When early settlers traveled west they hit the Rockies and decided that was as far as they felt like going in horse and buggy, so they called it “the West” even though it was fully within the east half of the continent.
Believe me, you are not the first person to be bothered by the fact that, from east to west, the four regions of the US are “east coast”, “Midwest”, “central”, and “west”
ah yes the north east, perfect for the “mid west” descriptor
When early settlers traveled west they hit the Rockies and decided that was as far as they felt like going in horse and buggy, so they called it “the West” even though it was fully within the east half of the continent.
Believe me, you are not the first person to be bothered by the fact that, from east to west, the four regions of the US are “east coast”, “Midwest”, “central”, and “west”
Worse, the old old West was the Appalachians.