appalachia

Appalachia is a term used to describe a cultural region in the eastern United States that stretches from southern New York state to northern Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia[1]. Although the Appalachian Mountains extend through New England and into Canada, this part is not considered part of the Appalachia cultural region. Used as a geologic term, "Appalachia" describes part or all of the Appalachian mountain range, particularly its central section. Contents [hide] 1 Demographics 2 Culture 2.1 Literature 3 Economy 3.1 Poverty in Appalachia 3.2 Appalachian Regional Commission 4 Transportation 4.1 Early Roads 4.2 Water 4.3 Rail 4.4 Highways 5 Etymology and pronunciation 6 Popular culture 7 See also 8 Notes 9 References 10 External links //

Demographics This section does not cite any references or sources.

Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (August 2008) See also: Social and economic stratification in Appalachia

Over twenty million people live in Appalachia, an area roughly the size of the United Kingdom, covering mostly mountainous, often isolated areas from the border of Mississippi and Alabama in the south to Pennsylvania and New York in the north. Appalachia also includes parts of the states of Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Maryland, Kentucky, Ohio, and the entire state of West Virginia. The region contains few intermediate-sized cities, and only two large metropolitan areas are located entirely within the region—Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Knoxville, Tennessee. (However, the expansive region served by the Appalachian Regional Commission incorporates some additional urban areas, including Birmingham, Alabama, the central core of the Greenville-Spartanburg area, the northern part of the Atlanta metropolitan area, western fringes of the Charlotte area, western fringes of the Piedmont Triad, western fringes of the Washington metropolitan area and the eastern fringes of the Nashville metropolitan area.)

Culture See also: Appalachian folk music, Country music, and Appalachian English

Appalachia has historically been the domain of numerous native communities, including the Cherokee and Shawnee.

Prior to the 20th century, some parts of Appalachia were geographically isolated from the rest of the country; much of the region, though, had been connected through the coming of the pioneering roads, early iron, timber and coal speculations and ventures, and the