Should the Great Lakes region be a separate region? (subdivision, agricultural)

[ForYourLungsOnly]

The term "Midwest" is used to describe such a large region that I often think it should be divided into 2 separate regions. This makes sense to me both geographically and for the fact that such a large region has many cultures. There's the industrial Midwest and Great Lakes region and then there is the more agricultural Great Planes states that lack the industrial component. Dividing the Midwest into the "Great Lakes Region" and "Midwest" like this kind of makes sense to me. Grouping North Dakota and Ohio in the same region just seems ridiculous to me. Just as ridiculous as saying Los Angeles and Seattle are in the same region and dubbing it "West".


Great Lakes Region: Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota

Midwest: North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri

[Ghengis]

If we are going to make a new region, I want it to be the Mississippi River Region.

[Cleverfield]

I don't think these regions work either. Illinois isn't really that different from Iowa or Missouri, and Minnesota and Wisconsin are pretty different from Ohio and Indiana. Really, I see the "Midwest" grouped like this...

Region 1: Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Western Indiana
Region 2: Minnesota, Wisconsin, UP Michigan
Region 3: Eastern Indiana, Western Ohio, Southern Michigan
Region 4: Eastern Ohio, Western PA, Western NY, Northwestern West Virginia

I realize some people don't want to call Region 4 the midwest. But I'd argue that whatever you want to call it, these areas should be grouped together.

Anything West of Iowa is Great Planes.

[ForYourLungsOnly]

Originally Posted by Cleverfield

I don't think these regions work either. Illinois isn't really that different from Iowa or Missouri, and Minnesota and Wisconsin are pretty different from Ohio and Indiana. Really, I see the "Midwest" grouped like this...

Region 1: Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Western Indiana
Region 2: Minnesota, Wisconsin, UP Michigan
Region 3: Eastern Indiana, Western Ohio, Southern Michigan
Region 4: Eastern Ohio, Western PA, Western NY, Northwestern West Virginia

I realize some people don't want to call Region 4 the midwest. But I'd argue that whatever you want to call it, these areas should be grouped together.

Anything West of Iowa is Great Planes.

I was also thinking of a more North/South division. Northern Illinois is more Great Lakes, similar to Ohio and Michigan. Southern Illinois is more similar to Missouri, Southern Indiana, and Iowa

[Ankhharu]

I have devised an extremely simple breakdown that I truly hope the Administrators at C-D utilize, while granting me all the accolades for such a brilliant and amazingly simplistic easy to read breakdown of the Great Lakes and Midwest. I present to you:

Region 1a: Northern 1/4 Illinois, East 1/4 Iowa, and the closest 100 million gallons of Lake Michigan and I-69's service roads.
Region 1b: 1/8 Northern Missouri, 1/8 Southern Iowa and the town of Quincy, IL and St Louis.
Region 1b1a: West 1/16 Indiana, 200 mile by 200 mile Central 1/16 Illinois and all goats but not the farms that said goats or their owners.
Region 1c3z: Central 1/8 Indiana, Indianapolis minus North Indianapolis and most of I-69, minus the service roads.
Region 1e5x: Southern 1/32 Indiana, Bob Sacamanta's 40 acre lot in North Kentucky, excluding the 7-11, but including Mrs Jones's 2 acre watermelon patch.
Region 1g7o: 1/45 Southern Illinois, 1/32 West Illinois

Region 2a1: Minnesota minus it's sports teams
Region 2c89471: Minnesota's sports teams.
Region 2kzire907431-867-5309: Wisconsin land south of Hwy 14 and west of Hwy 61. The 7-11 next to Mrs Jones 2 acre watermelon patch.
Region 2bbccddeeff: Greenbay, WI, Cleveland, OH, Pittsburgh, PA, the top 1/2 of Michigan minus the Traverse City State Forest.

Region 3-55-6-18akd: Michigans Traverse City State Forest, 1/2 East Indiana, 1/16 Western Ohio, Kalamazoo, Michigan
Region 3-66-7-19akd: Western, PA, all the farms excluding the goats, of Central Illinois, 200 million gallons of Lake Michigan adjacent to Region 1a.
Region 3-77-9-22bcd: North Indianapolis, whatever's left of Indiana, Western, NY minus Buffalo.
Region 3-99-0-15lolol: Eastern Ohio, Eastern PA, West West Virginia, Buffalo, NY
Region 4z-mm-1: Lake Huron
Region 4x-nn-2: Wisconsin Land North of Hwy 14, West of 61 until I-90 but not including I-90
Region 4m-dd-yyyy: I-90, Northern and Eastern Iowa. Wisconsin west of I-90.

