Below we will divide the North American continent into regions, give their popular regional names, and briefly describe what states or areas are included in each region. Sometimes the regional name is based on natural geography, such as mountain ranges, and at other times, they are based on culture and use of the land. This article should help you understand the geographic nature of North America better.
Here is a list of different regions, and the states, or parts of states, that are considered included in these regions:
- The Midwest – This includes all the fertile flat lands in the central parts of the United States that are used for growing crops, especially corn and soybean, or are used for grazing for cattle. Included in this area would be: northern Ohio north of a line from the northern suburbs of Cincinnati to Columbus to the Warren-Youngstown area, all of Indiana, all of Illinois, Michigan south of Saginaw bay, the northern half of the state of Missouri, all of Iowa, the southern half of Wisconsin and Minnesota, southern Ontario in Canada, and perhaps the eastern third of South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas, and perhaps the area of northwestern Pennsylvania around Erie.
- Appalachian Country – This includes all the mountains of the Appalachian chain, as well as any foothills that are connected to them and share the same or similar culture. Included in this would be: the Shickshock Mountains on the Gaspe Peninsula in eastern Quebec, northern Maine, the White Mountains of northern New Hampshire, Vermont and its Green Mountains, the Adirondack and Catskill Mountains of New York state, most of Pennsylvania west of Harrisburg and Scranton, West Virginia, Ohio south of a line from the northern suburbs of Cincinnati to Columbus to the Warren-Youngstown area, Virginia within twenty miles of the I-81 corridor and anywhere in the state west of that corridor, the eastern two-thirds of Kentucky, eastern Tennessee east of Nashville, western North Carolina in a corridor within 80 miles of the Tennessee border, the northwestern tip of South Carolina, Georgia north of Atlanta, and the northeastern part of Alabama north of I-20 and east of I-65.
- New England – This is the part of the country where settlement first began. It includes: Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, southeastern New Hampshire within 45 miles of the coast, and the part of Maine southwest of Bangor.
- The Atlantic Northeast – This envelops the New England region and includes more. It includes: the part of New York south of Kingston which includes the New York City area and Long Island, New Jersey, Pennsylvania east of Scranton and Harrisburg, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland east of Frederick, and the suburbs of the District of Columbia in the northern parts of the state of Virginia all the way to Quantico Marine Corp Base. The Atlantic Northeast could also be called Megalopolis, as it is highly populated and urbanized – you might remember a few years ago when National Geographic had a map insert that showed this area.
- The South – This includes most of the states that were part of the Confederacy secession in the 1860’s in America’s southeast. Included would be Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas.
- The Deep South would refer to that part of The South that has a very pronounced southern culture, which includes: South Carolina, Georgia south of Macon, most of Alabama, Mississippi, the area around Memphis Tennessee, the far south of Arkansas, and Louisiana.
- The North – This would be the part of northern states that have a similar culture, are quite familiar with snow and snow sports, and have that kind of speaking accent that you might have heard in the movie Fargo. This would be: Ontario, Michigan, although it is more pronounced as you get north of Saginaw Bay and Lansing and Grand Rapids, Wisconsin, Minnesota, northern Iowa, North and South Dakota, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and the Great Plains part of Montana.
- The Coastal Plains – These would be the flatlands east of the Appalachians and west of the Atlantic Ocean, and for the most part, south of the Atlantic Northeast. Included would be: Delaware, Maryland east of Frederick, Virginia at least twenty miles east of the I-81 corridor, North Carolina at least 80 miles east of the Tennssee border, most of South Carolina, Georgia south of Atlanta, Florida, most of Alabama less the part that is Appalachian Country, Mississippi, the southern half of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas east of I-35.
- Vacation Coast – This would be anywhere in the southeast within 20 miles of the coast of the Atlantic Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico, starting at Virginia Beach, Virginia, and ending at the Mexican border, as this area is where people tend to go for vacation when they have a desire to go to the coast. The culture there can be quite different than the culture of The Deep South, and includes the coastal areas of Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas. This culture skips the bayou lands of Louisiana, and would include all of the state of Florida.
