The Northeast
By Bilu Casiana and Bucur Mario
The Northeast
• The Northeast is one of the four regions defined by
the U.S. Census Bureau for the collection and
analysis of statistics. The Census Bureau defines the
region as including the six New England states of
Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire,
Rhode Island, and Vermont, and three northern Mid-
Atlantic states of New Jersey, New York, and
Pennsylvania. The region is home to the Northeast
megalopolis, which includes many of the nation's
largest metropolitan areas, including Boston, New
York City, and Philadelphia.
What is "Boswash" Megalopolis ?
The region known as the "Boswash"
Megalopolis is a heavily populated area extending
more than 800km along a northeast-southwest axis
from Boston in Massachusetts to Washington DC.
lts population adds up to more than 45 million (17%
of the total US population). lt contains the world's
greatest concentration of urban areas, which have
merged to form this "megalopolis", which besides
the two cities mentioned also includes: New York,
Philadelphia and Baltimore.
This region has three characteristics: - high
population density - major urban centres growing
towards each other - a large demand for primary
goods that are brought here from other regions.
Economy
The presence of the sea has always played an important role in the
region's economy. Today service industries are the main economic
activity such as retailing, publishing, etc. lndustry is still important
Megalopolis rests on a coastal plain flattened and one of the world's largest steel plants is located at Sparrow's Point
by glaciers. The rivers in the area are fairly near Baltimore. Chemicals and petrochemicals are located around
shortand therefore only navigable on certain Delaware Bay.
sections Good transport and accessibility is Agriculture is important and meets the demand for food from this
large urban area. Farmers on the coastal plain specialise in “truck
offered by canals such as the Erie Canal, farming. That is market gardening. Truck farming products are high-
which links the Hudson River in New York priced and perishable therefore transport is a key factor. Dairy
to Lake Erie. The natural vegetation tends to products, lettuce, tomatoes, apples and a variety of other intensively
be a mixture of trees and low bush and the produced "table crops" dominate farm production.
soils tend to be thin and infertile. Commercial fishing has declined, though the region still accounts for
about one-quarter of the U.S catch. Tourism is also very important,
New York City being the top tourist attraction for international
tourists.
Population
• Megalopolis was the first region of the
country to be settled by immigrants and
provided a gateway for thousands of people
who came here to live. As a result, the
populatign has a remarkable ethnic and
racial mix. This region is highly urbanised
and more than 90% of the population lives in
urban areas. Several very large metropolitan
areas dominate the region: New York City
(8-6 million), Philadelphia (4.9 million),
Washington D.C. (4.6 million), Boston (5.8
million). The population density is more
than 350 per sq. km, and the population
growth rate is also high.
New England
• New England is mainly rural in character and includes the less-populated and less-developed areas north of
Megalopolis.
Physical features
• It is a land of low mountain ridges, rolling hills, bare rock, thin soils, rugged
coastlines and swift streams.
The climate is harsh, seldom hot, often cold, and usually damp.
The landscape is covered with a relatively dense mixed forest of coniferous and
deciduous trees of secondary growth as the original trees were cut down for lumber,
shipbuilding and fuel.
Economy
• New England is a region with limited resources, poor soils and a location distant from Megalopolis, the main centre
of the U.S. commercial activity. The only worthwhile resources are those of building stone especially marble from
Vermont, the leading marble-producing state in the USA.
• The industrial activities of the region are: machine tools, electronic equipment, shoes, plastics, paper and newsprint.
The timber industry is a shadow of what it used to be.
• Commercial fishing has declined in recent years due to overfishing. Cod and lobster are the most important catches.
ln recent decades, new industries such as light and high tec. industries have come to this region. This is due firstly
to the "brainpower" centres like the universities of Harvard, Yale and MIT (Massachusetts lnstitute of Technology)
located in the region and secondly because they find the smalltown and rural environment a good place to live.
• Agriculture is influenced by the harsh climate and thin soils and consists of growing potatoes, vegetables and fruit,
products that can be rushed fresh to the city nearby. The main rural economy depends on dairy farming and poultry.
A traditional activity is tapping the maple trees to make maple syrup and sugar. Tourism has become very important
with areas of true wilderness in the northern part Maine.
Population
• Except for Boston, which historically belongs to this region
and Worcester (700,000) there are no large cities in the
region.
• Almost 2/3 of the population lives in a few moderately sized
towns, such as Burlington and Lewiston“ each with about
IO,0OO residents. The typical settlements are the villages and
small hamlets. New England has one of the slowest
population growths in the nation.
• The overall population density was less than 4 persons/sq. km
(1997).
New York, New York
• Fun Facts
• The Bronx borough of NYC was named after the first person who ever settled there: the Swedish Jonas Bronck.
His farmlands were called “Bronck’s Land,” and people eventually started calling it the Bronx, for short.
• According to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, New Yorkers are the top consumers of hot dogs across
the country.
Pizza is a huge deal !
Did you know ?
• Rhode lsland is the smallest state in the USA.
• Basketball was invented in Massachusetts in 1891.
• New York is the USA's largest port, trade centre and the financial centre of the world.
• lvy League is the name of a group of old and respected universities, which include Harvard,
Yale, Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Princeton and MlT.
THANK YOU
FOR YOUR
ATTENTION
