U.S. Region Belts
Belt Regions of the United States
originally referred to the growing regions
of various crops. Agricultural regions
generally follow lines of latitude,and this
helps to create an allusion to a long
clothing belt…a.k.a. belt regions.
In time the usage of the term belts has
expanded to climatic, economic and
cultural concentrations.
U.S.outline map
Sun Belt
Sun Belt Information
• Southern, hot weather states that
stretch from coast to coast.
• The Sun Belt has seen a substantial
population growth over that best two
decades.
• Another rough boundary of the
region is between the 37th and 38th
parallels.
• Has experienced problems with
illegal immigration.
Bible Belt
Info on Bible Belt
• Southeastern and midwestern states
where evangelical and fundamentalist
Protestantism is prevalent.
• The stronghold of the Bible Belt is
typically U.S. Southern states, due to the
colonial foundations of state religions in
the region. The major forms were of
Tidewater Anglicanism after the Church of
England and Appalachia Presbyterianism
after the Church of Scotland.
Grain Belt
Information on the Grain Belt
• This region produces much of the world's grain
and soybeans.
• Soybean oil is the most widely used vegetable oil.
It is found in margarine's, salad dressings,
canned foods, sauces, bakery goods, and
processed fried foods.
• A family of four could live for 10 years off the
bread produced by one acre of wheat.
• In 1997, Kansas's wheat farmers produced
enough wheat to make 36.5 billion loaves of
bread, or enough to provide each person on earth
with 6 loaves of bread.
Corn Belt
Information on Corn Belt
• Americans today consume 17.3 billion quarts of popped
popcorn each year. The average American eats about 68
quarts!
• Popcorn’s nutritional value comes from the fact that, like
other cereal grains, its primary function is to provide the
body with heat and energy.
• One bushel of corn will sweeten more than 400 cans of pop.
• Ethanol is good for our environment. Ethanol is an
oxygenate, which simply means that it contains oxygen
(about 35%) Adding oxygen to fuel results in more
complete fuel combustion, thus reducing harmful tailpipe
emissions.
• Ethanol reduces our dependence on foreign oil.
• Ethanol cleans engines and prevents the build-up of engine
deposits.
Cotton Belt
Southern cotton production 1920
Southern cotton production 1980
Information on the Cotton Belt
• US paper currency isn't paper at all... it's a blend of 75%
cotton lint and 25% linen. A 480 pound bale of cotton can
be made into 313,600 $100.00 bills!
• U.S. textile mills presently convert over half of the cotton
they use into clothing.
• Cotton is a food crop. Almost 200 million gallons of
cottonseed oil are used in food products such as
margarine and salad dressing. Cottonseed and cottonseed
meal are used in feed for livestock and poultry. And even
products such as toothpaste, ice cream, and the paper
money used to buy them contain by-products of the
cotton seed.
• The Cotton Belt covers the southern half of the United
States, reaching from Virginia to California. Texas is the
top cotton-producing state, harvesting about one-third of
the crop each year.
Rust Belt
Information about the Rust
Belt
• The Rust Belt, also known as the Manufacturing
Belt, is an area in the northeastern and northcentral United States whose economy was
formerly based largely on heavy industry,
manufacturing, and associated industries.
• In the 2004 population estimate, it showed that
the Rust Belt states were the weakest in growth,
averaging less than 2% for new growth,
compared to the large percentage of new growth
in the Sun Belt.
Snow Belt
Snow Belt II
Information about the Snow
Belt
• Areas in the Northeast and northern Midwest prone to lake
effect snow.
• Get 60 to 110 plus inches of snow.
• 1 centimeter = .39 inches/ 100 centimeters = 39.37 inches of
snow.
• A snowbelt is a region, many of which lie downwind of the
Great Lakes, where heavy snowfall is particularly common. Near
the Great Lakes, a particular form of snowbelt is lake effect
snow, caused by cold air picking up moisture while crossing the
lake and then releasing it as snow when the air cools over land.
Stroke Belt
Info about the Stroke Belt
• The Stroke Belt defines a region in the southeastern United
States with the highest incidence and mortality of stroke in the
country.
• In the traditional South, hog fat is cooked in with every food and
included in every meal. Vegetables are boiled a long time with
large chunks of fat, or they are fried in grease (green tomatoes,
okra, and sometimes squash). Almost all meat is fried, often
dipped in batter and dripping with grease. Extras include French
fries, corn dogs, hush puppies, and hash browns. The favorite
"salad" is slaw, more grease than green.
• new efforts are being made to raise awareness in this
area about the importance of reducing hypertension
through medication and lifestyle changes like eating
fewer fatty foods and finding ways to relieve stress.
Jello Belt
Info about the Jello Belt
• The Jello Belt is a common term in American English that
refers to the parts of the Western United States with large
populations of "Mormons" (properly called Latter Day Saints).
In academic literature, the area is more commonly called the
"Mormon culture region.
• The name "Jello Belt" references the affection that Mormons
supposedly have for Jell-O (a gelatin-based food), particularly
when served with shredded carrots, or blended with canned fruit
and set in molds. Green Jell-O, for some reason, is the most
stereotypically Mormon of Jell-O flavor-colors. Jell-O has been
designated Utah's official state snack food .