Regional Nicknames of North America

Guest Feature by Charlie Ragland

Various regions of North America have nicknames that have been developed over time by locals and others. These regional nicknames are quite frequently well-known while other regional nicknames are not as common. Take a look at this very thorough list of regional nicknames for places from across North America.

Acadiana
Lafayette/Lake Charles, LA

Alleghany Highlands
Covington/Clifton Forge, VA

Arklatex
Texarkana, AR/TX/LA

Arrowhead
Northeastern Minnesota (from its triangle-like shape

Bay Area / San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose, CA
(Includes East Bay, Mid Peninsula, North Bay, Peninsula, Silicon Valley, and South Bay)

The Bluegrass
Lexington, KY

Cape Cod
Barnstable County, MA

Capital District
Albany/Schenectady/Troy, NY

Capital Region
Ottawa, ON

Capital Region / National Capital Region
Washington, DC/VA/MD/WV
(Includes Northern Virginia and Maryland Suburbs)

Chicagoland
Chicago, IL/IN
(Includes North Shore)

Coachella Valley
Palm Springs, CA
(Part of Inland Empire and Southern California)

Coastal Bend / Texas Coastal Bend
Corpus Christi, TX

Crystal Coast
Atlantic Beach/Morehead City/Beaufort, NC

Delaware Valley
Philadelphia/Camden/Wilmington, PA/NJ/DE
(Same as Tri-State)

Delmarva Peninsula
Delaware State, Eastern Shore of Maryland, and Eastern Shore of Virginia
(Includes Eastern Shore of Maryland and Eastern Shore of Virginia)

The Delta
Juncture of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers, CA

Deseret
Salt Lake City, UT
(Same as Salt Lake)

Dixie
Southwest Utah, centered at St. George

East Bay
Oakland, CA
(Part of Bay Area)

Eastern Shore of Maryland
Somerset, Wicomico, and Worcester counties, MD
(Part of Delmarva Peninsula)

Eastern Shore of Virginia
Accomack and Northampton counties, VA
(Part of Delmarva Peninsula)

Eastern Slope
Denver/Fort Collins/Greeley, CO
(Part of Front Range)

Finger Lakes
Bounded by Rochester, Syracuse, and Elmira, NY

Five Valleys
Missoula, MT

Four Corners
Corners of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah

Four States
Corners of Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma, centered on Joplin, MO

Fox Valley
Appleton/Oshkosh/Neenah, WI

Front Range
Pueblo to Colorado Springs to Denver to Fort Collins to Greeley, CO
(Includes Eastern Slope)

Gold Coast / Florida Gold Coast
Miami/Fort Lauderdale/West Palm Beach, FL
(Same as South Florida)

Gold Country
Mariposa to Grass Valley, CA
(Same as Mother Lode Country)

Golden Horseshoe
Niagara Falls to Hamilton to Toronto, ON

Golden Isles
Jekyll, Saint Simons, Sapelo, and Sea islands, GA

The Grand Strand
Myrtle Beach, SC

Green Country
Tulsa, OK

Gulf Coast
Slidell, LA to Pensacola, FL

Hampton Roads
Norfolk/Virginia Beach/Newport News, VA
(Same as Tidewater)
(Includes Historic Triangle, Middle Peninsula, Outer Banks, South Hampton Roads, and Virginia Peninsula)

High Desert
Victorville/Apple Valley/Adelanto, CA

The High Line
Great Falls, MT to North Dakota border

Hill Country
Area west of Austin, TX

Historic Triangle
Williamsburg/Jamestown/Yorktown, VA
(Part of Hampton Roads, Tidewater, and Virginia Peninsula)

Inland Empire
Riverside/San Bernardino, CA
(Includes Coachella Valley and High Desert)
(Part of Southern California)

Jersey Shore
Atlantic City to Cape May, NJ

Kaw Valley
Kansas City, MO to Junction City, KS

Kentuckiana
Louisville, KY/IN

Lanierland
Gainesville/Lake Sidney Lanier and Hall County, GA

Laurel Highlands
Latrobe, PA

Lehigh Valley
Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton, PA

Long Island
Kings, Nassau, Queens, and Suffolk counties, NY

The Low Country
Daufuskie and Hilton Head islands, SC

Martha's Vineyard
Dukes County, MA

Maryland Suburbs
Maryland Suburbs of Washington, DC
(Part of Capital Region)

Metro Dade
Miami and Dade County, FL

Metrolina
Charlotte/Gastonia/Rock Hill, NC/SC

Metroplex
Dallas/Fort Worth, TX

Miami Valley
Dayton, OH

Michiana
Benton Harbor/Saint Joseph, MI to South Bend/Elkhart, IN

Mid-South
Memphis, TN/AR/MS

Mid Peninsula
Palo Alto, CA
Part of Bay Area

Middle Peninsula
Essex, Gloucester, King and Queen, Mathews, and Middlesex counties, VA
(Part of Hampton Roads and Tidewater)

