The United States' Collection of Belts: Belt Regions of the U.S.

Image of the 'Corn Belt' Image Credit: dakotafire.net

Our last blog discussed a brief history of shelterbelts in the United States; however, shelterbelts are not the only 'belts' in the U.S. There are over 20 different regions that use the 'belt' terminology to describe climatic, economic, and cultural concentrations.

The 'belt' terminology was first used to describe particular growing regions along the same line of latitude. These regions typically had similar climates, producing the best conditions for certain plant species to thrive (a popular example would be the Coffee Belt along the Equator). Since then, this terminology has been applied to other cultural concentrations in the United States. This list is quite fascinating, in our opinion, marking fertile lands, definite climatic regions, industrial booms, dark historical periods, and distinct cultural presence.

LIST OF BELT REGIONS OF THE UNITED STATES

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• Banana Belt A term applied to several U.S. areas with milder climates than their surrounding regions.
• Bible Belt Any collection of states where evangelical and fundamentalist Protestantism are prevalent.
• Black Belt A region of fertile farmlands in the southeast, now known as a region with a high ratio of African-American residents, descendants of slave laborers on the cotton plantations of the 19th century.
• Borscht Belt A region of Jewish resorts in the Catskills.
• Corn Belt Midwestern states where corn is the primary crop.
• Cotton Belt Southern states where cotton is or was a primary crop.
• Frost Belt A region of cold weather in the northeastern and north-central United States.
• Fruit Belt An area where fruit growing is prominent.
• Grain Belt Sometimes Wheat Belt, northern midwestern states where most of North America's grain and soybeans are grown (cf. Breadbasket).
• Indiana Gas Belt A region of Indiana that was the site of a natural gas boom in the late 19th century and early 20th century.
• Jell-O Belt Also known as the Mormon Corridor, western states with a large Mormon population.
• Lead Belt A district in southeastern Missouri that has a long history of mining for lead.
• Pine Belt A region of southern Mississippi where longleaf pine trees are abundant.
• Rice Belt Southern states where rice is a major crop.
• Rust Belt (in the past, commonly known as the Manufacturing Belt, Factory Belt, or Steel Belt) Northeastern and central northern states where heavy industrialization—and some economic stagnation—is common.
• Salt Belt A region in the Northeast and Midwest states where large quantities of salt is applied to control snow and ice on roads during the winter season.
• Snowbelt Areas in the Northeast and northern Midwest prone to lake effect snow.
• Stroke Belt A region in the Southeast that has an unusually high incidence of stroke and other forms of cardiovascular disease.
• Sun Belt Southern, hot-weather states stretching from coast to coast.
• Unchurched Belt A region in the far Western United States that has low religious attendance.

*THESE REGIONS ARE NOT FORMALLY DEFINED; THEY FREQUENTLY OVERLAP AND HAVE VAGUE BORDERS.