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Is there only one culture in the US?

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Cuisine of the United States Facts for Kids

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Similarly, while some dishes considered typically American may have their origins in other countries, American cooks and chefs have substantially altered them over the years, to the degree that the dish as now enjoyed the world over may even be considered archetypically American.

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Learn Southern United States facts for kids

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United States

The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term the West changed. Before about 1800, the crest of the Appalachian Mountains was seen as the western frontier. The frontier moved westward and eventually the lands west of the Mississippi River were considered the West.

The U.S. Census Bureau's definition of the 13 westernmost states includes the Rocky Mountains and the Great Basin to the Pacific Coast, and the mid-Pacific islands state, Hawaii. To the east of the Western United States is the Midwestern United States and the Southern United States, with Canada to the north, and Mexico to the south.

Defining the West

The Western U.S. is the largest region of the country, covering more than half the land area of the United States. It is also the most geographically diverse, incorporating geographic regions such as the, the temperate rainforests of the Northwest, the highest mountain ranges (including the Rocky Mountains, and the Sierra Nevada, the Great Plains, and all of the desert areas located in the United States (the Mojave, Sonoran, Great Basin, and Chihuahua deserts). Given this expansive and diverse geography it is no wonder the region is difficult to specifically define. Sensing a possible shift in the popular understanding of the West as a region in the early 1990s, historian Walter Nugent conducted a survey of three groups of professionals with ties to the region: a large group of Western historians (187 respondents), and two smaller groups, 25 journalists and publishers and 39 Western authors. A majority of the historian respondents placed the eastern boundary of the West east of the Census definition out on the eastern edge of the Great Plains or on the Mississippi River. The survey respondents as a whole showed just how little agreement there was on the boundaries of the West.

Subregions

Within a region as large and diverse as the Western United States, smaller areas with more closely shared demographics and geography have developed as subregions. The region is split into two smaller units, or divisions, by the U.S. Census Bureau:

Other classifications distinguish between Southwest and Northwest. Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado and Utah are typically considered to be part of the Southwest, though Texas and Oklahoma are frequently considered part of the Southwest as well. Meanwhile, the states of Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington can be considered part of the Northwest or Pacific Northwest.

The term West Coast is commonly used to refer to just California, Oregon and Washington, whereas Alaska and Hawaii are more geographically isolated from the other states of the region and don't necessarily fit in any of these subregions.

Outlying areas

Demographics

The population distribution by race in the Western United States (2010):

As defined by the United States Census Bureau, the Western region of the United States includes 13 states, with a total 2020 population of 78,588,572.

The West is one of the most sparsely settled areas in the United States with 49.5 inhabitants per square mile (19/km ²). Only Texas with 78.0 inhabitants/sq mi. (30/km ²), Washington with 86.0 inhabitants/sq mi. (33/km ²), and California with 213.4 inhabitants/sq mi. (82/km ²) exceed the national average of 77.98 inhabitants/sq mi. (30/km ²).

The West also contains much of the Native American population in the U.S., particularly in the large reservations in the Mountain and Desert States.

The largest concentrations for African-Americans in the West can be found in San Diego, Los Angeles, Oakland, Sacramento, Fresno, San Francisco, Seattle, Tacoma, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Denver, and Colorado Springs.

The Western United States has a higher sex ratio (more males than females) than any other region in the United States.

Because the tide of development had not yet reached most of the West when conservation became a national issue, agencies of the federal government own and manage vast areas of land. (The most important among these are the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management within the Interior Department, and the U.S. Forest Service within the Agriculture Department.) National parks are reserved for recreational activities such as fishing, camping, hiking, and boating, but other government lands also allow commercial activities like ranching, logging, and mining. In recent years, some local residents who earn their livelihoods on federal land have come into conflict with the land's managers, who are required to keep land use within environmentally acceptable limits.

Natural geography

Along the Pacific Ocean coast lie the Coast Ranges, which, while not approaching the scale of the Rocky Mountains, are formidable nevertheless. They collect a large part of the airborne moisture moving in from the ocean. East of the Coast Ranges lie several cultivated fertile valleys, notably the San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys of California and the Willamette Valley of Oregon.

Beyond the valleys lie the Sierra Nevada in the south and the Cascade Range in the north. Mount Whitney, at 14,505 feet (4,421 m) the tallest peak in the contiguous 48 states, is in the Sierra Nevada. The Cascades are also volcanic. Mount Rainier, a volcano in Washington, is also over 14,000 feet (4,300 m). Mount St. Helens, a volcano in the Cascades erupted explosively in 1980. A major volcanic eruption at Mount Mazama around 4860 BC formed Crater Lake. These mountain ranges see heavy precipitation, capturing most of the moisture that remains after the Coast Ranges, and creating a rain shadow to the east forming vast stretches of arid land. These dry areas encompass much of Nevada, Utah, and Arizona. The Mojave Desert and Sonoran Desert along with other deserts are found here.

Beyond the deserts lie the Rocky Mountains. In the north, they run almost immediately east of the Cascade Range, so that the desert region is only a few miles wide by the time one reaches the Canada-US border. The Rockies are hundreds of miles (kilometers) wide, and run uninterrupted from New Mexico to Alaska. The Rocky Mountain Region is the highest overall area of the United States, with an average elevation of above 4,000 feet (1,200 m). The tallest peaks of the Rockies, 54 of which are over 14,000 feet (4,300 m), are found in central and western Colorado.

The West has several long rivers that empty into the Pacific Ocean, while the eastern rivers run into the Gulf of Mexico. The Mississippi River forms the easternmost possible boundary for the West today. The Missouri River, a tributary of the Mississippi, flows from its headwaters in the Rocky Mountains eastward across the Great Plains, a vast grassy plateau, before sloping gradually down to the forests and hence to the Mississippi. The Colorado River snakes through the Mountain states, at one point forming the Grand Canyon.

The Colorado River is a major source of water in the Southwest and many dams, such as the Hoover Dam, form reservoirs along it. So much water is drawn for drinking water throughout the West and irrigation in California that in most years, water from the Colorado River no longer reaches the Gulf of California. The Columbia River, the largest river in volume flowing into the Pacific Ocean from North America, and its tributary, the Snake River, water the Pacific Northwest. The Platte runs through Nebraska and was known for being a mile (2 km) wide but only a half-inch (1 cm) deep. The Rio Grande forms the border between Texas and Mexico before turning due north and splitting New Mexico in half.

According to the United States Coast Guard, "The Western Rivers System consists of the Mississippi, Ohio, Missouri, Illinois, Tennessee, Cumberland, Arkansas, and White Rivers and their tributaries, and certain other rivers that flow towards the Gulf of Mexico."

Climate and agriculture

Most of the public land held by the U.S. National Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management is in the Western states. Public lands account for 25 to 75 percent of the total land area in these states.

As a generalization, the climate of the West can be described as semiarid; however, parts of the West get extremely high amounts of rain and/or snow, and still other parts are true desert and get less than 5 inches (130 mm) of rain per year. Also, the climate of the West is quite unstable, as areas that are normally wet can be very dry for years and vice versa.

The seasonal temperatures vary greatly throughout the West. Low elevations on the West Coast have warm to very hot summers and get little to no snow. The desert southwest has very hot summers and mild winters. While the mountains in the southwest receive generally large amounts of snow. The Inland Northwest has a continental climate of warm to hot summers and cold to bitter cold winters.

Annual rainfall is greater in the eastern portions, gradually tapering off until reaching the Pacific Coast where it increases again. In fact, the greatest annual rainfall in the United States falls in the coastal regions of the Pacific Northwest. Drought is much more common in the West than the rest of the United States. The driest place recorded in the U.S. is Death Valley, California.

Agriculture varies depending on rainfall, irrigation, soil, elevation, and temperature extremes. The arid regions generally support only livestock grazing, chiefly beef cattle. The extends from Texas through the Dakotas, producing most of the wheat and soybeans in the U.S. and exporting more to the rest of the world. Irrigation in the Southwest allows the growing of great quantities of fruits, nuts, and vegetables as well as grain, hay, and flowers. Texas is a major cattle and sheep raising area, as well as the nation's largest producer of cotton. Washington is famous for its apples, and Idaho for its potatoes. California and Arizona are major producers of citrus crops, although growing metropolitan sprawl is absorbing much of this land.

Local and state government officials started to understand, after several surveys made during the latter part of the 19th century, that only action by the federal government could provide water resources needed to support the development of the West. Starting in 1902, Congress passed a series of acts authorizing the establishment of the United States Bureau of Reclamation to oversee water development projects in seventeen western states.

