The Southern Coastlands is an area that is not seen commonly in the United States. This area is humid and subtropical. The Gulf of Mexico has warm waters that give the region’s climate a balmy, maritime feel.[1]
So how does a pretty close to tropical area compare to the constantly overcast weather of Seattle?
Surprisingly, there are a few things that these two areas have in common such as the amount of annual precipitation, the importance of their seaports, and their large percentage of immigrant population.
Let’s begin with precipitation. Contrary to popular belief, Seattle gets less rain than the Southern Coastlands. The Coastlands receive about 50 inches of rainfall per year as opposed to Seattle that receives an average of 37 inches per year.[2] Even though the southern coastlands get more rain than the Seattle area, they both still get a considerable amount of precipitation.
Both areas have very large and important seaports that are an integral part of the U.S. economy.
Above image is of the Port of New Orleans, courtesy of shipdetective.com
The Port of Seattle supported nearly 200,000 jobs in the Puget Sound region in 2003. Similarly, the Port of New Orleans is responsible for approximately 160,498 jobs.[3]
Seattle’s port generated more than $12 billion in business revenue and $626 million in state and local taxes. According to a 2004 study, the Port of New Orleans generated $8 billion in earnings and $800 million in taxes statewide.[4]
Seattle’s port is the nation’s 6th busiest seaport, ranking among the top 50 ports globally. China is the port’s largest trading partner, followed by Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand.[5] New Orleans’ port is known to be the world’s busiest waterway. More than 6,000 ocean vessels annually move through New Orleans on the Mississippi River.[6]
Above image is of the Port of Seattle, courtesy of prowsedge.com
Finally, we come to the racial diversity of both areas. For the Southern Coastlands we will look at Miami, Florida and compare to of course Seattle, Washington.
Within the Miami city limits, the population was approximately 362,470 in 2000. Sixty-five percent of those people were Latino and among those Latinos, about 35% were of Cuban descent.[7] Asians comprised less than 1% of the population, compared to Seattle, where 13% are of Asian descent and 70% are White. Latinos only comprise about 5% of Seattle’s population.[8]
Cuban-Americans in Miami, courtesy of nytimes.com
[1] Stephen S. Birdsall, Eugene J. Palka, Jon C. Malinowski, and Margo L. Price, Regional Landscapes of the United States and Canada 7th Edition (Wiley, 2008), 190.
[2] “See Seattle Northwest Weather,” accessed May 1, 2011. http://www.see-seattle.com/weather.htm.
[3] “Port of Seattle Quick Facts,” accessed May 1, 2011. www.portseattle.org/downloads/about/Quick_Facts2008_1.pdf.
[4] “Port of New Orleans Facts,” accessed May 1, 2011. http://www.portno.com/pno_pages/about_overview.htm.
[5] “Port of Seattle Quick Facts.”
[6] “Port of New Orleans Facts.”
[7] “Ethnicity Statistics,” last modified 2000, http://www.ersys.com/usa/12/1245000/ethnic.htm.
[8] “Seattle Population and Demographics,” last modified 2000, http://seattle.areaconnect.com/statistics.htm.
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