Appalachia

Appalachia
Region
Left-right from top: Pittsburgh skyline New River Gorge Bridge campus of West Virginia University Smoky Mountains Roanoke skyline mountains of north Georgia view from the Appalachian Trail
Red and dark red counties form the Appalachian Regional Commission; dark red and dark red striped counties form traditional Appalachia.[2]
Coordinates: 38°48′N 81°00′W / 38.80°N 81.00°W / 38.80; -81.00
Country	United States of America
Counties or county-equivalents	420[1]
States	13
Largest city	Pittsburgh
Area [3]
• Total	206,000 sq mi (530,000 km2)
Population  (2021)
• Total	26.3 million[1] (Appalachian Regional Commission estimate)
• Density	127.7/sq mi (49.3/km2)
Demonym	Appalachian
Dialect(s)	Appalachian English

Appalachia (/ˌæpəˈlætʃə, -leɪtʃə, -leɪʃə/)^[4] is a geographic region located in the central and southern sections of the Appalachian Mountains of the eastern United States. It stretches from the western Catskill Mountains of New York state into Pennsylvania, continuing on through the Blue Ridge Mountains and Great Smoky Mountains into northern Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi.^[5] In 2021, the region was home to an estimated 26.3 million people, of whom roughly 80% were white.^[1]

Since its recognition as a cultural region in the late 19th century, Appalachia has been a source of enduring myths and distortions regarding the isolation, temperament, and behavior of its inhabitants. Early 20th-century writers often engaged in yellow journalism focused on sensationalistic aspects of the region's culture, such as moonshining and clan feuding. They often portrayed the region's inhabitants as uneducated and prone to impulsive acts of violence. Sociological studies in the 1960s and 1970s helped to re-examine and dispel these stereotypes,^[6] although ignorance, anti-progressivism, and racism are portrayed as pervasive stereotypes by media.^[7]

While endowed with abundant natural resources, Appalachia has long struggled economically and has been associated with poverty. In the early 20th century, large-scale logging and coal mining firms brought wage-paying jobs and modern amenities to Appalachia, but by the 1960s the region had failed to capitalize on any long-term benefits^[8] from these two industries. Beginning in the 1930s, the federal government sought to alleviate poverty in the Appalachian region with a series of New Deal initiatives, specifically the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). The TVA was responsible for the construction of hydroelectric dams that provide a vast amount of electricity and that support programs for better farming practices, regional planning, and economic development.

In 1965 the Appalachian Regional Commission^[9] was created to further alleviate poverty in the region, mainly by diversifying the region's economy and helping to provide better health care and educational opportunities to the region's inhabitants. By 1990 Appalachia had largely joined the economic mainstream but still lagged behind the rest of the nation in most economic indicators.^[6]