2015-08-12
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The Southeast: states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina…
It is an area of rolling hills, mountains, and plains.
Until the mid-1900s the region’s economy was based heavily on agriculture.
Such warm-weather crops as sugar cane, tobacco, and especially cotton, contributed greatly to the economy.
North Carolina is the centre of the USA tobacco industry.
Agriculture has retained importance in the South today.
However, in recent decades the region has seen a boom in its service sector, manufacturing base, high technology industries, & the financial sector.
Examples of this include the surge in tourism in Florida and along the Gulf Coast; numerous
new automotive production plants in Alabama, primarily those owned by automakers Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai & Honda.
Today the state of Alabama is the number one center for automotive manufacturing.
Florida is very big in aerospace – the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) there employs 15,000. The state ranks 4th among the US states in overall space employment.
Cape Canaveral is also located in Florida. Many US spacecraft are launched from both Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center. (reason - latitude). Гвиана – спутники ЕС.
The South is 1 of the 2 most important timber regions in the US today (the other – the Pacific Northwest).
Louisiana and Texas (Texas is in the Southwest) are the two major oil-producing states in the 48 contiguous states. Major oil & natural gas fields.
Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, South and North Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming lie within the Energy Belt.
Largest cities of the region are Jacksonville, Memphis, Baltimore, Miami, Atlanta, New Orleans, St. Petersburg.
Atlanta has long been the most important transportation centre in the South due to its strategic location at the southern end of the Appalachian range. Atlanta is the capital of New South, has the largest airport in the world, is home for CNN (Cable News Network), Delta Airlines and Coca-Cola.
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The mild climate of the Gulf Coast contributes to making it a major recreation, tourism (Miami Beach, Palm Beach), and retirement destination. More than 17 % of Florida’s population is 65 years or older & the state is one of the major destinations for military retirees.
Walt Disney World (resort/theme park) is located in Florida.
Large numbers of Southerners are descended from early English, Irish, and Scottish immigrants.
From the 1600s to the 1800s many black Africans were brought to the region to work on plantations as slaves. They have affected the culture of the region. Distinctive southern accents, southern cuisine & the music of the South (blues & jazz).
The Spanish were the first E/p settlers but their impact on the geography of the region has been minimal. In the 20th century, however, portions of the South have experienced significant immigration of Spanish-speaking people. Puerto Ricans and Cubans constitute the majority of these people and have primarily settled in urban areas in southern Florida.
The French influence is primarily centered in Louisiana & in a few cities north on the Mississippi river. New Orleans – 1718 – French settlement.
The Southwest comprises just 4 states: Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma & Texas.
Much of the southwest is an arid desert climate, but there’re higher elevations in the mountains in each state.
The largest cities: Houston, Dallas, Phoenix, San Antonio, El Paso, and Austin. The region has also many retirement communities.
Phoenix is the capital if Arizona and is now the sixth-largest city in the US with a population of more than 3mln. It’s the largest metropolitan area.
Houston is regarded as the USA energy capital; it has enjoyed the fastest growth in per-capita income in the past decade.
The region has large deposits of petroleum and natural gas, which alongside with numerous non-ferrous metals have brought the region most of its wealth. Refineries & petrochemical factories.
The industrialization brought about much urban growth.
Tourist attractions in the Southwest include huge unspoiled areas of incredible natural gas. Grand Canyon.
Ethnicity: Europeans, Blacks, Mexican-Americans, and American Indians. Anglo American and Hispanic American.
Сенатор Маккейн из Аризоны (выборы 2008).
