Ireland

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Ireland is still heavily rural, as this map shows. Use the map key to study how the land is used. Find the label "peat" on the map. Peat—wet ground with decaying plants—can be used for fuel. It is dug from bogs, or low swampy areas. The Irish have dug peat for centuries. Where is peat found in Ireland? What does the map tell you about mineral resources available in Ireland? What generalizations can you form about land use?

The potato had to cross an ocean to get to Ireland. It traveled aboard the wooden ships of the Spaniards who toppled the Inca Empire in present-day Peru. The conquerors probably thought little of these "tubers," or fleshy roots, except that they had not seen any foods like them in Europe.

In fact, potatoes were unique to the region along the Andes Mountains. Here, starting about eight thousand years ago, farmers domesticated the first potatoes. The Inca grew them in terraced gardens along the mountains of modern Peru and Bolivia. Today their descendents produce hundreds of varieties of the root crop. Potatoes can be fat or skinny… smooth or bumpy… round or square… long or short… spotted or striped… green, brown, red, purple, or yellow. Did you know this?

Now nearly 150 nations produce hundreds of millions of tons of potatoes each year. Study global potato production by clicking on the World Potato Atlas, a reference created by the International Potato Center. Click on the map for Ireland. How widespread is potato farming in Ireland today?