Chapter 8. The Great Lakes and Corn Belt

The Great Lakes and Corn Belt are what most of us Americans consider to be the Heart of America.

The Great Lakes Region is comprised of states Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and upstate New York.
The Corn Belt is comprised of Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, eastern Nebraska, and eastern Kansas.

The  area is rooted in Grounded in traditional "American Values. According to The Geography of North America, "Historically, the highly profitable and productive agriculture of the Great Lakes and Corn Belt has been complemented by an equally profitable industrial sector. Much of the food produced on the farms of the Corn Belt has traditionally been consumed by industrial workers in the cities of the Great Lakes.


Much of the economy within the Corn Belt and Great Lakes area of the country is solely related to the Primary and Secondary sectors of the economy. This is due in part to the natural resources available to the region including iron deposits used for steel manufacturing, much flat and fertile land used for the farming of cattle, wheat, corn, and other grains. "Soils are deep, fertile, and rich in organic material and nitrogen, and the land is relatively level. The warm nights, hot days, and well-distributed rainfall of the region during the growing season are ideal conditions for raising corn. Most farms in the area are family operated and average more than 300 acres..."(Encyclopedia Britannica).

The economy of the Corn Belt and Great Lakes are dependent on manufacturing industries housed in the region. So when the industries suffer economic loss, so does the region.

(farmflavor.com)

Unlike the Corn Belt and Great Lakes Region, the city of Los Angeles has an economy that contains jobs mostly within the Secondary, Tertiary, and Quaternary sectors. Since Los Angeles has jobs and industries in all of those sectors, the economy of the city is less dependent on one industry for economic support. The biggest industry of Los Angeles is the film industry. This has been the case since the mid-1930s and it is an industry that keeps on growing.