Respect for the deserving one. You truckers and your rail-brothers of the train operators are the backbone of our country, as you operate the logistics of this nation.
I would have also included Syracuse and Onondaga county as well as even Utica. You can see a lot of rust belt influence that ties them more to buffalo than Albany, NYC, Boston, etc.
@@Blipblorpus Syracuse seems to be the dividing line: to the east you have Jets/Giants fans who drink soda. To the west, you have the people who (correctly) drink pop while watching the Bills.
As an Australian who has never quite got his head around American geography this was very useful. Similar videos for places like India, China, Russia and Brazil would be so helpful.
You’re the first person I’ve heard outside of the lakes states region to call northern WI, MN, the U.P., as the north woods. It’s nice to hear someone outside of the region address it as that, because that’s what we call it. Keep up the good work!
@@trowwzers5057 I've lived in Wisconsin my entire life (not "up north") and I've only ever heard it as "up north". Never heard the term "north woods" before.
I love how California is so many different regions. Hot low Desert, High Desert, pacific northwest rainforests, north rocky coastline, southern sand beach coastlines, fertile flat San Joaquin Valley, Northern wet Sacramento Valley, Northern High Cattle country and forest areas, and Eastern foothills and massive Seirras mountains that have many many different mountain passes and canyons in them. I would even devide the Seirras into 3 different regions north central and south because they and their foothills are so vastly different as you go north to south
Don't forget about skid row. It's another level, its make california so diverse 🤣🤣🤣 i think texas don't have something like that. It's hot topic here in asia.. So when someone comment about california, first thing pop up in my head isn't hollywood but your beautiful street full of sh eet 🤣🤣 That street make me memorized about our capital on 90s... but yall have that in california is quite amazing 🤣🤣
@@el_lo Man, you're not even from the US and you're shitting on our state lmfao. Skid Row isn't even that bad it's so close to everything else in LA. It's sketch yeah but there's way more dangerous streets in that city you don't want to dream of going down.
Skid row is just infamous and it has been for decades. It's really nothing special lol. There's plenty similarly run down areas in the US and even in California.
@@el_lo Yeah, you're clearly not from CA, and you sound like you have a political agenda. Maybe next time try writing your comment completely with emojis. It would make more sense.
@@el_lo You think you're being clever and funny but your comments are equal to that of what a kindergartner would say who is trying to impress his classmates. Embarrassing for you but you obviously didn't realize that.
Americans often view Canada as one whole homogenous country. But Canadian regions generally share more in common with the American subregions they border. Being from the Pacific Northwest in BC, I seem to have a hard time explaining to Americans that it doesn't snow where I live and my cultural ties are closer to Seattle, Portland or San Francisco than to Montreal, Toronto, or Halifax. Anyone interested should check out American Nations by Collin Woodard.
I'm from Detroit so I defuntely understand. Windosr, Ontario is right across the river and it's literally like another suburb of Detroit. If you go to a bar or something there you'll see Red Wings games on TV and the Canadians always come across the border to attend games
@@ES2990 To officially be an old man, back in the pre-cable days, having Channel 9 in Windsor, including Hockey Night in Canada, made us some of of the most privileged viewers in the US. Great kids programming too.
I've been a trucker for more than 3 decades now, and have driven all of the lower 48 States. Your video is the closest to 100% accurate I've seen yet, in defining the regions of the U.S. I feel your accuracy is because you define the regions not only geographically, but culturally as well. I grew up in the "Mountain South", the Clinch Mountains of Virginia, and as an adult, have lived in AZ, CA, NC, GA and MD. It always irritated me when people (most who had never been there!) describe the "South" as if the region were one homogeneous culture, when nothing could be further from the truth! Your ID of the various Southern regions is as accurate as I've ever seen, and that is a very pleasant surprise. In the years I was living in CA and AZ, I was often asked, "What part of Texas are you from"? The confused looks I got with my reply of "I'm originally from the Clinch Mountains of Virginia, in the SW part of the State" were hilarious, so to ease the confusion, I'd continue with, "Texas was settled by Virginians and Tennesseans, so they ought to sound like us"!
As an Alaskan, I think it’s probably best that the state would be split into 3-5 regions. Southeast resides firmly within the Pacific Northwest Bioregion. South-central and southwest would either be lumped together or have their own separate groupings. And then the Interior and Far North regions would probably be a single subregion considering their weather patterns and low population density. With a state as massive and diverse as Alaska, it would be an injustice to classify it as a single subregion.
The Anchorage borough from Palmer / Wasilla to Seward could be separate, also, culturally and politically. Kenai peninsula, Kodiak and across the Aleutian chain. I subdivided the regions for FNBA in the early-1990s per new lending guidelines and this was our division.
Biodiversity and climate zones, sure, but I had to chuckle at “low population density” and “diversity.” It’s fucking Alaska. The only diverse and culturally significant population are the indigenous people that are shat on.
@@gogogaga7441 Alaska is a diverse state both in environment and in population. On what grounds do you measure “cultural significance”? Surely, the cultural heritage of the state lies mostly with the many Alaska Native peoples, but about 66% of the state’s population is made up of white people, and a notable 5% of Asians.
I agree. Having grown up there, it's not something you can lump all together in terms of geography or culture. I would divide it into 6 regions: the Panhandle, Cook Inlet, the Aleutians, Western, Northern, and Cental. You could subdivide some of those as well, depending on how detailed you wanted to get.
As a Marylander, thank you thank you thank you for understanding that we are Mid-Atlantic and actually discussing that point. I hate the lump categorization that we are south just because we're below the Mason Dixon. And having family from southwestern VA, you're again right in that there is a distinction between us.
Completely agree about Maryland. I grew up in the real South and moved to Maryland for a job after college. And I always bristled when some Northerner called Maryland the South. There is NOTHING about Maryland that reflects the South in any way. Mid-Atlantic best describes it.
I came here to say the same thing. I grew up in central MD. I think you can see the trend towards the South in the more rural parts of the state, like in the western two counties, the Eastern Shore, and counties south of DC. I remember seeing pickup trucks with gun racks and the Confederate flag on the highway, with MD plates - that's not "mid-Atlantic". On the other hand, I wouldn't classify anything along the corridor between DC and Baltimore as "southern", and folks there will get offended if you try to tell them they're southern. Maryland is its own thing, maybe "Chesapeake" is a better description for most parts of the state, and more "Appalachian" for those counties in the west. My Wisconsin cousins always thought I had a southern accent, but folks from southern Virginia thought I didn't. To quote from The Devil and Daniel Webster by Stephen Vincent Benet: "'Tis true the North claims me for a Southerner and the South for a Northerner, but I am neither." -- The Stranger
In Florida, there's a saying: "The more North you go, the more South you get." This references how the Southern part of Florida is distinctly separate from the Northern part, which can be generally lumped in with The South. But I'd say it's got a fair bit of gradient to it; it _gradually_ transitions from South Florida culture, through Central Florida, and into North Florida. And, from a lot of other comments, I get the feeling that a lot of other regions/subdivisions have similar soft/overlapping borders. If you want to refine this idea, I'd suggest taking into account how the subregions connect to one another. Is it an overlap where an area can be considered a full blending of two subregions, like South Florida and The South overlapping in the middle to form the blended Central Florida distinction? Or is it a more distinct border like a hard or soft border without significant overlap? A "hard" border would have little to no significant cultural influence and would usually arise from physical barriers: rivers, mountains, wetlands, etc. "Soft" borders would have a recognizable degree of cultural cross-influence/fuzzyness across each side, though without the multi-county gradation of regional overlap. Thus, you can distinguish regional and sub-regional boundaries as either "hard" (little/no influence), "soft" (cross-influence one county deep), or "overlaping" (cross-influence of more than one county). So some of the "sub-regions" may, in fact, actually be just the "overlaping" areas where two other sub-regions connect. This can also cover some of those areas like where the suburbs of NYC bleed over into New England; that could be an example of a "soft" border.
Too bad he ignored the Florida panhandle and majority of Alabama. I was curious as to what we here in the panhandle were considered and he just noped right on past us lol.
Good way to put it - soft and overlapping borders help, even county vs. state lines. New Mexico and even Colorado can join Florida on some of that overlap.
Spot on with the sub regions of the Midwest! The north woods region definitely deserves a distinction because of how vastly different it is compared to what most people think of when the term Midwest is used.
I agree the only difference I have as someone who lived in Arkansas, Kansas & Missouri. I would say that the Ozark sub region for the south should stretch up to the Lake of Ozarks in Missouri.
As a Meteorologist I've learned all the subregions I could. You seem to be missing "Mid-South", "Ohio Valley", "Intermountain-West", "Four Corners", and "Texoma". Texoma is the area of TX and OK along the Red River. Texoma has 2 television DMAs (Sherman and Wichita Falls), both call their region Texoma. Oh and there's a giant lake 2 miles south of me named Lake Texoma. :) Oh by the way, the Ouachita and Ozark regions are separate and have somewhat different cultures, with the Ozarks having more tourism. The valley I-40 runs through is the line between them.
don't forget southeastern minnesota, the valleys of the upper mississippi and st. croix rivers. it has been called "little switzerland" for its climate and scenery.
He also missed the “Driftless” area in Southwestern Wisconsin, Southeastern Minnesota, Northeastern Iowa, and Northwestern Illinois. It’s a very beautiful area with sprawling hills and bluffs. The area is called that because the glaciers didn’t flatten it when moving.
I’m a native of Northern Kentucky and I’m glad to see you included us in the Midwest. We aren’t southerners here, more southern Midwesterners. Our area was big in the Underground Railroad.
I live in Michigans U.P. but always loved visiting Northern Kentucky. As you said it still feels a lot like the Midwest but with just a touch of that southern charm. Very nice place to visit, always have a good experience.
Having gone through Kentucky via Cincinnati on several occasions, Northern Kentucky really does feel like where the Midwest meets the South. I remember stopping for breakfast at a Waffle House once just outside of Covington and I could hear a lot of southern accents.
I very much agree. I’m from south eastern Kentucky, and when I went up to northern Kentucky for college I could really see the difference. Northern Kentucky very clearly shows when the south starts to transition into the Midwest imo. Even had people asking me about my accent, when I’m also from Kentucky, just the south 😅
I was originally from Evansville, Indiana. My dad was from Louisville. I think I am right on the cusp of the South; but mostly Midwestern. I have lived in Ohio/Fla/Illinois/San Francisco; so much has been lost; but I think a little of that original impression remains.@@imalwayspanicking
You really nailed it when you talked about how Buffalo and Rochester are more similar to say Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Detroit then say New England. Something to also mention when it comes to these Sub regions is the accents that people have. For example folks in northern Ohio Have very different accents compared to say south east Ohio.
i always thought of that region as the rust belt. in my head, i defined the area as going from west virginia through buffalo reaching towards cleveland, through pittsburgh and binghamton, into buffalo and rochester
Very true. I grew up just south of Youngstown. Anything south of there pretty much begins Appalachia and you get a noticeable southern accent. Cleveland and Akron have their own unique accent (mostly sharper “A’s”)
I noticed you didn't include West Virginia in any of the main regions! Not sure if this is on purpose or not, but I've always felt that other than Texas, WV is one of those states that doesn't have a solid identity of where it fits. The southern portion of the state is very rooted in Appalachia and has a southern culture, while the north is influenced by Pittsburgh. It's a beautiful state though, the mountains are just stunning. It's a shame the economy didn't diversify.
I agree, I live in WV someone in Cali will tell me I'm east coast, someone in pa will tell me I'm Midwest and West Virginians themselves mostly identify as Appalachian
@@Carson218 We're included, as you can see at 2:52, in the South region, but not in a subregion. The regions aren't necessarily divided into subregions such that every part is in a subregion. The subregion is simply a part of a region with distinct geographical characteristics. I don't think Kyle explained that very well.
Especially when weighing things a little more anthropologically, such as the Intermountain West -- the area with a large historic link to the Mormon pioneers in addition to proximity to Salt Lake City. A sub-sub-region, if you will.
I love the granular level of detail you put into your videos. As a geography nut, your content really scratches that itch, since most people find this stuff pretty mundane. You are the Dream Theater of geography channels lol
As a lifelong resident of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, I would argue that the Mississippi gulf Coast shares a lot more with south Louisiana than northern Mississippi or Alabama to the east. We celebrate Mardi Gras, eat gumbo, etc. My grandparents spoke creole French. While we don’t have as many swampy areas as in Louisiana, we definitely share culture! I would love to hear what y’all think though!
When you said the Mississippi Coast is more similar to South Louisiana than Northern Mississippi, I think that you meant more similar to South Louisiana than Northern or Central Mississippi, or even South-Central Mississippi.
@@charlietaylor5047 Yea but Maryland went from a southern state to a northern state while Delaware was historically always in the middle colonies the southern portion of the state aligns more with Southern culture than Phily culture
Actually there is also a subregion there. The eastern half of Maryland, Virginia, and all of Delaware is called "Delmarva." Part of it (after crossing Bay Bridge) going east, is also called "The Eastern Shore because most of it is saltwater marsh land. I always considered Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, North Carolina, and South Carolina the Mid Atlantic states, with the Low Country being the coastal areas of the Carolinas. Now what you are calling the Mid Atlantic, I would take Virginia and part of Maryland out of there. Beginning in Maryland from Baltimore and points north, and what you included, I would call the Eastern Rust Belt, since there is so much industry in the area. This is a very interesting video. Thank you!
The Eastern Shore is Southern. I would say the Western Panhandle is basically Appalachia. West Virginia 2.0. Southern Maryland (Charles, St. Mary's, Calvert Counties) are a hybrid of South and Mid-Atlantic. But I would argue Charles County will become more and more Mid-Atlantic as it grows in population and becomes an extended suburb of DC.
Interesting that coastal California south of Eureka, and the central valley of California, wasn't included in any of the western subregions. But honestly, even though they're both entirely within California, I think they would be their own subregions anyway. "Coastal California" would basically be a band of land reaching about 50 miles inland, extending from Mexico to the outskirts of the northern S.F. Bay Area, and thus including all of the coastal Californian population centers and the central coast. Though these areas are fairly culturally, politically, and geographically distinct across that long, thin band, they're actually much more similar to each other than they are to the interior of California or other western subregions. "Central Valley" would be the land between Coastal California and the Interior Northwest/Interior Southwest regions west-to-east, and from Kern county in the south up to Shasta county in the north. In many ways, this subregion would be something of a blend of the Interior Northwest and Interior Southwest, both culturally/politically, and geographically (with sort of a milder version of the heat and dryness of the ISW, with more agriculture and ranching-friendly land similar to some in the INW).
To be honest, in my attempts to not over discuss California since I'm from there, I sometimes under discuss or leave it out without thinking about it. But I do think that south of the northernmost part of the state and north of the Grapevine is a separate subregion. "Not-quite-desert agricultural and coastal" subregion.
@@GeographyKing and good luck clsssifying the Owens Valley. Most of it would be very similar to the Central Valley, then you get to Bishop which is where tourism and agriculture have a head-on collision. Let's face it - you could just about turn the state into a country with all the cultural diversity.
@@GeographyKing while I think the Central Valley is under discussed and interesting, you played it right by not over-doing California. This was about off the radar multi state regions and you nailed em.
