Appalachia

    It's hard to imagine how much more different the characteristics of Appalachia and modern Massachusetts can be.  Massachusetts is better known for the eastern seaboard with big city topography, historical colonial cities, tourism and more recently, its emergence as a technopole.  It is hard to compare these well known characteristics of Massachusetts to the characteristics of Appalachia.  But if any part of Massachusetts is similar to Appalachia, it would be the western area of the state.  Below is a photo of the Appalachian Trail in western Massachusetts and after that is a photo of the Appalachian Trail in the Blue Ridge Mountains in the western part of North Carolina.

 

http://www.wcvb.com/image/view/-/11683064/highRes/1/-/12wv1dsz/-/Chronicle-HD----Greylock-View---4322353.jpg

http://www.123rf.com/photo_14125829_blue-ridge-appalachian-mountain-peaks-and-spring-rhododendron-flowers-blooming-along-the-appalachian.html

Western Massachusetts Versus Appalachia

    Western Massachusetts and Appalachia have areas that are well forested, hilly to mountainous regions, very little agriculture due to a lack of flat land, and a smaller number of cities that are scattered rather than hurt by continuous urban development.  Both have plenty of water resources due to the numerous rivers and lakes and both states were (and are) very dependent on their water sources for water related needs, like water power and transportation.  The two areas also share the problem of filling water areas and flooding.  In Appalachia the problem caused by  headwater streams and rivers being buried is because of mountain top removal processes.  In Massachusetts the wetlands have been destroyed because of a desire to create manmade farmland.  Both practices cause flooding that creates millions of dollars of damage each year.
    In comparison to the Megalopolis, the western region of Massachusetts has a much lower density population like Appalachia.  In Appalachia the settlers tended to be Scots-Irish and Massachusetts has a large history of settlers of Irish descent.  While the geography of Appalachia allows the populations to be more isolated and Appalachia has a much stronger fold culture, western Massachusetts also has a history of people who are very locally connected and maintain their own personality with art, music and an attempt to maintain a local economy.
    Historically both areas had a very strong logging industry.  With so much forest area, it's easy to understand why this would have been one of the earliest industries.  Because the forests were not accessible until rail transportation, the forest of Appalachia and western Massachusetts were spared until the mid nineteenth century.  Logging is not a strong industry today in western Massachusetts but it still considered a viable industry in Appalachia.
    The Appalachian Trail travels through western Massachusetts passing waterfalls, small towns, hardwood forests, and at the highest point, Mount Greylock, which is the highest point in Massachusetts. 

   
    This picture is from the Chapter 2 PowerPoint and shows the physiographic regions.  You can see that all of Massachusetts is part of the same physiographic region as much of Appalachia. 



This picture is from the Chapter 2 PowerPoint and shows the climate regions.  You can see that South Eastern Massachusetts is part of the same climate region as the rest of Appalachia.