East Coast of the United States
East Coast of the United States | |
---|---|
EDT ) |
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the region encompassing the coastline where the Eastern United States meets the Atlantic Ocean. The Thirteen Colonies, which formed the United States in 1776 were located on this coast, and it has played an important role in the development of the United States.
The region is generally understood to include the
Toponymy and composition
The place name East Coast derives from the idea that the contiguous 48 states are defined by two major coastlines, one at the western edge and one on the eastern edge. Other terms for referring to this area include the Eastern Seaboard, which is another term for coastline,[3] Atlantic Coast, and Atlantic Seaboard because the coastline lies along the Atlantic Ocean.
The 14 states that have a shoreline on the Atlantic Ocean are (from north to south): Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.[4] Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C. border the Delaware River and the Potomac River, respectively, both of which are tidal arms of the Atlantic Ocean.
Colonial history
The original Thirteen Colonies of Great Britain in North America all lay along the East Coast.[a]
Two additional U.S. states on the East Coast were not among the original Thirteen Colonies:
In present-day Florida, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León made the first textual records of the state during his 1513 voyage. The state was initially named for Ponce de Ponce de León, who called the peninsula La Pascua Florida in recognition of the verdant landscape and because it was the Easter season.[6]
Delaware Colony and the provinces of New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania had been colonized by the Dutch as New Netherland until they were ceded to the British in the mid- to late-17th century.[citation needed]Until 1791, Vermont was an independent nation as the Vermont Republic.
Geography and climate
Three basic climate regions occur on the East Coast according to the Köppen climate classification and four occur according to the Trewartha climate classification from north to south based on the monthly mean temperature of the coldest month (January) and the number of months averaging above 50 °F (10 °C), respectively.
The region from northern Maine and Upstate New York south to most of Connecticut, most of northern New Jersey (except for areas close enough to New York City), most of Pennsylvania, and western Maryland has a humid continental climate (Dfa/Dfb/Dc), with warm-to-hot summers, cold and snowy winters with at least one month averaging below freezing, and four to seven months with mean temperatures warmer than 50 °F.
The area from Martha's Vineyard and extreme SW Rhode Island to southern Delaware and western North Carolina has a warm temperate climate (Cfa Köppen/Do Trewartha) with long and hot summers with at least one month over 22°C (71.6°F), cool winters with all months over freezing, and six to seven months above 50°F. Although winter precipitation is more likely to fall as rain than as snow, occasional heavy snow is possible.
The area from the southern Delmarva Peninsula, southeast Virginia, and central North Carolina south to central Florida is humid subtropical (Cfa/Cf), with hot and rainy summers, mild and drier winters, and eight to twelve months above 50°F. Urban heat island exclaves of this zone are found north of this area in Baltimore and Washington, D.C.
The region of Florida from the south-central region of the state south to the Florida Keys has a tropical climate (Af/Aw/Ar) that is frost-free, warm to hot all year, and all of the 12 months of the year average above 18 °C (64.4 °F). This region of Florida is the only tropical climate in the continental U.S.
The least common climate on the East Coast is the oceanic (Cfb/Do), which is only found on Block Island, Nantucket, and areas of Cape Cod, and in areas of the southern Appalachian Mountains. This zone has all monthly averages between 0 and 22 °C and six to seven months above 50 °F. Although winter precipitation is more likely to fall as rain than as snow, occasional heavy snow is possible.
Seasonally, average monthly precipitation ranges from a slight late fall (November) maximum from Massachusetts north to Portland, Maine to a slight summer maximum in the Mid-Atlantic states from southern Connecticut south to Virginia at Wilmington, Delaware and Norfolk, Virginia, to a more pronounced summer maximum from Cape Hatteras in North Carolina, southward along the Southeastern United States coast to Savannah, Georgia. The Florida peninsula has a sharp wet-summer/dry-winter pattern, with 60 to 70% of precipitation falling between June and October in an average year and a dry, and sunny late fall, winter, and early spring.
Although landfalls are rare, the Eastern Seaboard is susceptible to hurricanes in the Atlantic hurricane season, officially running from June 1 to November 30, although hurricanes can occur before or after these dates.[7] Hurricanes Hazel, Hugo, Bob, Isabel, Irene, and Sandy, and most recently Florence, Isaias, Henri, and Ida are some of the more significant storms to have affected the region.
The East Coast, with the exception of eastern Maine, is a low-relief,
The coastal areas from Long Island south to Florida are often made up of barrier islands that front the coastal areas, with the long stretches of sandy beaches. Many of the larger capes along the lower East Coast are in fact barrier islands, like the Outer Banks of North Carolina and Cape Canaveral, Florida. The Florida Keys are made up of limestone coral and provide the only coral reefs on the U.S. mainland.