@@GeographyKing Nice overview. I was wondering what happened to Coastal California! I do agree that Riverside and SB counties belong in the southwest. The only other thought is that the Rocky Mountain Region got lumped with the Southwest and I would say that from SLC over to Denver, down to Santa Fe up through western Montana could be broken out.
So glad to see someone take the time/effort to actually split a mostly empty place like South Dakota into our three regions. We have a huge variety for a plains state, it's just that you still have to drive hours and hours between each zone 😅
I've been all over the country and this is a pretty solid breakdown. I would say that people in Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Detroit (maaaaaybe Chicago but not really) think of themselves as a subregion commonly called the Rust Belt due to all of the manufacturing and trade that has taken place across the Great Lakes between these cities and their surrounding areas. All these cities are culturally very similar.
TLDR it’s small/medium size towns taht we’re big manufacturing hubs that have been in steep decline. SW NY W PA OH especially Appalachia OH parts of IN MI WI. Sections of IL can be seen as RB
I've made many of the same observations over my trucking career, although I would note that the boundaries are not always defined so neatly by county lines.
I had a "word person" tell me that the "rust belt" was not about rusty cars. She, IIRC, contended it was about the soil. I was not familiar with that. I could never find my saved reply, but I can say for sure people mean rusty cars.
I've lived my entire life in the Pacific Northwest. We are officially Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Northwestern Montana. Once on the Eastern side of the Cascades, we do call ourselves the Inland Northwest, which is a subregion of the Pacific Northwest. Idaho very much considers itself Pacific Northwest, as does Eastern Washington and Northwestern Montana.
California is not welcome. Dont worry. OR and WA will firmly tell you California has cooties. ID and MT can kick it with us. Northern Californian wish they were from OR.
He is not disputing that but merely talking about the geographical landscapes and people therein. You have to agree that Western Washington is very different than eastern Washington vs southern Oregon despite it being the "PNW."
An additional sub region is the Rocky Mountain Front Range running from Pueblo, Colorado up to Cheyenne, Wyoming. It is culturally and economically different from the High Plains and Southwest.
As someone who's lived all around the Great Lakes region you absolutely nailed it down to the county level. Nicely done. Northern MI doesn't have a lot in common with southern MO except nice people, nice to see them distinguished.
Great video, Kyle! As a trucker, I get to see all of this exactly as you described. And as a southern Louisianian, it was nice to get some recognition as not being part of the cultural south. Of course, southern Louisiana can be divided into the New Orleans metro area -where I live- and the Cajun part of the state. New Orleans is unlike anywhere in the USA, including the rest of Louisiana.
I totally agree. I am originally from Maine, but I moved to the New Orleans area about 7 years ago. Then about 3 years ago I moved just south east of Baton Rouge and I was amazed by the difference from N.O. to B.R.. Especially the accent. I'm always telling people how amazed I am that people here in south east LA sound totally different from only 30 or 40 miles away. And I mean totally different. One thing that is very obvious is that the people around N.O. tend to not pronounce their Rs in many words similar to the North East, but 30-40 miles northeast and they use a hard R like people from the south. I've lived in many areas of the country, but I've never seen anything like this
Being from the West I'm not as familiar with the name/sub-region 'Piedmont' but having French as a second language quickly helped me understand. Piedmont literally translated is 'foot mountain' which I assume refers to the foothills that are prevalent in this region. Many times I wish I had learned Spanish instead of French simply (living in the West) for day-to-day usefulness. But knowing French can be quite helpful when deciphering many words in English and/or place names Thanks for another great video Kyle!
The Piedmont region borrowed its name from the same region in Italy, but the etymology is the same: at the foot of the mountains. And yes, the Piedmont is more or less the foothills, though in North Carolina the Piedmont region is actually sandwiched between two mountain ranges - the Appalachians and the Uwharries. The one issue I have with the video is with saying that the culture in this region is more or less the same as on the coastal plains (or low country). It isn't. The food culture, for instance, is quite different. That's not to say that there is no overlap, of course, but once you get into the Piedmont seafood is far more scarce than it is along the coast. Along the coast it seems like everyone has a boat, in the Piedmont most people do not and boating is generally something one does on vacation if at all. Culturally, much of the Piedmont has more in common with Appalachian culture than with low country culture.
@@alanlight7740 I think it depends on the state. I'm from Piedmont VA and historically it was settled by people from Tidewater, so it had that plantation culture (although smaller than in Tidewater). Even the Piedmont Virginia dialect is very similar to the Tidewater dialect. I do agree with the food comment and regardless of the state, Appalachia certainly influenced the Piedmont's culture.
@@wesmorgan7729 - no doubt there's some overlap and some variance. I grew up in Charlottesville before moving down to the Waxhaws (near Charlotte), and I even spent a year in the Piedmont part of Alabama. Each place has similarities and distinct differences. Charlotte is about in the middle of the Piedmont in the Carolinas, and it also marks a meeting point for three distinct cultures: Tidewater, Appalachian, and Deep South. But the dividing line is blurry. This particular region also has German influence from the gold miners who came in the early 1800s, and the Piedmont area of Alabama has a bunch of Italians who came in the 1870s. My point was simply that lumping the Piedmont together with the Tidewater culture is far too simplistic.
The interesting thing is that a lot of regional cultures don’t really follow state lines, so somewhere like eastern Tennessee is more similar to West Virginia than it is even to other parts of Tennessee.
I have lived in Nevada and Utah most of my life and the subregion I hear people most often refer to this region as is the "Intermountain West", which I understand to basically be a circle you could draw connecting Salt Lake, Boise, Reno, and Las Vegas. Basically the basin and range area between the Rockies and Sierras. Love your videos Kyle.
Honestly I’ve always associated Las Vegas and Salt Lake with the Southwest culturally and geographically, albeit a specific subregion of it. Both are desert cities with high elevations and both were at one point claimed by Mexico, and later by Mormons -This goes for a lot of northern/central Arizona too I feel the 15 freeway between SLC and Reno sort of loosely marks the northwestern border of the Southwest if that makes sense, any further into Nevada you start to hit eastern Oregon/Idaho which is very much a different thing
I agree. I was disappointed he never mentioned the Intermountain West. People always forget the overwhelming influence the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints had in settling the area, and how its reflected in the culture. I grew up considering everything as far north as Boise ID to as south as Phoenix AZ, as far west as Las Vegas NV and as far east as Denver CO as the Intermountain West. Also, when I moved to the Portland area, I was surprised by how many people considered Idaho part of the Pacific Northwest. Maybe they're only thinking of the panhandle?
As a long time resident of South West Missouri, the sub region here makes so much sense. Although Missouri is a Midwest state from a far, being in the Ozarks has a much more southern feeling and mentality to it. Much like you could find throughout Arkansas.
Yep. Once you get out of the Springfield/Branson metro area, it gets pretty hicky, pretty fast! It's completely different from the rest of the state above I-70 or the cotton fields in the SE part of the state.
The Osarks felt lonely as hell to me. I live across the river in Illinois further north, not far from Hannibal. In 2018 I drove down there to bail out a friend who had no way home. I had never been that deep into Missouri before and I was expecting more of the same I was used to seeing along the river, but no. It still had the caves and geography, but it seemed so empty. For a popular vacation area the towns surrounding the lakes are just depressing to look at. Well at least the ones I traveled through from the north and into Laurie. I was in town for about 20 minutes before my friend and I headed home as I just wanted out of there. It made home in Adams county Illinois seem comparatively comfortable.
@@MintyLime703 and yet, those people are mostly content and would likely give you the shirt off their back if they thought you needed it. Most actual towns are not right off the highways, most want to live further away from traffic noise. I have traveled to most states and I am always happy to get back to Missouri where people have more manners and are extremely friendly and caring, even in the suburbs of big cities.
The High Plains/Low Plains difference is spot on. There is a noticeable climate difference if you travel just 250 miles from central Nebraska to our home in Kansas City, MO. It’s green & more humid in KC, and the air feels a bit dryer out in that part of Nebraska.
Texas is 773 miles wide thus more than one region. Houston is close to Louisiana, while El Paso is close to New Mexico. East Texas and West Texas are VERY different!
Let's separate everything west of the Pecos River off into its own region. Then, let's separate the area between the Pecos and the Balcones Escarpment off into its own region.
@@Heavywall70 I would also put extreme SE Texas with the southern Louisiana region. Even Houston has lots of bayous and swamps, not to mention a large Cajun population.
An additional subregion, at least culturally, would be what is often called "The Mormon Belt," which of course would be Utah, but also south, east, and central Idaho, a large portion of Arizona, plus a number of counties in Nevada, Wyoming, and western Montana.
I’m from Baltimore. I always considered the Mid Atlantic as Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia, After watching your video my opinion stands.
I lived in Roanoke VA for 5 years. Western VA definitely does not see itself as Mid Atlantic. Western VA residents identity themselves as Appalachian. I have friends in Richmond, and they identify as Mid Atlantic. Somewhere in-between the two cities is the psychological dividing line between the two regions.
New Jersey probably is a Mid-Atlantic state but most consider it a suburb of New York and Philadelphia. Like this video there are gray areas subject to opinion and interpretation.
Given how much the South was divided in the video, I'd think it'd be fair to divide what's called the Mid Atlantic here into at least two sub regions, one Baltimore area to Norfolk, the other one, the greater NYC area going as far north as Albany. Arguably metro Philly, southern NJ and DE would be another one. But if we want to avoid just dividing into metro areas, I'd lump them in with the more northern region.
As someone from San Bernardino-Riverside Counties (i.e., the Inland Empire), it so nice to not be lumped in with LA for once. The Inland Empire has always felt more Southwestern economically and culturally than the coastal regions of Southern California. Thanks for the insight!
As someone from this same area, but living in LA I totally agree; however, I do wish he would’ve spent some time on coastal south and central California. He sorta skipped it
I agree. I hate to be *that person from California* but our state alone has so many different biological and social regions it's worthy of its own video imo. Coastal south vs coastal north, wet vs dry forests, Central California, the High Desert, the Sierra Nevada's, the chaparral/Inland Empire, the rural north, etc etc. Also as someone from the IE as well, I always considered us to be where the Southwest meets the LA sprawl specifically, both a gateway to the Southwest and to coastal California as a whole. Completely socially separate from LA.
@@ghoulannabanana I hate to be that person too but, none of us in Nor Cal say Central California. It just seems to be everyone in So Cal that gives that distinction. I never really get the opportunity to ask them why they call it that. We all consider it (the Valley) a sub region of Nor Cal no different than the Bay Area.
Alaska is actually a giant plot of land, with several different subregions. The interior (where I live) has different weather and cycles when compared to that of someplace like south central or south east (which I have also lived in) For context I’m from Texas originally and I just decided that when I was 18 I wanted to travel so I did, and I’ve been to almost all of these regions lmao it’s crazy
I love this video, Kyle! I've driven all over the U.S. and I think your divisions capture the cultural and geographic nuances of each subregion you identified. Thanks, as always!
As a Texan, I think people in El Paso and San Antonio, and those areas of the state that you put in the Southwest, would consider themselves in the Southwest too. Culturally they have much different influences than the other major cities like Dallas, Austin, and Houston
I need to travel more below Del Rio. But one guy I know who teaches in San Antonio, but lives in Harlingen on breaks plus travels all over. He considers south Texas the "southwest" but not the "desert southwest". The latter he says is where creosote bush takes over west of the Pecos. Sounds good!
As a former resident of Virginia, you nailed it on the head. Western and Eastern/Northern Virginia are 2 distinct regions both culturally and geographically. Especially culturally. Same for Oklahoma, where I grew up. NW OK and SE OK are completely different with people in SE OK (aka "Little Dixie") identifying with the old South due to immigration into the region following Reconstruction. Blizzards are not uncommon in the panhandle whereas snow is not common at all in SE OK.
Yes. When I was in college in Norman, Oklahoma City area people were strongly "southern" or they didn't seem to care! Coming from Denver, most Oklahoma speech had a slight southern accent, thicker in people from the east and hardly at all from Ponca City west.
We moved from Southern California to East Tennessee a year and a half ago. A year later we went on vacation to Charleston SC, driving through that area was the first time I actually felt like I was in “The South”. It just has a different feel and I love it. There are “Southern States”, and there is “The South”.
I'm from Colorado. I like how you divided it up. I've heard people say it's a southwestern state and part of it is, but not all of it. Other than the occasional shop or restaurant and an appreciation for a hearty green chili, I don't see a lot of the southwestern influence in Denver. However, as you drive South on I-25 to Pueblo, you definitely start to feel like you're in the Southwest.
Grew up in Trinidad right on the New Mexican border. It’s a bit of a running joke among locals not to eat the green chili north of pueblo. I don’t think many think of Colorado as a diverse state culturally but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Now that I live in Mississippi people are shocked to learn that everyone from Colorado isn’t your typical Subaru driving “ski bum”
@@justinvanmatre5847 you’re saying Colorado is not diverse? It obviously is, just not fully homogenized. (By that I mean different regions are different geographically and culturally).
@@justinvanmatre5847 I was born and raised in Colorado, and lived there for 55 years until about a month ago. I agree, Colorado is more diverse than I think people realize. It is not California diverse, but there are a wider array of cultures and opinions there than people realize. What's more is people there are more likely to respect a difference of opinion and still remain your friend. I've never done alpine skiing and I've never owned a Subaru (though I'd take one because they're good cars that drive well in snow and on ice). I do like to do things I understand Colorado people are supposed to like to do, like ride bicycles and hike. I now live in North Carolina, and, though fewer with regard to percentage, I'm finding people here like the same things, and so I don't think those are, "Colorado," things. They even have ski resorts here, but they are not as big a deal because I'm told the skiing is better farther north.
The Midwest is so underrated because people are either mountains, forests, or beach’s. But the cornfields are so amazing and the random tree lines and bluffs make the beauty pop.
I love the Midwest. I do see the beauty of farms, trees, small hills, wildflowers, clear seasons, enough moisture, small cities, short commute times. all the normal foods--theater-stores.
Hey America, I gotta tell you... Detroit Michigan has made an impressive revival. Detroit has resurrected from the dead. Downtown, midtown, uptown, select suburbs... it's incredible how it's the same city that Kwame once governed. I'm from toledo Ohio which in itself is basically a suburb of Detroit. Just my 2 cents. It's a great city and I'm spreading the word.
I’ve been out of Michigan almost 20 years now. I’m a Saginaw native, while Saginaw has gone downhill over the years, I have noticed Detroit has been turning around over the years. Toledo seems worse than Detroit now. We had no issues going into downtown Detroit and going to eat in Greektown.
I am from Houston but lived near Detroit for a while. I agree, the city, kind of like Houston, is extremely underrated and misunderstood, albeit a bit crime ridden. Some of the best Arab, South Asian, and Greek food in the US too.
Not trying to defend Kwame or any of the other corrupt politicians in Detroits past, but I'm going to blame Detroit's rough patch more on General Motors than Kwame.
Thank you for this video. I appreciate that you took the time to do a whole video on this topic. It is so helpful to understand the subsections when exploring the history of our country.
Creole country here. You did a great job marking off the individual parishes in Louisiana. I’m an Acadian and I can definitely confirm that when you hit I-10 and go north it’s no longer Cajun country.
