Sun Belt 445569 226101207 2008-07-16T20:47:43Z MattieTK 434929 Reverted edits by [[Special:Contributions/72.153.29.222|72.153.29.222]] to last version by Okiefromokla (using [[WP:HG|Huggle]]) {{Citations missing|date=August 2007}} [[Image:Map of USA highlighting Sun Belt.png|right|framed|The Sun Belt, highlighted in red]] {{otheruses4|the region of the United States|the American [[athletic conference]]|Sun Belt Conference}} The '''Sun Belt''' is a region of the [[United States]] generally considered to stretch across [[Southern United States|the South]] and [[Southwest United States|Southwest]] (the geographic southern United States). Another rough boundary of the region is the 37th to 38th parallels, north latitude &mdash; southward. The Sun Belt has seen substantial population growth in recent decades, partly fueled by a surge in retiring [[baby boomers]] who migrate domestically, as well as the influx of immigrants, both legal and [[illegal immigration|illegal]]. Also, over the past several decades, air conditioning has made it easier for people to deal with the oppressive heat that grips the region during the summertime. [[Alabama]], [[Arizona]], [[California]], [[Florida]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], [[Louisiana]], [[Mississippi]], [[Nevada]], [[New Mexico]], [[South Carolina]], and [[Texas]] are commonly thought to belong to the Sun Belt. Some consider parts of [[Arkansas]], [[Colorado]], [[North Carolina]] and [[Tennessee]] to be Sun Belt states, although their climates are slightly more "wintery" than the other states in the group. The [[Bible Belt]] occupies much of the same geography as the Sun Belt, with the exception of the southwest. The two terms are sometimes used interchangeably. Important cities in the Sun Belt include: * [[Atlanta]] * [[Albuquerque, New Mexico|Albuquerque]] * [[Anaheim, California|Anaheim]] * [[Austin, Texas|Austin]] * [[Baton Rouge, Louisiana|Baton Rouge]] * [[Brownsville, Texas|Brownsville]] * [[Carson City, Nevada|Carson City]] * [[Charleston, South Carolina|Charleston]] * [[Charlotte, North Carolina|Charlotte]] * [[Columbia, South Carolina|Columbia]] * [[Corpus Christi, Texas|Corpus Christi]] * [[Dallas, Texas|Dallas]] * [[Denton, Texas|Denton]] * [[El Paso, Texas|El Paso]] * [[Fort Worth, Texas|Ft. Worth]] * [[Fresno, California|Fresno]] * [[Greenville, South Carolina| Greenville]] * [[Houston, Texas|Houston]] * [[Jacksonville, Florida|Jacksonville]] * [[Las Vegas, Nevada|Las Vegas]] * [[Long Beach, California|Long Beach]] * [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]] * [[Mesa, Arizona|Mesa]] * [[Miami, Florida|Miami]] * [[Mobile, Alabama|Mobile]] * [[New Orleans, Louisiana|New Orleans]] * [[Oakland, California|Oakland]] * [[Orlando, Florida|Orlando]] * [[Pensacola, Florida|Pensacola]] * [[Phoenix, Arizona|Phoenix]] * [[Raleigh, North Carolina|Raleigh]] * [[Reno, Nevada|Reno]] * [[Sacramento, California|Sacramento]] * [[San Antonio, Texas|San Antonio]] * [[San Clemente, California|San Clemente]] * [[San Diego, California|San Diego]] * [[San Francisco, California|San Francisco]] * [[San Jose, California|San Jose]] * [[Santa Fe, New Mexico|Santa Fe]] * [[Sarasota, Florida|Sarasota]] * [[St. George, UT|St. George]] * [[Tampa, Florida|Tampa]]-[[Saint Petersburg, Florida|St. Petersburg]] * [[Temecula, California|Temecula]] * [[Tucson, Arizona|Tucson]] * [[West Palm Beach]] * [[Yuma, Arizona|Yuma]] Author and political analyst [[Kevin Phillips (political commentator)|Kevin Phillips]] claims to have coined the term "to describe the oil, military, aerospace and retirement country stretching from Florida to California" in his 1969 book ''The Emerging Republican Majority''.<ref>"How the GOP Became God's Own Party", the [[Washington Post]], April 2, 2006</ref> ==See also== *[[Economy of the United States]] *[[Silicon Valley]] *[[Rust Belt]] ==More information== *http://www.answers.com/topic/sun-belt?cat=travel {{U.S. Belt regions}} ==References== {{reflist}} {{US-geo-stub}} [[de:Sun Belt]] [[es:Sun Belt]] [[fr:Sun Belt]] [[nl:Sunbelt]] [[ja:サンベルト]] [[pt:Cinturão do sol]] [[sv:Sun Belt]] [[vi:Vành đai Mặt trời]]