During the first half of the 20th century, dams and irrigation projects provided water for rapid agricultural growth throughout the West and brought prosperity for several states, where agriculture had previously only been subsistence level. Following World War II, the West's cities experienced an economic and population boom. The population growth, mostly in the Southwest states of New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and Nevada, has strained water and power resources, with water diverted from agricultural uses to major population centers, such as the Las Vegas Valley and Los Angeles.

The Pacific states are the most geologically active areas in the United States. Earthquakes cause damage every few to several years in California. While the Pacific states are the most volcanically active areas, extinct volcanoes and lava flows are found throughout most of the West.

The Western United States has been populated by Native Americans since at least 11,000 BC, when the first Paleo-Indians arrived. Pre-Columbian trade routes to kingdoms and empires such as the Mound Builders existed in places such as Yellowstone National Park since around 1000 AD. Major settlement of the western territories developed rapidly in the 1840s, largely through the Oregon Trail and the California Gold Rush of 1849. California experienced such a rapid growth in a few short months that it was admitted to statehood in 1850 without the normal transitory phase of becoming an official territory.

One of the largest migrations in American history occurred in the 1840s as the Latter Day Saints left the Midwest to build a theocracy in Utah.

The 1850s were marked by political battles over the expansion of slavery into the western territories, issues leading to the Civil War.

The history of the American West in the late 19th and early 20th centuries has acquired a cultural mythos in the literature and cinema of the United States. The image of the cowboy, the homesteader, and westward expansion took real events and transmuted them into a myth of the west which has shaped much of American popular culture since the late 19th century.

Writers as diverse as Bret Harte and Zane Grey celebrated or derided cowboy culture, while artists such as Frederic Remington created western art as a method of recording the expansion into the west. The American cinema, in particular, created the genre of the western movie, which, in many cases, use the West as a metaphor for the virtue of self-reliance and an American ethos. The contrast between the romanticism of culture about the West and the actuality of the history of the westward expansion has been a theme of late 20th and early 21st century scholarship about the West. Cowboy culture has become embedded in the American experience as a common cultural touchstone, and modern forms as diverse as country and western music have celebrated the sense of isolation and independence of spirit inspired by the frontiersmen on virgin land.

20th century

The advent of the automobile enabled the average American to tour the West. Western businessmen promoted U.S. Route 66 as a means to bring tourism and industry to the West. In the 1950s, representatives from all the western states built the Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Center to showcase western culture and greet travelers from the East. During the latter half of the 20th century, several transcontinental interstate highways crossed the West bringing more trade and tourists from the East. Oil boom towns in Texas and Oklahoma rivaled the old mining camps for their rawness and wealth. The Dust Bowl forced children of the original homesteaders even further west.

The movies became America's chief entertainment source featuring western fiction, later the community of Hollywood in Los Angeles became the headquarters of the mass media such as radio and television production.

California has emerged as the most populous state and one of the top 10 economies in the world. Massive late 19th-20th century population and settlement booms created two megalopolis areas of the Greater Los Angeles/ Southern California and the San Francisco Bay Area/ Northern California regions, one of the nation's largest metropolitan areas and in the top 25 largest urban areas in the world. Four more metropolitan areas of San Bernardino- Riverside, San Diego, Denver, Phoenix, and Seattle have over a million residents, while the three fastest growing metro areas were the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, the Las Vegas metropolitan area; and the Portland metropolitan area.

Although there has been segregation, along with accusations of racial profiling and police brutality towards minorities due to issues such as illegal immigration and a racial shift (i.e. White flight and now black flight) in neighborhood demographics, sometimes leading to racially based riots (i.e. the 1992 Los Angeles Riots and 1965 Watts Riots), the West has a continuing reputation for being open-minded and for being one of the most racially progressive areas in the United States.

The border states-California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas-and other southwestern states such as Colorado, Utah, and Nevada all have large Hispanic populations, and the many Spanish place names attest to their history as former Spanish and Mexican territories. Mexican-Americans have also had a growing population in Northwestern states of Oregon and Washington, as well as the southern states of Texas and Oklahoma.

Alaska-the northernmost state in the Union-is a vast land of few people, many of them native, and of great stretches of wilderness, protected in national parks and wildlife refuges. Hawaii's location makes it a major gateway between the U.S. and Asia, as well as a center for tourism.

Oregon and Washington have also seen rapid growth with the rise of Boeing and Microsoft along with agriculture and resource based industries. The desert and mountain states have relatively low population densities, and developed as ranching and mining areas which are only recently becoming urbanized. Most of them have highly individualistic cultures, and have worked to balance the interests of urban development, recreation, and the environment.

Culturally distinctive points include the large Mormon population in the Mormon Corridor, including southeastern Idaho, Utah, Northern Arizona, and Nevada; the extravagant casino resort towns of Las Vegas and Reno, Nevada; and the numerous American Indian tribal reservations.

Major metropolitan areas

These are the largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) with a population above 500,000 in the 13 Western states with population estimates as of July 1, 2015 as defined by the United States Census Bureau:

Rank
(West)

Rank
(USA)

MSA

Population

State(s)

8

23
2,389,228 Oregon
Washington

Other population centers

The MSA of El Paso, Texas, although belonging to a state considered part of the Southern United States, is sometimes also considered part of the Western United States. Its estimated population is 838,972.

The Mexican border cities of Tijuana (part of the San Diego MSA) and Mexicali (part of the Yuma, AZ-El Centro, CA MSA) in the Mexican state of Baja California.

The Canadian border cities of Vancouver, British Columbia (the nearest US cities are Bellingham and Port Angeles, both in Washington) and Victoria in the Canadian province of British Columbia.

The largest MSA in Alaska is Anchorage; it has an estimated population of 399,790, as of July 2015.

Images for kids

In Spanish: Oeste de Estados Unidos para niños

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Learn Western United States facts for kids

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The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, Nevada, Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah. The largest cities by metropolitan area are Los Angeles, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, El Paso, Albuquerque, Denver and Tucson. Before 1848, in the historical region of Santa Fe de Nuevo México as well as parts of Alta California and Coahuila y Tejas, settlement was almost non-existent outside of Nuevo México's Pueblos and Spanish or Mexican municipalities. Much of the area had been a part of New Spain and Mexico until the United States acquired the area through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 and the smaller Gadsden Purchase in 1854.

While the region's boundaries are not officially defined, there have been attempts to do so. One such definition is from the Mojave Desert in California in the west (117° west longitude) to Carlsbad, New Mexico in the east (104° west longitude); another says that it extends from the Mexico-United States border in the south to the southern areas of Colorado, Utah, and Nevada in the north (39° north latitude). In another definition, the core Southwestern U.S. includes only the states of Arizona and New Mexico; others focus on the land within the old Spanish and Mexican borders of the Nuevo México Province or the later American New Mexico Territory.

Regional geography

The most northwest portion of the American Southwest is covered by the Mojave Desert. Bordered on the south by the Sonoran Desert and the east by the Colorado Plateau, its range within the region makes up the southeast tip of Nevada, the southwestern corner of Utah and the northwestern corner of Arizona. In terms of topography, the Mojave is very similar to the Great Basin Desert, which lies just to its north. Within the region, Las Vegas is the most populous city; other significant population centers include Laughlin and Pahrump in Nevada, St. George and Hurricane in Utah, and Lake Havasu City, Kingman, and Bullhead City in Arizona. The Mojave is the smallest, driest and hottest desert within the United States. The Mojave gets less than 6 in (150 mm) of rain annually, and its elevation ranges from 3,000 to 6,000 feet (900 to 1,800 meters) above sea level. The most prolific vegetation is the tall Joshua tree, which grow as tall as 40 ft (12 m), and are thought to live almost 1000 years. Other major vegetation includes the Parry saltbush and the Mojave sage, both only found in the Mojave, as well as the creosote bush.

Phoenix, Tucson, and Las Vegas dominate the westernmost metropolitan areas in the Southwest, while Albuquerque, and El Paso dominate the easternmost metropolitan areas.

Pre-European contact

Not long after the Hohokam reached the height of their culture, all three major cultures in the Southwest began to decline for unknown reasons, although severe drought and encroachment from other peoples have been postulated. By the end of the 15th century, all three cultures had disappeared. The modern Indian tribes of the Isleta, Hopi, Zuni, Sandia, Cochiti, Santa Ana, Taos, Acoma, and Laguna trace their ancestry back to the ancestral Puebloans, while the Akimel O'odham and Tohono O'odham claim descent from Hohokam. The area previously occupied by the Mogollon was taken over by an unrelated tribe, the Apache. While it is unclear whether any of the modern Indian tribes are descended from the Mogollon, some archeologists and historians believe that they mixed with Ancestral Puebloans and became part of the Hopi and Zuni.

