The East North Central States form one of the nine geographic divisions within the United States which are officially recognized by the United States Census Bureau. The United States Census Bureau (officially Bureau of the Census) is a part of the United States Department of Commerce. ...

The division contains five states: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin. It is one of two divisions used to categorize the region of the U.S. archaically called the "Midwest"; the other such division is the West North Central States (The Great Plains States). The region closely matches the area of the Northwest Territory. Official language(s) English Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Area  Ranked 25th  - Total 57,918 sq. ... Official language(s) English Capital Largest city Indianapolis Indianapolis Area  Ranked 38th  - Total 36,418 sq. ... Official language(s) None (English, de-facto) Capital Lansing Largest city Detroit Area  Ranked 11th  - Total 265,172 km² / 102,384 sq. ... Official language(s) None Capital Largest city Columbus Columbus (largest metropolitan area is Cleveland) Area  Ranked 34th  - Total 44,825 sq. ... Official language(s) None Capital Madison Largest city Milwaukee Area  Ranked 23rd  - Total 65,498 sq. ... Region can be used to mean either: any more or less well-defined geographical area of a country or continent, defined by geography, culture or history in political geography, an administrative subdivision of a country or of the European Union. ... The Midwest is a common name for a region of the United States of America. ... The West North Central States form one of the nine geographic divisions within the United States that are officially recognized by that countrys census bureau. ... The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and the Territory North West of the Ohio, was a government and region within the early United States. ...

The East North Central division is strongly identified with the Rust Belt, although the latter also encompasses upstate New York and western Pennsylvania, and Northeastern Ohio along with the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia. Other alternate names for the division include the Great Lakes Region (again, shared with upstate New York and western Pennsylvania, and also a small part of Minnesota), the "Mideast," and the "North Coast," offered up as a non-pejorative substitute for "Rust Belt" and alluding to the fact that the Great Lakes provide access to the Atlantic Ocean via either the St. Lawrence Seaway or a combination of the New York State Barge Canal and the Hudson River (indeed, Chicago, the division's largest city, is by far the largest fresh-water port in the United States, and one of the largest such ports in the entire world). The Rust Belt, highlighted in red The Rust Belt, formerly known as the Manufacturing Belt, is an area in the northeastern and upper midwestern United States, roughly between Chicago and New York City, whose economy was formerly based largely on heavy industry, manufacturing, and associated industries. ... Official language(s) None, English de facto Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area  Ranked 27th  - Total 141,205 km²  (54,520 sq. ... Official language(s) None Capital Harrisburg Largest city Philadelphia Area  Ranked 33rd  - Total 46,055 sq. ... The Northern Panhandle is a region in the U.S. state of West Virginia. ... Official language(s) English Capital Largest city Charleston Charleston Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 41st 62,809 km² 210 km 385 km 0. ... The Great Lakes from space The Great Lakes are a group of five large lakes on or near the United States-Canadian border. ... Official language(s) None Capital Largest city Saint Paul Minneapolis Area  - Total   - Width   - Length    - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 12th 87,014 sq mi  225,365 km² 250 miles  400 km 400 miles  645 km 8. ... The Saint Lawrence Seaway in its broadest sense (see Great Lakes Waterway) is the system of canals that permits ocean-going vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes as far as Lake Superior. ... The New York Barge Canal is a successor to the Erie Canal and other canals within New York. ... View of the Hudson in the 1880s showing Jersey City The Hudson River, called Muh-he-kun-ne-tuk in Mahican, is a river running mainly through New York State but partly forming the boundary between the states of New York and New Jersey. ... Chicago (officially named the City of Chicago) is the third largest city in the United States (after New York City and Los Angeles), with an official population of 2,896,016, as of the 2000 census. ...