggested that the site where transportation costs
are lowest is the place where it is least expensive to bring
raw materials to the point of production and to distribute
fi nished products to consumers. The second cost was that
of
labor
. Higher labor costs tend to reduce the margin of
profi t, so a factory might do better if it is farther away
from raw materials and markets if cheap labor compen-
sates for the added transport costs.
The third factor in Weber's model was similar to
Marshall's theory of localization. Weber described the
advantages afforded by like industries clustering, which
