How the States got their shapes (Part 3: A force of nature)

Have you ever wonder how some of our states are shaped the way they are, or why? Well, a one-time documentary series called "How the States got their shapes" on the History Channel tried to answer some of those questions about them.

This is Part 3 of a 7-part wiki series about this documentary where I tell you what was talked about on some of those episodes, and I'll give my own opinion on it, or know what the episodes didn't tell you. In the episode "A force of Nature", Brian goes all over the nation telling about how nature shaped some of our states (like West Virginia) and how natural disasters also changed some states.

## A Force of Nature

### A mountainous gap

In the first part of this episode, Brian goes to the border of Virginia and Kentucky. It actually took me a while to figure out why, it has a lot to do about the Appalachian Mountains.

This here is the physical map of the United States, and in the east lies the Appalachian mountains. The Appalachians are one the oldest mountain ranges in the world, let alone North America, around 300 Million years ago these mountains were higher than the current height of the Himalayas, but of course with those 300 Million years of elements (rain, snow, and ice) had beaten these mountains down, and because of this the mountain range are very steep especially in comparison to the Rockies.

What does this have to do with the border of Virginia and Kentucky? Well, it turns out by many geologists that a meteor crashed into that part of the Appalachians and has created a "gap" in the mountain range, this gap would be known as the "Cumberland Gap".

The Cumberland Gap may have been a huge gap in the Appalachians, but it's covered by a thick forest which still made this mountain gap difficult to travel through. Eventually, the gap, "opened up" by a team of men led by a man named "Boone".

Uh, no. Not Aaron Boone.

"Daniel" Boone. He and his men in 1775 have came across the Cumberland Gap and even toiled and tried to open this particular gap so other frontiersmen can get into the regions west of the Appalachians (against the wishes of the Brits, of course). At one point during Boone's journey to what would be known as Kentucky, he and his men even tried to make their own colony; Transylvania (and no, not \*that\* Transylvania, in fact it has nothing to do with vampires). But, the Virginians were unwilling to play along, Virginia kept that land until 1792 when Kentucky became a state.

But Brian wasn't done in this part of the country, we went into West Virginia to talk about how that state became a state in the first place.

I know what you're thinking, you may be asking. "Johnny, you know that West Virginia broke away from Virginia during the Civil War." Well, that is definitely true, but there's more to West Virginia's journey to becoming a state.

Around 80% of the state is mountainous, and because of this, travel is very difficult from point a to point b, even today. In fact, 2 West Virginia towns; Ashland and Mayberry are only 3 miles away, in order to travel between the 2 towns you must travel 12 miles of winding mountain roads. Now, try to imagine if you lived and worked in both towns.

Another piece of evidence is that on both sides of Virginia are very different culturally as well as geographically, and economically. Virginia was a huge economic power as a lot of politicians and Presidents hailed from there (like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson), and crops (like Tobacco) was grown in abundance, West Virginia on the other hand was sparsely populated due to it's mountainous terrain and the people who decided to live there only made enough food to be self sufficient.

But the Civil War did play a key role in West Virginia's statehood. In 1861, Virginia seceded from the Union and joined the Confederacy, but people who lived in the western part of the state wanted to stay with the Union, and the US officially recognized West Virginia in 1863, and even added a patch of land which had the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad which is crucial to the Union victory.

Naming the state was even more difficult, because West Virginia was between 2 huge states (Pennsylvania and Kentucky), a few of the names were "Pennsyltucky" and "Westsylvania", and even "Kanahwa" (after a river that flowed through the state), but because they were too difficult to spell, or pronounce (or just plain ridiculous) "West Virginia".

But Brian wasn't done in West Virginia just yet. He then talks about something which has nothing to do with nature, but a family feud.

Throughout history, there have been numerous family feuds. But here, in the United States, we know of one feud as though it was the only one.

That's right, I'm talking (or the episode is talking) about the Hatfields and the McCoys. The rivalry between these 2 families will escalate far beyond their own family boundaries, in fact, it would "almost" bring their respective states to war. Why does this have to do with West Virginia? Well, that's because the Hatfield family came from West Virginia, their ancient enemies; the McCoys hailed from neighboring Kentucky.

In the episode, when Brian was talking to a descendant of the McCoy family, and according to the descendant, the infamous feud began over the ownership of a Pig, and the 2 families had a trial about it.

I did some studying of my own about the Hatfield/McCoy feud, and it turns out that the descendant was, kinda wrong. The feud actually began during the Civil War as a few members of both families fought in that conflict (on the side of the Confederates). So, the "Pig dispute" the 2 families had merely lit a long, smoldering fuse, and it wouldn't be long until this hatred turned into open hostilities. One night, a few members of the Hatfields crossed the Tug Fork River (the river that makes up the border of West Virginia and Kentucky), this river isn't very long (in length) nor is it that deep and one can cross it quite easily, but the Hatfields went over to the McCoy farm and murdered a few members of the McCoys, it wouldn't be long before the McCoys would return the favor. For the next decade, the 2 families would fight and murder each other, even going as far as killing their livestock, burn their fields or even their house. It wasn't until a few Hatfields were arrested by Kentucky sheriffs, and this set off another feud; between Kentucky and West Virginia, this is when the Supreme Court had to get involved, eventually in 1891 the Supreme Court voted in favor of Kentucky, and the 2 families finally decided to "bury the hatchet". No matter who won, the 2 families have left a lasting legacy on American history.