Prior to the arrival of Europeans, the Southwestern United States was inhabited by a very large population of American Indian tribes. The area once occupied by the ancestral Puebloans became inhabited by several American Indian tribes, the most populous of which were the Navajo, Ute, Southern Paiute, and Hopi. The Navajo, along with the Hopi, were the earliest of the modern Indian tribes to develop in the Southwest. Around AD 1100 their culture began to develop in the Four Corners area of the region. The Navahos migrated from northwestern Canada and eastern Alaska, where the majority of Athabaskan speakers reside. The Ute were found over most of modern-day Utah and Colorado, as well as northern New Mexico and Arizona. The Paiutes roamed an area which covered over 45,000 square miles of southern Nevada and California, south-central Utah, and northern Arizona. The Hopi settled the lands of the central and western portions of northern Arizona. Their village of Oraibi, settled in approximately AD 1100, is, along with Acoma Sky City in New Mexico, one of the oldest continuously occupied settlements in the United States. The Mogollon area became occupied by the Apaches and the Zuni. The Apache migrated into the American Southwest from the northern areas of North America at some point between 1200 and 1500. They settled throughout New Mexico, eastern Arizona, northern Mexico, parts of western Texas, and southern Colorado. The Zuni count their direct ancestry through the ancestral Puebloans. The modern-day Zuni established a culture along the Zuni River in far-eastern Arizona and western New Mexico. Both major tribes of the O'odham tribe settled in the southern and central Arizona, in the lands once controlled by their ancestors, the Hohokam.

Arrival of Europeans

The first European intrusion into the region came from the south. In 1539, a Jesuit Franciscan named Marcos de Niza led an expedition from Mexico City which passed through eastern Arizona. The following year Francisco Vázquez de Coronado, based on reports from survivors of the Narváez expedition (1528-36) who had crossed eastern Texas on their way to Mexico City, led an expedition to discover the Seven Golden Cities of Cíbola. The 1582-3 expedition of Antonio de Espejo explored New Mexico and eastern Arizona; and this led to Juan de Oñate's establishment of the Spanish province of Santa Fe de Nuevo México in 1598, with a capital founded near Ohkay Oweenge Pueblo, which he called San Juan de los Caballeros. Oñate's party also attempted to establish a settlement in Arizona in 1599, but were turned back by inclement weather. In 1610, Santa Fe was founded, making it the oldest capital in United States.

In 1664 Juan Archuleta led an expedition into what is now Colorado, becoming the first European to enter. A second Spanish expedition was led into Colorado by Juan Ulibarrí in 1706, during which he claimed the Colorado territory for Spain.

In 1768, the Spanish created the Provincia de las Californias, which included California and the Southwest US. Over approximately the next 50 years, the Spanish continued to explore the Southwest, and in 1776 the City of Tucson was founded when the Presidio San Augustin del Tucson was created, relocating the presidio from Tubac.

In 1776, two Franciscan priests, Francisco Atanasio Domínguez and Silvestre Vélez de Escalante, led an expedition from Santa Fe heading to California. After passing through Colorado, they became the first Europeans to travel into what is now Utah. Their journey was halted by bad weather in October, and they turned back, heading south into Arizona before turning east back to Santa Fe.

In 1804 Spain divided the Provincia de las Californias, creating the province Alta California, which consisted primarily of what would become California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico. In 1821 Mexico achieved its independence from Spain and shortly after, in 1824, developed its constitution, which established the Alta California territory, which was the same geographic area as the earlier Spanish province.

In 1851, San Luis became the first European settlement in what is now Colorado.

Becoming states

Of the states of which at least a portion make up the Southwest, Texas was the first to achieve statehood. On December 29, 1845, the Republic of Texas was annexed, bypassing the status of becoming a territory, and immediately became a state. Initially, its borders included parts of what would become several other states: almost half of New Mexico, a third of Colorado, and small portions of Kansas, Oklahoma, and Wyoming. Texas current borders were set in the Compromise of 1850, where Texas ceded land to the federal government in exchange for $10 million, which would go to paying off the debt Texas had accumulated in its war with Mexico.

Following the Mexican Cession, the lands of what had been the Mexican territory of Alta California were in flux: portions of what is now New Mexico were claimed, but never controlled, by Texas. With the Compromise of 1850, the states of Texas and California were created (Texas as a slave state, and California as a free state), as well as the Utah Territory and New Mexico Territory. The New Mexico Territory consisted of most of Arizona and New Mexico (excluding a strip along their southern borders), a small section of southern Colorado, and the very southern tip of Nevada; while the Utah Territory consisted of Utah, most of Nevada, and portions of Wyoming and Colorado. The New Mexico Territory was expanded along its southern extent, to its current border, with the signing of the Gadsden Purchase Treaty on December 30, 1853, which was ratified by the U.S. Congress, with some slight alterations, in April 1854.

Utah, as shown above, evolved out of the Utah Territory, as pieces of the original territory created in 1850 were carved out: parts were ceded to Nevada, Wyoming, and Colorado in 1861; another section to Nevada in 1862; and the final section to Nevada in 1866. In 1890, the LDS church issued the 1890 Manifesto, which officially banned polygamy for members of the church. It was the last roadblock for Utah entering the Union, and on January 4, 1896, Utah was officially granted statehood, becoming the 45th state.

In 1869, John Wesley Powell led a 3-month expedition which explored the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River. In 1875, he would publish a book describing his explorations, Report of the Exploration of the Columbia River of the West and Its Tributaries, which was later republished as The Exploration of the Colorado River and Its Canyons.

In 1877 silver was discovered in southeastern Arizona. The notorious mining town of Tombstone, Arizona was born to service the miners. The town would become immortalized as the scene of what is considered the greatest gunfight in the history of the Old West, the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.

Copper was also discovered in 1877, near Bisbee and Jerome in Arizona, which became an important component of the economy of the Southwest. Production began in 1880 and was made more profitable by the expansion of the railroad throughout the territory during the 1880s.

The early 1880s also saw the completion of the second transcontinental railroad, which ran through the heart of the Southwest, called the "Santa Fe Route". It ran from Chicago, down through Topeka, then further south to Albuquerque, before heading almost due west through northern Arizona to Los Angeles.

The repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act in 1893 led to the decline of the silver mining industry in the region.

In 1901, the Santa Fe Railroad reached the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, opening the way for a tourism boom, a trend led by restaurant and hotel entrepreneur Fred Harvey.

The last two territories within the Southwest to achieve statehood were New Mexico and Arizona. By 1863, with the splitting off of the Arizona Territory, New Mexico reached its modern borders. They became states within forty days of one another. On January 6, 1912, New Mexico became the 47th state in the Union. Arizona would shortly follow, becoming the last of the 48 contiguous United States on February 14, 1912.

Since statehood

The 1930s saw the beginning of the ski industry in the Southwest. Resorts were established in Colorado in areas such as Estes Park, Gunnison, and on Loveland Pass. New Mexico's oldest ski area is Sandia Peak Ski Area at the eastern edge of Albuquerque, which opened to skiers in 1936. At the end of the decade, in 1939, with the establishment of Alta Ski Area, Utah's skiing began to be developed.

Due to the ski conditions in the state, during WWII, the 10th Mountain Division established Camp Hale in Colorado to train elite ski troops.

Origins of the term and historical/cultural variations

Geographer D. W. Meinig defines the Southwest in a very similar fashion to Reed: the portion of New Mexico west of the Llano Estacado and the portion of Arizona east of the Mojave- Sonoran Desert and south of the "canyon lands" and also including the El Paso district of western Texas and the southernmost part of Colorado. Meinig breaks the Southwest down into four distinct subregions. He calls the first subregion " Northern New Mexico", and describes it as focused on Albuquerque and Santa Fe. It extends from the San Luis Valley of southern Colorado to south of Socorro and including the Manzano Mountains, with an east-west breadth in the north stretching from the upper Canadian River to the upper San Juan River. The area around Albuquerque is sometimes called Central New Mexico.

Meinig calls the third subregion "El Paso, Tucson, and the Southern Borderlands". While El Paso and Tucson are distinctly different cities, they serve as anchor points to the hinterland between them. Tucson occupies a large oasis at the western end of the El Paso-Tucson corridor. The region between the two cities is a major transportation trunk with settlements serving both highway and railway needs. There are also large mining operations, ranches, and agricultural oases. Both El Paso and Tucson have large military installations nearby; Fort Bliss and White Sands Missile Range north of El Paso in New Mexico, and, near Tucson, the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. About 70 miles (110 km) to the southeast are the research facilities at Fort Huachuca. These military installations form a kind of hinterland around the El Paso-Tucson region, and are served by scientific and residential communities such as Sierra Vista, Las Cruces, and Alamogordo. El Paso's influence extends north into the Mesilla Valley, and southeast along the Rio Grande into the Trans-Pecos region of Texas.

