ADVERTISEMENT
Home

Main navigation

  • World
    • Countries
    • World History & Timelines
    • World Stats & Facts
    • War
    • Current Events
    • World Geography
    • Religion
    • Natural Disasters
    • Accident Archive
  • U.S.
    • U.S. History
    • Government
    • U.S. Geography
    • Education
    • Laws & Rights
    • National Landmarks
    • The Fifty States
    • U.S. Cities
    • U.S. Population
    • Race & Ethnicity
    • Postal Information
    • Speeches & Documents
    • U.S. State Flags
    • U.S. Maps
    • Timelines
  • People
    • People Fun Facts
    • Biographies
    • Women of Influence
    • U.S. Presidents
  • Science
    • Biology
    • Earth Sciences
    • Environment, Energy, and Nature
    • Health and Body
    • Plants
    • Animals
    • Dinosaurs
    • Inventions and Inventors
    • Chemistry
    • Physics
    • Weather
    • Food
    • General Science
    • Computers, Technology and the Internet
    • Transportation
    • Astronomy and Space
    • Interactive Periodic Table
  • Math
    • Numbers
    • Tables and Formulas
    • Money
    • Measurement
    • Factors and Fractions
  • Language Arts
    • Creature Catalog
    • All About Books
    • Grammar and Spelling
    • Speaking of Language
    • Mythology
  • Homework
    • Geography
    • History
    • Language Arts
    • Mathematics
    • Science
    • Social Studies
    • Writing
    • Research
    • Speaking & Listening
    • Studying
  • Games
    • Roman Numeral Challenge
    • Math Flashcards
    • Hangman
    • Same Game
    • Tic Tac Toe
  • Holidays & Calendars
    • 2018 Calendar
    • 2018 Holidays
    • Calendars
    • Perpetual Calendar
  • Tools
    • Almanac
    • Atlas
    • Conversion Calculator
    • Dictionary
    • Distance Calculator
    • Encyclopedia
    • Place Finder
    • Spell Checker
    • Thesaurus
  • Dictionary
  • Encyclopedia
  • Thesaurus
  • Almanac
  • Atlas
  • Timelines
  1. Home /
  2. Columbia Encyclopedia /
  3. Places /
  4. United States, Canada, and Greenland /
  5. U.S. Physical Geography /
  6. Cotton Belt

Cotton Belt

Cotton Belt, former agricultural region of the SE United States where cotton was the main cash crop throughout the 19th and much of the 20th cent. Located on the Atlantic and Gulf coastal plains and on the Piedmont upland, it extended through North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, W Tennessee, E Arkansas, Louisiana, E Texas, and S Oklahoma, and also into small areas of SE Missouri, SW Kentucky, N Florida, and SE Virginia. Cotton is still grown in certain parts of the region but has ceased to be the dominant crop. The intensive production of corn, wheat, soybeans, peanuts, beans, and livestock has largely replaced cotton. Commercial timber production is also widespread on many former cotton plantations. Until the invention of the cotton gin in 1793, the Cotton Belt was confined to the coastal areas of South Carolina and Georgia by the mid-1800s, it extended from S Virginia to E Texas. The belt's climatic conditions allowed cotton to thrive, but post–Civil War reforms, soil depletion, and the boll weevil (a type of beetle that eats cotton) combined to push cotton west. Today large quantities of cotton also are grown are irrigated land in the Southwest—W Texas, S New Mexico, S Arizona, and S California (see Black Belt Imperial Valley ). The dryness of those areas makes it easier to control insect pests. Texas, Mississippi, Georgia, and Arkansas are the leading producers of the old cotton belt California ranks after Texas nationally.

See G. C. Fite, Cotton Fields No More: Southern Agriculture, 1865–1980 (1984) A. Burton, The Rise and Fall of King Cotton (1985).

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

See more Encyclopedia articles on: U.S. Physical Geography

Browse By Subject

  • Earth and the Environment +-
    • Atmosphere and Weather
    • Biographies
    • Ecology and Environmentalism
    • Geography
    • Geology and Oceanography
    • Minerals, Mining, and Metallurgy
  • History +-
    • Ancient Greece and Rome
    • Asia and Africa
    • Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific
    • Biographies
    • Historians and Chronicles
    • Latin America and the Caribbean
    • Modern Europe
    • United States, Canada, and Greenland
  • Literature and the Arts +-
    • Art and Architecture
    • Biographies
    • Classical Literature, Mythology, and Folklore
    • Fashion, Design, and Crafts
    • Journalism and Publishing
    • Language, Linguistics, and Literary Terms
    • Literature in English
    • Literature in Other Modern Languages
    • Performing Arts
    • Scholars and Historians
  • Medicine +-
    • Anatomy and Physiology
    • Biographies
    • Diseases and Conditions
    • Divisions, Diagnostics, and Procedures
    • Drugs
    • Psychology
  • People +-
    • History
    • Literature and the Arts
    • Medicine
    • Philosophy and Religion
    • Science and Technology
    • Social Sciences and the Law
    • Sports and Games
  • Philosophy and Religion +-
    • Ancient Religions
    • Biographies
    • Christianity
    • Eastern Religions
    • Islam
    • Judaism
    • Other Religious Beliefs and General Terms
    • Philosophy
    • The Bible
  • Places +-
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • Australia and Oceania
    • Britain, Ireland, France, and the Low Countries
    • Commonwealth of Independent States and the Baltic Nations
    • Germany, Scandinavia, and Central Europe
    • Latin America and the Caribbean
    • Oceans, Continents, and Polar Regions
    • Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, and the Balkans
    • United States, Canada, and Greenland
  • Plants and Animals +-
    • Agriculture and Horticulture
    • Animals
    • Biographies
    • Botany
    • Microbes, Algae, and Fungi
    • Plants
    • Zoology and Veterinary Medicine
  • Science and Technology +-
    • Astronomy and Space Exploration
    • Biochemistry
    • Biographies
    • Biology and Genetics
    • Chemistry
    • Computers and Electrical Engineering
    • Mathematics
    • Physics
    • Technology
  • Social Sciences and the Law +-
    • Anthropology and Archaeology
    • Biographies
    • Economics, Business, and Labor
    • Education
    • Law
    • Political Science and Government
    • Sociology and Social Reform
  • Sports and Everyday Life +-
    • Biographies
    • Crafts and Household Items
    • Days and Holidays
    • Fashion and Clothing
    • Food and Drink
    • Games
    • Manners and Customs
    • Social Organizations
    • Sports
Play Poptropica Worlds

Download Poptropica and play for free!

Explore a limitless universe of uncharted islands
App store
Google Play
 

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

Featured Videos

 
ADVERTISEMENT

Women's History Month

Learn all about history's greatest women.

ADVERTISEMENT

Baseball

The season's begun! Brush up on your baseball facts!

The Boston Marathon

Read more about the world's oldest annual marathon!

  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • Terms of Use
  • Citing Fact Monster™
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Part of FEN Learning
  • FactMonster
  • InfoPlease
  • FamilyEducation
  • TeacherVision

© 2000-2018 Sandbox Networks, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

FactMonster.com is certified by the kidSAFE Seal Program.

FactMonster.com is certified by the kidSAFE Seal Program. To learn more, click on the seal or go to www.kidsafeseal.com.