Many citrus fruits such as oranges, lemons, lines and grapefruit are grown in this region’s long growing season. These fruits grow well in heat and humidity, and cold weather is disastrous for these plants

In this region, Harriet Tubman was an African American who escaped from slavery when she was 7. She is best known for leading slaves to freedom on the Underground Rail Road. It is estimated that in her lifetime, she made 20 trips to free states and helped to free over 300 slaves.

The Great Smoky Mountains run through this region. They cover 521,621 acres of land and have 800 miles of trails. Nine million visitors come to the park each year. If a visitor were to climb one of the mountains from base to peak, they will have traveled 1,250 feet North. The Great Smoky Mountains are named for the white haze that hangs over their peaks most of the time making them appear smoky. The haze is often created by the warmth in this region.

George Washington Carver was an important inventor in this region. He received his college bachelors and masters degrees in agricultural science from Iowa State University. He stayed in Iowa and became the first black professor at that school. Eventually, he left Iowa to become the Director of Agriculture at Tuskegee institute for African Americans. Carver discovered three hundred uses for peanuts and hundreds more uses for soybeans, pecans and sweet potatoes. Most importantly, he taught plantation farmers to rotate their soil-depleting cotton and tobacco crops with soil-enriching crops such as; peanuts, peas, soybeans, sweet potatoes, and pecans.
Plantations were large farms found in this region. These farms included a big house, storage sheds, slave quarters, livestock buildings, large fields, and gardens. Two of the main cash crops grown were cotton and tobacco, which required a lot of labor. Before the civil war, most of the work in the fields as well as in the big house was done by slaves.

Located on the southern tip of this region, Everglades National Park is the only subtropical preserve in North America. It is known for its variety of bird life and is the only place in the world where alligators and crocodiles exist side by side. You can tour the park by walking, canoe, or boat tours.

Mammoth Cave is the largest explored cave system in the world. With over 360 miles of explored caverns, it is three times larger than any other cave. Some passages and rooms are decorated with sparkling white gypsum crystals, while others are filled with the colorful, sculpted shapes of stalactites, stalagmites, and other cave formations. Underground rivers flow through Mammoth's deepest chambers. And in the cave's absolute blackness dwell many rare and unusual animals, including eyeless fish, ghostly white spiders, and blind beetles.

The Kennedy Space Center is located on the Cape Canaveral Air Force base in this region. Located on a “cape” or point of land jutting out into the Atlantic Ocean, the Kennedy Space Center is the location for many of the space shuttle launches. Visitors can experience a flight simulator at the Astronauts Hall of Fame, float through space during an IMAX movie, tour NASA operations, and maybe even experience an actual launch!

Designed by and named for the famous Walt Disney, Walt Disney World draws millions of vacationers to this warm region every year. It includes 4 theme parks, 2 water parks 20 resorts, and 99 holes of golf for the ultimate family vacation.

Hurricanes are strong storms with sustained winds of over 74 miles per hour which form over large bodies of water. Hurricane season lasts from June to November each year with August being the peak month for activity. Every year an average of six hurricanes form over the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, or Gulf of Mexico. In any three year span, an average of 5 hurricanes hit the United States coast. Hurricane Andrew was our most expensive hurricane causing $27 billion dollars in damage. Damage from hurricanes is caused by high winds and flooding from the storm surge, storm tide and massive rainfall.

The Underground Railroad wasn’t actually a railroad. Instead it was a series of safe houses slaves used to make their way from slave states to free states. Those traveling the trail as well as those helping the slaves lived with the fear of being caught. Harriet Tubman was one of the most famous conductors on this path to freedom.

The Civil War is the only war in the history of our country where United States citizens were fighting each other--sometimes, brother against brother. A major cause of the war was slavery. Half of the states wanted to own slaves and half thought it should be illegal. The slave states threatened to secede, or leave the Union. President Abraham Lincoln would not allow this to happen and the country went to war. It lasted form 1860-1865.

Davy Crockett was a real man in history who has inspired many stories in American folklore. He is probably best known for being an avid hunter and frontiersman. He served in the United States Congress and ultimately fought and died in the Battle of the Alamo.

George Washington was born in 1732 in this region. He was Commander In Chief of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary war. After the war, he was elected the first President of the United States and served two terms.

