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The Sun Belt is a region of the United States generally considered to stretch across the Southeast and Southwest (the geographic southern United States). Another rough boundary of the region is the area south of the 36th parallel, north latitude. The main defining feature of the Sun Belt is its warm climate with extended summers and brief, relatively pleasant winters. Within the Sun Belt areas of the U.S., deserts/semi-deserts (California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas), Mediterranean (California), and humid subtropical (Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina) climates can be found. The belt has seen substantial population growth since the 1960s due to an influx of people seeking a warm and sunny climate, a surge in retiring baby boomers, and growing economic opportunities. Also, over the past several decades, air conditioning has made it easier for people to deal with the summertime heat in the region, especially in the Desert Southwest where triple-digit temperatures in Fahrenheit (higher than 37.7 Celsius) are usual. In recent years water shortages, droughts, and drug trafficking near the Mexican border have become a problem in the western region.〔http://www.theatlanticcities.com/jobs-and-economy/2012/02/where-pittsburgh-has-sun-belt-beat/1158/〕〔, (reprinted by Google News Archive )〕 ==Definition== The belt comprises the southern tier of the United States including the states of Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, South Carolina, Texas, roughly half of California (up to Greater Sacramento), and parts of Arkansas, North Carolina, and Nevada. Four of the states — Arizona, California, Florida, and Nevada — are sometimes collectively called the Sand States due to their abundance of either beaches or deserts. First employed by political analyst Kevin Phillips in his 1969 book ''The Emerging Republican Majority'', the term "Sun Belt" became synonymous with the southern third of the nation in the early 1970s. There was a shift in this period from the previously economically and politically important Midwest and Northeast to the South and West. Factors such as the migration of immigrant workers from Mexico, warmer climate, and a boom in the agriculture industry allowed for the southern third of the United States to grow economically. The climate spurred not only agricultural growth, but also saw many retirees move into retirement communities in the region, especially in Florida and Arizona. Industries such as aerospace, defense, and oil boomed in the Sun Belt as companies took advantage of the low involvement of labor unions in the south (due to more recent industrialization, 1930s-1950s) and enjoyed the proximity to many U.S. military installations which were major consumers of their products. The oil industry helped propel southern states such as Texas and Louisiana forward, and tourism grew in Florida and southern California as well. In more recent decades high tech and new economy industries have been major drivers of growth in California, Florida, Texas, and other parts of the Sun Belt. Texas and California rank among the top five states in the nation with the most number of Fortune 500 companies. Since 1970, Sun Belt states have gained 25 electoral votes in presidential elections. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Sun Belt」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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