- The Great Plains – This would include the vast areas found in the heartland of North America. It would start south of the Canadian Boreal forests and extend all the way to the Mexican border. It would include: southern Manitoba south of Lake Winnipeg, southern Saskatchewan south of Prince Albert, Alberta south of Edmonton and east of the Rocky Mountains, North and South Dakota, the western two-thirds of Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma, Texas west of the I-35 corridor, but east of the intersection of I-20 and I-30 in western Texas, and would include the parts of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico east of the Rocky Mountains.
- The Mountainous West – This would include the vast area from the Rocky Mountains and westward, and would include the intermontane areas where mountain ranges are interspersed with large expansive valleys. This would be: western Alberta within 75 miles of the British Columbia border, British Columbia, then Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico west of where the Rocky Mountains begin, Idaho, Washington state, Oregon, Utah, Nevada, California, Arizona, and Texas within 150 miles of El Paso.
- The Southwest – This area has a strong Latino presence, culture, heritage, and left-over place names, and includes: Texas west and south of the I-45 corridor including its panhandle and far-west, New Mexico, Arizona, California south of Sacramento, and the southern halves of Nevada, Utah, and Colorado.
- The Pacific Northwest – This includes: Washington state, Oregon, California north of Sacramento, Idaho, the Rocky Mountain section of Montana, and perhaps include Nevada north of I-80. It could also include most of British Columbia, the part of Alberta within the Rocky Mountains, and even the panhandle of and southern parts of Alaska that fit within this cultural scheme, since this area is culturally mountainous and covered with forests.
- Maritime Provinces – These are the provinces in eastern Canada that primarily speak English, and are west of Quebec. Fishing and seafaring culture is prevalent here, and includes: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland, and Labrador. It could very easily be argued that the part of Maine north and east of Bangor very easily fits within this culture, and, perhaps, should be included within it, in which case, Maritime Provinces could be replaced with the name Maritime East.
- Northern Boreal Forest – This would be forest land in Canada and Alaska that, for the most part, has been untouched by humans and remains in its pristine condition, and would stretch north of the farmland of the Midwest and Great Plains, south of the Tundra region of northern Canada and Alaska, and would be east and north of the Rocky Mountains. It includes sections of Labrador, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, northeast British Columbia, most of Yukon Territory, the southwestern half of Northwest Territories, and most of central Alaska.
- Arctic Tundra – This would be the cold arid lands of northern Canada north of the Boreal Forest, including the Arctic archipelago of islands in northern Canada, the northern parts of the Northwest Territories, the new Canadian province of Nunavuut, and the area of northern Alaska adjacent to the Arctic Ocean and the Bering Strait.
Here are a few other well-known regional names:
- The Ozark Region of southern Missouri and northern Arkansas that is quite mountainous (like Appalachian Country, not like the Rocky Mountains) and has a similar culture to that found in Appalachian Country. The well-known entertainment and performance center of Branson, Missouri rests within this area, as well as Bentonville, Arkansas, the home of WalMart.
- Glaciated Lakes Region – This area has a lot of forests and thousands of small lakes left created and left over from the last ice age. This would include most of Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ontario, and Manitoba. You could also include northern Quebec, northern Saskatchewan, and parts of Northwest Territories and Nunuvuut.
- The Industrial Heartland – This would be primarily in The Midwest, but would also include sections of Appalachian Country. This would include the heartland of the automobile industry and well as metallurgical industries, such as steel mills and so forth. This area includes: Michigan south of Saginaw Bay, Ontario south of the Georgian Bay and Ottawa, most of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, as well as the southern portions of Wisconsin, and New York state west of Syracuse. It might also include far eastern Missouri and Iowa. As for the automotive industry, we are now, within the last twenty years or so seeing automotive assembly plants, as well as their suppliers, in places outside the previous boundaries of The Industrial Heartland, such as BMW in South Carolina, Mercedes and Hyundai in Alabama, Nissan in Tennessee, Toyota in Kentucky, and so forth.
- French Canada – That would be the part of Canada, originally known as Lower Canada, where French-speaking people settled, and which has a primarily French culture – this would be mostly entirely within the province of Quebec, although you will find some French-speaking settlements in New Brunswick and Ontario close to their borders with Quebec.
These are the different regions of North America. You should have noticed that the areas encompassing each of these regions oftentimes overlaps with another region, allowing many locations throughout the continent to be thought of as part of two or more regions.