Mohawk Valley
Utica, NY

Monterey Peninsula
Monterey, CA

Mother Lode Country
Mariposa to Grass Valley, CA
(Same as Gold Country)

New River Valley
Floyd, Montgomery, and Pulaski counties, VA

Niagara Region
Niagara Falls to Saint Catherines to Welland, ON

North Bay
Marin, Napa, and Sonoma counties, CA
(Part of Bay Area)

North Jersey
Northern New Jersey suburbs of New York City, NY

North Shore
Northern suburbs of Boston, MA

North Shore
Northern suburbs of Chicago, IL

Northeast Ohio
Cleveland, OH

Northern Kentucky
Northern Kentucky suburbs of Cincinnati, OH

Northern Neck
Lancaster, Northumberland, Richmond, and Westmoreland counties, VA

Northern Virginia
Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, DC
(Part of Capital Region)

Northlands
Edmonton, ALB

Northwest Arkansas
Fayetteville/Springdale/Rogers, AR

Outer Banks
Currituck and Dare counties, NC
(Part of Hampton Roads and Tidewater)

Pee Dee
Florence, SC

Peninsula
San Mateo and Northern Santa Clara County, CA

Pennsylvania Dutch Country
Lancaster, PA

Permian Basin
Odessa/Midland, TX (Same as Petroplex)

Petroplex
Odessa/Midland, TX
(Same as Permian Basin)

Piedmont Triad
Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point, NC

Pine Barrens
Central/Southern New Jersey

Puget Sound
Seattle/Tacoma, WA

The Purchase
Western tip of Kentucky

Quad Cities
Davenport/Moline/Rock Island/Bettendorf, IA

Quad Cities
Florence/Muscle Shoals/Sheffield/Tuscumbia, AL

Redwood Empire
North coast of California

Research Triangle / The Triangle
Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill, NC

Roanoke Valley
Roanoke, VA

Rogue Valley
Medord, OR

Salt Lake
Salt Lake City, UT
(Same as Deseret)

The Sand Hills
West-Central Nebraska

The Shore
New Jersey coast

Silicon Valley
San Jose, CA
(Same as South Bay)
(Part of Bay Area)
(Includes Peninsula and Mid Peninsula)

Sioux Empire
Sioux City, IA to Sioux Falls, SD

South Bay
San Jose, CA
(Same as Silicon Valley)
(Part of Bay Area)
(Includes Peninsula and Mid Peninsula)

South Florida
Miami/Fort Lauderdale/West Palm Beach, FL
(Same as Gold Coast)

South Shore
Southern suburbs of Boston, MA

Southern California
Los Angeles/Orange County/Riverside/San Diego, CA
(Includes Coachella Valley, High Desert, and Inland Empire)

Space Coast
Cape Canaveral, FL

Tampa Bay
Tampa/Saint Petersburg, FL

Texoma
Wichita Falls, TX to Lawton, OK

The Berkshires
Pittsfield and Western Massachusetts

Tidewater
Norfolk/Virginia Beach/Newport News, VA
(Same as Hampton Roads)
(Includes Historic Triangle, Middle Peninsula, Outer Banks, South Hampton Roads, and Virginia Peninsula)

Treasure Valley
Boise, ID

Tri-Cities
Johnson City/Kingsport/Bristol, TN/VA

Tri-Cities
Kennewick/Richland/Pasco, WA

Tri-Cities
Petersburg/Hopewell/Colonial Heights, VA

Tri-State
Chicago, IL/IN/WI

Tri-State
Cincinnati, OH/KY/IN

Tri-State
New York City, NY/NJ/CT

Tri-State
Philadelphia, PA/NJ/DE
(Same as Delaware Valley)

Twin Cities
Minneapolis/Saint Paul, MN

Twin Ports
Duluth, MN/Superior, WI

Twin Tiers
Allegany, Broome, Chemung, Schuyler, Steuben, and Tioga counties, NY and Bradford, Lycoming, McKean, Potter, Sullivan, and Tioga counties, PA

Upper Peninsula
The northern part of Michigan attached to Wisconsin.

Valley of the Sun
Phoenix, AZ

Virginia Peninsula / The Peninsula
Newport News/Hampton/Williamsburg, VA
(Part of Hampton Roads and Tidewater)
(Includes Historic Triangle)

Wenatchee Valley
Chelan and Douglas counties, including Wenatchee, WA

Western Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, PA

Willamette Valley
Portland, OR

Wine Country
Napa County, CA

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