Rust Belt, Corn Belt, Fruit Belt, Snow Belt – How Many Belts is Michigan a Part Of?
Many different regions of the country are known by the term 'belt' think of the Rust Belt or Bible Belt. Just how many 'Belts' comprise Michigan?
The YouTube channel General Knowledge took a deep dive into America's Belts and Michigan, perhaps surprisingly, is in many of them.
You may think first of the Rust Belt. Michigan is certainly part of that belt. The Rust Belt largely runs the southern Great Lakes. Rochester and Buffalo in Upstate New York through Cleveland, Toledo, Detroit, Flint, Saginaw, South Bend around to Chicago and Milwaukee. Only the industrial southern portion of Michigan is a part of the Rust Belt.
Michigan is also in the nation's Corn Belt. Not quite a strong as, say Iowa and Illinois. The Corn Belt in Michigan runs through southern and mid-Michigan to the Thumb primarily across, say Montcalm County to Huron County.
Michigan is also in the Fruit Belt. All of western Michigan along the shores of Lake Michigan are in the state's fruit producing areas. From peaches to blueberries, grapes and cherries, farm stands abound along the Lakeshore.
READ MORE: This Delicious Fruit Is Native To One Small Inaccessible Corner of Michigan
The Snow Belt. Obviously. It's that heavy lake effect snow that puts Michigan into the Snow Belt. The Snow Belt aligns with the Fruit Belt as it's this winter weather that yields the summer fruit. Lake Michigan fuels West Michigan while Lake Superior blankets nearly all of the Upper Peninsula. This belt is also known as the Frost Belt.
Next is the Salt Belt. No, not for the underground deposits under Detroit. Rather the salt belt is given its name by the road salt used on highways in the winter.
So tighten up your belts, Michigan, you're a part of many of the nation's best known Belt regions.