Chapter Ten - The Coastal South

The Coastal South region of the United States encompasses the land and offshore islands along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, extending south from Virginia to south Texas. The region therefore includes: all of Florida, parts of Louisiana, Alabama, Texas, Georgia, Mississippi, North and South Carolina, and Virginia.  The Coastal South is part of the Atlantic Coastal Plain, which extends all the way to New York City.

Climate

The Coastal South experiences a humid, subtropical climate, with long, rainy summers and mild, wet winters.  In winter, snowfall and freezing temperatures are generally absent throughout much of the region.  This climate allows for the production of frost-intolerant products, such as citrus fruits.  The Coastal South experiences many thunderstorms annually, which tend to generate significant amounts of rainfall, and lightning in the area kills hundreds of residents per year.  

Florida orange groves

Settlement

Much like New York City, Galveston, Texas was a center for immigration.  It was a port of entry for tens of thousands of immigrants, many of whom were from Germany,  into the United States from the 1840s to the 1920s.  Galveston is therefore known as the Ellis Island of the Coastal South.  

Recreation & Tourism

NYC is known as the nation's business and financial hubbub - but the Coastal South region is famous for its recreation and tourism industries.  Millions of tourists are drawn to this region every year by the numerous resort communities and attractions, the most well-known of which is Walt Disney World.  

The presence of Walt Disney World alone, not taking other Disney-owned parks and other non-Disney enterprises located in the immediate area, increased the tourism of Orlando, Florida by ten-fold within twenty years of its opening.  

Works Cited - 

"The Coastal South." The Geography of North America: Environment, Culture, Economy. Pearson

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