The Coastal South

                Washington and the Coastal South have certain features in common.  The Coastal South's citrus industry is being challenged by increased international competition (Hardwick et al., 2008).  The Pacific Northwest's logging industry has also been threatened by competition from abroad.  The Coastal South has the advantage of not having extremely cold weather and being able to grow certain types of crops that thrive from the humidity.  Washington experiences cold, wet and snowy winters which don't have a large impact on their harvesting processes.  This is one reason why Washington contains some of the largest trees in the world and why there is not a large amount of agriculture.

                The Coastal South is a region where hurricanes tend to make landfall.  Hurricanes have caused billions and billions of dollars in damages throughout the years.  Hurricane Katrina in 2005 was one of the worst hurricanes in recent memory.  The Pacific Northwest also experiences many storms that plow through the region.  Washington receives the most rainfall in all of North America.  Since there are many mountains in this region, flooding is minimal and runoff is excessive.  The Coastal South on the other hand sits low in comparison to sea level and there are not any mountainous regions that can force the rainfall into the Gulf of Mexico.  This results in severe flooding that can last for weeks.

               Washington's and the Coastal South's histories have been very different.  The Coastal South has been a part of popular history since the Spanish and other Europeans first made landfall.  Africans were brought over from west Africa to pick cotton and work in the field.  French settlers from Canada were also sent packing to the south after being removed from Acadia (Hardwick et al., 2008).  These people, also known as Cajuns, made southern Louisiana their home and even today, they practice their old customs.  The Coastal South has also been a port of entry for many immigrants coming to the United States.  Washington's history has not been as colorful as the Coastal South's.

Hardwick, Susan W., Shelley, Fred M., Holtgrieve, Donald G. The Geography of North America. Glenview, 2008. Print.

The Inland South

                There are a number of similarities between the Inland South and Washington state.  For starters, there is a lot of rainfall throughout the whole area.  This sometimes results in flash floods in the southern Appalachians where the mountains are steep.  Because of the high rainfall, there are extremely thick forests that attracted Euro-Americans to settle here.  Also much like Washington, commerical foresty is a significant contributor to to the local and regional economies (Hardwick et.al. 2008).  The warm, humid climate allows for trees to grown almost out of control.  Trees like pine and poplars are among the fastest growing trees in the region.  These are harvested to produce paper, woodpulp and other products (Hardwick et. al. 2008).  Along with foresty, the Inland South also must depend on raising livestock and growing crops.  Farmers raise animals such as hogs, chickens and turkeys along with others.  The farmers on the eastern side of washington grow pears and apples along with wheat. 

              Washington also has a unique connection to the Inland South; music origins.  The Inland South is a popular region for country music.  Country music has dominated the region and has been homes to many famous country artists.  Many record label companies are established there as well as venues like The Grand Ole Opry.  Washington state is said to be the origin of grunge music starting in the mid 1980's.  This is do to the climate of the region; being a very gloomy and rainy place as are the song topics.  This is where bands such as Nirvana, The Melvins, Soundgarden, and Green River originated (90's 411, 2013).  Grunge is said to be the root of what is now alternative rock which changed music forever (90's 411, 2013).  

Hardwick, Susan W., Shelley, Fred M., Holtgrieve, Donald G. The Geography of North America. Glenview, 2008. Print.

http://www.90s411.com/history-of-90s-grunge.html

The Great Lake and Corn Belt

             The region of the Great Lakes and Corn belt is nothing like that of the Pacific Northwest.  The Great Lakes and Corn Belt region is a very flat area and some of the areas sit less than 2000 feet above sea level.  Much of the area was covered and shaped by the glaciation that occurred approximately 10,000 years ago.  Areas to the south and east are hillier and less suited for agriculture.  This area is home to the world's largest natural lakes where the country gets a large number of crops.  These crops are also exported to counties all around the world.  A lot of the Midwestern farms are family owned and very mechanized.  The United States is the world's leading producer of corn.  The U.S. is also producing soybeans on the same farms as corn.  Farms in other parts of the region are producing cattle for milk and meat along with hogs.  This is the complete opposite of Washington.  Washington is rugged and full of high mountains and volcanoes.  Farming is extremely minimal and isolated to the east.  All of the harvesting is from natural resources like trees and fish.  This landscape is nothing like the Great Lakes and Corn Belt region since glaciation did not hit Washington like it did the Midwest.  Because of this, it gave the mountains of Washington the opportunity to keep it's topography. 

             The Great Lakes and Corn Belt region's weather is somewhat different than that of Washington's.  The climate of the region is determined by the Great Lakes (Hardwick, 2008 et al).  The south and east part of the region are locations of heavy snow fall in the winter.  There are occasionally blizzards and snowstorms in the region that can effect all ways of traveling.  In the spring and summer time, tornadoes and thunderstorms can be a major hazard to lives and property throughout the region.  Since this is an area of large cities, human lives are especially at risk.  Washington's weather is not as extreme most of the time even though they do get some major rainstorms coming down from Alaska.  This results in flooding when a major storm does come through.  Snow is isolated to very high peaks of the Cascade Mountains.       


Hardwick, Susan W., Shelley, Fred M., Holtgrieve, Donald G. The Geography of North America. Glenview, 2008. Print.
              

Megalopolis

                                                                       (Tacoma, WA)


             Megalopolis is a term that has been given to the area of Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington.  It is said that it has become one major metropolitan area.  Washington state and Megalopolis have very little similarities.  Washington has mountains that bring a lot of precipitation to the region.  Megalopolis has the Appalachians that also causes a good amount of precipitation to fall along the east coast.  Both Megalopolis and Washington experience cool winters and a snow fall.  Megalopolis' snow fall occurs in the northern part of the region while Washington's Cascades are high enough to receive and hold snow.  Both regions have rivers spilling into the near by oceans.  Native Americans in Megalopolis cut down trees in order to settle farms and build homes (Hardwick, 2008 et. al).  They would use wood for other things such as fire, fuel, weapons, and making tools (Hardwick, 2008 et). In Washington, Native Americans would also build their houses of the natural wood that grew in the area, more specifically red ceder.  The natives in this region also used the wood for totem poles. 

             Washington, unlike Megalopolis, has not had a long history of large numbers of Europeans in the area.  Since colonial days, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore have been the largest cities of the region.  This is where most of the regions economy was based and where all the trading was occurring.  Washington D.C. then emerged as the region's main economic and political base.  Since both regions are located along the sea, they both rely on the ocean for a main source of income.  Megalopolis is the leading source of oysters, crabs and shellfish (Hardwick, 2008 et).  Washington seems to have people that enjoy the outdoors and are concerned about the preservation of the states forests and parks.  Overcrowding has been diminishing the "natural" experience of the outdoors and there is limit to the number of people that can be in the parks at a given time.  Overcrowding, in general, has been having a negative effect on both regions over the past years.  It has been taking a toll on the environment causing air quality issues, unemployment, and housing issues among other things.  Population growth does not seem to be slowing down any time soon.



Hardwick, Susan W., Shelley, Fred M., Holtgrieve, Donald G. The Geography of North America. Glenview, 2008. Print.