Where does the West start? (fit in, rating, coastal)

[SDPMiami]

I forgot to mention I went from Arkansas to Dallas twice. The forests of Arkansas quickly die as you drive west into Texas, by the time you're in Dallas, it's stunted and sparse tree cover with light rolling hills.

[mrfoe]

My point is that central Texas varies. In some parts its lush dense tree cover in other parts it's hilly with sparsly populated trees.

[Omahahonors]

I can say that Nebraska looks very western when you start hitting the sandhills. The geography in this state is crazy diverse with badlands, sandhills, buttes, mesas, rolling hills, loess hills, large hills etc.

Climate wise too. The annual rainfall averages decrease starting from Chicago as you continue west. East Iowa averages lime 38 inches, omaha averages 28 etc.

I think it is very fair to say that anywhere between st louis to Omaha is the gateway to the west.

[Gunion Powder]

Originally Posted by SDPMiami

Only the far east of Texas has substantial tree cover. If you get south of Houston, the tree cover quickly disappears. If you go north, the trees feel stunted.

Which area in particular would you be talking about?

[pnwguy2]

I think we are making this too complicated. The West is not defined by climate. It is defined by geography and the lay of the land. The Rocky Mountains decide this for the most part, however, there are a couple of areas east of the Rockies that still feel "Western". Rapid City, SD, Great Falls, MT, Amarillo TX, and perhaps even Ft. Worth, TX. (Though that last one is a bit of cliche' as many have hailed the division of Dallas/Ft. Worth as the dividing line).

Trivia: The Missouri River runs through Great Falls, Montana.

[mrfoe]

Originally Posted by mega man

Which area in particular would you be talking about?

He never been to the Houston area or Texas obviously. He uses Google maps for info.

[Iaskwhy]

Where the east ends.

[KaaBoom]

Originally Posted by hipcat

Where does the Midwest and South change into the West?

I'm not even sure why this is being debated. Has no one studied geography in school?

[eddie gein]

Originally Posted by KaaBoom

I'm not even sure why this is being debated. Has no one studied geography in school?

I suppose someone in Oregon could see it like this but if you live in the area being debated like I do, it's a pretty fascinating debate.

Growing up along I-35 in Oklahoma I lived along the edge of what I considered the line between east and west.

If you went east of I-35 you went into trees and hills (the cross timbers). If you went west of I-35 it was plains and wheat fields mostly.

In Edmond, Oklahoma the town is literally split in two. The east half of town is in the crosstimbers forest. The west half is in the transitional plains.

The crosstimbers is basically the western most deciduous forest in the eastern united states. And it shows. Scraggly short trees that Washington Irving in 1837 called "The Cast Iron Forest because it was so dense and thick. It defined the lifestyles of the Native tribes prior to white settlement, and it defined the habitat of animals like the buffalo and antelope.

The Cross timbers starts in SE Kansas. Cuts through the middle of Oklahoma and then proceeds into north central Texas in a Southwesterly direction basically ending where the hill country starts but it does go west of I-35 over to Stephenville and ends close to Brady although it is patchier in Texas than it is in Oklahoma.





So for Oklahoma and North Texas I think the distinction between east and west is easily defined by this natural boundry.

[btownboss4]

The Proclaimation Line of 1763.