Where does the Midwest start and end? (tornadoes, baptists)
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The Midwest lacks a distinct culture because it was settled from the Northeast (and to a lesser extent the South). So the North as a whole displays more commonalities traveling east to west.
To broadly simplify. The Great Lakes region was first settled by New Englanders who traveled via the Erie Canal through Upstate NY. In contrast, the Lower Midwest (bottom 2/3rds of so of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri) were settled by a mixture of people from Pennsylvania and Virginia.
This can be seen when you look at American dialect maps. People in the Upper Midwest talk more like people from New England/New York, while people in the Lower Midwest talk like people from PA/the Mid Atlantic.
You can also see the differences when it comes to vernacular architecture. People in New England liked to build wood houses, while people from Pennsylvania liked brick houses, and that was carried over in the types of houses you see in old areas in (for example) St. Louis versus Milwaukee.
The Midwest was settled by Northeasterners, that is true, but it also received tons of German, Polish and Scandinavian immigrants which greatly influence the culture.
Wichita is too southern to be similar to most of the Midwest. Some will disagree I'm sure...
Oh come on! We were in Wichita in October 2016 and my husband remarked about the lack of sweet tea lol. Wichita is Midwestern. Lower Midwestern, but Midwestern. The southern states it resembles is Oklahoma and Texas and those states have Midwestern geographical influences anyway.
Oh come on! We were in Wichita in October 2016 and my husband remarked about the lack of sweet tea lol. Wichita is Midwestern. Lower Midwestern, but Midwestern. The southern states it resembles is Oklahoma and Texas and those states have Midwestern geographical influences anyway.
Wichita is much warmer in climate than just about any area of the Midwest (It can get to 65-70F in January and over 110F in July), and it has other southern influences like being in the Bible Belt.
I think of most of the Dakotas as being more Great Plains than Midwest (I happen to differenciate the two).
For me, I would say that the Midwest is anything West the Appalachians (that includes the foothills/plateau in Ohio which is usually considered Appalachia) to the Great Plains (which I consider a seperate region) and north of the Ohio River and the Ozarks. The great plains region is really states West of the Missouri River. Easternmost Midwest cities include Cleveland, Youngstown, and maybe Erie/Buffalo, while the Westernmost includes the likes of Kansas City and Omaha,
Last edited by Corey the Otter; 01-17-2023 at 02:41 PM..
Wichita is much warmer in climate than just about any area of the Midwest (It can get to 65-70F in January and over 110F in July), and it has other southern influences like being in the Bible Belt.
One can easily argue that Wichita is colder than just about any place in the South. The only Southern states that reach the latitude of Wichita are Kentucky and Virginia. Chicago has also reached 67 F in January. Wichita is still a climate that is more cold than hot in winter, but the Midwest isn't solely defined by its weather. Wichita is also smackdab in the middle of Tornado Alley which is arguably more representative of the archetypal Midwest than cold winters are.
That might be the case, but it certainly has sizable southern influences across the board.
Like what? Catholics are the largest religious group - more than doubling Baptists. The cuisine is Midwestern. The accent is Midwestern. The settlement patterns are more in line with the Midwest than the South.
Wichita is warmer than most of the Midwest, but culturally it just isn't Southern.
Places like the Missouri Bootheel and Little Egypt in Illinois are better examples of Southern culture in the census Midwest than Wichita.
I've never seen Kentucky included in the Midwest and the people there don't think of themselves as Midwestern. It's technically the Upper South.
Quote:
Originally Posted by danielj72
Kentucky is NOT Midwestern. Any state with SEC football and sweet tea cannot be midwestern. Missouri also is a bad fit for the Midwest, but at least Missouri is partially midwestern from a cultural point of view (northern Mo)
Some states don’t fit regional definitions well, Missouri is one of those places. It is both southern and midwestern. Kentucky is not midwestern at all, it is a southern state. It’s not a perfect match for southerness but it is the best fit when choosing midwestern or southern.
The thread's intent was obviously toward geography and not cultural norms. Look at a map...
One can easily argue that Wichita is colder than just about any place in the South. The only Southern states that reach the latitude of Wichita are Kentucky and Virginia. Chicago has also reached 67 F in January. Wichita is still a climate that is more cold than hot in winter, but the Midwest isn't solely defined by its weather. Wichita is also smackdab in the middle of Tornado Alley which is arguably more representative of the archetypal Midwest than cold winters are.
I associate tornado valley more with the great plains than the midwest in general. It generally runs from TX to North Dakota while also effecting Colorado and New Mexico.
I associate tornado valley more with the great plains than the midwest in general. It generally runs from TX to North Dakota while also effecting Colorado and New Mexico.
The Great Plains are still part of the Midwest, though not all of them. Sort of like Great Lakes is part of the Midwest, but not all of them.
I also associate Iowa with tornadoes to a large degree though not to the extent of states west of it. This is childhood bias though because a book I had when I was a kid had a cartoon tornado for the Iowa section I credit that book with what got me into US geography growing up.
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I credit that book with what got me into US geography growing up.