The fourth subregion Meinig calls the "Northern Corridor and Navajolands", a major highway and railway trunk which connects Albuquerque and Flagstaff. Just north of the transportation trunk are large blocks of American Indian land.

Historical/archeological

As the US expanded westward, the country's western border also shifted westward, and consequently, so did the location of the Southwestern and Northwestern United States. In the early years of the United States, newly colonized lands lying immediately west of the Appalachian Mountains were detached from North Carolina and given the name Southwest Territory. During the decades that followed, the region known as "the Southwestern United States" covered much of the Deep South east of the Mississippi River.

However, as territories and eventual states to the west were added after the Mexican-American War, the geographical "Southwest" expanded, and the relationship of these new acquisitions to the South itself became "increasingly unclear."

However, archeologist, Erik Reed, gives a description which is the most widely accepted as defining the American Southwest, which runs from Durango, Colorado in the north, to Durango, Mexico, in the south, and from Las Vegas, Nevada in the west to Las Vegas, New Mexico in the East. Reed's definition is roughly equivalent to the western half of the Learning Center of the American Southwest's definition, leaving out any portion of Kansas and Oklahoma, and much of Texas, as well as the eastern half of New Mexico. Since this article is about the Southwestern United States, the areas of Sonora and Chihuahua in Mexico will be excluded. The portion left includes Arizona and western New Mexico, the very southernmost part of Utah, southwestern Colorado, the very tip of west Texas, and triangle formed by the southern tip of Nevada. This will be the defined scope that is used in this article unless otherwise specified in a particular area.

Geological/topographical

Parts of the other states make up the various areas that can be included in the Southwest, depending on the source. The Learning Center of the American Southwest (LCAS) does not rely on current state boundaries, and defines the American Southwest as parts of Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah. From this perspective, almost all of the region's physiographical traits, geological formations, and weather are contained within a box between 26° and 38° northern latitude, and 98° 30' and 124° western longitude.

Ecological

When looking at the fauna of the region, there is a broader definition of the American Southwest. The Southwestern Center for Herpetological Research defines the Southwest as being only the states of Arizona, New Mexico, with parts of California, Nevada, Texas, and Utah; although they include all of those six states in their map of the region, solely for ease of defining the border.

Lawrence Clark Powell, a major bibliographer whose emphasis is on the Southwest, defined the American Southwest in a 1958 Arizona Highways article as, "the lands lying west of the Pecos, north of the [Mexican] Border, south of the Mesa Verde and the Grand Canyon, and east of the mountains which wall off Southern California and make it a land in itself."

Texas has long been the focal point of this dichotomy, and is often considered, as such, the core area of "the South's Southwest." While the Trans-Pecos area is generally acknowledged as part of the desert Southwest, most of Texas and large parts of Oklahoma are often placed into a sub-region of the South, which some consider southwestern in the general framework of the original application, meaning the "Western South". This is an area containing the basic elements of Southern history, culture, politics, religion, and linguistic and settlement patterns, yet blended with traits of the frontier West. While this particular Southwest is notably different in many ways from the classic "Old South" or Southeast, these features are strong enough to give it a separate southwestern identity quite different in nature from that of the interior southwestern states to the west.

One of these distinguishing characteristics in Texas-in addition to having been a Confederate state during the Civil War-is that Indigenous and Spanish American culture never played a central role in the development of this area in relative comparison to the others, as the vast majority of settlers were Anglo and blacks from the South. Although the present-day state of Oklahoma was Indian Territory until the early 20th century, many of these American Indians were from the southeastern United States and became culturally assimilated early on. The majority of members of these tribes also allied themselves with the Confederacy during the Civil War. Combined with that, once the territory was open for settlement, southeastern pioneers made up a disproportionate number of these newcomers. All this contributed to the new state having a character that differed from other parts of the Southwest with large American Indian populations.

The fact that a majority of residents of Texas and Oklahoma-unlike those in other "southwestern" states-self-identify as living in the South and consider themselves southerners rather than the West and westerners-also lends to treating these two states as a somewhat distinct and separate entity in terms of regional classification.

Vegetation and terrain

The region has an extremely diverse bird population, with hundreds of species being found in the American Southwest. In the Chiricahua Mountains alone, in southeastern Arizona, there can be found more than 400 species. Species include Canadian ( Branta canadensis) and snow geese, sandhill cranes ( Grus canadensis), and the roadrunner, the state bird of New Mexico and most famous bird in the region, is found in all states of the Southwest. Birds of prey include the red-tailed hawk ( Buteo jamaicensis), Cooper's hawk ( Accipiter cooperii), the osprey ( Pandion haliaetus), golden eagles ( Aquila chrysaetos), Harris's hawk ( Parabuteo unicinctus), American kestrel ( Falco sparverius), peregrine falcon ( Falco peregrinus), the gray hawk ( Buteo plagiatus), the barn owl ( Tyto alba), the western screech owl ( Megascops kennicottii), the great horned owl ( Bubo virginianus), the elf owl ( Micrathene whitneyi), and the burrowing owl ( Athene cunicularia)

Other bird species include the turkey vulture ( Cathartes aura), the black vulture ( Coragyps atratus), the northern cardinal ( Cardinalis cardinalis), the blue grosbeak ( Passerina caerulea), the house finch ( Haemorhous mexicanus), the lesser goldfinch ( Spinus psaltria), the broad-billed hummingbird ( Cynanthus latirostris), the black-chinned hummingbird ( Archilochus alexandri), Costa's hummingbird ( Calypte costae), Gambel's quail ( Callipepla gambelii), the common raven ( Corvus corax), the Gila woodpecker ( Melanerpes uropygialis), the gilded flicker ( Colaptes chrysoides), the cactus wren ( Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus), and the rock wren ( Salpinctes obsoletus). Four types of doves call the Southwest home: the white-winged dove ( Zenaida asiatica), the mourning dove ( Zenaida macroura), the common ground dove ( Columbina passerina), and the Inca dove ( Columbina inca).

There is a large contingent of snakes native to the region. Among them include the rosy boa ( Lichanura trivirgata); several sub-species of the glossy snake ( Arizona elegans); the Trans-Pecos ratsnake ( Bogertophis subocularis); several sub-species of shovel-nosed snakes; several sub-species of kingsnake, including the desert kingsnake ( Lampropeltis getula splendida) and the Arizona mountain kingsnake ( Lampropeltis pyromelana); the Arizona coral snake ( Micruroides euryxanthus); the western diamondback rattlesnake ( Crotalus atrox); the Trans-Pecos copperhead ( Agkistrodon contortrix pictigaster); the Sonoran sidewinder ( Crotalus cerastes cercobombus); the Arizona black rattlesnake ( Crotalus oreganus cerberus); the western rattlesnake ( Crotalus viridis); the Grand Canyon rattlesnake ( Crotalus oreganus abyssus), found only in Arizona; several sub-species of the ridge-nosed rattlesnake ( Crotalus willardi), the most recent rattlesnake species to be discovered in the United States, including the New Mexico ridge-nosed rattlesnake ( Crotalus willardi obscurus), and the Arizona ridge-nosed rattlesnake, the state reptile of Arizona; and the desert massasauga ( Sistrurus catenatus edwardsii).

Other reptiles in the region include lizards and turtles. Lizards are highly represented in the region, the most distinctive denizen being the Gila monster, native only to the American Southwest and the state of Sonora in Mexico. The New Mexico whiptail is the state reptile of New Mexico. Other lizards include: Sonoran collared lizard ( Crotaphytus nebrius); several types of geckos, including western banded gecko ( Coleonyx variegatus), the common house gecko ( Hemidactylus frenatus), and the Mediterranean house gecko ( Hemidactylus turcicus), the last two species being non-native to the region but have been introduced; the desert iguana ( Dipsosaurus dorsalis); the chuckwalla ( Sauromalus ater); the greater earless lizard ( Cophosaurus texanus scitulus); several sub-species of horned lizards ( Phrynosoma); numerous species of spiny lizards ( Sceloporus); Gilbert's skink ( Plestiodon gilberti); the western skink ( Plestiodon skiltonianus); Trans-Pecos striped whiptail ( Aspidoscelis inornata heptagrammus); and the Arizona night lizard ( Xantusia arizonae). Turtles are less numerous than their other reptilian counterparts, but several are found in the region, including: the western painted turtle ( Chrysemys picta bellii); the Rio Grande cooter ( Pseudemys gorzugi); the desert box turtle ( Terrapene ornata luteola); the Big Bend slider ( Trachemys gaigeae gaigeae); the Sonora mud turtle ( Kinosternon sonoriense); and the desert tortoise ( Gopherus agassizii).

