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to develop a diversified economy. In recent decades, this area has 

 grown faster than the national average, with civilian and military 

 government located primarily in the Washington Metropolitan Area 

 and Hampton Roads, Newport News, respectively, providing the 

 impetus for more of the growth. The Chesapeake Bay continues to 

 provide an important fisheries input to the regional economy, but its 

 importance relative to other, sometimes competmg, economic activities 

 such as primary metals, transportation services, and shipbuilding has 

 declined and is projected to continue to decline in the future. 



The existence of a large steel-producing plant at Sparrows Point 

 in the Chesapeake Bay is a further example of the development of an 

 industry highly dependent on the estuarine environment for transport 

 by ship, but not for other natural resources. 



The South Atlcmtic hiophysical region 



This region includes the OBE estuarine economic areas of the North 

 and South Carolina coast and the Georgia-eastern Florida coast. The 

 economic areas in the region have traditionally been producers of raw 

 materials in the form of agricultural products (particularly tobacco 

 and cotton and more recently soybeans) , finfish and shellfish, and for- 

 estry products. The North Carolina coast, and to a somewhat lesser 

 degree, the South Carolina coast, continue to exhibit significant con- 

 centrations of economic activity in these areas. National defense activi- 

 ties dominate both of these areas, with Charleston being the focus for 

 considerable naval activity. Eecreation and tourist activities dominate 

 portions of the North and South Carolina coastal areas, notably the 

 Cape Hatteras, N.C., and Myrtle Beach, S.C, resort areas. 



The Georgia-eastern Florida coast area is not as dependent on the 

 natural resources of forests and fisheries as North or South Carolina, 

 although Savannah, for instance, is a major center for the manufactur- 

 ing of paper and allied products. The importance of the land-water 

 interface, particularly in the Florida portion of this area, is centered 

 on its value as a retirement and recreation area. The total economy of 

 the area has thus moved increasingly to a service-producing economy 

 with significant growth in professional services, contract construction, 

 amusements, and similar activities. 



The Gulf of Mexico hiophysical region 



This region extends from the southern Florida gulf coast economic 

 area to the southern Texas gulf coast. Economic activities withm this 

 region are extremely diverse, ranging from a high dependence on agri- 

 culture, forestry and fisheries in the central Florida gulf coast area to 

 the highly industralized petrochemical and manufacturing economy 

 located in the north Texas gulf coast and centered on the Houston- 

 Galveston complex. 



The southern Florida gulf coast contains many service industries 

 drawn to the Tampa-St. Petersburg retirement and recreation area. 

 A high degree of specialization in contract construction in the area 

 attests to the tremendous growth of the housing and building industry 

 to accommodate the vast in-migration of recent years. Although for- 

 estry and fisheries is declining in this area's economy, there is a con- 

 tinuing relative concentration of these activities in the southern Florida 

 gulf coast area. 



