The East Coast of the United States. States with a coastline on the Atlantic Ocean are highlighted in dark blue. States considered part of the East Coast without a coastline are highlighted in light blue.
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 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.
Two additional U.S. states on the East Coast were not among the original Thirteen Colonies: Maine became part of the English Colony of Massachusetts in 1677[5] and Florida was held by the British from the end of the French and Indian War until 1781 and was part of New Spain until 1821.
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]
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 almost all 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 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 and 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.
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 (about 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.[8]
The fast-paced streets of New York City, the largest city in the United States, in January 2020
As the first spot in the United States that immigrants arrived and the close proximity of Europe, the Caribbean, and Latin America, the East Coast is home to a diverse population and home to multi-cultures when compared to the rest of the U.S. From the strong Latin culture in southern Florida, to the 200-year-old Gullah culture of the low country coastal islands of Georgia and South Carolina, to the many historic cities in the Mid-Atlantic, where a strong English, German, Italian, Irish, and French culture are present, the East Coast is significantly more diverse than the rest of the United States. Numerous Chinatowns in New York City, and Little Havana in Miami, are examples of such cultural centers in the bigger cities.
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.
Miami is one of the top domestic and international travel destinations in the United States. Miami is the warmest major city in the continental United States in winter, which contributes to it being a major tourism hub for international visitors. Miami has one of the largest concentrations of international banks in the United States, and the third-largest skyline in the U.S. with over 439 high-rises, 68 of which exceed 490 ft (149 m). Port of Miami is the busiest cruise port in the world in both passenger traffic and cruise lines, with over 5.5 million cruise passengers passing through the port each year. The center for tropical plant culture and research in the United States is based in Miami at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. The state of Florida is the second-largest producer of oranges in the world behind Brazil.
^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.
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