The North-East

As defined by the US Census Bureau the Northeast region of the US covers 9 states: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Three largest cities in the census-defined Northeast: New York City, Philadelphia, and Boston. The Northeast is the smallest region and also the wealthiest part of the US. The region has a landscape varying from the rocky coast of New England to the fertile farmland of the Ohio River Valley. 4 major rivers' mouths: the Delaware at the New Jersey/Delaware border, the Hudson at the New York/New Jersey border, the Connecticut in Connecticut, and the Kennebec in Maine. Northeast borders with the Great Lakes of Lake Ontario in New York and Lake Erie in both Pennsylvania and New York. One of the most famous waterfalls in the world, Niagara Falls, is also situated there. The NE consists of 2 parts – New England(northern part) and Middle Atlantic Region(closer to the south). New England has played a dominant role in American history. From the late 17th century to the mid to late 18th century, New England was the nation's cultural leader in political, educational, cultural and intellectual thought. During this time, it was the country's economic center. The territory of New England is small, not rich, no good farmlands. Its centre is Boston. Middle Atlantic region – coal, minerals, industry and agriculture. Its centre is New York, which is the centre of finance (Wall street), theatre (Broadway), skyscrapers (Empire State building), museums(Metropolitan). Education is another of the region's strongest legacies. America's first college, Harvard, was founded at Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1636. As the NE is the area closest to England, the region often shows a greater receptivity to European ideas and culture. Religion: While some regions of the United States, such as the U.S. South, are predominantly Protestant, half of the states in the Northeast are predominantly Catholic. This is largely due to high levels of immigration the region received in the 19th and early 20th centuries from Ireland, Italy, Quebec, and other Catholic regions. The Northeast is an ethnically diverse region, with high populations of African-Americans, Hispanics, and Asians, though it has a generally low number of Native Americans. The Northeast has the largest concentration and percentage of Jews in the US. The region also has the highest amount of Hindus, Sikhes, Muslims, Buddhists, and many other religions – because the NE was and still is an entry point for many immigrants. Until World War II, the Northeast's economy was largely driven by industry. In the second half of the 20th century, most of New England's traditional industries have moved to other states or foreign countries where goods can be made more cheaply. The gap has been partly filled by the microelectronics, computer and biotech industries, fed by talent from the region's prestigious educational institutions. Other industries-drug manufacturing and communications. Washington D.C. is also situated on the territory of the NE. There are centres of 3 branches of the U.S. Federal Government – Capitol (where meets the Congress-legislative); White House (the official home and workplace of the president-executive); The Supreme Court House of the US (judicial).

The Midwest

Refers to the north-central states of the USA, specifically Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota, and North Dakota. Chicago is the largest city in the region and the third largest in the nation. It is sometimes unofficially called the "capital of the Midwest".Geography - these states are generally perceived as being relatively flat, but there is a measure of geographical variation. In particular, the eastern Midwest lying near the foothills of the Appalachians, the Great Lakes basin. Prairies cover most of the states west of the Mississippi River. History: European settlement of the area began in the 17th century along the Mississippi River system and the Great Lakes. Following the American Revolutionary War, the rate of settlers coming from the eastern states increased rapidly. In the 20th century – a high level of African American migration. The region's fertile soil made it possible for farmers to produce abundant harvests of cereal crops such as corn, oats, and wheat. In the early days, the region was soon known as the nation's "breadbasket". Two waterways have been important to the Midwest's development-the Ohio River which flowed into the Mississippi River. The river inspired two classic American books written by a native Missourian Mark Twain: “Life on the Mississippi” and “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”. The second waterway is the network of routes within the Great Lakes. Religion: Catholicism is the largest single religious denomination in the Midwest. Economy: according to the fields of economy the Midwest is divided into Corn Belt, Wheat Belt (which comprise agriculture) and Rust Belt (industrial – Great Lakes area). The region contains numerous highly-regarded universities, both public and private. Another big city is Detroit, often called “motor city” for it’s the centre of car production (Ford, Chevrolet, Chrysler)

The South

As defined by the United States Census Bureau, the Southern region of the United States includes 16 states and is split into three smaller units, or divisions: 1) The South Atlantic States: Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia (plus the District of Columbia) 2) The East South Central States: Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee 3) The West South Central States: Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas. The South is a vast, diverse region, having numerous climatic zones, including alpine, temperate, sub-tropical, tropical. Many crops grow easily in its soils. The history of this regoin began in the 17-th century with the British colonists. After 1700, large groups of African slaves were brought in to work on the large plantations that dominated export agriculture of tobacco, rice. Cotton became dominant after 1800. All this production still remains the core of the southern agriculture. "South" is more informal and is generally associated with those states that during the Civil War formed the Confederate States of America (1860). Those states share commonalities of history and culture that carry on to the present day. Southern culture has been and remains generally more socially conservative than that of the north. The southern lifestyle is viewed as slower paced. The South has a high concentration of Christian adherents, thus it’s often called the "Bible Belt". The South has the highest concentration of afro-americans (about 50%-Black Belt of the country). Gospel music, spirituals, country music, rhythm and blues, soul music, bluegrass, jazz were either born in the South or developed in the region. Rock n' roll began in the South(Elvis Presley). Possibly the most famous southern novel of the 20th century is Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell, published in 1937. In the last two generations, the South has changed dramatically. After two centuries in which the region's main economic engine was agriculture, the South has in recent decades seen a boom in its service economy, manufacturing base, high technology industries, and the financial sector. The creation of computer programming and communications companies helped to develop the “New South” economy. The South is also the centre of banking institutions (the Bank of America). This economic expansion has enabled parts of the South to boast some of the lowest unemployment rates in the United States. The major cities are: Dallas, Houston (Texas-oil belt of the country), Miami(Florida), Atlanta(Georgia).

West

The western United States includes 13 states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. It is the largest region, covering more than half the land area of the United States. It is also the most geographically diverse, including geographic regions such as the Pacific Coast, the temperate rain forests, the Rocky Mountains, the Great Plains, prairies, plateaus, the southern forests, and all of the desert areas located in the United States. As the largest region in the United States there is variation to such an extent in the west that it is often broken down into regions. Arizona, Colorado, California, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah or regions of those states are sometimes considered part of the Southwest, while all or part of Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming can be considered part of the Northwest. The West has several long rivers: The Mississippi River, The Missouri River, The Colorado River snakes through the Mountain states, at one point forming the Grand Canyon and The Columbia River. Agriculture varies: The wheat belt produces most of the wheat and soybeans in the U.S. Irrigation in the Southwest allows the growing of great quantities of fruits, nuts, and vegetables as well as grain, hay, and flowers. Texas is a major cattle and sheep raising area. Washington is famous for its apples, and Idaho for its potatoes. The largest city in the region is Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, Seattle, Denver, Las Vegas and Salt Lake City. Big port cities which have evolved into world centers for the media and technology industries. The second largest city in the nation, Los Angeles is best known as the home of the Hollywood film industry; Silicon Valley in California, Oregon and Washington have seen rapid growth with the rise of Boeing and Microsoft along with agriculture and resource based industries. The desert and mountain states have relatively low population densities, and developed as ranching and mining areas. History: Major settlement of the western territories by migrants developed rapidly in the 1840s, largely through the California Gold Rush of 1849. The image of the West is mostly assossiated with such phenomena as cowboy, country music and american movies. As foe demographics of the South – it has the highest concentration of Hispanics (25% of the population) in the south, and about 20% of the population of Alaska are American Indians.

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