. . . . . . . "Southern Illinois, also known as Little Egypt, is the southern third of Illinois, principally along and south of Interstate 64. Although part of a Midwestern state, this region is aligned in culture more with that of the Upland South than the Midwest. Part of downstate Illinois, it is bordered by the two most voluminous rivers in the United States: the Mississippi below its connecting Missouri River to the west and the Ohio River to the east and south with the Wabash as tributary."@en . . . . . . . . . . "Little Egypt ou Illinois du Sud est une r\u00E9gion du sud de l'\u00C9tat de l'Illinois, aux \u00C9tats-Unis. Elle est g\u00E9ographiquement, culturellement et \u00E9conomiquement diff\u00E9rente du reste de l'\u00E9tat. Colonis\u00E9e par des migrants venant du Sud sup\u00E9rieur du pays, elle est historiquement li\u00E9e \u00E0 une culture et \u00E0 une \u00E9conomie rurales, \u00E0 l'instar de l'Ouest du Kentucky, de l'Indiana du Sud-Ouest et du Missouri du Sud-Est. La r\u00E9gion compte environ 1,2 million d'habitants."@fr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "Little Egypt ou Illinois du Sud est une r\u00E9gion du sud de l'\u00C9tat de l'Illinois, aux \u00C9tats-Unis. Elle est g\u00E9ographiquement, culturellement et \u00E9conomiquement diff\u00E9rente du reste de l'\u00E9tat. Colonis\u00E9e par des migrants venant du Sud sup\u00E9rieur du pays, elle est historiquement li\u00E9e \u00E0 une culture et \u00E0 une \u00E9conomie rurales, \u00E0 l'instar de l'Ouest du Kentucky, de l'Indiana du Sud-Ouest et du Missouri du Sud-Est. La r\u00E9gion compte environ 1,2 million d'habitants."@fr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "Southern Illinois"@en . . . . . . . . . "250"^^ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "Little Egypt (r\u00E9gion)"@fr . . . . . . . . . . "Counties in red are usually or always included in southern Illinois, while those in pink are sometimes included."@en . . "St Louis night expblend.jpg"@en . . . . . . . . . "MArionsquare123.JPG"@en . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "473630"^^ . . . "Country"@en . . . . "Little Egypt"@en . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "vertical"@en . . "200"^^ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "Belleville is the region's largest city."@en . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "East St. Louis was formerly the region's largest city at 80,000 residents, but population declined markedly with the loss of industrial jobs."@en . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "38.0"^^ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "Largest city"@en . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "1108322067"^^ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "1200000"^^ . "Little Egypt"@en . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "St. Louis, Missouri metropolitan area extends into Illinois, giving Southern Illinois its most populated region known as Metro East"@en . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "Southern Illinois"@en . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "Marion, Illinois"@en . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "79970"^^ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "Southern Illinois"@en . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "State"@en . . . . . "-89.0"^^ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "Southern Illinois"@en . . "Southern Illinois, also known as Little Egypt, is the southern third of Illinois, principally along and south of Interstate 64. Although part of a Midwestern state, this region is aligned in culture more with that of the Upland South than the Midwest. Part of downstate Illinois, it is bordered by the two most voluminous rivers in the United States: the Mississippi below its connecting Missouri River to the west and the Ohio River to the east and south with the Wabash as tributary. Southern Illinois' most populated city is Belleville at 44,478. Other principal cities include Alton, Centralia, Collinsville, Edwardsville, Glen Carbon, Godfrey, O'Fallon, Harrisburg, Herrin, West Frankfort, Mt. Vernon, Marion, and Carbondale, where the main campus of Southern Illinois University is located. Residents may also travel to amenities in St. Louis and Cape Girardeau, Missouri; Memphis and Nashville, Tennessee; Evansville, Indiana; and Paducah, Kentucky. The region is home to Scott Air Force Base, a major military installation. The area has a population of 1.2 million people, who live mostly in rural towns and cities separated by extensive farmland and the Shawnee National Forest. The two higher density areas of population are Metro East (pop. 700,000+), which is the partly industrialized Illinois portion of the St. Louis Metropolitan Area, and the Carbondale-Marion-Herrin, Illinois Combined Statistical Area, centered on Carbondale and Marion, a two-county area that is home to 123,272 residents. The first European settlers were French colonists in the part of their North American empire called Illinois Country. Later settlers migrated from the Upland South of the United States, traveling by the Ohio River. The region was affiliated with the southern agricultural economy, based on enslaved African Americans as workers on major plantations, and rural culture. Some settlers owned slaves before the territory was organized and slavery was prohibited. Many areas developed an economy based on coal mining. Much of Southern Illinois is still culturally affiliated with the Mid-South: Western Kentucky, Southwestern Indiana, West Tennessee, and the Missouri Bootheel. The people speak with similar accents throughout this area. Southern Illinois, the earliest settled and once the wealthiest part of Illinois, is known for its rich history and the abundance of antebellum architecture remaining in its small towns and cities."@en . . . . . . "38.0 -89.0" . . . . . "POINT(-89 38)"^^ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "File:Illinois Counties - Little Egypt.png"@en . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .