MID WEST

MID WEST

• It is located in the North central part of the U.S.
• It includes region west of the Allegheny Mountains, that is the west of the states of Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
• It lies in the general area of the Great Lakes.
• This region is one of the richest sections of the whole U.S.
• “The Bread Basket”
• Population: 65,377,684

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3 smaller regions:

• The northern Great Lakes area
• The South or Interior Lowlands: prairie area
•  The Great Plain area (west)

Climate:

• Icy winters
• Hot humid summers
• Windy all year round

Major cities:

• Chicago (Illinois) is the most populated city in this region and the 3rd most populous in the US. It’s the third largest after New York and Los Angeles.

Detroit: The Motor City

• Detroit is the most populous city in the state of Michigan
• Automobile industry

St. Louis

• It is in the State of Missouri.
• It is called the Gateway to the West because of its favourable position on two important rivers: the Mississippi and the Missouri

Other important cities:

• Indianapolis: capital of Indiana
• Columbus: capital of Ohio
• Milwaukee: the largest city in Wisconsin
• Kansas city
• Omaha: largest city in Nebraska
• Minneapolis: the largest city in Minnesota

MINNESOTA IS ALSO KNOWN AS “THE LAND OF TEN THOUSAND LAKES”.

People:

• hard-working population
•  the most typically American in character of any region of the US
• Midwesterners are open, friendly, warm, straightforward and down to earth.
• Traditional American values which focus on family, hard work, church and community are associated most strongly with the Midwest, especially with its many small towns.

Religion:

• the Midwest is predominantly Christian.
• Roman Catholicism is the largest religion in the Midwest
• Judaism is practiced by 2.5% and Islam is practiced by 1% or less of the population

Tourism:

Tourism is also an important activity. National parks in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Nebraska and the presence of the lakes attract many people on vacation.

Minnesota State National Park.

Big Bay State Park – Wisconsin.

Economic activities:

• Corn farming

Agriculture:

• Corn is the most important of all American crops, as basic to American agriculture as iron is to American industry.
• The “corn belt”.
• mechanized production methods.
• Corn  as industrial material: from corn distilling process, manufacturers can extract alcohol and fuel.
• Iowa is the biggest corn-producing state.
• Rich soil, good climate for agriculture, fertile plains and low rolling hills.
• Corn, wheat, soybeans, oats, rye, and barley are grown in great quantities in Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska and North and South Dakota.
• Corn: Iowa and Minnesota
• Wheat: Kansas
• Soybean and oats: North and South Dakota and Nebraska
• Cattle: North and South Dakota and Nebraska

Industries:

• Automobile industry (Ford, General Motors and Chrysler)

Mining industry (Minnesota) Iron ore mining

Steel making in Indiana

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