ABSTRACT
A basic task in regional geography is delimitation of appropriate boundaries. This essential step in regional study is difficult and often not fully acceptable to all critics. A region is a mental construct: an area that has been bounded in accordance with the goals of those delimiting the region. Many characteristics could be used to set Appalachia off as a separate region in America. Appalachia has been variously described as a region of mountains, coal mining, poverty, unique culture, tourism, welfarism, isolation, and subsistence agriculture. More precise sociocultural definitions of the Appalachian region began to appear in the academic literature. The first attempt at geographical delimitation of Appalachia by a federal agency is found in a 1935 publication by the US Department of Agriculture in which F. J. Marschner defined the region on the basis of its physiography, soil, and climatic characteristics.
