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Old 03-29-2009, 05:15 AM
 
Location: Portland, Oregon
1,373 posts, read 3,111,028 times
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I remember back in sixth grade we learned about the four regions of the United States.

The West was the states from the Rockies to the Pacific, the South included to my confusion Maryland and Delaware (which I can understand now knowing they have Southern culture), the Northeast Pennsylvania to New England - and the Midwest an odd grouping of states from the Great Plains all the way out to Ohio?

I can understand the similarities between the Great Lakes and Great Plains, they're flat, agricultural, and very developed (with the exception of much of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Missouri and Michigan).

Still, it's hard to put Youngstown, Ohio in the same region as Bismarck, ND. What do you think?
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Old 03-29-2009, 05:44 AM
 
13,336 posts, read 39,721,755 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MimzyMusic View Post
I remember back in sixth grade we learned about the four regions of the United States.

The West was the states from the Rockies to the Pacific, the South included to my confusion Maryland and Delaware (which I can understand now knowing they have Southern culture), the Northeast Pennsylvania to New England - and the Midwest an odd grouping of states from the Great Plains all the way out to Ohio?

I can understand the similarities between the Great Lakes and Great Plains, they're flat, agricultural, and very developed (with the exception of much of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Missouri and Michigan).

Still, it's hard to put Youngstown, Ohio in the same region as Bismarck, ND. What do you think?
Because we're a really, really big country so some of our geographical regions are also big. The South covers a lot of territory, too. Youngstown is closer to Bismarck than Houston is to Richmond.
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Old 03-29-2009, 05:53 AM
 
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Because the regions of the United States are loosely grouped into large geographical regions that aren't determined by cultural or other similarities. The geographical regions are further divided into smaller subregions:

West Region - Pacific and Mountain subregions
Midwest Region - West North Central and East North Central subregions
Northeast Region - Middle Atlantic and New England subregions
South Region - West South Central, East South Central, and South Atlantic subregions



U.S. Census Regions and Divisions Map



I don't think anyone really sits around debating how much alike or different the areas are of each region or subregion. The groupings are determined by location, and there always has to be a cut-off point somewhere for boundaries between regions. This subject has been discussed to death in online forums.
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Old 03-29-2009, 10:49 AM
 
Location: On the Great South Bay
9,103 posts, read 13,119,630 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DeaconJ View Post
Because the regions of the United States are loosely grouped into large geographical regions that aren't determined by cultural or other similarities. The geographical regions are further divided into smaller subregions:

West Region - Pacific and Mountain subregions
Midwest Region - West North Central and East North Central subregions
Northeast Region - Middle Atlantic and New England subregions
South Region - West South Central, East South Central, and South Atlantic subregions



U.S. Census Regions and Divisions Map



I don't think anyone really sits around debating how much alike or different the areas are of each region or subregion. The groupings are determined by location, and there always has to be a cut-off point somewhere for boundaries between regions. This subject has been discussed to death in online forums.
On your map you can see how the South is divided into 3 subregions but the others regions are just two. I would actually divide the Midwest and move the "West North Central" (Great Plains) into the West and the "East North Central" (Great Lake states) into the Northeast. The Northeast would then be called simply the North. In this way, the West, North and South would all have 3 subregions.
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Old 03-29-2009, 10:53 AM
 
Location: On the Great South Bay
9,103 posts, read 13,119,630 times
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I think the Great Plains states would be better off as being a subdivision of the west. First of all it would be help tourism to the Black Hills and Badlands of the Dakotas if people associated them with the West. Second the smaller populations of the Plains states might mean they have more in common with the more sparsely populated Western states. Also St Louis is supposed to be the "Gateway to the West" and might help that underated city attract notice again..
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Old 03-29-2009, 10:54 AM
 
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There is variety within regions. Ohio and North Dakota are on 2 opposite ends of the Midwest. Just like how California is nothing like Wyoming, even though they're both in the West.
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Old 03-29-2009, 11:31 AM
 
Location: Cortland, Ohio
3,343 posts, read 10,891,747 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JMT View Post
Because we're a really, really big country so some of our geographical regions are also big. The South covers a lot of territory, too. Youngstown is closer to Bismarck than Houston is to Richmond.
Less than 100 miles closer........dear lord........
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Old 03-29-2009, 12:45 PM
 
6,295 posts, read 11,003,836 times
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They are merely geographical designations and nothing more. Obviously you can break down each designation into smaller regions in order to more closely define a given area. Examples:

Northern New England is comprised of Varmint, Gnu Hamster and Mane.
Southern New England is comprised of Connedecticut, Taxachusetts and Road Island

Upper Great Lakes would be Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan
Lower Great Lakes would be Illinois, Indiana and Ohio.
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Old 03-29-2009, 01:14 PM
 
Location: Pittsburgh
2,245 posts, read 7,170,039 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WILWRadio View Post
They are merely geographical designations and nothing more.
I disagree. I think there are general cultural, structural and architectural similarities between regions. The Northeast, the Great Lakes Midwest, the Great Plains, the South, the West Coast and the Interior West all share general characteristics within themselves that exclude them somewhat from the rest of the country.
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Old 03-29-2009, 01:20 PM
 
6,041 posts, read 11,435,510 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ainulinale View Post
I disagree. I think there are general cultural, structural and architectural similarities between regions. The Northeast, the Great Lakes Midwest, the Great Plains, the South, the West Coast and the Interior West all share general characteristics within themselves that exclude them somewhat from the rest of the country.
This is true. But different areas of the same regions have certain characteristics that exclude them even further.
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