Amphibians include numerous toads and frogs in the American Southwest. Toads which can be found in the region include the Great Plains toad ( Anaxyrus cognatus); the green toad ( Anaxyrus debilis); the Arizona toad ( Anaxyrus microscaphus); the New Mexico spadefoot ( Spea multiplicata stagnalis); and the Colorado River toad ( Incilius alvarius), also known as the Sonoran Desert toad. Frog representation includes: western barking frog ( Craugastor augusti); the canyon tree frog ( Hyla arenicolor); the Arizona treefrog ( Hyla wrightorum); the western chorus frog ( Pseudacris triseriata); Chiricahua leopard frog ( Lithobates chiricahuensis); and the relict leopard frog ( Lithobates onca). There are quite a few salamanders throughout the region, including: the Arizona tiger salamander ( Ambystoma mavortium nebulosum) and the painted ensatina ( Ensatina eschscholtzii picta).

The southwestern United States features a semi-arid to arid climate, depending on the location. Much of the Southwest is an arid desert climate, but higher elevations in the mountains in each state, with the exception of West Texas, feature alpine climates with very large amounts of snow. The metropolitan areas of Phoenix, Tucson, Las Vegas, and El Paso hardly ever receive any snow at all, as they are strictly desert lands with mountains. Albuquerque receives less snow than other cities, but still receives significant snowfalls occasionally in the winter. Although it snows in this region, the snow in this part of the United States melts rapidly, often before nightfall. This is due mainly to the higher altitude and abundant sunshine in these states.

Nevada and Arizona are both generally arid with desert lands and mountains, and receive large amounts of snow in the higher elevations in and near the mountains. New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado are generally arid, with desert lands and mountains as well. They all receive decent amounts of snow and large amounts of snow in the high elevations in the mountains, although some areas in far southwestern and southern New Mexico do not receive much snow at all at lower elevations. West Texas is generally arid as well but does not receive the same amount of snow that the other southwestern states receive at their high elevations. The terrain of western Texas in the Southwest is the flat, rolling land of the plains, which eventually turns into a desert with some hills. There are significant mountains as well in west Texas upon reaching the Trans-Pecos area.

During El Niño, winters and springs are generally colder and wetter across southern portions of the region, while the northern portion stays warmer and drier due to a southern jet stream. Under La Niña, the opposite happens, meaning the cool and wet weather tends to stay farther north. The Southwest also experiences multi-year and multi-decade episodes of severe drought, including the ongoing southwestern North American megadrought which emerged starting year 2000.

National parks, monuments and forests

Colorado parks and monuments include Great Sand Dunes, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, and Mesa Verde national parks; the national monuments of Browns Canyon, Canyons of the Ancients, Colorado, Hovenweep, and Yucca House. Other federal areas include Curecanti National Recreation Area and Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site; as well as the national forests of San Isabel, San Juan, and Uncompahgre.

Utah national parks include Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, and Zion. National monuments include Bears Ears, Cedar Breaks, Grand Staircase-Escalante, Hovenweep (also in Colorado), Natural Bridges, and Rainbow Bridge. Other federal areas include Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Dixie National Forest, and Manti-La Sal National Forest.

The largest African American populations in the Southwest can be found in Las Vegas (10%), San Antonio (7%), and Phoenix (5%).

Cities and urban areas

The area also contains many of the nation's largest cities and metropolitan areas, despite relatively low population density in rural areas. Phoenix is the fifth most populous city in the country, and Albuquerque and Las Vegas were some of the fastest-growing cities in the United States. Also, the region as a whole has witnessed some of the highest population growth in the United States, and according to the US Census Bureau, in 2008-2009, Utah was the fastest-growing state in America. As of the 2010 Census, Nevada was the fastest-growing state in the United States, with an increase of 35.1% in the last ten years. Additionally, Arizona (24.6%), Utah (23.8%), Texas (20.6%), and Colorado (16.9%) were all in the top ten fastest-growing states as well.

The five largest cities of the American Southwest (2020 census)

Largest cities and metropolitan areas (2020 census)

Professional

In 1997, the Phoenix Mercury were one of the original eight teams to launch the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Indoor American football is represented by the Arizona Rattlers located in Phoenix. The region is also host to several major professional golf events: the LPGA's Founder's Cup; the Phoenix Open and the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open (in Las Vegas) of the PGA; and the Tucson Conquistadores Classic (in Tucson), and the Charles Schwab Cup Championship (in Scottsdale) on the Champions Tour of the PGA.

The Southwest is also home to some of the most prominent rodeos in North America. The Professional Bull Riders association has its headquarters in Pueblo, Colorado. The PBR World Finals are held annually in Las Vegas, which also hosts the National Finals Rodeo, which is the nation's premier rodeo event. Other major rodeo events include the week-long Fiesta de los Vaqueros in Tucson, the World's Oldest Rodeo in Prescott, Arizona, the Southwestern International PRCA Rodeo in El Paso, Texas, and the Rodeo de Santa Fe, one of the nation's premier rodeos.

The Southwest is home to a rich tradition of college sports. The Pac-12 Conference has two teams in the region, the Arizona State Sun Devils and the University of Arizona Wildcats. The Mountain West Conference also has two teams, the UNLV Rebels and the University of New Mexico Lobos. Conference USA is represented by the University of Texas at El Paso Miners. The Big Sky Conference has two teams: the Lumberjacks of Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona, and the Southern Utah University Thunderbirds in Cedar City, Utah. The Western Athletic Conference also has two representatives, the New Mexico State University Aggies in Las Cruces, New Mexico, and the Grand Canyon University Antelopes in Phoenix.

The Southwest is the site of six college football bowl games: the TicketCity Cactus Bowl, formerly known as the Insight Bowl, in Tempe; the Arizona Bowl in Tucson; the Fiesta Bowl, played at the University of Phoenix Stadium; the Las Vegas Bowl; the New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque; and the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas.

In Spanish: Suroeste de Estados Unidos para niños

Pacific Southwest

Southwest Conference (for a different division of the US for sports)

Water Education Foundation

Western United States

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Southwestern United States Facts for Kids

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Learn Southwestern United States facts for kids

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Learn Midwestern United States facts for kids

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The Northeastern United States, also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast, is a geographic region of the United States. It is located on the Atlantic coast of North America, with Canada to its north, the Southern United States to its south, and the Midwestern United States to its west. The Northeast is one of the four regions defined by the U.S. Census Bureau for the collection and analysis of statistics. The region is usually defined as including nine U.S. states: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

The U.S. Census Bureau-defined region of the Northeastern United States has a total area of 181,324 sq mi (469,630 km ²) with 162,257 sq mi (420,240 km ²) of that being land mass, making it the smallest region of the United States by both land mass and total area. The Northeastern region is the nation's most economically developed, densely populated, and culturally diverse region. Of the nation's four census regions, the Northeast has the second-largest percentage of residents living in an urban setting, with 85 percent, and is home to the nation's largest metropolitan area. The Northeast is home to most of the Northeast megalopolis, the most economically significant and second most-populated of eleven megaregions within the United States, accounting for 20% of U.S. GDP as of 2016.

Indigenous people

Anthropologists recognize the "Northeastern Woodlands" as one of the cultural regions that existed in the Western Hemisphere at the time of European colonists in the 15th and later centuries. Most did not settle in North America until the 17th century. The cultural area, known as the " Northeastern Woodlands", in addition to covering the entire Northeast U.S., also covered much of what is now Canada and others regions of what is now the eastern United States.

Among the many tribes that inhabited this area were those that made up the Iroquois nations and the numerous Algonquian peoples. In the United States of the 21st century, 18 federally recognized tribes reside in the Northeast. For the most part, the people of the Northeastern Woodlands, on whose lands European fishermen began camping to dry their codfish in the early 1600s, lived in villages, especially after being influenced by the agricultural traditions of the Ohio and Mississippi valley societies.

Colonial history

All of the U.S. states making up the Northeastern region were among the original Thirteen Colonies, though Maine, Vermont, and Delaware were part of other colonies before the United States became independent in the American Revolution. The two cultural and geographic regions that form parts of the Northeastern region have distinct histories.

New England

The first Europeans to settle New England were Pilgrims from England, who landed in present-day Massachusetts in 1620. The Pilgrims arrived on the ship and founded Plymouth Colony so they could practice religion freely. Ten years later, a larger group of Puritans settled north of Plymouth Colony in Boston to form Massachusetts Bay Colony. In 1636, colonists established Connecticut Colony and Providence Plantations. Providence was founded by Roger Williams, who was banished by Massachusetts for his beliefs in freedom of religion, and it was the first colony to guarantee all citizens freedom of worship. Anne Hutchinson, who was also banished by Massachusetts, formed the town of Portsmouth. Providence, Portsmouth and two other towns ( Newport and Warwick) consolidated to form the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.

