Raymond D. Gastil (1931–2010)

This is a good survey of regions in the United Staes that I was unaware of. The auhtor takes one through his ideas on socioeconomic factors and cultural regions. He then looks at religion, polotcal vaiations, housing, and dialects. The demographics, and crime stats. The regions of the U.S. are New England, New York Metropolitan, Pennsylvania, South, Upper Midwest, Central Midwest, Rocky Mountain, Mormon, Interior Southwest, Pacific Southwest, Pacific Northwest, Alaska, Hawaiian Islands. Most of these areas have subdivisions. For Pennsylvania, there is Core (Greater Philadelphia area), Coastal Fringe (South Jersey shore), Central Penn., Western Penn. New England covers not only what is normally meant by this title but most of upstate New York. New England's subdistricts are "core district" (eastern New England more or less tributary to Boston), old Frontier Vermont and the majority of New Hampshire and Maine): these are the estern section. The western section (Upstate New YOrk) is divided into Hudson-Mohawk, St. Lawrence, Western New York, and Appalachian. New York Metropolitan area is divided into the core district, Hudson-Essex district, Puritan New Jersey, Eastern Long Island, and northern periphery.The South is divided into Eastern and Western sub-regions (the western is mostly Texas and southern Oklahaoma). The Eastern South is divided into lowland, upland, and mountain districts.The western South divides up into Central Texas (Houston), North Texas (Dallas), Rio Grande, and Oklahoma. For the midwest, Missouri shows up as having areas of alternative affiliations (south and Central midwest). The eastern district of the central midwest comprises most of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois (Not Chicago, but yes for St. Louis). The western district of the central midwest comprises most of Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas. The eastern subregion of the Upper Midwest is Ohio's western reserve (Cleveland+) and all of the lower peninsula of Michigan. The western subregion includes the German-Swiss district (Chicago to Sioux city0, Wilderness (northern Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula; the Scandinavian district sttretches form west Wisconsin through Minnesoata and the Dakotas. The rocky Mountain region is Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado. The Mormon region is Utah and SE Idaho, the Interior SW is New Mexico and Arizona, The Pacific Southwest divides up into Nevada, plus four sections of California (southern coast, interior California, central coast, and northern coast. The Pacific NW comprises Oregon, Washington and western Idaho.… (mer)