OK, this isn't just a rant against Ohio. In fact, I think a lot of regions of the U.S. are mistakenly named. The best regional name includes features of a landscape that are similar and remains something that people can describe. So, as much I may think of Ohio, Kentucky and parts of Indiana as the Ohio River Valley region that doesn't really work either. I doubt a person from Toledo is going to say, "Yeah, I'm Ohio River Valleyan" in the way they'd say "I'm Midwestern."
Also, I want to stay away from terms used negatively about an area. Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania is not, to me, part of the Rust Belt anymore than Utah is part of the Mormon belt. It strikes me suddenly that maybe Ohio's problem is that they can lay claim to too many things.
But anyway, on to the business at hand. For the sake of simplicity, no state is broken up into parts, though clearly many have varying geographical and self-identifying features. This is for ease of description. The following is a list, by geographical region, of the new names for U.S. Regions:
Salmon Lands: Alaska, Washington, and Oregon
Big Sun: Hawaii, California
Desert-land: Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico
The Peaks: Idaho, Montana, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming
Amber Waves of Grain: North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Iowa, Illinois
Many Lakes: Minnesota and Wisconsin
Hoosier Lands: Indiana
Ozark Country: Missouri, Arkansas
The Cumberland: Kentucky, Tennessee
Coal Zone: Pennsylvania, West Virginia
Millions of Peaches: Georgia
Hurricania: Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, South Carolina
Colonial Land: North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware
Great Lakes: Michigan, Ohio
Heart of the Hudson: New York, New Jersey
The Ivies: Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts
Bed-and-Breakfast Land: New Hampshire, Vermont
The Big Lobster: Maine
My hometown is on the southeast border between Ohio and West Virginia. It was the first settlement in the Northwest Territory of the United States. Culturally, Ohio is more like South Dakota than it is like Massachusetts, New York, or Virginia. Geographically, part is in the Appalachian mountains with rivers, and part is flat and dry. The best descriptor I've heard for Ohio/Indiana/Michigan/Pennsylvania is "Middle East".
ReplyDeleteHa! That's what I told Kate; it is the Middle East. Unfortunately, that has some other connotations...
ReplyDeletehey, Oregon gets "the drear" but Minnesota gets the positive "many lakes"? What about "the snow" or "the deep freeze"?
ReplyDeleteHow about calling the PNW "the green", or "the lush"
Go Ducks!
Yeah buddy... staying away from negative terms. pfft. The greenway for WA and OR perhaps, noting our environmental efforts. Wilderness for AK?
ReplyDeleteChanged it to the "Salmon Lands" ... figure that fits
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