Although the first settlers of New England were motivated by religion, since the 21st century, New England had become one of the least religious parts of the United States. In a 2009 Gallup survey, less than half of residents in Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts reported religion as an important part of their daily life. In a 2010 Gallup survey, less than 30% of residents in Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts reported attending church weekly, giving them the lowest church attendance among U.S. states.

New England played a prominent role in early American education. Starting in the 17th century, the larger towns in New England opened grammar schools, the forerunner of the modern high school. The first public school in the English colonies was the Boston Latin School, founded in 1635. In 1636, the colonial legislature of Massachusetts founded Harvard College, the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States.

Mid-Atlantic

The first European explorer known to have explored the Atlantic shoreline of the Northeast since the Norse was Giovanni da Verrazzano in 1524. His ship La Dauphine explored the coast from what is now known as Florida to New Brunswick. Henry Hudson explored the area of present-day New York in 1609 and claimed it for the Netherlands. His journey stimulated Dutch interest, and the area became known as New Netherland. In 1625, the city of New Amsterdam (the location of present-day New York City) was designated the capital of the province. The Dutch New Netherland settlement along the Hudson River and, for a time, the New Sweden settlement along the Delaware River divided the English settlements in the north and the south. In 1664, Charles II of England formally annexed New Netherland and incorporated it into the English colonial empire. The territory became the colonies of New York and New Jersey. New Jersey was originally split into East Jersey and West Jersey until the two were united as a royal colony in 1702.

In 1681, William Penn, who wanted to give Quakers a land of religious freedom, founded Pennsylvania and extended freedom of religion to all citizens. Penn strongly desired access to the sea for his Pennsylvania Province and leased what then came to be known as the "Lower Counties on the Delaware" from the Duke. Penn established representative government and briefly combined his two possessions under one General Assembly in 1682. However, by 1704 the Province of Pennsylvania had grown so large that their representatives wanted to make decisions without the assent of the Lower Counties and the two groups of representatives began meeting on their own, one at Philadelphia, and the other at New Castle, Delaware. Penn and his heirs remained proprietors of both and always appointed the same person Governor for their Province of Pennsylvania and their territory of the Lower Counties. The fact that Delaware and Pennsylvania shared the same governor was not unique. From 1703 to 1738, New York and New Jersey shared a governor. Massachusetts and New Hampshire also shared a governor for some time.

The vast area from central Virginia to northern Maine, and from western Pennsylvania, from Pittsburgh in the west to the Atlantic Ocean in the east, have all been loosely grouped into the Northeast, including six of Pennsylvania's seven largest cities, Allentown, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Reading, Scranton, and Bethlehem.

Using the U.S. Census Bureau's definition of the Northeast, the region includes nine states: Maine, New York, New Jersey, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania. The region is often subdivided into New England (the six states east of New York State) and the Mid-Atlantic states (New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania). This definition has been essentially unchanged since 1880 and is widely used as a standard for data tabulation. However, the U.S. Census Bureau has acknowledged the obvious limitations of this definition and the potential merits of a proposal created after the 1950 census, that would include changing regional boundaries to include Delaware, Maryland, and the District of Columbia with the Mid-Atlantic states, but ultimately decided that "the new system did not win enough overall acceptance among data users to warrant adoption as an official new set of general-purpose state groupings. The previous development of many series of statistics, arranged and issued over long periods of time on the basis of the existing State groupings, favored the retention of the summary units of the current regions and divisions." The U.S. Census Bureau confirmed in 1994 that it would continue to "review the components of the regions and divisions to ensure that they continue to represent the most useful combinations of states and state equivalents."

Many organizations and reference works follow the Census Bureau's definition for the region. In the history of the United States, the Mason-Dixon line between Pennsylvania ( the North) and Maryland ( the South) traditionally divided the regions, but in modern times, various entities define the Northeastern United States in somewhat different ways. The Association of American Geographers divides the Northeast into two divisions: "New England", which is the same as the Census Bureau; and it has the same "Middle States" but adds Delaware. Similarly, the Geological Society of America defines the Northeast as these same states but with the addition of Maryland and the District of Columbia. The narrowest definitions include only the states of New England. Other more restrictive definitions include New England and New York as part of the Northeast United States, but exclude Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

States beyond the Census Bureau definition are included in Northeast Region by various other entities:

Various organizations include: Delaware, Maryland and District of Columbia.

The US EPA and NOAA include in their Northeast Region: Delaware, Maryland and West Virginia.

The National Fish and Wildlife Service includes in their Northeast Region: Delaware, Maryland, District of Columbia, West Virginia, and Virginia.

The National Park Service includes in their Northeast Region: Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia (though small parts are also in the National Capital Region).

Environment

Topography

While most of the Northeastern United States lie in the Appalachian Highlands physiographic region; some are also part of the Atlantic coastal plain, which extends south to the southern tip of Florida. The coastal plain areas include Cape Cod in Massachusetts, Long Island in New York, most of New Jersey, Delaware and the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland and Virginia) are generally low and flat, with sandy soil and marshy land. The highlands, including the Piedmont and the Appalachian Mountains, are generally heavily forested, ranging from rolling hills to summits greater than 6,000 feet (1,800 m), and pocked with many lakes. The highest peak in the Northeast is Mount Washington, New Hampshire at 6,288 feet (1,917 m).

As of 2012, forest-use covered approximately 60% of the Northeastern states (including Delaware, Maryland and the District of Columbia), about twice the national average. About 11% was cropland and another 4% grassland pasture or range. There is also more urbanized land in the Northeast (12%) than any other region in the U.S.

The climate of the Northeastern United States varies from northernmost Maine to southernmost Maryland. The climate of the region is created by the position of the general west to east flow of weather in the middle latitudes that much of the USA is controlled by and the position and movement of the subtropical highs. Summers are normally warm in northern areas to hot in southern areas. In summer, the building Bermuda High pumps warm and sultry air toward the Northeast, and frequent (but brief) thundershowers are common on hot summer days. In winter the subtropical high retreats southeastward, and the polar jet stream moves south bringing colder air masses from up in Canada and more frequent storm systems to the region. Winter often brings both rain and snow as well as surges of both warm and cold air.

The basic climate of the Northeast can be divided into a colder and snowier interior (western Maryland, most of Pennsylvania, most of northern New Jersey, Upstate New York, and most of New England), and a milder coast and coastal plain from Cape Cod and southern Rhode Island southward, including Long Island, New Haven, New York City, Trenton, Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore. In the latter region the hardiness zones are 7a and 7b. Annual mean temperatures range from the low-to-mid 50s F from Maryland to southern Connecticut, to the 40s F in most of New York State, New England, and northern Pennsylvania.

Most of the Northeast has a humid continental climate ( Dfa/Dfb/Dc). The northernmost portion of the humid subtropical zone ( Cfa/Do) begins at Martha's Vineyard and extreme SW Rhode Island and extends southwestward down the coastal plain to central and southern Maryland. The oceanic climate zone ( Cfb/Do) only exists on Block Island and Nantucket and is the only area of the Northeast where all months average between 0 and 22 °C (32 and 71.6 °F).

The Northeast has 72 National Wildlife Refuges, encompassing more than 500,000 acres (780 sq mi; 2,000 km ²) of habitat and designed to protect some of the 92 different threatened and endangered species living in the region.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, the population of the region totaled 57,609,148. With an average of 345.5 people per square mile, the Northeast is 2.5 times as densely populated as the second-most dense region, the South. Since the last century, the U.S. population has been shifting away from the Northeast and Midwest toward the South and West.

The two U.S. Census Bureau divisions in the Northeast ( New England and Mid-Atlantic) rank #2 and #1 among the 9 divisions in population density according to the 2013 population estimate. The South Atlantic region (233.1) was very close behind New England (233.2). Due to the faster growth of the South Atlantic region, it will take over the #2 division rank in population density in the next estimate, dropping New England to 3rd position. New England is projected to retain the number 3 rank for many, many years, as the only other lower-ranked division with even half the population density of New England is the East North Central division (192.1) and this region's population is projected to grow slowly.

As of 2012, the Northeast U.S. accounts for approximately 23% of the nation's gross domestic product.

New York City, considered the world's financial center, is the most populous city in both the U.S. and Northeast U.S. As of 2018, the New York metropolitan area is estimated to produce a gross metropolitan product (GMP) of nearly $1.8 trillion, ranking it first in the U.S. If the New York metropolitan area were a sovereign state, it would have the eighth-largest economy in the world.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission oversees 34 nuclear reactors, eight for research or testing and 26 for power production in the Northeastern United States.

Transportation

Rail systems

The following table includes all airports categorized by the FAA as large hubs located in the Northeastern states (New England and Eastern regions):

One geographer, Wilbur Zelinsky, asserts that the Northeast region lacks a unified cultural identity, but has served as a "culture hearth" for the rest of the nation. Several much smaller geographical regions within the Northeast have distinct cultural identities.

