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Personally I don't think the west starts until across the Pecos River in Texas, past Greeley in Colorado,
past Gilette in Wyoming, and around Butte in Montana.
I would say the 100th meridian is probably the best definition of where the West begins. There are elements of Western culture east of the 100th meridian especially in Texas and Oklahoma, but those areas are also heavily Southern (Dixie) as well. The pure west starts at the 100th meridian.
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I don't think the boundaries of the West are as hard lined and definitive as they are with the South, the transitions are more gradual. Omaha feels very much like a quintessential Midwestern city but the Great High Plains in western Nebraska have a western frontier feel about them. El Paso feels more Southwestern than Southern. I imagine the Black Hills in South Dakota must feel very Western.
Last edited by Champ le monstre du lac; 05-29-2013 at 08:56 PM..
I don't think the boundaries of the West are as hard lined and definitive as they are with the South, the transitions are more gradual. Omaha feels very much like a quintessential Midwestern city but the Great High Plains in western Nebraska have a western frontier feel about them. El Paso feels more Southwestern than Southern. I imagine the Black Hills in South Dakota must feel very Western.
I moved to the Black Hills from Omaha. There is a noticeably different feel here. It's Western.
It's a shifting boundary, but I'd say not before the Rocky Mountains. When I cross the country, and drive into Denver, I feel as though I have just exited "the west" and have entered a new kind of environment on the edge of the great plains. Whether or not that is strictly "midwest" is debatable, but it doesn't feel "western" to me once the mountains are in the rearview mirror.
What about places like Amarillo, TX and Tucumcari, NM? I would say those places are western to the core even though they are east of the Rockies.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gnutella
I'd say there's a gradient, and the approximate zone is between U.S. 81 and I-25.
I do agree with you that western influence begin at around U.S. 81. When driving west on I-40, Oklahoma City is where you start to see the West begin ever so slightly, though OKC is still predominantly Dixie. Once I am in the Texas panhandle, everything seems Western and very little makes me think of the South.
I would say the 100th meridian is probably the best definition of where the West begins. There are elements of Western culture east of the 100th meridian especially in Texas and Oklahoma, but those areas are also heavily Southern (Dixie) as well. The pure west starts at the 100th meridian.
Correct the major climate change from the humid east to the dry west. Just west of Ft Worth.
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