Martin Luther King Jr. was the leader of the Civil Rights Movement for eleven years from 1957-1968. He was a minister before being asked to lead the Montgomery Bus Boycott which lasted 382 days and resulted in the integration of public transportation. He delivered his famous “I Have A Dream Speech....” to 250,000 people during the March on Washington DC. In his time as leader of the movement he wrote 5 books and numerous articles, traveled 6 millions miles, spoke 2500 times, was arrested 20 times, assaulted four times, was nominated as TIME magazine’s man of the year, consulted with Presidents, and received five honorary degrees. At the age of 35, he was the youngest man to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. On April 4, 1968, he was assinated.

Rosa Parks was just a seamstress until one day in December, 1955. Rosa refused to give up her seat on the bus and was subsequently arrested, tried and convicted. Her actions prompted the Montgomery Bus Boycotts which eventually ended segregation in public transportation. Rosa said, “The only thing that bothered me was that we waited so long to make this protest.”

Eli Whitney is best known for his invention of the cotton gin. His invention separated the cotton seed from the fiber and made it possible for 50 pounds of cotton to be cleaned every day. Since the cotton gin did the work ten times faster than slave labor, it made cotton a very profitable crop. Farmers quickly increased their profit from $150,000 to $8 million dollars per year.

Historians don’t know how old cotton is, but they have found some cotton cloth 7,000 years old. Cotton grows best in warm climates. It has hundreds of uses, from cloth to paper and even plastics and explosives. Today cotton is used more than any other fiber and brings in $120 billion dollars in revenue to farmers each year.

Furniture, textiles, and rockets are three of the major manufacturing products produced in this region.

Originally from China, peaches grow best in warm climates. 140 million pounds of peaches are produced in the US each year, resulting in $35 million in revenues. Two of the three largest peach producing states are in this region and one is even nicknamed “The peach state.”

Manatees are an endangered species found in the warm salt water of the Atlantic Ocean. Weighing 800-1200 pounds and living 50-60 years, they are an interesting mammal to observe if you are vacationing in this region. In South America, manatees can be found in the freshwater rivers of the Amazon basin.

Tobacco was a very important cash crop to the large plantation farms. Tobacco comes from green plants whose leaves turn brown when put through a drying process. Tobacco is still the 7^th largest cash crop in the United States producing billions of dollars in revenue each year.

The Kentucky Derby is held the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs. There is a two week long festival before the ¼ mile, two minute long race. The first trophy for this race was awarded in 1922.

Did you know that the average American eats 12 pounds of peanuts every year? Half of what you eat is in peanut butter! Peanuts are grown underground unlike other nuts. Besides being a nutritious food, there are over 300 uses for peanuts.

The Mississippi delta is a triangle of new land at the mouth of the Mississippi river. The river picks up and carries 436,000 tons of sediment (dirt) down the river each day, 159 million tons each year. This silt and sediment is carried down the river and dumped at it’s moth in the Gulf of Mexico. As the sediment builds up, it has created an area of swampy land known as the Mississippi delta.

The Gulf of Mexico is a body of salt water that covers 615,000 square miles. It is nearly landlocked by the United States and Mexico. The Mississippi River empties into the Gulf. This body of water supports many industries in this region because of its large oil and fishing resources.

Mardi Gras is a festival held every year from January 6^th to the day before Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras developed out of the masked balls of French immigrants. Meaning Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras is characterized by partying the in streets, parades, and throwing beads. Purple, green, and yellow are the official Mardi Gras colors representing justice, faith, and power.

Jazz and blues are two forms of music started by African Americans in the United States. Jazz is characterized by musicians improvising or making up music as they are playing on brass, reed and drum instruments. Blues instruments include guitars, pianos and harmonicas. Louis Armstrong and BB King (shown below) are two famous jazz/blues musicians.

Coal is made from the remains of trees, ferns, and plants that were alive during the age of the dinosaurs. Coal is our cheapest source of power and is used mostly to produce electricity. Currently the United States has enough coal reserves to last 250 years.

The word Seminole means wild man. This Native American tribe lived in the region for over 12,000 years though white settlers unsuccessfully tried to forcibly remove them from their land several times. The Seminoles enjoy songs, dancing, and ballgames.

Rice is raised on every continent in the world except Antarctica. People in Asia eat rice 2-3 times every day, and in China a popular greeting is: “Have you had your rice today?” The largest rice producing state in the United States is in this region.

Spirituals are songs which originated with African American slaves. They adapted Christian gospels to express their specific hardships in slavery.

Country music was developed in the United States and is often associated with cowboys and the west. Nashville is the town in this region in which you will find the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Four states in the U.S. produce sugar and two are in this region. Sugar is planted, grown and harvested from October to March. Every American consumes about 64 pounds of sugar each year.