Demographics
In 2010, the population of the states that have shoreline on the East Coast was estimated at 112,642,503 (36% of the country's total population). New York City is both the largest city and the largest metropolitan area on the East Coast. The East Coast is the most populated coastal area in the United States.[9]
City | City Population (2018 est.) | Metro Population (2018 est.) | State |
---|---|---|---|
Alexandria |
159,428 | 6,216,589 | Virginia |
Allentown |
125,845 | 861,889 | Pennsylvania |
Atlanta |
498,044 | 5,949,951 | Georgia |
Augusta |
196,939 | 600,151 | Georgia |
Baltimore |
602,495 | 2,802,789 | Maryland |
Boston |
694,583 | 4,628,910 | Massachusetts |
Bridgeport |
144,900 | 939,904 | Connecticut |
Charleston |
136,208 | 802,122 | South Carolina |
Charlotte |
872,498 | 2,636,883 | North Carolina |
Chesapeake |
244,835 | 1,672,319 | Virginia |
Columbia, MD |
103,467 | 6,216,589 | Maryland |
Columbia, SC |
133,451 | 838,433 | South Carolina |
Coral Springs |
133,507 | 5,762,717 | Florida |
Durham |
264,310 | 2,106,463 | North Carolina |
Edison |
100,693 | 19,979,477 | New Jersey |
Elizabeth |
128,885 | 19,979,477 | New Jersey |
Fayetteville |
211,657 | 526,719 | North Carolina |
Fort Lauderdale |
182,595 | 5,762,717 | Florida |
Germantown |
90,494 | 6,216,589 | Maryland |
Greenville |
70,635 | 920,477 | South Carolina |
Hampton |
134,510 | 1,672,319 | Virginia |
122,105 | 1,211,324 | Connecticut | |
Hialeah |
238,942 | 5,828,191 | Florida |
Hollywood |
154,823 | 5,762,717 | Florida |
Jacksonville |
903,889 | 1,523,615 | Florida |
Jersey City |
265,549 | 19,979,477 | New Jersey |
Miami |
470,914 | 6,158,824 | Florida |
Miami Gardens |
113,069 | 5,762,717 | Florida |
Miramar |
140,823 | 5,762,717 | Florida |
New Haven |
130,418 | 862,477 | Connecticut |
New York City |
8,398,748 | 19,979,477 | New York |
Newark |
282,090 | 19,979,477 | New Jersey |
Newport News |
179,225 | 1,672,319 | Virginia |
Norfolk |
244,076 | 1,672,319 | Virginia |
Orlando |
285,713 | 2,387,138 | Florida |
Palm Bay |
114,194 | 543,376 | Florida |
Paterson |
145,627 | 19,979,477 | New Jersey |
Pembroke Pines |
172,374 | 5,762,717 | Florida |
Philadelphia |
1,584,138 | 6,096,120 | Pennsylvania |
Pittsburgh |
302,971 | 2,370,930 | Pennsylvania |
Pompano Beach |
111,954 | 5,762,717 | Florida |
Portland |
66,417 | 538,500 | Maine |
Portsmouth |
94,632 | 1,672,319 | Virginia |
Raleigh |
469,298 | 1,337,331 | North Carolina |
Port St. Lucie |
195,248 | 438,095 | Florida |
Providence |
179,335 | 1,604,291 | Rhode Island |
Richmond |
228,783 | 1,260,029 | Virginia |
Savannah |
145,862 | 389,494 | Georgia |
Springfield | 153,606 | 631,982 | Massachusetts |
Stamford |
129,775 | 916,829 | Connecticut |
Virginia Beach |
450,138 | 1,725,246 | Virginia |
Washington, D.C. |
705,749 | 6,216,589 | District of Columbia |
West Palm Beach |
111,398 | 5,762,717 | Florida |
Wilmington, DE |
70,635 | 6,069,875 | Delaware |
Wilmington, NC |
122,607 | 282,573 | North Carolina |
Woodbridge |
100,450 | 19,979,477 | New Jersey |
Transportation
The primary
By water, the East Coast is connected from
Some of the largest airports in the United States are located along the East Coast of the United States, such as
Culture
As the first spot in the United States that immigrants arrived and the close proximity of
The East Coast is home to much of the political and financial power and a center for resort and travel destinations in the United States. New York City is the most populous city in the country and a major world financial center. Seventy-one of the world's Fortune 500 companies have their corporate headquarters in New York City, while Midtown Manhattan, with 400 million square feet of office space in 2018, is the largest central business district in the world. Washington, D.C. is the federal capital and political nerve center of the United States. Many organizations such as defense contractors, civilian contractors, nonprofit organizations, lobbying firms, trade unions, industry trade groups and professional associations have their headquarters in or near Washington, D.C., in order to be close to the federal government.
See also
- Atlantic coastal plain
- Atlantic Seaboard Fall Line
- BosWash (Boston in the north to Washington, D.C. in the south)
- East Coast–West Coast hip hop rivalry
- Gulf Coast of the United States
- Northeast megalopolis
- West Coast of the United States
Notes
- ^ Those colonies were New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. While Pennsylvania is not directly along the Atlantic shoreline, it borders the tidal portion of the Delaware River and the city of Philadelphia was a major seaport.
References
- ^ "East Coast States 2020". Archived from the original on April 12, 2020. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
- US Department of EnergyOffice of Electricity Delivery & Energy Reliability, retrieved June 7, 2023
- Collins Dictionary. HarperCollins. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
- ^ General Reference Map Archived October 17, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, National Atlas of the United States, 2003.
- ^ "1500-1667 Contact & Conflict". Maine History Online. Archived from the original on September 19, 2018. Retrieved September 21, 2018.
- ^ "A Brief History - Florida Department of State". www.flheritage.com. Archived from the original on October 30, 2012. Retrieved November 6, 2012.
- NOAA. Archived from the originalon May 6, 2009. Retrieved March 14, 2016.
- ISBN 978-0495555063. Archivedfrom the original on March 15, 2017. Retrieved March 14, 2016.
- ^ 2010 Census: Resident Population Data Archived October 19, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Griffin, Riley (August 20, 2018). "After 60 Years, I-95 Is Complete". Bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on October 11, 2018. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
- National Public Radio. Archivedfrom the original on July 30, 2018. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
- U.S. Department of Transportation. April 7, 2011. Archivedfrom the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 14, 2016.
- ISBN 9781598800821.
- ISBN 9781596294417.
- ^ Nixon, Ron (August 15, 2012). "Air Travel's Hassles drive riders to Amtrak's Acela". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 22, 2016. (for Acela express passenger numbers only)
- ^ "The Information: Most popular airline routes". Financial Times. January 17, 2009. Archived from the original on January 21, 2009. Retrieved February 2, 2010.