[ForYourLungsOnly]

Originally Posted by Ankhharu

I have devised an extremely simple breakdown that I truly hope the Administrators at C-D utilize, while granting me all the accolades for such a brilliant and amazingly simplistic easy to read breakdown of the Great Lakes and Midwest. I present to you:

Region 1a: Northern 1/4 Illinois, East 1/4 Iowa, and the closest 100 million gallons of Lake Michigan and I-69's service roads.
Region 1b: 1/8 Northern Missouri, 1/8 Southern Iowa and the town of Quincy, IL and St Louis.
Region 1b1a: West 1/16 Indiana, 200 mile by 200 mile Central 1/16 Illinois and all goats but not the farms that said goats or their owners.
Region 1c3z: Central 1/8 Indiana, Indianapolis minus North Indianapolis and most of I-69, minus the service roads.
Region 1e5x: Southern 1/32 Indiana, Bob Sacamanta's 40 acre lot in North Kentucky, excluding the 7-11, but including Mrs Jones's 2 acre watermelon patch.
Region 1g7o: 1/45 Southern Illinois, 1/32 West Illinois

Region 2a1: Minnesota minus it's sports teams
Region 2c89471: Minnesota's sports teams.
Region 2kzire907431-867-5309: Wisconsin land south of Hwy 14 and west of Hwy 61. The 7-11 next to Mrs Jones 2 acre watermelon patch.
Region 2bbccddeeff: Greenbay, WI, Cleveland, OH, Pittsburgh, PA, the top 1/2 of Michigan minus the Traverse City State Forest.

Region 3-55-6-18akd: Michigans Traverse City State Forest, 1/2 East Indiana, 1/16 Western Ohio, Kalamazoo, Michigan
Region 3-66-7-19akd: Western, PA, all the farms excluding the goats, of Central Illinois, 200 million gallons of Lake Michigan adjacent to Region 1a.
Region 3-77-9-22bcd: North Indianapolis, whatever's left of Indiana, Western, NY minus Buffalo.
Region 3-99-0-15lolol: Eastern Ohio, Eastern PA, West West Virginia, Buffalo, NY
Region 4z-mm-1: Lake Huron
Region 4x-nn-2: Wisconsin Land North of Hwy 14, West of 61 until I-90 but not including I-90
Region 4m-dd-yyyy: I-90, Northern and Eastern Iowa. Wisconsin west of I-90.

Wow, that took some time. Funny though

[steel03]

Originally Posted by ForYourLungsOnly

The term "Midwest" is used to describe such a large region that I often think it should be divided into 2 separate regions. This makes sense to me both geographically and for the fact that such a large region has many cultures. There's the industrial Midwest and Great Lakes region and then there is the more agricultural Great Planes states that lack the industrial component. Dividing the Midwest into the "Great Lakes Region" and "Midwest" like this kind of makes sense to me. Grouping North Dakota and Ohio in the same region just seems ridiculous to me. Just as ridiculous as saying Los Angeles and Seattle are in the same region and dubbing it "West".


Great Lakes Region: Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota

Midwest: North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri

There's plenty of industry in Iowa and Missouri - look at cities like St. Louis and Davenport and even Cedar Rapids.

I have always considered the Great Lakes not as a subdivision of the Midwest, but as an independent region under the same umbrella as New England, the Great Plains, the Upper Midwest, and Cascadia. The boundaries of these regions don't fit nicely on state lines, and they also transcend the borders of the Census-designated regions (eg. Buffalo and Rochester and Hamilton are definitely part of the Great Lakes region, but they are not part of the Midwest).

[CurlyFries]

If NYC and upstate New York were separate states then we'd easily be able to make a perfect Great Lakes region though I do think giving the colored states of this map "Midwestern" term before the actual north central states (North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas) is odd.

[Chicago60614]

culturally, I've noticed similarities between an area streching from Michigan, Wisonsin, and then far northern Indiana, northern Illinois from the Chicago area to the west, Ohio from Cleveland and Columbus and areas to the west and north, Minnesota from the Twin Cities to the east and south, and then Iowa from Des Moines and points to the east and north (Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, Dubuque and Waterloo).

[ForYourLungsOnly]

Originally Posted by steel03

I have always considered the Great Lakes not as a subdivision of the Midwest, but as an independent region under the same umbrella as New England, the Great Plains, the Upper Midwest, and Cascadia. The boundaries of these regions don't fit nicely on state lines, and they also transcend the borders of the Census-designated regions (eg. Buffalo and Rochester and Hamilton are definitely part of the Great Lakes region, but they are not part of the Midwest).

Definitely could agree with this. The Midwest is interesting as many of it's areas/sub-regions can't be classified because they don't fit state lines nicely (many of these states are huge). The New England/Great Planes independent region designation fits well for the Great Lakes region. That may have been the point I was trying to get across in the thread. State lines don't really work well for the Midwest.