Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
You say "factories of Ohio" as if the state is completely covered in factories. Have you ever driven through rural Ohio? At least in the western and especially northwestern part of the state, It's mile after mile of flat open land and cornfields. It's one of the top 10 corn producing states in the U.S. A person from Kansas would not feel all that out of place in Ohio. It doesn't have quite the same wide-open feel and enormous sky of the high plains, but it is much closer in feel than many parts of the U.S.
It's a common misconception that the "rust belt" is completely covered with factories as far as the eye can see. The truth is that the industrial areas are concentrated in the big cities. Most of the land in the rust belt is used for agriculture or is forested.
I am well aware that most of Ohio is not covered in factories. I was just trying to get a point across.
As long as we're gonna get really specified in our taxonomy, we should also consider the traditional latitudinal migration patterns which influence Midwestern speech:
I'm thinking of the stuff like the Lower Great lakes accent which starts in the Eastern Lakes (where it merges with the NE accent) and runs as far NW as the Milwaukee metro.
It is so distinct that a transplant to Wisconsin like myself can tell someone who grew-up in Brew City from a Madisonian, or even a lifelong Green Bay resident in about 3-4 sentences max.
People from these latter areas sound more like Minnesotans- when they don't sound like they are fresh off the boat from Hamburg or Antwerp.
Then there is the famous 'warsh line' ( named for how the word 'wash' is pronounced) extending from Central Ohio through Illinois.
South of that you are in Dixie- at least in an area of Upland Southern drawl- from about Portsmouth, Oh. until Effingham, Ill.
I've traveled less in the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas. But from my few trips there, I know that a similiar divide exists between Kansans and residents of more northern-latitude states- like North Dakota.
I don't get this Great Plains = West thing. The Plains are still far more similar to the Midwest than the true West (California, Nevada, Oregon, etc.). Agriculture is nearly nonexistent in the West (excluding CA's central valley), while it is very common in the Plains. Irrigation is necessary because of the drier conditions. The area's economy is still Midwestern (not Rust Belt, which is more Northeastern than anything .... NY, PA, OH, etc.). Culturally, the Plains are Midwestern. Even physiographically, North Dakota looks very similar to parts of Ohio and Indiana, but very different from California.
Also, as far as the whole "Midwest Core" thing. The Great Lakes states (MI, OH, IN, IL, WI) are very similar to each other (excluding areas below I-70). However, Minnesota is divided in half - with northern MN and the Twin Cities area being more like the Great Lakes, and the southern half of the state (excluding areas east of I-35) and western third are more like the Plains. Driving along I-90 from Chicago, you can see the landscape change from forested hills in SE MN to wide-open prairie in south central and southwest MN. Staying along I-90, La Crescent and Houston, MN are definitely Great Lakes, Rochester is transitional (but still more lakes) and by the time you get to areas like Blue Earth, Fairmont and Worthington, you're in the Plains. Iowa = 100% Plains (excluding the eastern FRINGE along the Mississippi). Are those areas "the West?" No. Still Midwestern.
Do you honestly think Fargo is more like Sacramento or Reno than Indianapolis or Columbus? No.
If anything, I would exclude eastern Ohio from the Midwest. It's the MidWEST, not the Mideast.
Agriculture nonexistent in the West? Absolutely not. Try Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California, etc with big agricultural influences.
Midwest style crops west of 100 latitude are only possible through intense irrigation. Therefore, that area is not really Midwest agriculturally, but only can be via massive subsidies to the wealthiest farmers. Landscape wise, it has little in common with the Midwest core with far fewer trees and more sagebrush as well as yucca. Precip averages 10-15 inches per year. NOT MIDWESTERN. Culturally, socially, and built environment are all western in nature. Places like Dodge City, North Platte, Scottsbluff, Rapid City, Dickinson, etc are certainly not Midwestern in my opinion.
So, like, if you're driving on I-70 and you see a sign that says either "welcome to Colorado" or "welcome to West Virginia," then you're no longer in the Midwest.
And if you're driving on I-80 and you see a sign that says either "welcome to Wyoming" or "welcome to Pennsylvania," then you're no longer in the Midwest.
The Midwest could basically be divided into two parts: the CORN BELT ( western Ohio into eastern Nebraska, and from northern Missouri into southern Minnesota), and the WHEAT BELT ( 2 parts--1 part consists of central and western Kansas, the panhandle of Nebraska, and extending south and west beyond the Midwestern boundaries into NW Texas, and eastern Colorado; the other, northern belt includes NW Minnesota, part of eastern South Dakota, and 3/4 of the state of North Dakota, eventually exending into easterm Montana.
These areas don't follow strict state/Midwestern guidelines, but most do..
The Midwest could basically be divided into two parts: the CORN BELT ( western Ohio into eastern Nebraska, and from northern Missouri into southern Minnesota), and the WHEAT BELT ( 2 parts--1 part consists of central and western Kansas, the panhandle of Nebraska, and extending south and west beyond the Midwestern boundaries into NW Texas, and eastern Colorado; the other, northern belt includes NW Minnesota, part of eastern South Dakota, and 3/4 of the state of North Dakota, eventually exending into easterm Montana.
These areas don't follow strict state/Midwestern guidelines, but most do..
If we're going by Ag products, how about the Dairy Belt?
Then there is the Corn Belt, but you left Wisconsin out- although they are in the top 10 producing states.
But there is gonna be some overlap/odd couples if you do it along that criteria- like the 'Cranberry Belt'- Wisconsin produces 60% of the national crop; Mass the other 40%.
If we're going by Ag products, how about the Dairy Belt?
Then there is the Corn Belt, but you left Wisconsin out- although they are in the top 10 producing states.
But there is gonna be some overlap/odd couples if you do it along that criteria- like the 'Cranberry Belt'- Wisconsin produces 60% of the national crop; Mass the other 40%.
Wisconsin was included in the Corn Belt by proxy; I was using east/west and north/south extremes, and Wisconsin was included without mentioning it..
I would say that the Dairy Belt extends from northern New England all the way to Minnesota, and at the peak of its influence in the state of Wisconsin..
I use "belts" as continuous areas; you can't have any separation of land if you're calling it a belt...
The real hybrid state is Minnesota: part Corn Belt, part Wheat Belt, and part Dairy Belt..
Last edited by MassVt; 10-07-2010 at 01:05 PM..
Reason: more info..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