Almost half of the National Historic Landmarks maintained by the National Park Service are located in the Northeastern United States.

According to a 2009 Gallup poll, the Northeastern states differ from most of the rest of the U.S. in religious affiliation, generally reflecting the descendants of immigration patterns of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with many Catholics arriving from Ireland, Italy, French Canada - Quebec, Portugal and east-central Europe. Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York and New Jersey are the only states in the nation where Catholics outnumber Protestants and other Christian denominations. More than 20% of respondents in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont declared no religious identity. Compared to other U.S. regions, the Northeast, along with the Pacific Northwest, has had the lowest regular religious service attendance and the fewest people for whom religion is an important part of their daily lives as of 2015.

The Northeast region is home to numerous professional sports franchises in the "Big Four" leagues (NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB), with more than 100 championships collectively among them.

Major League Soccer features four Northeastern teams: New England Revolution, New York City FC, New York Red Bulls and Philadelphia Union. The region also has two WNBA teams: Connecticut Sun and New York Liberty.

Notable golf tournaments in the Northeastern United States include The Northern Trust, Travelers Championship, and Atlantic City LPGA Classic. The US Open, held in New York, is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments.

Notable Northeastern motorsports tracks include Watkins Glen International, Pocono Raceway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Lime Rock Park, which have hosted Formula One, IndyCar, NASCAR and International Motor Sports Association races. Also, drag strips such as Englishtown, Epping and Reading have hosted NHRA national events. Belmont Park at New York hosts the Belmont Stakes horse races, which is part of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing.

The region has also been noted for the prevalence of the traditionally Northeastern sports of ice hockey and lacrosse.

The rate of potentially preventable hospitalizations in the Northeastern United States fell from 2005 to 2011 for overall conditions, acute conditions, and chronic conditions.

Main page: Political party strength in U.S. states

The Northeastern United States tended to vote Republican in federal elections through the first half of the 20th century, but the region has since the 1990s shifted to become the most Democratic in the nation. Results from a 2008 Gallup poll indicated that eight of the top ten Democratic states were located in the region, with every Northeastern state having a Democratic Party affiliation advantage of at least ten points. The following table demonstrates Democratic support in the Northeast as compared to the remainder of the nation.

The following table of United States presidential election results since 1920 illustrates that over the past seven presidential elections, only three Northeastern states supported a Republican candidate (New Hampshire voted for George W. Bush in 2000; Pennsylvania and Maine's 2nd congressional district voted for Donald Trump in 2016). 2004 is so far the only election in U.S. history in which the winner did not win any northeastern state. Bolded entries indicate that party's candidate also won the general election.

The following table shows the breakdown of party affiliation of governors, attorneys general, state legislative houses and U.S. congressional delegation for the Northeastern states, as of May 2020. (Demographics reflect registration-by-party figures from that state's registered voter statistics.)

State

Governor

Attorney general

Upper House majority

Lower House majority

Senior U.S. senator

Junior U.S. senator

U.S. House delegation

Demographics

In Spanish: Nordeste de Estados Unidos para niños

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Northeastern United States Facts for Kids

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Learn Northeastern United States facts for kids

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Hear the immigration stories of real immigrant kids who have recently immigrated to the United States from Asia, Africa, and Europe. See videos, maps, and photos.

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Kids learn about the immigration station Ellis Island near New York City including when it opened, how many people came through Ellis Island, passing inspections, and interesting facts. Educational article for students, schools, and teachers.

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On July 4, 1884 France presented the United States with an incredible birthday gift: the Statue of Liberty! Without its pedestal it's as tall as a 15-story building. She represents the United States. But the world-famous Statue of Liberty standing in New York Harbor was built in France. The statue was presented to the U.S., taken apart, shipped across the Atlantic Ocean in crates, and rebuilt in the U.S. It was France's gift to the American people.

It all started at dinner one night near Paris in 1865. A group of Frenchmen were discussing their dictator-like emperor and the democratic government of the U.S. They decided to build a monument to American freedom-and perhaps even strengthen French demands for democracy in their own country. At that dinner was the sculptor Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi (bar-TOLE-dee). He imagined a statue of a woman holding a torch burning with the light of freedom.

Turning Bartholdi's idea into reality took 21 years. French supporters raised money to build the statue, and Americans paid for the pedestal it would stand on. Finally, in 1886, the statue was dedicated.

"The New Colossus", a poem written by Emma Lazarus in 1883, is on display on the Statue's pedestal.

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she

With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

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On July 4, 1884 France presented the United States with an incredible birthday gift: the Statue of Liberty! Without its pedestal it's as tall as a 15-story building. She represents the United States. But the world-famous Statue of Liberty standing in New York Harbor was built in France.

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Independence Day

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Hear that marching playing patriotic music? Smell those hot dogs cooking on the grill? See those fireworks exploding in the night sky? Then it must be Independence Day!

Also called the Fourth of July, Independence Day marks the historic date in 1776 when the Declaration of Independence was approved by the Continental Congress. The written declaration stated that the American colonies were tired of being ruled by Great Britain. They wanted to become their own country.

A GROWING ANGER

Before the declaration, America was part of the Kingdom of Great Britain (now called the United Kingdom). In the 1600s, people came from Great Britain to settle in what is now North America. Between 1607 and 1732, the British founded 13 colonies: Virginia, New York, Massachusetts, Maryland, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Delaware, North Carolina, South Carolina, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Georgia.

As these colonies grew, the people who lived there thought the British government treated them unfairly. For instance, they had to pay taxes on items such as tea and allow British soldiers to stay in their homes. The colonists had to follow these laws but couldn't do anything to change them. The colonists rebelled. As a result, the Revolutionary War between the colonists and Great Britain began in 1775.

Fighting wasn't enough though. The colonists decided they needed to declare their independence in writing to explain their reasons and gain support from other countries like France. On July 4, 1776, a small group of representatives from the colonies-called the Continental Congress-adopted the Declaration of Independence.

DECLARING INDEPENDENCE

Written by a committee led by Thomas Jefferson, the document was signed by people from all 13 colonies. But the British government didn't accept it. So the colonists continued to fight for independence until they finally defeated Great Britain in 1783.

The Declaration of Independence, now housed at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., is recognized around the world as an important message of self-governance and human rights. The second sentence says it all: that all people are created equally and have rights that include life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. (Fun fact: Jefferson, who would become the third U.S. president, wrote that sentence!)

Today the United States and Great Britain are friends. Most Americans still celebrate Independence Day, often with parades and fireworks. Historians think this is thanks to a letter written by John Adams, who helped write the declaration and would also go on to be the second U.S. president. In his letter to his wife, Abigail, Adams predicted that the colonists' independence would be celebrated by future generations as an annual festival with parades and bonfires. It's no wonder that this holiday has turned out to be such a blast!

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Get the scoop on why we celebrate the Fourth of July!

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COOL JOBS

Many presidents had unusual careers before entering the White House. Jimmy Carter, the 39th president, was a peanut farmer. Ronald Reagan, the 40th president, was a famous movie star. And Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president, once worked chopping rails for fences.

And if the phrase "clothes make the man" is true, so is this one: "Presidents make the clothes." Andrew Johnson, the 17th president of the United States, was a tailor before he was president. Harry Truman, the 33rd president, was a haberdasher, someone who deals in men's clothing and accessories, particularly hats.

TRENDSETTERS

Once in the White House, each president made his mark in different ways. In fact, before Theodore Roosevelt came to office in 1901, the White House wasn't even called the White House! People called the building the President's Palace, the President's House, and the Executive Mansion. Roosevelt officially named it the White House.

Theodore Roosevelt wasn't the only president to invent a new expression. Martin Van Buren, the eighth president, is sometimes credited with creating the expression "OK." Van Buren was from Kinderhook, New York. During his campaign, Old Kinderhook (O.K.) clubs formed to support the president. Later "OK" came to mean "all right."

PRESIDENTIAL FIRSTS

Teddy Roosevelt was the first president to ride in a car while in office. His fifth cousin and the 32nd president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, was the first to ride in an airplane. What's next-the first president in space?

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Many presidents had unusual careers before entering the White House. Jimmy Carter, the 39th president, was a peanut farmer. Ronald Reagan, the 40th president, was a famous movie star. And Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president, once worked chopping rails for fences. And if the phrase "clothes make the man" is true, so is this one: "Presidents make the clothes."

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Read a section of text.  Find the main idea and the supporting details.

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Text Features:

Study the text features, such as side bars, the glossary or pictures and graphics.  What can you learn?

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Surprises:

Think about what you know or what you think may be true about the United States.  Read a text.  Did any information surprise you?  Was there anything about the US that was different from what you expected.

