Chapter 7: Megalopolis

Santa Clarita and Megalopolis

The term, Megalopolis, derives from the Greek literal translation that means: very large city.  These areas are dense in terms of population, containing millions of people. which an extended urban area with millions of people. Merrimack Valley, Boston, Narragansett Basin, Connecticut River Valley, Albany and the Hudson River Valley, New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C all make up Megalopolis.  Interestingly enough, the megalopolis population contains both the greatest wealth in the nation and the highest amount of poverty.  Originally, the location next to major waterways made it so these cities were able to prosper in trade and port.  Connecticut, Hudson, Delaware, Susquehanna and Potomac rivers all fall within the Megalopolis water system.  Much like how megalopolis relies on these rivers, Santa Clarita relies on the Castiac Lake water agency and Alluvium and Saugus Aquifers.  The acquisition of water isn't much of an issue for either area.

 Tourism

Although not originally something that was considered in the construction and development of both areas/communities, both have certain elements that would attract tourists.  Nowadays, New York dominates the megalopolis tourism game due to its large number of attractions.

It contains the iconic Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, the Empire State Building, Times Square, along with a number of other important historical sites.  Being that Santa Clarita is pretty new, its largest and most well-known attraction would be its branch of the Six Flags company.  Within SCV, right off of the I-5 freeway, one can visit Six Flags Magic Mountain and Six Flags Hurricane Harbor.

Santa Clarita Population and Megalopolis Population

The megalopolis population is untouchable in terms of numbers when comparing to any part of the US.  This is definitely seen as true when it comes to comparing Santa Clarita and Megalopolis.
  The population of SCV is 204,951 people while the combination of all Megalopolis surpasses almost 45,000,000!  The population of the entire state of California can't even match this with its 38.04 million in total.

Santa Clarita Climate and Megalopolis Climate

The two different areas are very much different in climate as well.  The Megalopolis climate can almost be characterized by its population as one that has high levels of precipitation.  This is not the same in comparison the the desert-like climate that is in Santa Clarita with it only averaging 0-5 inches monthly.  In Megalopolis, the average precipitation is about 40-45 inches which also reflects the much higher humidity level than that of Santa Clarita.