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Boundaries of the midwest


Newnan

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^ Good pic, I remember thinking the same thing while flying into Minneapolis/St. Paul from Houston for the first time, that it is nothing but plains and flat fields just up until you reach the metropolis and it gets hilly and varied in terrain. Haven't been to parts more North, so I guess their geography would be more the median breaker.

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Yeah an Arkansas official caught some flak for not supporting more biofuels instead of building more fossil fuel facilities. But he stated that there isn't enough corn or other crops to supply enough fuel. Then also what happens when you have a bad crop? Now we do have to realize there's no way we are going to be able to get rid of fossil fuels anytime in the near future. But that certainly doesn't mean we shouldn't be looking for some alternatives now. Fossil fuels aren't going to last forever.

The north looks like this:

fallcolors.jpg

grassybay1.jpg

Southwestern prairie:

glacial4.jpg

We converge between the three main central/eastern North American eco-systems: The deciduous forests to the southeast/east, the praries to the west, vast boglands to the northwest and boreal forest to the north central/east.

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One view from Kentucky:

The Midwest begins in the east at the Appalachians (and includes Buffalo and Pittsburgh). The southern border is I-70 (or near the old National Road/US-50), so the Midwest includes Wheeling, Columbus, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Kansas City. The western border matches Ingersoll1978's post of the plains map, so the Midwest includes Topeka, Lincoln, Sioux Falls, and Fargo.

The area from the Appalacians westward to the Plains, south of I-70, north of I-40, is the gray area I call the Midland (and home).

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name='ppassafi' post='567701' date='Sep 26 2006, 03:51 PM'

Lexington is the best example of a "new south" city in KY. It is growing fast, has a major research university, and is diversifying its economy. It also is famous for horses, and girls in southern dresses and greek life, etc. Lexington could easily be a twin of Columbia, SC, or Jackson, MS, etc.

Then you have Louisville, which was a mid nineteenth and early twentieth century metropolis. In fact New Albany, IN, a current suburb of Louisville, was the largest city in Indiana until 1850! At a time, Louisville was the nation's leading producer of rubber and tires, and was highly regarded for shipbuilding, distilling, textiles, etc. The only major city in KY, Louisville cannot be clasified as south nor midwest. It has certain southern elements but many people here do not have southern accents, do not like grits, and do NOT associate with the south or the rest of KY for that matter. And I am talking about lifelong Louisvillians who grew up in the actual city which is really bouded by the Olmstead Park System (Shawnee in the west end, Iroquois on the south end, and Cherokee on the east end). Many of the southern elements in the city are brought here by people from down state who move here. At the same time, many of the Midwestern elements are brought by transplants from places like Chicago and Cleveland who are beginning to flock here as the city slowly begins its "new south" boom.

The Louisville of today has recently hit a "new south" boom with a knowledge based economy and is becoming a major distribution and biomedical/informatics center. Condos are sprouting everywhere, downtown is growing fast, and you can feel the momentum in the city. However, if you take a stroll along the Ohio River to Shippingport, a major 1800's warehouseing district, you can almost hear the steamboats blowing as if you were in another time. Or you can travel east to Butchertown and hear the hogs squealing in the meat packing district and the stench of blood in Beargrass Creek. It is a colorful city full of a history of massive influxes of German and Irish immigrants with a distinct neighborhood known as Germantown that still has a tavern on almost every corner. Seidenfaden's is my favorite. You can feel the Midwest grit and industrial grime amidst the new south boom, the infill condos, and the coastal transplants. But you can also see the southern charm of the city with bourbon, Churchill Downs, and some friendly neighbors with a southern accent who will offer to cut your grass while you are on vacation. It is a melting pot of culture, and thats why I love the city.

As I stated earlier St. Louis nor Cincinnati are the definiton of Midwestern cities as they are too often considered to have a strong Southern inflence (St. Louis got it's Southern vibe from the black Migration to the North). Cincinnati as called by residence of upper Ohio Cincinatucky is obviously more mix of Southern and Midwestern.

Louisville was (back in the 19th century) actually defined as the manufacturing Captial of the South and the Gateway city to the South. Due to Louisville's location on the Ohio, which helped it to attract to Industry to the area just like other Southern River cities suchas Memphis and New Orleans and even non river cities like Birmingham. Louisville's title as the manufacturing Capital of the South also came into play when the L&N (Louisville and Nashville) (there was no L&C; Louisville and Chicago) was constructed that connected Louisville to Nashville and further South to Atlanta.

Louisville also had one of the largest slave owning populations (there were no slaves in the North except for the southern edge of Missouri) in the country (even though it was just across the river from a free state) which was just a reflection of it's state which had the 3rd largest slave population after (Virginia and Georgia). During the Civil War Louisville was constently under question by the North for aiding the Confederacy, and was by no means trusted by the North. To this day a Confederate monument stands in the City of Louisville.

Now honestly, I do see why you

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I've recently changed a little bit where I think the midwest is. I do think that none of the south is included except maybe Oklahoma which could be the south or midwest. I've always thought at least much of the plains is included maybe because I come from the southwest. I think the midwest is a large area north of Texas and the mason-dixon line, from Ohio west to even Denver. I recently decided Denver is the western edge of the midwest.

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