Wouldn’t say I10 is the line depends where you are. Heavy cajun influence all along 190 and even into avoyelles parish. As long as you stay more central in the state
@@ConnorM1995 yea. That is a nice little pocket, although, there are differences in the way those people and the more southern people speak and understand.
When you talk about the subregions of New England generally speaking you are correct, you have Northern and Southern New England. However look at a population heat-chart of New Hampshire and Maine. The majority of the population of these states live in the southern parts and many people who live in these areas actually commute into Boston for work (particularly southern NH). An argument might be made that even those states can be cut in half and the southern portion could be southern New England.
I was going to say the same thing. As someone who lives in Massachusetts but very close to New Hampshire there isn't much difference when you cross the border. It's basically still Greater Boston. I'd say you really hit the cultural shift at the lakes region. Also, I think the Berkshires in western MA probably belong more in the Northern New England subregion since they're more similar to Vermont than eastern MA.
Southern Indiana was missed. As a native of that area, I would classify it as "Southern". Early immigrants were from Kentucky and that set the tone which still exists today. Its very agricultural and rural. A lot of muddy rivers and bottomland. Southern accent compared to Central and Northern Indiana. Cusiine also Southern without the grits. Just thought I would share this with you and your audience.
Yeah he missed South Eastern Illinois too. I’d say we pretty much are spot on as far similarities. We’re literally on the Illinois Indiana boarder. 45 min from Terre Haute and 25 min from Vincennes.
I lived in Fort Wayne for a while and the first time I went to southern indiana I was shocked by how different it was from northern indiana. Northern indiana I boring af
Yeah the subdivisions were impressively good but the south definitely cuts the bottom tips of Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana. The boot of Missouri in particular is well known across the state for being like our own piece of Dixie
The cool part about where I live in Colorado is that I live close to where 3 of those sub-regions converge. I love living in the American West, I can still feel the reminiscence of the Old West when I go places around the state. I get to see the Rocky Mountains everyday, I love my home state!
Always thoughtful, always interesting. Of course we quibble, and I'd put the Bootheel Region of Missouri in the Mississippi Delta & Surroundings. The change is noticeable when driving south of Cape Girardeau as one reaches the low, flat Mississippi delta area and its deep-soil/controlled wetlands. The four Missouri counties involved raise a lot of cotton, rice and watermelons and no one who lives there considers themselves Midwesterners.
yea, also, as kind of a wildlife/cultural anecdote, I think you can say you've left the Midwest and entered the Ozarks/the South when the average fisherman has 6 dozen different crappie jigs in his tackle box but has never seen a walleye in his life.
@@davehughesfarm7983 I learned that the heart of the confederacy in Missouri was in the KC area and east along the Missouri River with good soil where was a need for slaves.
As someone from Fairfield County, CT I think you nailed it. Our business, pizza and bagel ties are with NYC but our towns and seaside culture are very much New England
in a way that is sort of like Long Island, but I wouldn't call long island part of new england. I'd say that the tri state region should have been mentioned. The tri-state being Connecticut, New york, and New Jersey or parts of those states. Basically the New York metropolitan region/new netherlands.
@@greenmachine5600Eh, as a New Jerseyite, I honestly don’t think that area is culturally distinct enough to be its own separate region in my opinion. NYC metro area, and Philly metro area are pretty homogeneous with a few slight differences. But they’re still Mid-Atlantic and the geography determines that overwhelmingly.
I am not from US but this is my favorite explanation of US regions and subregions. I think you included everything-local culture, industry, topography and everything else important. I subscribed definitely.
Great video! One nitpick- it was a bit visually confusing in the High/Low Plains section when you talked about the 'green plains' as a possible name for the low side, but the high/brown side was colored green on the map shown, and the low/green side was a goldenrod/orange-y color. Maybe swap those?
Yep, being thrown in with the Delta and not being included in the so-called “grit line” is pretty nauseating for anyone from the Laurel area. I’ve fought over less.
Great job. I currently live in Connecticut, and I have lived in both New York and Los Angeles. I think you have done an excellent job in defining America's various cultural regions. Being from southern West Virginia (Wayne County), I never thought of myself as anything but southern. We're a border state for sure - but on the southern side of the border. And growing up, I sensed that in the very fabric of our lives - how we used and spoke English, our food, our religion, the places we traveled - mostly, the Carolinas - indeed, most of our collective ancestry - all our eyes turned South. There are certainly things I find objectionable about Southern culture, but generally speaking, the good so far outweighs the bad, and then of course, there is the reality that one simply is what one is. So for me, I'm not really a southern wannabe. I'm a southerner of the bottom-hill-holler-mountaintop hybrid variety. Recently, my nephew moved to New York, and we were discussing the weird heterogenous nature of West Virginia's identity. Then he exclaimed, he cannot stand it when people call him southern. "I'm Appalachian. I'm not southern." And I said, yes, you are. And he said, "we'll I'm not like people from Mississippi, so I'm not southern." and I said, no, you're not like the people from Mississippi, you're Southern Appalachian: You're like the people in Eastern Kentucky, Eastern Tennessee... and all the other Southern Appalachian regions you named in your wonderfully informative video. (There are Northern Appalachian cultures in Pennsylvania and New York, and though similar in some ways, these places are not Southern, and most Southern Appalachia folks would not find them really "like home" at all). Histories are complicated, and there are numerous sub-cultures/ regions throughout the US, and I so appreciate your taking a whack at figuring out where and what they are. Albeit: what a glorious, extraordinary mosaic we are! Bravo!
I’m from Wayne County too! I grew up just outside the town of Wayne. Having lived and visited areas around the U.S. I lived for quite a while in northern Kentucky and northern Maine. I’m with you Southern West Virginia is definitely Southern with maybe some rust belt flair.
Much of my family moved to the Catskill Mountains NY. When I moved to NC, I visited the western mountain (Smoky Mountains) region part of the state. I was amazed at how much more similar the mountain culture of NC is with NY State mountain culture - much more than mid and east NC in the same state.
Great video. You did a good job summarizing the Midwest despite never living thier. I’m from Michigan and have spent time in both the Great Lakes industrial and the upper Midwest. Two things that stood out to me was that the Great Lakes industrial is more colloquially known as the Rust belt and it might be relevant to mention the yooper/ Wisconsin /Minnesota accent as it’s quite unique from the rest of the Midwest.
Hi Kyle. I love your videos. I used to teach Social Studies to 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. Your topics are often the most fun things we studied. Anyway, one comment on this video. (By the way, I grew up in Wyo, Mont, and ND, and lived a long time in Seattle, and now live in the Bay Area. And...I lived in many places during a four-year hitch in the Navy in the early-mid 1970s). One thing I once heard is that "Baltimore is the northern-most southern city." I always liked that for its sensitivity to what is "southern" and the character of Baltimore. Anyway, thank you for your videos.
The Midwest doesn't correspond well to state lines. Halfway down Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio it's more southern and on the west it trails off into the great plains halfway through the Kansas to North Dakota column of states. Despite being definitively plains states, the Dakotas are very tied to Minnesota and Wisconsin economically and culturally with the Scandinavian population and shared territorial history and so I'd make the case that they should get lumped into a greater "upper Midwest" since you can't really call them Great Lakes states.
Likewise, roundabout when you get to Buffalo, Syracuse, and Albany, the Midwest turns into WNY, then CNY, and then suddenly you're in either the Adirondacks or the Hudson Valley, depending on whether you went north or south from I-90.
Right. I don't have much upstate NY experience, but my impressions has always been that NW Pennsylvania and Buffalo are firmly Midwest and then it tapers of slowly as you go east. I've met upstate new yorkers with basically the Fargo accent.
As a Virginian man who has lived here for over 20 years, you described Virginia PERFECTLY!! Well done! We have three groups of Virginians: Mid-Atlantic people (NOVA & VA Beach), Southern people (Richmond or lower) and Appalachian people (Roanoke, Radford, Bristol etc) out west. I’m from Fredericksburg, VA and I’m stuck in the middle of two accents (Southern and Mid-Atlantic) and It’s sooo dam annoying that I have to re-wire my brain to understand both accents depending if I go *30 minutes* north or south on I-95 to see family or friends🤦🏾♂️people think I’m from NY when I’m in Richmond, VA and I’m like…. “I live like 25 minutes away from here like what?!”😂
It’s a relief to see this from a native Virginian. I moved to VB from the Midwest and when I tell people from the Hampton Roads area that this isn’t the south, boy do they throw a fit.
@@brandonmoss9103 can confirm I am currently throwing a fit. You can’t tell me that Hampton Roads isn’t more similar to Richmond culturally than it is to NoVA
Really great video! I'm very happy you included us Cajuns as well, we are still here! Hurricanes, gun violence, Who Dat! Honestly though, I'm very proud of this heritage, and it genuinely makes me happy to see it recognized as the unique brand of everything that it is. it's a culture into itself that can only be found in south Louisiana (thank God for that right?) haha. I thought you had lumped us in with Mississippi at first...Gross! lol always interesting to me to see which smaller groups of culture are able to keep it rolling in the USA, and wear that culture loud and proud. It is fascinating to see what survives over the years, and why it survives. Lassiez le bon temps rouler and whatnot!
As someone from Missouri I would say that the ozark region extends much more east and north than you show. Basically anything south of St. Louis and about 10 miles west of interstate 55 is more culturally and geographically similar to the Ozark Plateau than the Great Plains. Also, the “boot heel” region extending up to cape girardeau generally alines more culturally with the Mississippi Delta. Even though they are equidistant between Memphis and St Louis, you see a lot more people wearing Grizzlies merch. Great work with the video! I just know you like hearing the perspective of locals
I agree, the majority of the Ozarks *is* Southern Missouri, all the way up to St. Louis. (It's odd to me that he didn't even include Springfield- the Queen City of the Ozarks, or, hell, the Lake of THE OZARKS) Culturally, St. Louis, in my opinion, feels like an exurb of the "industrial Midwest", while the "boot heel" is definitely more aligned with the Mississippi Delta (I mean geographically speaking, it's the same!).
I was going to come here to say exactly this, even south St. Louis county, you start to see some Ozark culture seeping through. I-44 is a good divider between Midwestern and Ozark culture
@@LukeWapelhorst yes, apart from being the gateway to the west, St. Louis is also pretty much the gateway to the Ozarks... much to the chagrin of some city residents, I am sure. I would somewhat disagree with the I-44 divide, although to me it seems like a spectrum of difference. Getting super micro, I look at a town like Hermann and basically see the Midwest, but Owensville is definitely Ozarks, and they are both north of I-44 and within 20 minutes of each other. I suppose there is some subjectivity to the boundaries though
I like how there are regions that get smaller and smaller and smaller, like West Coast, Pacific Northwest, SoCal, San Diego region of SoCal, and I can go on and on up and down
I appreciated this video, because the uniqueness of each region of the USA is what makes our Nation so interesting. Having grown up in PA and moved to MD over 20 years ago, I think you absolutely nailed the cultural regions of the East Coast. As for Peninsular Florida being culturally distinct is a reflection of how people from the Northeast and some Canadians, have wintered there since at least 1880. Many of them retire and live out their lives in the Sunshine State; but remain culturally Canadians, New Yorkers, etc.
I did enjoy this very insightful video. I live in the Black Hills of South Dakota. I absolutely agree with your making it part of the interior northwest. The next country over is Wyoming. The closest large city is Denver. We are in the mountain time zone. I also like that you included Lakota Country as well.
I live in "East River" South Dakota. Basically anything to the East of the Missouri River in South Dakota. Or your sworn enemy. 😁 I believe a big thing in the Dakotas is that it should have been divided (if we really needed two of them) by east and west. Geographically, culturally, and so much more we are extremely similar to that of Eastern Minnesota in East River and West River is essentially identical to Montana as well.
Perfect timing for my afternoon chat with my friend Mary Jane and our precious front porch sitting time together! Love your stuff Mr. King. Hope you’re having a great day!
I've always wondered how people outside Louisville, KY viewed it. It wasn't in a sub-region in this video. It's too southern to be midwest, but too midwest to be considered southern lol
@@jamesgoode9246 Northern Alabama (more middle to eastward) does resemble the Upland South due to the Appalachian foothills. Northern Alabama as the rest of Alabama, is considered by many as the Dixieland South. The Upland South is characterized by close proximity of an area to the Ohio River and the Great Lakes States. Kentucky is that border state that often blurs with southern parts of Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Yet, the eastern part of Kentucky is closely linked to West Virginia as most of the southern areas of KY are tied to the northern stateline areas of Tennessee.
Wow. I've lived in multiple subregions (Cajun/Creole, Great Lakes, Peninsular Florida, Southwest Coastal, Mid Atlantic, and Lowcountry) and never realized it. That said I grew up in Johnstown PA (Cambria county, which you have as Greal Lakes) and we always considered ourselves as Appalachians. Good video. 👍
I feel like the way you defined the different regions has a lot of merit. However, as someone who lived many years in the Texas cities of Lubbock, Midland/Odessa, DFW, and Bryan/College Station I'm not sure if grouping the South Plains the way you have is accurate. There are very distinct differences in factors such as industry, climate, and economy that make the Oklahoma, Texas Panhandle, and Northcentral Texas area very different from East Texas and the Houston/Galveston areas of the Gulf Coast. A fairer assessment might be to divide it just to the East of a line from Waco through DFW to Lake Texoma. East and Southeast of that is a very different part of Texas that doesn't go together with Northwest or Northcentral Texas, and is also very different from Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. Just a thought. Love your channel.
Agreed. There’s always that discussion of “is Texas the South?” And culturally, it’s more like everything east of I-45 (Dallas to Houston) ties more to the South. It’s not so much as plains as it is Piney Woods up north and then the coast having a similar geographical feel to Louisiana. Ft Worth is “the gateway to the West”
Even then I think it'd be valid to carve out another narrow region down the center starting at San Antonio and going up to (at least) Abilene for the Hill Country, because it is so different with all the turbines and hills. Basically that diamond-shaped corridor between 83 and 281.
I would say Galveston to Brownsville is the third coast. San Antonio and everything north is central Texas, hill country. West of eagle pass to Laredo is where west Texas really starts. Underneath all this is the valley. My dad always called dfw south Oklahoma.
Currently I'm living in Richmond va and spend a lot of time in DC and VA beach as well. I'd say this is the south culturally. DC is the beginning of the north. Anything south of DC has a southern twang to it.
I’d love to see a video about the cities that are tough to fit into a region. You touched on two of them in Buffalo and Rochester. My kind also goes to Louisville, which has southern elements, but is also closely tied to Indianapolis and Cincinnati. Austin is another one, where it doesn’t quite feel Southwestern (like its close neighbor San Antonio), nor does ot feel like the Southern Plains…although that’s where it probably belongs.
I now live in Pittsburgh and formerly lived in Harrisburg. PA is actually 2 states. Harrisburg and eastern PA are definitely oriented to the coast. Pittsburgh and western PA has mix between Appalachian and Midwestern feel to it. Pittsburgh however is definitely a Midwestern town with a lot of hills. It is not part of the coastal East culturally.
