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country, and supports only one-fourth as much agriculture per unit 

 area. 



In those regions lying between Cape Hatteras, N.C., and Canada 

 as well as in the Pacific Southwest, over 90 percent of the population 

 lives in urban areas; over much of the Atlantic estuarine zone 

 stretches the great northeastern megalopolis with population densities 

 averaging over 1,000 persons per square mile. The remainder of the 

 estuarine zone of the United States exhibits a pattern of major centers 

 of population clustered around natural harbors and separated by 

 stretches of coastline which are either empty and inaccessible or 

 beginning to be sprinkled with private residence and resort communi- 

 ties in the vicinities of population centers. 



The coastal counties have within their borders 40 percent of all 

 manufacturing plants 1n the United States. The mixture of manufactur- 

 ing types in the estuarine zone Is the same as the national composition 

 with only minor exceptions, such as the concentration of the apparel 

 manufacturing Industry 1n the Middle Atlantic region, particularly 1n 

 the New York area. Distribution of manufacturino types amona the 

 biophysical regions shows regional differences related to historical 

 development as well as raw material and market availability. 



Over half of all plants in the coastal counties and one-fifth of all 

 manufacturing plants in the United States are located in the Middle 

 Atlantic biophysical region, which was the historical center of the 