In the ext part of the episode, Brian finally gets out of West Virginia and travels throughout the country to talk about certain natural disasters that plague our nation, and shape some of our other states.

### Earthquakes

Earthquakes are one of the most common natural disasters to strike the United States, they move people (literally and metaphorically). and can cause massive damage.

When Brian asks people what state has the biggest Earthquake, the people would quickly choose California as most Americans believe it to be the "Earthquake Hotspot" as around 750 miles of the 1,100 mile long "San Andreas Fault" goes across California. In this episode, it talks about what it believes is the biggest Earthquake to strike the US, and according to the episode it occurred in New Madrid (in Missouri). In 1815, a magnitude 8.1 Earthquake struck the region which made the Mississippi River run backwards, turned the nearby Cyprus Forest into a swamp, and even effected Boston, New York, and other eastern regions of the US. Why in Missouri? Well, because of another fault line (appropriately called "New Madrid"), it's not impressively long like the San Andreas, nor is it above ground, it's underground.

Though, they have been right about the New Madrid Earthquake, but as me being knowledgeable about Earthquakes, I know that the show is wrong on 2 counts.

1. California is \*not\* America's "Earthquake Hotspot".
2. The New Madrid Earthquake was \*not\* the biggest Earthquake to hit the US.

Both those counts actually go to Alaska, it's America's Earthquake Hotspot as it averages more quakes than California, and the state also saw the biggest quake to hit the US. In 1964, a magnitude 9.2 Earthquake would strike southern Alaska, the quake and subsequent Tsunami would destroy the island of Kodiak, and severely damaged Anchorage.

### Tornadoes

There's no doubt in any American's mind that one of the most common natural disasters to hit the US are Tornadoes. Because of the US' size and its geography, it's a Tornado hotspot, in fact, the United States gets more Tornadoes than any other nation in the world. But what about the individual states?

According to this map, it's clear as crystals that the Midwest (namely, the Great Plains) are especially vulnerable to Tornadoes (a region that is called "Tornado Alley"), and though Texas gets by far the most twisters (around 150 every year), but Oklahoma is the most likely state to get some of the most dangerous Tornadoes.

But, tornadoes do hit other states. Like in 1814, when during the war of 1812, a massive tornado hit our nation's capital, during which time that the Brits invaded the capital, and was about to destroy it. The Tornado killed enough British troops for them to retreat from the city.

### Hurricanes

Americans are also aware that their beloved nation is vulnerable to an even more destructive weather storm; Hurricanes, especially if anybody lives either near a coast of a body of water (namely the Atlantic Ocean) or if it's low-lying.

This picture here is the states that got hit by Hurricanes, and it shouldn't be of no surprise to any American that Florida is (by far) America's "Hurricane Hotspot" as it was hit by more hurricanes than any other state in the Union, with Texas, North Carolina, and Louisiana also getting their share of those swirling clouds of destruction.

We still remember some of the most destructive Hurricanes that hit the US, like Andrew which devastated south Florida in 1992, Katrina; which leveled New Orleans in 2005, and Harvey; which hit and devastated Houston in 2017.

But, Hurricanes hit other states. Like my home state of New Jersey in 2012 when it took a direct hit from Hurricane Sandy, leaving parts of my state in ruins.

### Drought

Not as "blockbuster" as Earthquakes, Tornadoes, and Hurricanes. Drought is also one of the biggest natural disasters to hit the US, and unlike Tornadoes, and Hurricanes, droughts can last a long time (from months to years at a time) and can devastate entire regions, and effect the economy and Government.

This map shows the states that saw some of the biggest droughts for the last 2 decades, and it's evident (not just in this wiki, but also in the news) that the west is going through a massive drought, especially California as for the last several years had been especially vulnerable to wildfires.

Yeah, Smokey. Mother nature's got your work cut out for you.

Perhaps America's most devastating drought was the one that occurred from 1931 to sometime in the 40s, a combination of low rainfall and overcultivation led to one of the most devastating drought events in recent history; The Dust Bowl, a time where winds would create clouds of silica rich dust which had a devastating effect on the people living in the Great Plains, places in Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma saw the worst of the Dust Bowl. In fact, so terrible was this event, it caused a massive migration where farmers would move to either the east or California.

### Heat

There's another natural disaster that plagues our beloved nation. It has killed more people than Earthquakes, Tornadoes, Hurricanes, and Drought combined. It has caused a permanent migration, it also had a huge effect on our economy and Government, and a natural disaster that could play a key role in our future history. It's heat.

It feels like every corner of our nation is getting hotter every year. But unlike the other natural disasters, we can cope with this...............kinda.

We have a "not-so" secret weapon; air conditioning. This caused a huge migration which began in the 1960s as more people moved into the southern regions of our nation that are otherwise too hot to live. In fact, according to the list of top major cities, 7 of them are in the southwest with only 3 east of the Mississippi River.

For this last part in this episode, Brian goes to Texas which has a nasty reputation of being very hot (and humid). Back in the early 20th century, before air conditioners became a thing, places (like in Texas) had something called "Ice Houses", these places would sell huge blocks of ice for people so they can "beat the heat", they can also but some perishable groceries as well at these places. Even after the advent of air conditioning, these ice houses are still used, not to stay cool during the sweltering hot summer days, but just to hang out, some people actually live at these ice houses (no kidding).

Well, that'll do it for this part. In the next part (click here), we will talk about how the "Rebel Spirit" shaped some of our states (like Texas and South Carolina), and what does rebellion has to do with Barbecue. Until Next time, this is JohnnyOTGS signing out.