I’m a little confused as to how you describe the Atlantic/Colonial south as sea culture and oldest cities and yet define the Hampton Roads Region of Norfolk/Virginia Beach/ Williamsburg/ Jamestown/Yorktown as Mid Atlantic. These cities are by definition vastly associated with the sea and are the oldest English settlements in the America’s
I have a slight problem with the Missouri being midwestern fully. While north of I44 is definitely midwestern and almost hard to distinguish from Iowa or Kansas. Southern Missouri is arguably very Southern. It is much closer to northern Arkansas than Iowa. Also left a couple of counties out of the Ozarks as well. Overall very informational and well constructed.
I couldn't agree with you more. I'm from Oklahoma, but I've had relatives who lived in the Ozarks in southern Missouri, and it's certainly a Southern culture. If anybody doubts that, they should watch Winter's Bone.
I would also agree with you. I grew up north of Kansas City in a small suburb/farming town. I now live in northwest Missouri (again, a farming community). Very, VERY quintessential Midwest. But I had family that lived in the Ozarks and spent a lot of time down there. Quite literally ON The Lake of the Ozarks. The culture and scenery is vastly different than it is where I am now.
@@paxonearth Agreed, and my perspective includes Alabama and Denver. Once east of the OK / TX panhandles and in southern Missouri it seems more southern than Midwest. And south or east of Oklahoma City, including "Midwest City" or Norman it's the south with very little Midwest.
As a proud Marylander I would have to say that Southern Maryland and the Eastern Shore have a strong southern feel. I grew up in western Maryland and it has a much more northern feel
In general the beach areas of the country seem to be a lot more similar to each other than the states they are attached to. Also the Baltimore-Washington split is just as a big division that the Eastern v.s Western shore.While Western Maryland is very much Appalachian or Pennsyltucky.
@@Marylandbrony I feel like Baltimore - Washington is more of a spectrum than a sharp division. Maybe it's just me though since I worked in Howard county with coworkers from Baltimore while living in Montgomery county myself. Either way, they're definitely more similar to each other than the Eastern shore and Western MD are to the Baltimore / Washington areas.
@@danielamir452 Howard county is pretty much right in the middle. I'm from Silver Spring myself, but live in Burtonsville, near both the PG and Howard County lines. Southern Howard County (north Laurel, Fulton, even parts of Columbia) is definitely more DC than Baltimore due to the proximity to Montgomery and PG, plus all the federal campuses nearby south of the Patuxent. There's a reason there's so much wealth there.
As someone from Georgia who lived in Maryland near Annapolis for a few years, I was NOT in a Southern state when roaming around Maryland. nothing there reminded me of the South. Beautiful people and culture but more like Delaware to me.
I would say that the Ozark region includes all of the southern half of MO except for the 'bootheel', which is closer to the delta part of the South and has similar agriculture. Also, northeastern NY is similar to New England and shares cities with each other, eg. Pittsfield, MA and Albany, NY.
As an African-American Creole from New Orleans, thank you very much for referring to south Louisiana as Creole AND Cajun Country. A lot of people not from here who I meet in my travels automatically say “cajun” for everything or call me Cajun, when I’m far from it. We have two distinct and equally great ancestral cultures and cuisines that are celebrated here. Vayan, vidyo-çila çé bon! Great video!
Technically, a majority of what you considered the "Southern Great Plains" in Texas is actually pretty far east of the Great Plains. Areas east of the Edwards Plateau are part of the Gulf Coastal Plain and Blackland Prairie sub-region.
Yeah in Texas, I would not lump in the Northeastern Woodlands or the Gulf Coast with the Texas Great Plains. The areas are all quite different. The Northeastern Woodlands are much more akin to northern Louisiana, southern Arkansas, and the southeastern corner of Oklahoma. Driving through, it is moderately populated, a little bit poor, very conservative, and very "southern." You'll probably encounter some Confederate Flags. Meanwhile, the Gulf Coast is also "Southern," but more urban and diverse. It has some Acadian influence, especially around Beaumont. The cuisine is noticeably different (more seafood) and it has a booming economy of oil refinement and shipping centered around Houston, with the city and suburbs leaning left and everything else leaning right. The Great Plains in Texas can of course be divided between High and Low Plains, with the Low Plains including Dallas, San Antonio, Austin, etc. This is the Texas Heartland. It's moderately populated and farming oriented, with some cowboy culture too. It is divided politically, with the big cities leaning left, and everything else leaning right. The High Plains are where it stops feeling "southern" completely. Now you're in the Frontier, aka, the "West." This is the Amarillo, Lubbock, Midland/Odesa area. It's much drier here than in the Low Plains, and farming is replaced by ranching. The High Plains are thinly populated and very conservative, but the economy does well due to the oil production here. Finally, you have the Rio Grande Valley. I feel like this is a region of its own with the high degree of Latino influence. The area is poor economically but rich in culture, and leans left to a high degree. I'm not sure if this is "Southern" or "Western," but either way, it is certainly a unique part of Texas. It can be further divided between Big Bend Country (very hilly and very sparsely populated outside of El Paso) and the Southern Valley (more flat and more populated). Big Bend Country feels very "Southwestern," but the Southern Valley feels more "Southern."
@@carlstevens781 Oh true! I forgot that this was where that referred to. I tried really hard to come up with a name for that region but couldn't think of one lol
Yup. From 80-84, I lived in Seabrook TX, on Galveston Bay, there was a distinctive Cajun flavor to the area. We had Gumbo cook offs and enjoyed a good bottle dance!
Your Great Lakes industrial was spot on. I’m from Cleveland and I’m always surprised how much Buffalo, Pittsburgh, and Detroit are similar. My buddy from Buffalo rolls his eyes when someone says New York City 😆
I spent many years on the road as a musician, drove many a mile and visited some out-of-the-way towns for concerts and school residencies. You did a great job, Kyle. I was pleased to see you included western NY state in the Midwest. I recently spent time in the northernmost part of the Adirondacks, then the southernmost part of the Adirondacks, and then drove 250+ miles to stay with friends in far southwestern NY where the forest, the crop land, the terrain and the people to me had much more of a Midwest feel.
Maybe you could do a video on where the watersheds, aquifers, and aqueducts feed water to cities and farms. Yes it’s nerdy and contentious. It’s also complex. I think it’s kinda cool that Idaho has the Lost River that disappears into a huge aquifer that re-emerges hundreds of miles away in the Thousand Springs as clear pure water that’s 58 degrees year round.
I actually think you are onto something re watersheds and regional consciousness. Certainly in a state like NY which has a complex drainage system (made more complex by an artificial river that gave rise to so many of its cities). I live in a part of NYS that drains north to Lake Ontario and the St Lawrence River and our local news media seems to coincidentally cover those areas more frequently. I think nationally you probably see this happening as well. It likely has an effect on what you consider to be “home” or “neighbors.”
@@eedgerton769 I know it’s a much smaller scale, but the region of Idaho I live in is called the Magic Valley. It was named for a century old irrigation system that transformed the desert into a huge farming area. It really does connect us because we all depend on it.
Rhode Island & Massachusetts are the spiritual/cultural heart of New England, and the coastal stretch from Connecticut to Maine is what I would argue is the borders. Obviously there is a technical definition for the region as the states themselves, but culturally you see it most strongly in the coastal cities and towns, especially in the food: chowder, clamcakes, lobster, etc.
As someone who grew up in the Buffalo area I have to agree with you. WNY is culturally different from the Megalopolis. I never thought of myself as Midwestern, but I've visited Cleveland and Pittsburgh and it felt pretty similar to Buffalo, and then my wife said Buffalonians reminded her of people in Michigan where she used to live.
I think the one subregion border within NY with 0 disagreement is the line between Upstate and Downstate which is plain as day on basically all metrics. As far as the subdivisions of Upstate NY go its a lot fuzzier, for instance the Fingerlakes can either be 1 region or split between Western and Central. But the most cursed subdivision map is the SUNY system having the Audacity to call Albany part of the North Country.
@@jasonreed7522 Hah! Yeah, I'm thinking the SUNY regions had more to do with what looked like it would work for some admins than any sort of basis in geography.
@@yankeegonesouth4973 i fully understand its purely to make equal workload administrative reasons, its just when you google maps showing the regions of NY you get some "interesting" results. And that suny map was a very WTF moment, the real surprise it that its only 4 regions of western, central, north country, and downstate.
I grew up in Cleveland till I was 13, then I moved with my mom to just north of Traverse City in Michigan (only to move back to Cleveland my senior year then go to Columbus right after). I love the sub regions between industrial and woodland, So much has been preserved and untouched up there. I still go up there all the time and its an amazing spot to get out of the industrial part.
Great video, a little surprised the ozark region doesn’t stretch any further north in your map. For instance the lake of the ozarks in Missouri isn’t even contained in your ozark region.
The extreme southeast region of Kansas is considered Ozarks as well as some of Eastern Oklahoma. It is very difficult to define every subregion due to terrain and climate.
I was pretty surprised he included much of south central MO in low plains. If you took a line and drew it diagonally from suburban St. Louis to Springfield there’s a considerable amount of forest/mountain in that region. Solid degree of farmland interspersed, but nothing as expansive as what is above that line. The drive West on 44 from STL is far more bearable than West on 70. I think it’s fair to put areas like STL, St. Charles in the low plains (so much flood plains and not a ton of forest cover), but it becomes far less agrarian-adjacent south of that aforementioned diagonal.
As an over the road trucker with 1.2+ million miles covering all 48 contiguous states, I think you did a great job parsing the regions! 🚛
thank you for your service.
respect
Respect for the deserving one. You truckers and your rail-brothers of the train operators are the backbone of our country, as you operate the logistics of this nation.
I'm a 25 year driver myself and have to agree with you. America is such a beautiful diverse place and Kyle outdid himself here. Keep Rollin!
Good job
As a Buffalonian, you're spot-on with the Midwest connection. We feel way closer to the Midwest than the Northeast.
I would have also included Syracuse and Onondaga county as well as even Utica. You can see a lot of rust belt influence that ties them more to buffalo than Albany, NYC, Boston, etc.
@@Blipblorpus Syracuse seems to be the dividing line: to the east you have Jets/Giants fans who drink soda. To the west, you have the people who (correctly) drink pop while watching the Bills.
Just like Pensacola, Florida, culturally, is completely different than Miami, Florida
I'm from the Midwest and noticed this as well. Accent and everything. Buffalo is actuually a lot closer to Detroit than I thought
they should not even have given Cleveland a new football team when the Browns left. They could have rooted for the Bills
Thank you for splitting the South like you did. It's so different even intra-state.
Yes because where I live in Mississippi is more like Louisiana.
@@jessinthecomments The section of South Carolina that I live in is more like Louisiana than the rest of SC. Same goes with Georgia.
I live in Atlanta and I agree, anythin north of like Gwinnett or Cobb is a whole different thing but goin south and east its pretty much the same
@@dan-patrickobrien3580 oh yeah you talkin bout like Charleston and Savannah. I jus call em New Orleans Jr. 😂
@@jackkeown6370 lol yeah I live in the Charleston area.
As an Australian who has never quite got his head around American geography this was very useful. Similar videos for places like India, China, Russia and Brazil would be so helpful.
I'd think one on Great Britan would be fascinating. Or anywhere in Europe. Or the World. 😬
I'd think one on Great Britan would be fascinating. Or anywhere in Europe. Or the World. 😬
This is bull crap. Texas is it’s own region/subregion and Louisiana Arkansas Oklahoma Missouri and Kansas are the south Great Plains region/subregion.
You’re the first person I’ve heard outside of the lakes states region to call northern WI, MN, the U.P., as the north woods. It’s nice to hear someone outside of the region address it as that, because that’s what we call it. Keep up the good work!
In Michigan we call the northern half of the lower the north woods as well not just the U.P.
In WI, it is generally North of Wausau. I am a North Woods native ;)
In maine we call our northern woods the north woods too. Ik very creative
Most people call it “up north”
@@trowwzers5057 I've lived in Wisconsin my entire life (not "up north") and I've only ever heard it as "up north". Never heard the term "north woods" before.
I love how California is so many different regions. Hot low Desert, High Desert, pacific northwest rainforests, north rocky coastline, southern sand beach coastlines, fertile flat San Joaquin Valley, Northern wet Sacramento Valley, Northern High Cattle country and forest areas, and Eastern foothills and massive Seirras mountains that have many many different mountain passes and canyons in them. I would even devide the Seirras into 3 different regions north central and south because they and their foothills are so vastly different as you go north to south
Don't forget about skid row. It's another level, its make california so diverse 🤣🤣🤣 i think texas don't have something like that. It's hot topic here in asia.. So when someone comment about california, first thing pop up in my head isn't hollywood but your beautiful street full of sh eet 🤣🤣
That street make me memorized about our capital on 90s... but yall have that in california is quite amazing 🤣🤣
@@el_lo Man, you're not even from the US and you're shitting on our state lmfao. Skid Row isn't even that bad it's so close to everything else in LA. It's sketch yeah but there's way more dangerous streets in that city you don't want to dream of going down.
Skid row is just infamous and it has been for decades. It's really nothing special lol. There's plenty similarly run down areas in the US and even in California.
@@el_lo Yeah, you're clearly not from CA, and you sound like you have a political agenda. Maybe next time try writing your comment completely with emojis. It would make more sense.
@@el_lo You think you're being clever and funny but your comments are equal to that of what a kindergartner would say who is trying to impress his classmates. Embarrassing for you but you obviously didn't realize that.
Americans often view Canada as one whole homogenous country. But Canadian regions generally share more in common with the American subregions they border. Being from the Pacific Northwest in BC, I seem to have a hard time explaining to Americans that it doesn't snow where I live and my cultural ties are closer to Seattle, Portland or San Francisco than to Montreal, Toronto, or Halifax.
Anyone interested should check out American Nations by Collin Woodard.
I actually have a physical copy. It's a lot more grounded in the 70s than i imagined.
I'm from Detroit so I defuntely understand. Windosr, Ontario is right across the river and it's literally like another suburb of Detroit. If you go to a bar or something there you'll see Red Wings games on TV and the Canadians always come across the border to attend games
Damon, you must live near Vancouver, no?
@@ES2990 but us windsorites still say ‘eh’ all the time when in detroit, we stand out!
@@ES2990 To officially be an old man, back in the pre-cable days, having Channel 9 in Windsor, including Hockey Night in Canada, made us some of of the most privileged viewers in the US. Great kids programming too.
Finally. An intelligent, witty, accurate and educational utube video depicting US regional geography with great style. Kyle, you rock.
I've been a trucker for more than 3 decades now, and have driven all of the lower 48 States. Your video is the closest to 100% accurate I've seen yet, in defining the regions of the U.S. I feel your accuracy is because you define the regions not only geographically, but culturally as well. I grew up in the "Mountain South", the Clinch Mountains of Virginia, and as an adult, have lived in AZ, CA, NC, GA and MD. It always irritated me when people (most who had never been there!) describe the "South" as if the region were one homogeneous culture, when nothing could be further from the truth! Your ID of the various Southern regions is as accurate as I've ever seen, and that is a very pleasant surprise. In the years I was living in CA and AZ, I was often asked, "What part of Texas are you from"? The confused looks I got with my reply of "I'm originally from the Clinch Mountains of Virginia, in the SW part of the State" were hilarious, so to ease the confusion, I'd continue with, "Texas was settled by Virginians and Tennesseans, so they ought to sound like us"!
How about the people who like to say Virginia and Kentucky aren't southern because they arent like their home states of Alabama? Kills me every time.
