Information AboutAppalachia |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT APPALACHIA | |
| appalachian culture | |
| regions of the united states | |
| celts | |
|
Appalachia is a term used to include a region stretching from the state of New York to Alabama that surrounds the Appalachian mountains. It includes Rural , urban, and industrialized regions in and around the Appalachian Mountains in the Eastern United States . Although parts of the Appalachian Mountains extend through Maine into Canada, New England is usually excluded from the definition of the Appalachian region. Over twenty million people live in Appalachia, an area roughly the size of the United Kingdom , covering largely mountainous, often isolated areas from the border of Mississippi and Alabama in the south to Pennsylvania and New York in the north. Between lay large areas of Georgia , South Carolina , North Carolina , Tennessee , Virginia , Kentucky , West Virginia , Maryland and Ohio . CULTURE Prior to the 20th Century the people of Appalachia were geographically isolated from the rest of the country. As a result, they preserved the culture of their ancestors (most of them English , Scottish , and Ulstermen ) who settled the region in the 18th Century , a culture of a strong oral tradition (including Music and song), self-sufficiency, and strong religious faith. They were seen as Hillbillies of limited intelligence. Coal deposits in the region were tapped in the latter half of the 19th Century and drew a new wave of immigrants, from Ireland and Central Europe . With this Industrialization came increased Urbanization . Long characterized as economically underdeveloped, Appalachia has received more sympathetic treatment by historians and anthropologists in recent decades. The Foxfire Project , an anthology of writings that first began to appear in 1972, appealed to the counterculture and gave the region new visibility in academia. The opening of the Appalachian Trail in 1936 , which stretches from Georgia to Maine, also helped open the area to hikers and outdoorsmen from all over the world. A long-running series of documentary films by Appalshop take a historical and critical view of the region, including especially such endemic and pervasive problems as those associated with Coal Mining ( Shaft Mining & Strip Mining ), Poverty , and related social issues. ''See also:'' Appalachian Folk Music , Appalachian English , Melungeon . APPALACHIAN REGIONAL COMMISSION The , Georgia , Kentucky , Maryland , Mississippi , New York , North Carolina , Ohio , Pennsylvania , South Carolina , Tennessee , and Virginia . Mississippi and some parts of Alabama are not geographically parts of Appalachia, but were included in the commission because of similar problems with unemployment and poverty. POPULAR PORTRAYALS
NAME AND PRONUNCIATION There is variation on how to pronounce the word "Appalachia," which is often a source of good-natured (generally) humor. Some people say /æpə'lætʃʲə/ (appa-LATCH-a), while others say /æpə'leɪʃʲə/ (appa-LAY-sha). The term "Appalachia" itself (as well as "Appalachian") comes from the Apalachee tribe, historically located in northern Florida, from which the De Soto Expedition allegedly took the name and applied it to the mountains themselves. FURTHER READING EXTERNAL LINKS |
|
|