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Explore freedoms U.S. citizens enjoy because of documents like the Bill of Rights and the U.S. Constitution, and discover the responsibilities that come with those rights.

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Find Out More About the Regions of the United States

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Kids learn about the geograhical regions of the United States including the northeast, southeast, midwest, southwest, and west.

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Researchers Take Notes By…

Trying to figure out how to set up and title their notes so the notes go with what they are learning

Sketch, list, or record in another way

Choose information to record, writing briefly but enough to remember

Reread notes to remember or to share/combine

Add to notes:

Arrows to connect things that go together

Write around the notes, new information and ideas that go with the old notes

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Were your ancestors among the tired, the poor, the huddled masses?Tim and Moby discuss the history of immigration in the U.S., and where many of our families first landed.

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Follow these links and read the articles to gather information for this center.

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FAST FACTS

OFFICIAL NAME: United States of America

FORM OF GOVERNMENT: Constitution-based federal republic

CAPITAL: Washington, D.C.

POPULATION: 318,892,103

LANGUAGES: English, Spanish (no official national language)

MONEY: U.S. dollar

AREA: 3,794,083 square miles (9,826,630 square kilometers)

MAJOR MOUNTAIN RANGES: Rocky Mountains, Appalachian Mountains

MAJOR RIVERS: Mississippi, Missouri, Colorado

GEOGRAPHY

The United States of America is the world's third largest country in size and nearly the third largest in terms of population. Located in North America, the country is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. Along the northern border is Canada and the southern border is Mexico. There are 50 states and the District of Columbia.

More than twice the size of the European Union, the United States has high mountains in the West and a vast central plain. The lowest point in the country is in Death Valley which is at -282 feet (-86 meters) and the highest peak is Denali (Mt. McKinley) at 20,320 feet (6,198 meters).

PEOPLE & CULTURE
Throughout its history, the United States has been a nation of immigrants. The population is diverse with people from all over the world seeking refuge and a better way of life.

The country is divided into six regions: New England, the mid-Atlantic, the South, the Midwest, the Southwest, and the West. European settlers came to New England in search of religious freedom. These states are Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

The mid-Atlantic region includes Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and the city of Washington, D.C. These industrial areas attracted millions of European immigrants and gave rise to some of the East Coast's largest cities: New York, Baltimore, and Philadelphia.

The South includes Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, all of which struggled after the Civil War, which lasted from 1860-1865.

The Midwest is home to the country's agricultural base and is called the "nation's breadbasket." The region comprises the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

The Southwest is a beautiful stark landscape of prairie and desert. The states of Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas are considered the Southwest and are home to some of the world's great natural marvels, including the Grand Canyon and Carlsbad Caverns.

The American West, home of rolling plains and the cowboy, is a symbol of the pioneering spirit of the United States. The West is diverse, ranging from endless wilderness to barren desert, coral reefs to Arctic tundra, Hollywood to Yellowstone. The states of the West include Alaska, Colorado, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

NATURE

The landscape varies across the large country from tropical beaches in Florida to peaks in the Rocky Mountains, from rolling prairie lands and barren deserts in the West to dense wilderness areas in the Northeast and Northwest. Interspersed throughout are the Great Lakes, the Grand Canyon, the majestic Yosemite Valley, and the mighty Mississippi River.

The wildlife is as diverse as the landscape. Mammals such as bison once roamed freely across the plains, but now live only in preserves. Black bears, grizzlies, and polar bears are the largest carnivores. There are over 20,000 flower species and most came from Europe. There are more than 400 areas which are protected and maintained by the National Park Service, and many other parks in each state.

The bald eagle is the national bird and symbol of the United States and is a protected species.

U.S. Dollar,

Photograph by AP Images, U.S. Dept. of the Treasury

GOVERNMENT & ECONOMY

Citizens over the age of 18 years old vote to elect the President and Vice President of United States every four years. The president lives in the White House in the capital city of Washington, D.C.

There are two houses of Congress: the Senate and the House of Representatives. There are 100 senators, two from each of the 50 states and each serves a six-year term. There are 435 representatives who must be elected every two years.

The Supreme Court is made up of nine justices who are picked by the president and must be approved by Congress.

For the first time in the nation's history an African American, Barack Obama, was elected President of the United States in 2008. He was reelected for a second term in 2012.

Advances in the past hundred years have established America as a world leader economically, militarily, and technologically. America has the largest coal reserves in the world.

HISTORY
For centuries native peoples lived across the vast expanse that would become the United States. In the early 17th century, settlers moved from Europe to the New World, established colonies, and displaced the native peoples.

The settlers fought for their independence from Britain in the late 18th century and formed a union of states based on a new constitution. The nation continued to expand westward and although the country is a relatively young nation, it has become a global power since declaring independence from Britain on July 4, 1776.

Check out the interactive map and discover more countries.

Get Facts, Photos, and videos.

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FAST FACTS OFFICIAL NAME: United States of America FORM OF GOVERNMENT: Constitution-based federal republic CAPITAL: Washington, D.C. POPULATION: 318,892,103 LANGUAGES: English, Spanish (no official national language) MONEY: U.S. dollar AREA: 3,794,083 square miles (9,826,630 square kilometers) MAJOR MOUNTAIN RANGES: Rocky Mountains, Appalachian Mountains MAJOR RIVERS: Mississippi, Missouri, Colorado GEOGRAPHY The United States of America is the world's third largest country in size and nearly the third largest in terms of population.

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Local and State Governments - BrainPOP Jr.

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Virtual Field Trip to Ellis Island | Scholastic.com

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Teach about immigration with this webcast from Ellis Island, brought to you by Scholastic and the National Park Service. Tour the historic immigration station, meet Park Rangers, and discover the history of immigration in America.

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Look at these images to complete the center tasks

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Open Sort:

If you had to pick three or four categories to sort these images into, what would these categories be?  Which picture would go into each category?

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First Impressions:

Study the image for two minutes.  What do you notice first?  What is your overall impression?

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Compare:

How is this the same as your life in the United States?

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Growing Ideas & Questions:

Pick an image that makes you think of a new idea or question.  Jot these thoughts and questions down.  Make note of what you want to research further.

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Urban - located in or characteristic of a city or city life;

Rural - : relating to the country, country people or life, or agriculture.

Suburban- a smaller community adjacent to or within commuting distance of a city: the residential area on the outskirts of a city or large town.

City - a place where people live that is larger or more important than a town : an area where many people live and work.

Community - 1 : the people living in a certain place (as a village or city) : the area itself. 2 : a natural group (as of kinds of plants and animals) living together and depending on one another for various necessities of life (as food or shelter)

Employment - the state of being employed or having a job;

the occupation for which you are paid

Ancestor - a person from whom one is descended and who lived several generations ago.

Generation - a group of people born and living during the same time

Region - A region is a specific area that has common features. A region may have common landforms or climates. A region can be based on language, government, religion, types of plants and animals. Regions are the basic units of geography.

Government - Any group of people living together in a country, state, city, or local community has to live by certain rules. The system of rules and the people who make and administer them is known as a government.

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Look at these to complete the tasks

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Explore the 50 States

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Kids learn about the geography of the United States including capital, flag, state bird, fun facts, history, state tree, timeline, and counties.

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Using a Map to Study a Country’s Neighbors and Location in the World:

Where is the US in the World?  What countries/oceans lie to its North, South, East and West?

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Comparing Maps:

Compare two of the maps of the United States.  If you place the maps next to each other, what do you notice?

*look for two maps next to each other

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Label It:

Using a blank map of United States, create a new map that brings together all the information you have gathered from other centers and maps of the United States, with labels and sketches.

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What’s it All About?:

Watch the video and look for the main idea and supporting details.  Is there more than one main idea?

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Jot It:

As you watch the video, jot new thinking you have about the US.

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Connections:

As you watch, think about what else you have learned about the US in the other centers or in your own research.  What connections can you make?  How is the information in the video related to the information you have already learned?

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Center for New Media and Promotion (CNMP)

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An official website of the United States government

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Who Lives in America: Teaching Immigration History With Data | Scholastic.com

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Explore the history of immigration in America through immigration statistics, research, facts, and data while learning how to read charts and graphs.

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A Closer Look:

Choose one set of statistics to look at more closely.  What does this data tell you?  What does this data make you think?

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Ordering Data:

How can you put this data in order (biggest to smallest, most to least)?

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Life:

What can we learn about life in the US from these statistics?  What are some ideas that you are growing (inferences) about US culture, geography or the people who live here?

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Jotting Notes:

What category of notes would these statistics fit into?  Find one, or make a new one, and jot down the most surprising, interesting and important things you learned.

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Invent It!

Invent your own way to learn from, take notes on, and grow ideas about the US using these materials.