As an Alaskan, I think it’s probably best that the state would be split into 3-5 regions. Southeast resides firmly within the Pacific Northwest Bioregion. South-central and southwest would either be lumped together or have their own separate groupings. And then the Interior and Far North regions would probably be a single subregion considering their weather patterns and low population density. With a state as massive and diverse as Alaska, it would be an injustice to classify it as a single subregion.
The Anchorage borough from Palmer / Wasilla to Seward could be separate, also, culturally and politically. Kenai peninsula, Kodiak and across the Aleutian chain. I subdivided the regions for FNBA in the early-1990s per new lending guidelines and this was our division.
@@TheRealBrook1968 I like that
Biodiversity and climate zones, sure, but I had to chuckle at “low population density” and “diversity.” It’s fucking Alaska. The only diverse and culturally significant population are the indigenous people that are shat on.
@@gogogaga7441 Alaska is a diverse state both in environment and in population. On what grounds do you measure “cultural significance”? Surely, the cultural heritage of the state lies mostly with the many Alaska Native peoples, but about 66% of the state’s population is made up of white people, and a notable 5% of Asians.
I agree. Having grown up there, it's not something you can lump all together in terms of geography or culture. I would divide it into 6 regions: the Panhandle, Cook Inlet, the Aleutians, Western, Northern, and Cental. You could subdivide some of those as well, depending on how detailed you wanted to get.
As a Marylander, thank you thank you thank you for understanding that we are Mid-Atlantic and actually discussing that point. I hate the lump categorization that we are south just because we're below the Mason Dixon. And having family from southwestern VA, you're again right in that there is a distinction between us.
Completely agree about Maryland. I grew up in the real South and moved to Maryland for a job after college. And I always bristled when some Northerner called Maryland the South. There is NOTHING about Maryland that reflects the South in any way. Mid-Atlantic best describes it.
I came here to say the same thing. I grew up in central MD. I think you can see the trend towards the South in the more rural parts of the state, like in the western two counties, the Eastern Shore, and counties south of DC. I remember seeing pickup trucks with gun racks and the Confederate flag on the highway, with MD plates - that's not "mid-Atlantic". On the other hand, I wouldn't classify anything along the corridor between DC and Baltimore as "southern", and folks there will get offended if you try to tell them they're southern. Maryland is its own thing, maybe "Chesapeake" is a better description for most parts of the state, and more "Appalachian" for those counties in the west. My Wisconsin cousins always thought I had a southern accent, but folks from southern Virginia thought I didn't.
To quote from The Devil and Daniel Webster by Stephen Vincent Benet:
"'Tis true the North claims me for a Southerner and the South for a Northerner, but I am neither." -- The Stranger
Nobody ever considered Maryland the south. From my understanding it was always the northeast.
@@dan-patrickobrien3580 Definitely not true. It’s on the edge of the South but it was never “considered Northeast from the start.”
@@jeremiah_12 middle Atlantic but definitely not the south.
In Florida, there's a saying: "The more North you go, the more South you get." This references how the Southern part of Florida is distinctly separate from the Northern part, which can be generally lumped in with The South. But I'd say it's got a fair bit of gradient to it; it _gradually_ transitions from South Florida culture, through Central Florida, and into North Florida. And, from a lot of other comments, I get the feeling that a lot of other regions/subdivisions have similar soft/overlapping borders.
If you want to refine this idea, I'd suggest taking into account how the subregions connect to one another. Is it an overlap where an area can be considered a full blending of two subregions, like South Florida and The South overlapping in the middle to form the blended Central Florida distinction? Or is it a more distinct border like a hard or soft border without significant overlap? A "hard" border would have little to no significant cultural influence and would usually arise from physical barriers: rivers, mountains, wetlands, etc. "Soft" borders would have a recognizable degree of cultural cross-influence/fuzzyness across each side, though without the multi-county gradation of regional overlap. Thus, you can distinguish regional and sub-regional boundaries as either "hard" (little/no influence), "soft" (cross-influence one county deep), or "overlaping" (cross-influence of more than one county). So some of the "sub-regions" may, in fact, actually be just the "overlaping" areas where two other sub-regions connect. This can also cover some of those areas like where the suburbs of NYC bleed over into New England; that could be an example of a "soft" border.
I really like this idea! I would definitely add a region for the southern tip though. That’s it’s own place
Too bad he ignored the Florida panhandle and majority of Alabama. I was curious as to what we here in the panhandle were considered and he just noped right on past us lol.
@@sirraf23 I mean... to be fair, even most Floridians would nope past the panhandle. Y'know... when we remember that it's there.
@@omargoodman2999 that's funny because where I live seems to have a lot of people moving from south Florida complaining about the crime down south.
Good way to put it - soft and overlapping borders help, even county vs. state lines. New Mexico and even Colorado can join Florida on some of that overlap.
Spot on with the sub regions of the Midwest! The north woods region definitely deserves a distinction because of how vastly different it is compared to what most people think of when the term Midwest is used.
and the North woods region is SPACTACULARLY beautiful this time of year through October...... If you ever get a chance - GO THERE.
Hello, fellow Nick 👋
Howdy Brother!
@@csnide6702 vvvv VV you are you saying voice bc the bc I was giving him to get BV v back vv the VV bb g vvvv
I agree the only difference I have as someone who lived in Arkansas, Kansas & Missouri. I would say that the Ozark sub region for the south should stretch up to the Lake of Ozarks in Missouri.
As a Meteorologist I've learned all the subregions I could. You seem to be missing "Mid-South", "Ohio Valley", "Intermountain-West", "Four Corners", and "Texoma". Texoma is the area of TX and OK along the Red River. Texoma has 2 television DMAs (Sherman and Wichita Falls), both call their region Texoma. Oh and there's a giant lake 2 miles south of me named Lake Texoma. :) Oh by the way, the Ouachita and Ozark regions are separate and have somewhat different cultures, with the Ozarks having more tourism. The valley I-40 runs through is the line between them.
don't forget southeastern minnesota, the valleys of the upper mississippi and st. croix rivers. it has been called "little switzerland" for its climate and scenery.
I think he overlooked Alabama. Isn’t there some sort of region around the Mississippi River? He may have mentioned it and I missed it
@@AngelaMastrodonato The Mississippi Delta, no?
Yeah he Completely missed Mid TN/Central AL
He also missed the “Driftless” area in Southwestern Wisconsin, Southeastern Minnesota, Northeastern Iowa, and Northwestern Illinois. It’s a very beautiful area with sprawling hills and bluffs. The area is called that because the glaciers didn’t flatten it when moving.
I’m a native of Northern Kentucky and I’m glad to see you included us in the Midwest. We aren’t southerners here, more southern Midwesterners. Our area was big in the Underground Railroad.
I live in Michigans U.P. but always loved visiting Northern Kentucky. As you said it still feels a lot like the Midwest but with just a touch of that southern charm. Very nice place to visit, always have a good experience.
Having gone through Kentucky via Cincinnati on several occasions, Northern Kentucky really does feel like where the Midwest meets the South. I remember stopping for breakfast at a Waffle House once just outside of Covington and I could hear a lot of southern accents.
I very much agree. I’m from south eastern Kentucky, and when I went up to northern Kentucky for college I could really see the difference. Northern Kentucky very clearly shows when the south starts to transition into the Midwest imo. Even had people asking me about my accent, when I’m also from Kentucky, just the south 😅
@@imalwayspanicking Yes there’s a difference in culture, but we are Kentuckians all the way.
I was originally from Evansville, Indiana. My dad was from Louisville. I think I am right on the cusp of the South; but mostly Midwestern. I have lived in Ohio/Fla/Illinois/San Francisco; so much has been lost; but I think a little of that original impression remains.@@imalwayspanicking
You really nailed it when you talked about how Buffalo and Rochester are more similar to say Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Detroit then say New England. Something to also mention when it comes to these Sub regions is the accents that people have. For example folks in northern Ohio Have very different accents compared to say south east Ohio.
*than
having lived in both i don’t notice it, what’s usually the difference in accent?
i always thought of that region as the rust belt. in my head, i defined the area as going from west virginia through buffalo reaching towards cleveland, through pittsburgh and binghamton, into buffalo and rochester
Rochester reminds me of Wilmington, DE & Buffalo reminds me of Bridgeport, CT.
Very true. I grew up just south of Youngstown. Anything south of there pretty much begins Appalachia and you get a noticeable southern accent. Cleveland and Akron have their own unique accent (mostly sharper “A’s”)
I noticed you didn't include West Virginia in any of the main regions! Not sure if this is on purpose or not, but I've always felt that other than Texas, WV is one of those states that doesn't have a solid identity of where it fits. The southern portion of the state is very rooted in Appalachia and has a southern culture, while the north is influenced by Pittsburgh.
It's a beautiful state though, the mountains are just stunning. It's a shame the economy didn't diversify.
He talks about that in his video “regional terms in the us defined”
Most of WV, is depressing...
I agree, I live in WV someone in Cali will tell me I'm east coast, someone in pa will tell me I'm Midwest and West Virginians themselves mostly identify as Appalachian
@@angelmart08 It's in the Methamphetamine Subregion 😂
He is only identifying states in the regions. WV is being canceled as a state,Manchin introduced a bill.
I love how he colored the "green plains" brown and the "brown plains" green
Yes, The color scheme is very confusing. Please re-do the colors in the map
so as to make the brown plains --> brown and the green plains --> green
Observation: Some subregions overlap and some parts of the country aren't included in any of these subregions.
yeah because these are really rough personal subregions, nothing official
I noticed that the area that I'm from, Middle Tennessee, was never included.
A large swath of California - SF, LA, SD, Scramento, and more - weren't mentioned.
@@Carson218 We're included, as you can see at 2:52, in the South region, but not in a subregion. The regions aren't necessarily divided into subregions such that every part is in a subregion. The subregion is simply a part of a region with distinct geographical characteristics. I don't think Kyle explained that very well.
Especially when weighing things a little more anthropologically, such as the Intermountain West -- the area with a large historic link to the Mormon pioneers in addition to proximity to Salt Lake City. A sub-sub-region, if you will.
I love the granular level of detail you put into your videos. As a geography nut, your content really scratches that itch, since most people find this stuff pretty mundane.
You are the Dream Theater of geography channels lol
Your itchy nut has been scratched 😁🤣
But I totally get it. 😁😁 I feel the same as a geography nerd.
Viper Geography King
Same I'm also a geography nut and I appreciate these videos
As a lifelong resident of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, I would argue that the Mississippi gulf Coast shares a lot more with south Louisiana than northern Mississippi or Alabama to the east. We celebrate Mardi Gras, eat gumbo, etc. My grandparents spoke creole French. While we don’t have as many swampy areas as in Louisiana, we definitely share culture! I would love to hear what y’all think though!
When you said the Mississippi Coast is more similar to South Louisiana than Northern Mississippi,
I think that you meant more similar to South Louisiana than Northern or Central Mississippi,
or even South-Central Mississippi.
@@jamesgoode9246 Yes Agreed! Thank you!
Mardi Gras in the US was actually started in Mobile, AL
I thought it was odd he didn’t include a specific “Gulf Coast” region at all 🤔
He completely left out the Gulf Coast region of Mississippi and Alabama.
Maryland is the reason why the mid-Atlantic term exsit because of it being the transition between the Northeast and the South.
Honestly all of Northern VA, Maryland, and Delaware are all part of that transition
@@charlietaylor5047 Yea but Maryland went from a southern state to a northern state while Delaware was historically always in the middle colonies the southern portion of the state aligns more with Southern culture than Phily culture
Actually there is also a subregion there. The eastern half of Maryland, Virginia, and all of Delaware is called "Delmarva." Part of it (after crossing Bay Bridge) going east, is also called "The Eastern Shore because most of it is saltwater marsh land. I always considered Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, North Carolina, and South Carolina the Mid Atlantic states, with the Low Country being the coastal areas of the Carolinas. Now what you are calling the Mid Atlantic, I would take Virginia and part of Maryland out of there. Beginning in Maryland from Baltimore and points north, and what you included, I would call the Eastern Rust Belt, since there is so much industry in the area. This is a very interesting video. Thank you!
@@Miami7 Baltimore and Philly are definitely a hybrid of Rustbelt and East Coast. So I agree with the term "Eastern Rustbelt."
The Eastern Shore is Southern. I would say the Western Panhandle is basically Appalachia. West Virginia 2.0. Southern Maryland (Charles, St. Mary's, Calvert Counties) are a hybrid of South and Mid-Atlantic. But I would argue Charles County will become more and more Mid-Atlantic as it grows in population and becomes an extended suburb of DC.
Interesting that coastal California south of Eureka, and the central valley of California, wasn't included in any of the western subregions. But honestly, even though they're both entirely within California, I think they would be their own subregions anyway.
"Coastal California" would basically be a band of land reaching about 50 miles inland, extending from Mexico to the outskirts of the northern S.F. Bay Area, and thus including all of the coastal Californian population centers and the central coast. Though these areas are fairly culturally, politically, and geographically distinct across that long, thin band, they're actually much more similar to each other than they are to the interior of California or other western subregions.
"Central Valley" would be the land between Coastal California and the Interior Northwest/Interior Southwest regions west-to-east, and from Kern county in the south up to Shasta county in the north. In many ways, this subregion would be something of a blend of the Interior Northwest and Interior Southwest, both culturally/politically, and geographically (with sort of a milder version of the heat and dryness of the ISW, with more agriculture and ranching-friendly land similar to some in the INW).
To be honest, in my attempts to not over discuss California since I'm from there, I sometimes under discuss or leave it out without thinking about it. But I do think that south of the northernmost part of the state and north of the Grapevine is a separate subregion. "Not-quite-desert agricultural and coastal" subregion.
@@GeographyKing and good luck clsssifying the Owens Valley. Most of it would be very similar to the Central Valley, then you get to Bishop which is where tourism and agriculture have a head-on collision.
Let's face it - you could just about turn the state into a country with all the cultural diversity.
@@GeographyKing Indeed. One can easily make the case that California itself contains or parts are contained within four or five separate subregions
@@GeographyKing while I think the Central Valley is under discussed and interesting, you played it right by not over-doing California. This was about off the radar multi state regions and you nailed em.
@@GeographyKing Nice overview. I was wondering what happened to Coastal California! I do agree that Riverside and SB counties belong in the southwest. The only other thought is that the Rocky Mountain Region got lumped with the Southwest and I would say that from SLC over to Denver, down to Santa Fe up through western Montana could be broken out.
So glad to see someone take the time/effort to actually split a mostly empty place like South Dakota into our three regions. We have a huge variety for a plains state, it's just that you still have to drive hours and hours between each zone 😅
I've been all over the country and this is a pretty solid breakdown. I would say that people in Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Detroit (maaaaaybe Chicago but not really) think of themselves as a subregion commonly called the Rust Belt due to all of the manufacturing and trade that has taken place across the Great Lakes between these cities and their surrounding areas. All these cities are culturally very similar.
Love your channel Kyle, I'd love to see a video with you talking/explaining the "rust belt" region of the US!
I was thinking the same!
TLDR it’s small/medium size towns taht we’re big manufacturing hubs that have been in steep decline. SW NY W PA OH especially Appalachia OH parts of IN MI WI. Sections of IL can be seen as RB
Now that even the Mountain States salt their roads, perhaps we should consider "rust belt" to be outmoded nomenclature.
