The Coastal South - Pretty Much The Opposite of The Dalles

Humid in the summer, hurricane-filled, influx of tourists and migration, a history of slavery, large extractions of oil. Pretty much the complete 180 of The Dalles & Portland, Oregon. Culturally and regionally, geographically opposite. Allow me to demonstration...

Courtesy of 50states.com with illustrative editing by yours truly.

Voila! The PNW and Southern Coastlands most definitely lie across and opposite from each other.
The region is so strong and large, that it covers several states within the sliver of the region. South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Missisipi, Louisiana, Texas, and even Mexico.

Seriously, these two regions couldn't be more opposite. Let's start off with the climate & vegetation.

Humid, subtropical climate consists of warm, humid summers, mild winters, therefore a long growing season. Long growing season is from 9-12 months, Southern Florida being pretty much the whole 12 months. The crops grown in such a region are crops that cannot be grown elsewhere in the United States. The abundance in crop is so great that double-cropping is a possibility. Citrus and grapefruit are the top crop that practically give the Southern Coastlands their name, coming number one after Oregon's southern neighbor California on the West Coast.
 Sugar cane and rice are other vital crop that are harsh-climate resistant. Their ease to grow in the Southern Coastlands are important to the rest of the country.

The epic fields of crop are not the only thing that makes the coastal south so vibrant. There's a reason why retirement folks join in on the fun. The mild weather is a great pull factor. There's plenty of entertainment as well. Tourism is high thanks to DisneyWorld, Universal Studios, Mardi Gras in New Orleans, baseball training camps, the attractive beaches of Florida and South Carolina, and the Kennedy Space Center are huge pull factors as well for people.

Trade...where does it begin? With so much crop activity, trade and export is something that definitely keeps the region moving. Its proximity to the open Gulf of Mexico makes for the facilitation of shipping. There are large river estuaries, sheltered bays, rivers, railroads, and channels that open more of the trade and shipping avenues.

Wind velocity due to hurricanes. Yikes!

With all its wonderfulness, the southern coastland does have its "flaws". The long growing season does have one setback in a particular region of Florida: the most southern area suffers of winter freeze. The winter freeze section is small, and even good as it can stave off diseases among citrus, but if the freeze prolongs the citrus goods go bye-bye. Hurricanes are also a huge danger to the entire region. They can be destructive to crop and infrastructure. Year after year, the region faces such factors that are fragile to its people and economy.

The environmental concerns are area of long-term concern. Water and petroleum are being extracted at a rate that is destructive to the land. The land is too flat for reservoirs, dams, and there are sinkholes.

So, in conclusion, the Eastern Southern Coast has its many factors, both good and bad. It makes the PNW look pretty tamed. I guess that's another reason why they're opposites, right?

The Changing South - Correlations with The PNW?

The only thing I fount that the state of Oregon and any state in the south have in common is: Timber. There's timber production in Virginia & North Carolina, and Oregon state happens to be active in timber production as well.

While Oregon is amongst one of the number-one producers of timber in the nation, the southern states Virginia and North Carolina's production of pulp, paper, and furniture is very important in the south. The 1880's-1890's provided the beginning of a new transportation system (railroad) and its expansion, which also meant the beginning in exploitation of timber resources. After 1936 it was when pulp and paper manufacturing really broke through. Timber for furniture was important too.

A more recent map on timber production in the states. Notice that concentration on both the PNW and the south. TIMBERRRRRR!!!

In Oregon, timber is manufactured for plywood and furniture as well. The state's timber industry is actually global, whereas the timber industry in the south is more regional. This is in due to the type of wood and pulp other parts of the nation and world demand: Oregon seems to have a larger variety.

(source by textbook and OSU. Map found in