Atlantic Coast (U.S.)

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; it has always played a major socioeconomic role in the development of the United States.

The region is generally understood to include the U.S. states that border the Atlantic Ocean: Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Virginia, as well as some landlocked territories (Pennsylvania, Vermont, West Virginia and Washington, D.C.).

Toponymy and composition

The toponym derives from the concept 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, 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. Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C. border the Delaware River and the Potomac River, respectively, both of which are tidal arms of the Atlantic Ocean.General Reference Map
, National Atlas of the United States, 2003.

Colonial history

The original Thirteen Colonies of Great Britain in North America all lay on or near the East Coast.

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 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 León, who called the peninsula La Pascua Florida in recognition of the verdant landscape and because it was the Easter season.

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.
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 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 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 usually 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 the Outer Cape and Chatham on 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.

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. 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, passive margin coast. It has been shaped by the Pleistocene glaciation in the far northern areas in New England, with offshore islands such as Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, Block Island, and Fishers Island. From northern New Jersey southward, the coastal plain broadens southwards, separated from the Piedmont region by the Atlantic Seaboard fall line of the East Coast rivers, often marking the head of navigation and prominent sites of cities.

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.

Transportation

The primary Interstate Highway along the East Coast is Interstate 95, completed in 2018, which replaced the historic U.S. Route 1 ( Atlantic Highway), the original federal highway that traversed all East Coast states, except Delaware.

By water, the East Coast is connected from the Annisquam River in Gloucester, Massachusetts to Miami, Florida, by the Intracoastal Waterway, also known as the East Coast Canal, which was completed in 1912. Amtrak's '' Downeaster'' and ''Northeast Regional'' offer the main passenger rail service on the Seaboard. The ''Acela Express'' offers the only high-speed rail passenger service in the Americas, by the lenient US definition of high speed rail. Between New York and Boston the ''Acela Express'' has up to a 54% share of the combined train and air passenger market.

Some of the largest airports in the United States are located along the East Coast of the United States, such as John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens, New York City, Logan International Airport in Boston, Newark Liberty Airport in Newark, New Jersey, Philadelphia International Airport in Philadelphia, Baltimore–Washington International Airport near Baltimore, Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C., Hartsfield–Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, Miami International Airport in Miami, Charlotte Douglas International Airport in Charlotte, North Carolina, Tampa International Airport in Tampa, and Orlando International Airport in Orlando, Florida.

Culture

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.

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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:East Coast of The United States

East
Eastern United States
Landforms of Connecticut
Landforms of Delaware
Landforms of Florida
Landforms of Georgia (U.S. state)
Landforms of Maine
Landforms of Maryland
Landforms of Massachusetts
Landforms of New Hampshire
Landforms of New Jersey
Landforms of New York (state)
Landforms of North Carolina
Landforms of Rhode Island
Landforms of South Carolina
Landforms of Virginia
Northeastern United States
Regions of the Southern United States
Regions of the United States
Southeastern United States