I've made many of the same observations over my trucking career, although I would note that the boundaries are not always defined so neatly by county lines.
I had a "word person" tell me that the "rust belt" was not about rusty cars. She, IIRC, contended it was about the soil. I was not familiar with that. I could never find my saved reply, but I can say for sure people mean rusty cars.
I've lived my entire life in the Pacific Northwest. We are officially Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Northwestern Montana. Once on the Eastern side of the Cascades, we do call ourselves the Inland Northwest, which is a subregion of the Pacific Northwest. Idaho very much considers itself Pacific Northwest, as does Eastern Washington and Northwestern Montana.
California is not welcome. Dont worry. OR and WA will firmly tell you California has cooties. ID and MT can kick it with us. Northern Californian wish they were from OR.
He is not disputing that but merely talking about the geographical landscapes and people therein. You have to agree that Western Washington is very different than eastern Washington vs southern Oregon despite it being the "PNW."
@@heatherpaige8897 and Eastern Oregon is basically Western Idaho.
Chawndel said it perfectly. Saaa-lute.😎👍
Spokane area considers itself Pacific Northwest but its just more similar to Montana than Seattle. The wet vs dry difference is what divides them
Thanks! This was educational for me as a European. The south for example is larger and more diverse than I thought.
That's an understatement. You could fit 3 UKs into Texas, alone.
@@francisdashwood1760 he said the south, not just texas
@@nick3718 LOL...I know what he said, genius. You may note that I wrote ''alone'' after Texas, duh...lol.
Maryland is a southern state btw, I don’t blame the guy because only half the counties are
An additional sub region is the Rocky Mountain Front Range running from Pueblo, Colorado up to Cheyenne, Wyoming. It is culturally and economically different from the High Plains and Southwest.
In general the whole southwest is a lot less homogeneous than described in this video.
As someone who's lived all around the Great Lakes region you absolutely nailed it down to the county level. Nicely done. Northern MI doesn't have a lot in common with southern MO except nice people, nice to see them distinguished.
Great video, Kyle! As a trucker, I get to see all of this exactly as you described. And as a southern Louisianian, it was nice to get some recognition as not being part of the cultural south. Of course, southern Louisiana can be divided into the New Orleans metro area -where I live- and the Cajun part of the state. New Orleans is unlike anywhere in the USA, including the rest of Louisiana.
I totally agree. I am originally from Maine, but I moved to the New Orleans area about 7 years ago. Then about 3 years ago I moved just south east of Baton Rouge and I was amazed by the difference from N.O. to B.R.. Especially the accent. I'm always telling people how amazed I am that people here in south east LA sound totally different from only 30 or 40 miles away. And I mean totally different. One thing that is very obvious is that the people around N.O. tend to not pronounce their Rs in many words similar to the North East, but 30-40 miles northeast and they use a hard R like people from the south. I've lived in many areas of the country, but I've never seen anything like this
From the family of mine that’s been to NO, they say it’s similar to Key West. Well not including any French stuff obviously.
@@la7era1u54 keen observation. One thing that Hollywood has never gotten right is the NOLA accent.
@@chewy99. that's an interesting comparison.
No new Orleans is not unique. Citation: some dick hipster who made a youtube video: "Your city is not unique"
Being from the West I'm not as familiar with the name/sub-region 'Piedmont' but having French as a second language quickly helped me understand. Piedmont literally translated is 'foot mountain' which I assume refers to the foothills that are prevalent in this region. Many times I wish I had learned Spanish instead of French simply (living in the West) for day-to-day usefulness. But knowing French can be quite helpful when deciphering many words in English and/or place names
Thanks for another great video Kyle!
The Piedmont region borrowed its name from the same region in Italy, but the etymology is the same: at the foot of the mountains. And yes, the Piedmont is more or less the foothills, though in North Carolina the Piedmont region is actually sandwiched between two mountain ranges - the Appalachians and the Uwharries. The one issue I have with the video is with saying that the culture in this region is more or less the same as on the coastal plains (or low country). It isn't. The food culture, for instance, is quite different. That's not to say that there is no overlap, of course, but once you get into the Piedmont seafood is far more scarce than it is along the coast. Along the coast it seems like everyone has a boat, in the Piedmont most people do not and boating is generally something one does on vacation if at all. Culturally, much of the Piedmont has more in common with Appalachian culture than with low country culture.
Im from the piedmont south! Nice to meet you 😊
@@alanlight7740 I think it depends on the state. I'm from Piedmont VA and historically it was settled by people from Tidewater, so it had that plantation culture (although smaller than in Tidewater). Even the Piedmont Virginia dialect is very similar to the Tidewater dialect. I do agree with the food comment and regardless of the state, Appalachia certainly influenced the Piedmont's culture.
@@wesmorgan7729 - no doubt there's some overlap and some variance. I grew up in Charlottesville before moving down to the Waxhaws (near Charlotte), and I even spent a year in the Piedmont part of Alabama. Each place has similarities and distinct differences. Charlotte is about in the middle of the Piedmont in the Carolinas, and it also marks a meeting point for three distinct cultures: Tidewater, Appalachian, and Deep South. But the dividing line is blurry. This particular region also has German influence from the gold miners who came in the early 1800s, and the Piedmont area of Alabama has a bunch of Italians who came in the 1870s.
My point was simply that lumping the Piedmont together with the Tidewater culture is far too simplistic.
@@wesmorgan7729 -- I think the Piedmont region was named for the Piedmont region of Italy
because of its topography, not because of its culture.
The interesting thing is that a lot of regional cultures don’t really follow state lines, so somewhere like eastern Tennessee is more similar to West Virginia than it is even to other parts of Tennessee.
Oh very! It is basically appalachia just like WV lol
I have lived in Nevada and Utah most of my life and the subregion I hear people most often refer to this region as is the "Intermountain West", which I understand to basically be a circle you could draw connecting Salt Lake, Boise, Reno, and Las Vegas. Basically the basin and range area between the Rockies and Sierras. Love your videos Kyle.
Honestly I’ve always associated Las Vegas and Salt Lake with the Southwest culturally and geographically, albeit a specific subregion of it. Both are desert cities with high elevations and both were at one point claimed by Mexico, and later by Mormons -This goes for a lot of northern/central Arizona too
I feel the 15 freeway between SLC and Reno sort of loosely marks the northwestern border of the Southwest if that makes sense, any further into Nevada you start to hit eastern Oregon/Idaho which is very much a different thing
@@zoey2211 Grew up in St. George and have never thought of Salt Lake City as Southwest. Kyle got it right.
I agree. I was disappointed he never mentioned the Intermountain West. People always forget the overwhelming influence the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints had in settling the area, and how its reflected in the culture. I grew up considering everything as far north as Boise ID to as south as Phoenix AZ, as far west as Las Vegas NV and as far east as Denver CO as the Intermountain West.
Also, when I moved to the Portland area, I was surprised by how many people considered Idaho part of the Pacific Northwest. Maybe they're only thinking of the panhandle?
@@jazzcatjohn grew up in eastside Salt Lake and went to high school in Tucson, and I always have 🤷♀️
@@zoey2211 I15 is between Vegas and SLC, Reno to SLC is I80.
As a long time resident of South West Missouri, the sub region here makes so much sense. Although Missouri is a Midwest state from a far, being in the Ozarks has a much more southern feeling and mentality to it. Much like you could find throughout Arkansas.
Yep. Once you get out of the Springfield/Branson metro area, it gets pretty hicky, pretty fast! It's completely different from the rest of the state above I-70 or the cotton fields in the SE part of the state.
The Osarks felt lonely as hell to me. I live across the river in Illinois further north, not far from Hannibal. In 2018 I drove down there to bail out a friend who had no way home. I had never been that deep into Missouri before and I was expecting more of the same I was used to seeing along the river, but no. It still had the caves and geography, but it seemed so empty. For a popular vacation area the towns surrounding the lakes are just depressing to look at. Well at least the ones I traveled through from the north and into Laurie. I was in town for about 20 minutes before my friend and I headed home as I just wanted out of there. It made home in Adams county Illinois seem comparatively comfortable.
@@MintyLime703 and yet, those people are mostly content and would likely give you the shirt off their back if they thought you needed it. Most actual towns are not right off the highways, most want to live further away from traffic noise. I have traveled to most states and I am always happy to get back to Missouri where people have more manners and are extremely friendly and caring, even in the suburbs of big cities.
I live in central iowa. Northern Missouri is definitely like us. It's only the very southern part of Missouri that I would even consider South
I’d include extreme eastern Texas around Beaumont as part of the Cajun country as well.
The High Plains/Low Plains difference is spot on. There is a noticeable climate difference if you travel just 250 miles from central Nebraska to our home in Kansas City, MO. It’s green & more humid in KC, and the air feels a bit dryer out in that part of Nebraska.
Texas is 773 miles wide thus more than one region. Houston is close to Louisiana, while El Paso is close to New Mexico.
East Texas and West Texas are VERY different!
Let's separate everything west of the Pecos River off into its own region.
Then, let's separate the area between the Pecos and the Balcones Escarpment off into its own region.
Orange County Texas is damn near
Louisiana-esque
with the food we eat and the lives we lead in our lil corner of the swamps.
West is desert, east is THICK woods and swamps. Couldn't get anymore opposite
@@Heavywall70 I would also put extreme SE Texas with the southern Louisiana region. Even Houston has lots of bayous and swamps, not to mention a large Cajun population.
True I always say anything east of Austin is the south whereas anything west of Austin is the south west
An additional subregion, at least culturally, would be what is often called "The Mormon Belt," which of course would be Utah, but also south, east, and central Idaho, a large portion of Arizona, plus a number of counties in Nevada, Wyoming, and western Montana.
I’m from Baltimore. I always considered the Mid Atlantic as Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia, After watching your video my opinion stands.
I lived in Roanoke VA for 5 years. Western VA definitely does not see itself as Mid Atlantic. Western VA residents identity themselves as Appalachian.
I have friends in Richmond, and they identify as Mid Atlantic. Somewhere in-between the two cities is the psychological dividing line between the two regions.
New Jersey and NYC are absolutely mid Atlantic in fact to me NJ is as mid Atlantic as it gets
New Jersey probably is a Mid-Atlantic state but most consider it a suburb of New York and Philadelphia. Like this video there are gray areas subject to opinion and interpretation.
@@randylee1777 Definitely even Connecticut is what I’d consider a bedroom state to nyc as Ri is to Boston.
Given how much the South was divided in the video, I'd think it'd be fair to divide what's called the Mid Atlantic here into at least two sub regions, one Baltimore area to Norfolk, the other one, the greater NYC area going as far north as Albany.
Arguably metro Philly, southern NJ and DE would be another one. But if we want to avoid just dividing into metro areas, I'd lump them in with the more northern region.
As someone from San Bernardino-Riverside Counties (i.e., the Inland Empire), it so nice to not be lumped in with LA for once. The Inland Empire has always felt more Southwestern economically and culturally than the coastal regions of Southern California. Thanks for the insight!
As someone from this same area, but living in LA I totally agree; however, I do wish he would’ve spent some time on coastal south and central California. He sorta skipped it
I agree. I hate to be *that person from California* but our state alone has so many different biological and social regions it's worthy of its own video imo. Coastal south vs coastal north, wet vs dry forests, Central California, the High Desert, the Sierra Nevada's, the chaparral/Inland Empire, the rural north, etc etc. Also as someone from the IE as well, I always considered us to be where the Southwest meets the LA sprawl specifically, both a gateway to the Southwest and to coastal California as a whole. Completely socially separate from LA.
@@ghoulannabanana I hate to be that person too but, none of us in Nor Cal say Central California. It just seems to be everyone in So Cal that gives that distinction. I never really get the opportunity to ask them why they call it that. We all consider it (the Valley) a sub region of Nor Cal no different than the Bay Area.
Kyle grew up in Ca. Thats why he knew.
Alaska is actually a giant plot of land, with several different subregions. The interior (where I live) has different weather and cycles when compared to that of someplace like south central or south east (which I have also lived in)
For context I’m from Texas originally and I just decided that when I was 18 I wanted to travel so I did, and I’ve been to almost all of these regions lmao it’s crazy
I love this video, Kyle! I've driven all over the U.S. and I think your divisions capture the cultural and geographic nuances of each subregion you identified. Thanks, as always!
As a Texan, I think people in El Paso and San Antonio, and those areas of the state that you put in the Southwest, would consider themselves in the Southwest too. Culturally they have much different influences than the other major cities like Dallas, Austin, and Houston
I need to travel more below Del Rio. But one guy I know who teaches in San Antonio, but lives in Harlingen on breaks plus travels all over. He considers south Texas the "southwest" but not the "desert southwest". The latter he says is where creosote bush takes over west of the Pecos. Sounds good!
@@desertdc123 -- Yee Mon, I believe that your "one guy" is correct.
I felt like the Colorado and Utah portions I kinda disagree with, that is more intermountain west than anything else
id say that makes sense. it is culturally more closer to NM, Arizona and inland southern california than austin, or san diego for example
El Paso, yes, because it sticks way out there in the Southwest. But not San Antonio, it is just regular (ugly) South Central Texas. Not the Southwest.
As a former resident of Virginia, you nailed it on the head. Western and Eastern/Northern Virginia are 2 distinct regions both culturally and geographically. Especially culturally.
Same for Oklahoma, where I grew up. NW OK and SE OK are completely different with people in SE OK (aka "Little Dixie") identifying with the old South due to immigration into the region following Reconstruction. Blizzards are not uncommon in the panhandle whereas snow is not common at all in SE OK.
Yes. When I was in college in Norman, Oklahoma City area people were strongly "southern" or they didn't seem to care! Coming from Denver, most Oklahoma speech had a slight southern accent, thicker in people from the east and hardly at all from Ponca City west.
We moved from Southern California to East Tennessee a year and a half ago. A year later we went on vacation to Charleston SC, driving through that area was the first time I actually felt like I was in “The South”. It just has a different feel and I love it. There are “Southern States”, and there is “The South”.
I'm from Colorado. I like how you divided it up. I've heard people say it's a southwestern state and part of it is, but not all of it. Other than the occasional shop or restaurant and an appreciation for a hearty green chili, I don't see a lot of the southwestern influence in Denver. However, as you drive South on I-25 to Pueblo, you definitely start to feel like you're in the Southwest.
Grew up in Trinidad right on the New Mexican border. It’s a bit of a running joke among locals not to eat the green chili north of pueblo. I don’t think many think of Colorado as a diverse state culturally but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Now that I live in Mississippi people are shocked to learn that everyone from Colorado isn’t your typical Subaru driving “ski bum”
@@justinvanmatre5847 you’re saying Colorado is not diverse? It obviously is, just not fully homogenized. (By that I mean different regions are different geographically and culturally).
@@sethtenrec no, I’m saying Colorado is incredibly diverse but I don’t think most people around the country realize that
@@justinvanmatre5847 ah, true.
@@justinvanmatre5847 I was born and raised in Colorado, and lived there for 55 years until about a month ago. I agree, Colorado is more diverse than I think people realize. It is not California diverse, but there are a wider array of cultures and opinions there than people realize. What's more is people there are more likely to respect a difference of opinion and still remain your friend.
