Chapter 8: Appalachia

Santa Clarita and Appalachia

 

The main feature that defines the location of the Appalachian region is that of the formed mountains.  Both the Blue ridge Mountains and the Great Smoky Mountains contain the area.  Although Santa Clarita is surrounded by a number of distant mountains (which give it its "valley" property), it takes on the role of desert more and that's what distinguishes the two areas from each other more than anything.  One of the greatest differences between the two is the level of poverty.  Unfortunately, a number of areas within the Appalachian region are known to be poor.  In Santa Clarita, the median income is around $80,000 and that number increases largely when observed in a family setting.

Santa Clarita Population and Appalachia Population

For the number of states that are contained within it, you may be surprised at the population number of the Appalachian Region.  The population of SCV is 204,951 people while the combination of all the Appalachian Region is about 25,000,000!


The population of the entire state of California beats this by a good amount with 38.04 million in total.

Santa Clarita Climate and Appalachia Climate

The climate of the Appalachian region is very suitable for agriculture.  This is not the case for areas like Santa Clarita that are characterized by their dry desert climate.

 In the Appalachian Region, the average precipitation is about 40-45 inches, most of which is in the form of snow.  This is not the same in comparison the the desert-like climate that is in Santa Clarita with it only averaging 0-5 inches monthly. Certain parts of the more southern region can recieve as much as 81 inches per year.