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Just because the vegetation and climate is different, doesn't mean they have to be in a different region. In California, as you go from north to south it gets hotter and drier. Does that mean the Redwoods aren't in the same state as the Mojave Desert? Hardly.
Kansas starts out as lush forest in the east to semi-arid steppe in the west, does that mean they can't be in the same state? Hardly. Under your criteria, eastern Kansas has more in common with Illinois than it does western Kansas. Therefore we shouldn't put them in the same state or region.
Religiously the Midwest is pretty homogeneous.
Ethnically the Midwest is pretty homogeneous.
Politically the Midwest is somewhat homogeneous, but no different than any other region.
Economically the Midwest is somewhat homogeneous, but no different than any other region.
Why are you comparing the Midwest (a region) to Kansas and California (states).
Missouri classifies as Midwest but huge portions of the state are definitely are not midwestern. Part of Ohio are Appalachian. Parts of Illinois and Indiana might as well be in Kentucky. And parts of South Dakota North Dakota Nebraska Kansas Montnana Wyoming Colorado Texas and Oklahoma are the Great Plains.
California has at least two distinct regions if not more.
I realize that for census and demography purposes the Great Plains are in the Midwest, but I just don’t consider them to be Midwestern.
If you drew all the regions without considering state lines they would look dramatically different
"Going to the lake" isn't that big a deal in Iowa. If you do hear someone say it, they're probably going to the Okoboji area. No one really does the lake house in Minnesota thing here.
In Minnesota, it's damn near universal to spend summer weekends at a lake. Sounds like Wisconsin may be similar.
Why are you comparing the Midwest (a region) to Kansas and California (states).
Because you're using ridiculous criteria to state that part of the Midwest shouldn't be "the Midwest." If we use your kind of criteria, then even states should be split up. Just because the vegetation or climate of part of a state or region is different, doesn't mean the state or region should be split up.
Quote:
Missouri classifies as Midwest but huge portions of the state are definitely are not midwestern. Part of Ohio are Appalachian. Parts of Illinois and Indiana might as well be in Kentucky. And parts of South Dakota North Dakota Nebraska Kansas Montnana Wyoming Colorado Texas and Oklahoma are the Great Plains.
The problem with your reasoning is that other people would say that parts of Kentucky should be in the Midwest, and probably parts of West Virginia and Pennsylvania aren't "really" in the South or Northeast and might as well be in the Midwest.
Also, you're splitting up states. Where, exactly, would you draw the line through, say, Nebraska, to divide it into "Midwest" and "Plains?" Eastern Nebraska, being just across the river from Iowa, is basically identical to Iowa. Where, exactly, would the line be dividing the "Midwest" part of Nebraska and the "Plains" part of Nebraska?
Boundaries are arbitrary so you might as well use the official state boundaries.
Also, you clearly are thinking:
Midwest = Great Lakes states, and maybe Missouri and Iowa.
Plains = Everything else
I have no idea why your conception of the "Midwest" is just the Great Lakes states plus a couple others.
The West, to cite another example, is a very diverse area. Washington and Arizona are both part of "the West" even though they could not be more different. That doesn't mean they aren't both part of "the West."
I don’t care where you are in the Midwest, if you ask people what they are doing on a long summer weekend, the answer is universally “Goin’ to the lake”. I have no idea where this lake is, or what they do when they get there, but midwesterners love “Goin’ to the lake”.
If they are in the Lower Midwest, they probably really mean they are going to an area reservoir, which serves the same recreational purpose as a natural lake - swimming, boating, fishing, etc - but it's really a dammed up river or creek. They are scattered thru out Indiana and the Midwest. One of the best "lake" resorts in all of Indiana is Lake Shafer aka Indiana Beach, near Lafayette. It has a nice little amusement park with a roller coaster, and a water slide, and other carnival type rides and games and it doesn't cost a small fortune. Reservoirs and gravel pits are the main recreational water areas in Indiana away from Lake Michigan.
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