I've never done alpine skiing and I've never owned a Subaru (though I'd take one because they're good cars that drive well in snow and on ice). I do like to do things I understand Colorado people are supposed to like to do, like ride bicycles and hike. I now live in North Carolina, and, though fewer with regard to percentage, I'm finding people here like the same things, and so I don't think those are, "Colorado," things. They even have ski resorts here, but they are not as big a deal because I'm told the skiing is better farther north.
The Midwest is so underrated because people are either mountains, forests, or beach’s. But the cornfields are so amazing and the random tree lines and bluffs make the beauty pop.
that’s pathetic
I love the Midwest. I do see the beauty of farms, trees, small hills, wildflowers, clear seasons, enough moisture, small cities, short commute times. all the normal foods--theater-stores.
I live in St. Charles, Missouri. And we're more of a hybrid between Great Lakes Industrial and Ozark Region rather than the lower Great Plains Region.
Hey America, I gotta tell you... Detroit Michigan has made an impressive revival. Detroit has resurrected from the dead. Downtown, midtown, uptown, select suburbs... it's incredible how it's the same city that Kwame once governed. I'm from toledo Ohio which in itself is basically a suburb of Detroit. Just my 2 cents. It's a great city and I'm spreading the word.
Detroit: the 3rd most dangerous city in the U.S. 💩
I’ve been out of Michigan almost 20 years now. I’m a Saginaw native, while Saginaw has gone downhill over the years, I have noticed Detroit has been turning around over the years. Toledo seems worse than Detroit now. We had no issues going into downtown Detroit and going to eat in Greektown.
I am from Houston but lived near Detroit for a while. I agree, the city, kind of like Houston, is extremely underrated and misunderstood, albeit a bit crime ridden. Some of the best Arab, South Asian, and Greek food in the US too.
Not trying to defend Kwame or any of the other corrupt politicians in Detroits past, but I'm going to blame Detroit's rough patch more on General Motors than Kwame.
Ya so has East St Louis lol
As someone who grew up in MD and has spent a lot of time in VA too your description of the mid atlantic was 100% on point imo
Thank you for this video. I appreciate that you took the time to do a whole video on this topic. It is so helpful to understand the subsections when exploring the history of our country.
This is an excellent analysis. You really identify some distinctions and sub-distinctions that are spot-on. 👍
Creole country here. You did a great job marking off the individual parishes in Louisiana. I’m an Acadian and I can definitely confirm that when you hit I-10 and go north it’s no longer Cajun country.
Wouldn’t say I10 is the line depends where you are. Heavy cajun influence all along 190 and even into avoyelles parish. As long as you stay more central in the state
@@ConnorM1995 yea. That is a nice little pocket, although, there are differences in the way those people and the more southern people speak and understand.
When you talk about the subregions of New England generally speaking you are correct, you have Northern and Southern New England. However look at a population heat-chart of New Hampshire and Maine. The majority of the population of these states live in the southern parts and many people who live in these areas actually commute into Boston for work (particularly southern NH).
An argument might be made that even those states can be cut in half and the southern portion could be southern New England.
I was going to say the same thing. As someone who lives in Massachusetts but very close to New Hampshire there isn't much difference when you cross the border. It's basically still Greater Boston. I'd say you really hit the cultural shift at the lakes region.
Also, I think the Berkshires in western MA probably belong more in the Northern New England subregion since they're more similar to Vermont than eastern MA.
Agreed
Southern Indiana was missed. As a native of that area, I would classify it as "Southern". Early immigrants were from Kentucky and that set the tone which still exists today. Its very agricultural and rural. A lot of muddy rivers and bottomland. Southern accent compared to Central and Northern Indiana. Cusiine also Southern without the grits. Just thought I would share this with you and your audience.
Yeah he missed South Eastern Illinois too. I’d say we pretty much are spot on as far similarities. We’re literally on the Illinois Indiana boarder. 45 min from Terre Haute and 25 min from Vincennes.
I lived in Fort Wayne for a while and the first time I went to southern indiana I was shocked by how different it was from northern indiana. Northern indiana I boring af
And western Kentucky/Tennessee too
Southern Ohio is very similar. Definitely Appalachian.
Yeah the subdivisions were impressively good but the south definitely cuts the bottom tips of Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana. The boot of Missouri in particular is well known across the state for being like our own piece of Dixie
The cool part about where I live in Colorado is that I live close to where 3 of those sub-regions converge. I love living in the American West, I can still feel the reminiscence of the Old West when I go places around the state. I get to see the Rocky Mountains everyday, I love my home state!
Always thoughtful, always interesting. Of course we quibble, and I'd put the Bootheel Region of Missouri in the Mississippi Delta & Surroundings. The change is noticeable when driving south of Cape Girardeau as one reaches the low, flat Mississippi delta area and its deep-soil/controlled wetlands. The four Missouri counties involved raise a lot of cotton, rice and watermelons and no one who lives there considers themselves Midwesterners.
Amen to that
yea, also, as kind of a wildlife/cultural anecdote, I think you can say you've left the Midwest and entered the Ozarks/the South when the average fisherman has 6 dozen different crappie jigs in his tackle box but has never seen a walleye in his life.
Here in southwest MO the attitudes and way of life are far more southern than midwestern.
Thats right South of Missouri river ya in the south... And KC and Omaha is the Heartland of America...Not midwest..
@@davehughesfarm7983 I learned that the heart of the confederacy in Missouri was in the KC area and east along the Missouri River with good soil where was a need for slaves.
As someone from Fairfield County, CT I think you nailed it. Our business, pizza and bagel ties are with NYC but our towns and seaside culture are very much New England
As someone from New Haven County, CT, I could see why you'd want to blame your pizza problems on NY
in a way that is sort of like Long Island, but I wouldn't call long island part of new england. I'd say that the tri state region should have been mentioned. The tri-state being Connecticut, New york, and New Jersey or parts of those states. Basically the New York metropolitan region/new netherlands.
@@Ryan713 It's definitely a problem not having Sally's or Pepe's down here haha
@@greenmachine5600Eh, as a New Jerseyite, I honestly don’t think that area is culturally distinct enough to be its own separate region in my opinion. NYC metro area, and Philly metro area are pretty homogeneous with a few slight differences. But they’re still Mid-Atlantic and the geography determines that overwhelmingly.
I am not from US but this is my favorite explanation of US regions and subregions. I think you included everything-local culture, industry, topography and everything else important. I subscribed definitely.
Well done! I lived in Colorado for 40 years and knew it was west but, it always felt more than just land locked west. You described it perfectly.
Shoutout to Great Lakes Industrial
Great video!
One nitpick- it was a bit visually confusing in the High/Low Plains section when you talked about the 'green plains' as a possible name for the low side, but the high/brown side was colored green on the map shown, and the low/green side was a goldenrod/orange-y color. Maybe swap those?
Those of us from Mississippi would definitely disagree that all of Mississippi is the Delta. The MS Delta is it’s own animal, but hey it’s a start.
Surely left out Biloxi, Ocean Springs, Mobile and Pensacola. 🤷🏻♀️
Really interesting. i would love you to explain. ,@@naydee
Mississipians not from "The Delta" threw up in our mouth a little when he said that.
Yep, being thrown in with the Delta and not being included in the so-called “grit line” is pretty nauseating for anyone from the Laurel area. I’ve fought over less.
Great job. I currently live in Connecticut, and I have lived in both New York and Los Angeles. I think you have done an excellent job in defining America's various cultural regions. Being from southern West Virginia (Wayne County), I never thought of myself as anything but southern. We're a border state for sure - but on the southern side of the border. And growing up, I sensed that in the very fabric of our lives - how we used and spoke English, our food, our religion, the places we traveled - mostly, the Carolinas - indeed, most of our collective ancestry - all our eyes turned South. There are certainly things I find objectionable about Southern culture, but generally speaking, the good so far outweighs the bad, and then of course, there is the reality that one simply is what one is. So for me, I'm not really a southern wannabe. I'm a southerner of the bottom-hill-holler-mountaintop hybrid variety. Recently, my nephew moved to New York, and we were discussing the weird heterogenous nature of West Virginia's identity. Then he exclaimed, he cannot stand it when people call him southern. "I'm Appalachian. I'm not southern." And I said, yes, you are. And he said, "we'll I'm not like people from Mississippi, so I'm not southern." and I said, no, you're not like the people from Mississippi, you're Southern Appalachian: You're like the people in Eastern Kentucky, Eastern Tennessee... and all the other Southern Appalachian regions you named in your wonderfully informative video. (There are Northern Appalachian cultures in Pennsylvania and New York, and though similar in some ways, these places are not Southern, and most Southern Appalachia folks would not find them really "like home" at all). Histories are complicated, and there are numerous sub-cultures/ regions throughout the US, and I so appreciate your taking a whack at figuring out where and what they are. Albeit: what a glorious, extraordinary mosaic we are! Bravo!
I’m from Wayne County too! I grew up just outside the town of Wayne.
Having lived and visited areas around the U.S. I lived for quite a while in northern Kentucky and northern Maine.
I’m with you Southern West Virginia is definitely Southern with maybe some rust belt flair.
Much of my family moved to the Catskill Mountains NY. When I moved to NC, I visited the western mountain (Smoky Mountains) region part of the state. I was amazed at how much more similar the mountain culture of NC is with NY State mountain culture - much more than mid and east NC in the same state.
Great video. You did a good job summarizing the Midwest despite never living thier. I’m from Michigan and have spent time in both the Great Lakes industrial and the upper Midwest. Two things that stood out to me was that the Great Lakes industrial is more colloquially known as the Rust belt and it might be relevant to mention the yooper/ Wisconsin /Minnesota accent as it’s quite unique from the rest of the Midwest.
Hi Kyle. I love your videos. I used to teach Social Studies to 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. Your topics are often the most fun things we studied. Anyway, one comment on this video. (By the way, I grew up in Wyo, Mont, and ND, and lived a long time in Seattle, and now live in the Bay Area. And...I lived in many places during a four-year hitch in the Navy in the early-mid 1970s). One thing I once heard is that "Baltimore is the northern-most southern city." I always liked that for its sensitivity to what is "southern" and the character of Baltimore. Anyway, thank you for your videos.
The Midwest doesn't correspond well to state lines. Halfway down Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio it's more southern and on the west it trails off into the great plains halfway through the Kansas to North Dakota column of states. Despite being definitively plains states, the Dakotas are very tied to Minnesota and Wisconsin economically and culturally with the Scandinavian population and shared territorial history and so I'd make the case that they should get lumped into a greater "upper Midwest" since you can't really call them Great Lakes states.
And the Heartland Omaha, KC, Wichita areas...
Likewise, roundabout when you get to Buffalo, Syracuse, and Albany, the Midwest turns into WNY, then CNY, and then suddenly you're in either the Adirondacks or the Hudson Valley, depending on whether you went north or south from I-90.
Right. I don't have much upstate NY experience, but my impressions has always been that NW Pennsylvania and Buffalo are firmly Midwest and then it tapers of slowly as you go east. I've met upstate new yorkers with basically the Fargo accent.
Very true
As a Virginian man who has lived here for over 20 years, you described Virginia PERFECTLY!! Well done!
We have three groups of Virginians: Mid-Atlantic people (NOVA & VA Beach), Southern people (Richmond or lower) and Appalachian people (Roanoke, Radford, Bristol etc) out west.
I’m from Fredericksburg, VA and I’m stuck in the middle of two accents (Southern and Mid-Atlantic) and It’s sooo dam annoying that I have to re-wire my brain to understand both accents depending if I go *30 minutes* north or south on I-95 to see family or friends🤦🏾♂️people think I’m from NY when I’m in Richmond, VA and I’m like…. “I live like 25 minutes away from here like what?!”😂
It’s a relief to see this from a native Virginian. I moved to VB from the Midwest and when I tell people from the Hampton Roads area that this isn’t the south, boy do they throw a fit.
@@brandonmoss9103 can confirm I am currently throwing a fit. You can’t tell me that Hampton Roads isn’t more similar to Richmond culturally than it is to NoVA
@@sovietturtles1131 certainly more similar to Richmond than Nova, but “similar” doesn’t mean the same.
@@brandonmoss9103 with that logic we should just lump all of tidewater VA including Richmond in the mid Atlantic category
@@sovietturtles1131 not really sure how you came to that conclusion but okay dude.
You hit it out of the park with this one.👍🏻
Why did you skip the southern California coast? You have to account for all regions!
SoCal is a whole different planet
Me as well, wondering why SoCal wasn't mentioned
Perhaps because this region generally gets enough attention already haha
Really great video! I'm very happy you included us Cajuns as well, we are still here! Hurricanes, gun violence, Who Dat! Honestly though, I'm very proud of this heritage, and it genuinely makes me happy to see it recognized as the unique brand of everything that it is. it's a culture into itself that can only be found in south Louisiana (thank God for that right?) haha. I thought you had lumped us in with Mississippi at first...Gross! lol always interesting to me to see which smaller groups of culture are able to keep it rolling in the USA, and wear that culture loud and proud. It is fascinating to see what survives over the years, and why it survives. Lassiez le bon temps rouler and whatnot!
As someone from Missouri I would say that the ozark region extends much more east and north than you show. Basically anything south of St. Louis and about 10 miles west of interstate 55 is more culturally and geographically similar to the Ozark Plateau than the Great Plains. Also, the “boot heel” region extending up to cape girardeau generally alines more culturally with the Mississippi Delta. Even though they are equidistant between Memphis and St Louis, you see a lot more people wearing Grizzlies merch. Great work with the video! I just know you like hearing the perspective of locals
I caught that too. Having grown up in Dent County, the idea of classifying it as anything other than the Ozarks is laughable.
I agree, the majority of the Ozarks *is* Southern Missouri, all the way up to St. Louis. (It's odd to me that he didn't even include Springfield- the Queen City of the Ozarks, or, hell, the Lake of THE OZARKS) Culturally, St. Louis, in my opinion, feels like an exurb of the "industrial Midwest", while the "boot heel" is definitely more aligned with the Mississippi Delta (I mean geographically speaking, it's the same!).
I was going to come here to say exactly this, even south St. Louis county, you start to see some Ozark culture seeping through. I-44 is a good divider between Midwestern and Ozark culture
@@LukeWapelhorst yes, apart from being the gateway to the west, St. Louis is also pretty much the gateway to the Ozarks... much to the chagrin of some city residents, I am sure. I would somewhat disagree with the I-44 divide, although to me it seems like a spectrum of difference. Getting super micro, I look at a town like Hermann and basically see the Midwest, but Owensville is definitely Ozarks, and they are both north of I-44 and within 20 minutes of each other. I suppose there is some subjectivity to the boundaries though
Yep...And KC and Omaha are THE HEARTLAND.....
I like how there are regions that get smaller and smaller and smaller, like West Coast, Pacific Northwest, SoCal, San Diego region of SoCal, and I can go on and on up and down
I appreciated this video, because the uniqueness of each region of the USA is what makes our Nation so interesting. Having grown up in PA and moved to MD over 20 years ago, I think you absolutely nailed the cultural regions of the East Coast. As for Peninsular Florida being culturally distinct is a reflection of how people from the Northeast and some Canadians, have wintered there since at least 1880. Many of them retire and live out their lives in the Sunshine State; but remain culturally Canadians, New Yorkers, etc.
I did enjoy this very insightful video. I live in the Black Hills of South Dakota. I absolutely agree with your making it part of the interior northwest. The next country over is Wyoming. The closest large city is Denver. We are in the mountain time zone. I also like that you included Lakota Country as well.
It certainly feels western in that part of the state as opposed to more Midwestern in the eastern parts of the Dakotas.
I live in "East River" South Dakota. Basically anything to the East of the Missouri River in South Dakota. Or your sworn enemy. 😁 I believe a big thing in the Dakotas is that it should have been divided (if we really needed two of them) by east and west. Geographically, culturally, and so much more we are extremely similar to that of Eastern Minnesota in East River and West River is essentially identical to Montana as well.
When I win the lottery I'm going to become your neighbor. I've been to South Dakota one time in my 56 years and it was love at first sight.
Perfect timing for my afternoon chat with my friend Mary Jane and our precious front porch sitting time together! Love your stuff Mr. King. Hope you’re having a great day!
I've always wondered how people outside Louisville, KY viewed it. It wasn't in a sub-region in this video. It's too southern to be midwest, but too midwest to be considered southern lol
@JustNguyen "Upland South"
@@lenteditor5574 -- Maybe, but northern Alabama is "Upland South."
And, northern Alabama is substantially different from Louisville, KY.
@@jamesgoode9246 Northern Alabama (more middle to eastward) does resemble the Upland South due to the Appalachian foothills. Northern Alabama as the rest of Alabama, is considered by many as the Dixieland South. The Upland South is characterized by close proximity of an area to the Ohio River and the Great Lakes States. Kentucky is that border state that often blurs with southern parts of Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Yet, the eastern part of Kentucky is closely linked to West Virginia as most of the southern areas of KY are tied to the northern stateline areas of Tennessee.
Wow. I've lived in multiple subregions (Cajun/Creole, Great Lakes, Peninsular Florida, Southwest Coastal, Mid Atlantic, and Lowcountry) and never realized it. That said I grew up in Johnstown PA (Cambria county, which you have as Greal Lakes) and we always considered ourselves as Appalachians.
Good video. 👍
I feel like the way you defined the different regions has a lot of merit. However, as someone who lived many years in the Texas cities of Lubbock, Midland/Odessa, DFW, and Bryan/College Station I'm not sure if grouping the South Plains the way you have is accurate. There are very distinct differences in factors such as industry, climate, and economy that make the Oklahoma, Texas Panhandle, and Northcentral Texas area very different from East Texas and the Houston/Galveston areas of the Gulf Coast. A fairer assessment might be to divide it just to the East of a line from Waco through DFW to Lake Texoma. East and Southeast of that is a very different part of Texas that doesn't go together with Northwest or Northcentral Texas, and is also very different from Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. Just a thought. Love your channel.
Agreed. There’s always that discussion of “is Texas the South?” And culturally, it’s more like everything east of I-45 (Dallas to Houston) ties more to the South. It’s not so much as plains as it is Piney Woods up north and then the coast having a similar geographical feel to Louisiana. Ft Worth is “the gateway to the West”
Being from odessa, was feeling the same way.
Even then I think it'd be valid to carve out another narrow region down the center starting at San Antonio and going up to (at least) Abilene for the Hill Country, because it is so different with all the turbines and hills. Basically that diamond-shaped corridor between 83 and 281.
@@hanksilman4016 central Texas with no borders then?
I would say Galveston to Brownsville is the third coast. San Antonio and everything north is central Texas, hill country. West of eagle pass to Laredo is where west Texas really starts. Underneath all this is the valley. My dad always called dfw south Oklahoma.
Currently I'm living in Richmond va and spend a lot of time in DC and VA beach as well. I'd say this is the south culturally. DC is the beginning of the north. Anything south of DC has a southern twang to it.
I’d love to see a video about the cities that are tough to fit into a region. You touched on two of them in Buffalo and Rochester. My kind also goes to Louisville, which has southern elements, but is also closely tied to Indianapolis and Cincinnati. Austin is another one, where it doesn’t quite feel Southwestern (like its close neighbor San Antonio), nor does ot feel like the Southern Plains…although that’s where it probably belongs.
I think Buffalo and Rochester are definitely midwest and rustbelt, the northeast including ny is another world.
@@jackson32 -- It's easy to agree with you about them being Rust Belt.
It's more difficult to agree with you about them being midwest.
Great video. One comment I would make is to put the State Abbreviations on the zoomed-in map areas. It would certainly help us non-US folk.
I guess you get a break since you’re not from the US, because I was about to say if you need the states labeled you’re on the wrong channel! 😉
Don't be afraid to ignore state boundaries when defining regions.
I now live in Pittsburgh and formerly lived in Harrisburg. PA is actually 2 states. Harrisburg and eastern PA are definitely oriented to the coast. Pittsburgh and western PA has mix between Appalachian and Midwestern feel to it. Pittsburgh however is definitely a Midwestern town with a lot of hills. It is not part of the coastal East culturally.
I’m a little confused as to how you describe the Atlantic/Colonial south as sea culture and oldest cities and yet define the Hampton Roads Region of Norfolk/Virginia Beach/ Williamsburg/ Jamestown/Yorktown as Mid Atlantic. These cities are by definition vastly associated with the sea and are the oldest English settlements in the America’s
I thought so too. And it doesn't make sense dividing Norfolk and Williamsburg from Richmond
What’s the confusion? It’s history is tied to the Chesapeake Region and points north, not with Alabama? Smh
I have a slight problem with the Missouri being midwestern fully. While north of I44 is definitely midwestern and almost hard to distinguish from Iowa or Kansas. Southern Missouri is arguably very Southern. It is much closer to northern Arkansas than Iowa. Also left a couple of counties out of the Ozarks as well. Overall very informational and well constructed.
I couldn't agree with you more. I'm from Oklahoma, but I've had relatives who lived in the Ozarks in southern Missouri, and it's certainly a Southern culture. If anybody doubts that, they should watch Winter's Bone.
I would also agree with you. I grew up north of Kansas City in a small suburb/farming town. I now live in northwest Missouri (again, a farming community). Very, VERY quintessential Midwest. But I had family that lived in the Ozarks and spent a lot of time down there. Quite literally ON The Lake of the Ozarks. The culture and scenery is vastly different than it is where I am now.
@@paxonearth Agreed, and my perspective includes Alabama and Denver. Once east of the OK / TX panhandles and in southern Missouri it seems more southern than Midwest. And south or east of Oklahoma City, including "Midwest City" or Norman it's the south with very little Midwest.
As a proud Marylander I would have to say that Southern Maryland and the Eastern Shore have a strong southern feel. I grew up in western Maryland and it has a much more northern feel
i'm gonna argue that eastern shore is more Mid-Atlantic than western maryland tbh, as someone from central that's how it's always felt.
In general the beach areas of the country seem to be a lot more similar to each other than the states they are attached to. Also the Baltimore-Washington split is just as a big division that the Eastern v.s Western shore.While Western Maryland is very much Appalachian or Pennsyltucky.
@@Marylandbrony I feel like Baltimore - Washington is more of a spectrum than a sharp division. Maybe it's just me though since I worked in Howard county with coworkers from Baltimore while living in Montgomery county myself. Either way, they're definitely more similar to each other than the Eastern shore and Western MD are to the Baltimore / Washington areas.
@@danielamir452 Howard county is pretty much right in the middle. I'm from Silver Spring myself, but live in Burtonsville, near both the PG and Howard County lines. Southern Howard County (north Laurel, Fulton, even parts of Columbia) is definitely more DC than Baltimore due to the proximity to Montgomery and PG, plus all the federal campuses nearby south of the Patuxent. There's a reason there's so much wealth there.
As someone from Georgia who lived in Maryland near Annapolis for a few years, I was NOT in a Southern state when roaming around Maryland. nothing there reminded me of the South. Beautiful people and culture but more like Delaware to me.
I would say that the Ozark region includes all of the southern half of MO except for the 'bootheel', which is closer to the delta part of the South and has similar agriculture. Also, northeastern NY is similar to New England and shares cities with each other, eg. Pittsfield, MA and Albany, NY.
And some of central Missouri imo, up to the lake of the Ozarks the culture is very similar.
As an African-American Creole from New Orleans, thank you very much for referring to south Louisiana as Creole AND Cajun Country. A lot of people not from here who I meet in my travels automatically say “cajun” for everything or call me Cajun, when I’m far from it. We have two distinct and equally great ancestral cultures and cuisines that are celebrated here. Vayan, vidyo-çila çé bon! Great video!
Technically, a majority of what you considered the "Southern Great Plains" in Texas is actually pretty far east of the Great Plains. Areas east of the Edwards Plateau are part of the Gulf Coastal Plain and Blackland Prairie sub-region.
i means those are still plains tho. There aren't really plains outside of the midwest.
Yeah in Texas, I would not lump in the Northeastern Woodlands or the Gulf Coast with the Texas Great Plains. The areas are all quite different.
The Northeastern Woodlands are much more akin to northern Louisiana, southern Arkansas, and the southeastern corner of Oklahoma. Driving through, it is moderately populated, a little bit poor, very conservative, and very "southern." You'll probably encounter some Confederate Flags.
Meanwhile, the Gulf Coast is also "Southern," but more urban and diverse. It has some Acadian influence, especially around Beaumont. The cuisine is noticeably different (more seafood) and it has a booming economy of oil refinement and shipping centered around Houston, with the city and suburbs leaning left and everything else leaning right.
The Great Plains in Texas can of course be divided between High and Low Plains, with the Low Plains including Dallas, San Antonio, Austin, etc. This is the Texas Heartland. It's moderately populated and farming oriented, with some cowboy culture too. It is divided politically, with the big cities leaning left, and everything else leaning right.
The High Plains are where it stops feeling "southern" completely. Now you're in the Frontier, aka, the "West." This is the Amarillo, Lubbock, Midland/Odesa area. It's much drier here than in the Low Plains, and farming is replaced by ranching. The High Plains are thinly populated and very conservative, but the economy does well due to the oil production here.
Finally, you have the Rio Grande Valley. I feel like this is a region of its own with the high degree of Latino influence. The area is poor economically but rich in culture, and leans left to a high degree. I'm not sure if this is "Southern" or "Western," but either way, it is certainly a unique part of Texas. It can be further divided between Big Bend Country (very hilly and very sparsely populated outside of El Paso) and the Southern Valley (more flat and more populated). Big Bend Country feels very "Southwestern," but the Southern Valley feels more "Southern."
@@daltonmiller5590 the northeastern woodlands are also called the Piney Woods. My dad grew up there in the Arkansas portion.
@@carlstevens781 Oh true! I forgot that this was where that referred to. I tried really hard to come up with a name for that region but couldn't think of one lol
Yup. From 80-84, I lived in Seabrook TX, on Galveston Bay, there was a distinctive Cajun flavor to the area. We had Gumbo cook offs and enjoyed a good bottle dance!
Your Great Lakes industrial was spot on. I’m from Cleveland and I’m always surprised how much Buffalo, Pittsburgh, and Detroit are similar. My buddy from Buffalo rolls his eyes when someone says New York City 😆
I’m from Albany and do the same when someone says Buffalo.
You did a pretty good job of identifying the different subsections. The fact that you broke it out by county is pretty specific. Good Job.
I spent many years on the road as a musician, drove many a mile and visited some out-of-the-way towns for concerts and school residencies. You did a great job, Kyle.
I was pleased to see you included western NY state in the Midwest. I recently spent time in the northernmost part of the Adirondacks, then the southernmost part of the Adirondacks, and then drove 250+ miles to stay with friends in far southwestern NY where the forest, the crop land, the terrain and the people to me had much more of a Midwest feel.
Maybe you could do a video on where the watersheds, aquifers, and aqueducts feed water to cities and farms. Yes it’s nerdy and contentious.
It’s also complex. I think it’s kinda cool that Idaho has the Lost River that disappears into a huge aquifer that re-emerges hundreds of miles away in the Thousand Springs as clear pure water that’s 58 degrees year round.
I actually think you are onto something re watersheds and regional consciousness. Certainly in a state like NY which has a complex drainage system (made more complex by an artificial river that gave rise to so many of its cities). I live in a part of NYS that drains north to Lake Ontario and the St Lawrence River and our local news media seems to coincidentally cover those areas more frequently. I think nationally you probably see this happening as well. It likely has an effect on what you consider to be “home” or “neighbors.”
@@eedgerton769 I know it’s a much smaller scale, but the region of Idaho I live in is called the Magic Valley. It was named for a century old irrigation system that transformed the desert into a huge farming area. It really does connect us because we all depend on it.
@@help8help where does the water come from, river or?
Rhode Island & Massachusetts are the spiritual/cultural heart of New England, and the coastal stretch from Connecticut to Maine is what I would argue is the borders. Obviously there is a technical definition for the region as the states themselves, but culturally you see it most strongly in the coastal cities and towns, especially in the food: chowder, clamcakes, lobster, etc.
As someone who grew up in the Buffalo area I have to agree with you. WNY is culturally different from the Megalopolis. I never thought of myself as Midwestern, but I've visited Cleveland and Pittsburgh and it felt pretty similar to Buffalo, and then my wife said Buffalonians reminded her of people in Michigan where she used to live.
I think the one subregion border within NY with 0 disagreement is the line between Upstate and Downstate which is plain as day on basically all metrics.
As far as the subdivisions of Upstate NY go its a lot fuzzier, for instance the Fingerlakes can either be 1 region or split between Western and Central. But the most cursed subdivision map is the SUNY system having the Audacity to call Albany part of the North Country.
@@jasonreed7522 Hah! Yeah, I'm thinking the SUNY regions had more to do with what looked like it would work for some admins than any sort of basis in geography.
@@yankeegonesouth4973 i fully understand its purely to make equal workload administrative reasons, its just when you google maps showing the regions of NY you get some "interesting" results. And that suny map was a very WTF moment, the real surprise it that its only 4 regions of western, central, north country, and downstate.
Thanks for the content! ..your videos are always interesting
Thank you!
I grew up in Cleveland till I was 13, then I moved with my mom to just north of Traverse City in Michigan (only to move back to Cleveland my senior year then go to Columbus right after). I love the sub regions between industrial and woodland, So much has been preserved and untouched up there. I still go up there all the time and its an amazing spot to get out of the industrial part.
Great video, a little surprised the ozark region doesn’t stretch any further north in your map. For instance the lake of the ozarks in Missouri isn’t even contained in your ozark region.
or further east to the Mississippi river. Most of the Ozarks is in MO, not AR
The extreme southeast region of Kansas is considered Ozarks as well as some of Eastern Oklahoma. It is very difficult to define every subregion due to terrain and climate.
I was pretty surprised he included much of south central MO in low plains. If you took a line and drew it diagonally from suburban St. Louis to Springfield there’s a considerable amount of forest/mountain in that region. Solid degree of farmland interspersed, but nothing as expansive as what is above that line. The drive West on 44 from STL is far more bearable than West on 70. I think it’s fair to put areas like STL, St. Charles in the low plains (so much flood plains and not a ton of forest cover), but it becomes far less agrarian-adjacent south of that aforementioned diagonal.
@@treenutbuster6086 IDK, that stretch between Rolla and Lebanon can be a ball buster if you get car sick easy or get stuck behind racing semis
And its more southern than some southern states....