Why do people in the USA refer to the East coast as "the Eastern seaboard,' but it's always "the West coast? Where'd the boards come from?

Interesting, Geoff, and you are right. It reminds me of this question that I had here.

I found online suggestions that when the U.S. was formed there was no west coast, only an east coast. Another word for coast was seaboard, hence the Eastern Seaboard. By the time the U.S. had expanded enough to include a west coast the word seaboard had become obsolete and it was therefore called the West Coast.

The OED Online offers some support of this suggestion:

quote:

board, n.
 IV. A border, side, coast.  [Old English bord; lost in Middle English and replaced by French bord.]
 
 11. The border or side of anything; a hem; an edge; a coast. Obs. exc. in board seaboard, sea-coast.

Also

quote:

board, n.
VII.

17. In Colonial technical sense: see quot.
1892 Chambers's Jrnl. 5 Mar. 159/1 The boat is carried out across the ‘board’ or standing ice some time previous to the arrival of the geese.

I think there might be a geological explanation also. The east coast is geologically older than the west coast and has what is called a passive margin and a long continental shelf. The west coast has an active margin and relatively short continental shelf. I believe the continental shelf is the board in seaboard. (http://jersey.uoregon.edu/~mst...Man/geoQuerry26.html)

In the second OED quote the board is the ice above the continental shelf.

Definitions from Iowa State University Department of Geological and Atmospheric Sciences

quote:

continental shelf The portion of the continental margin
that extends as a gently sloping surface from the shoreline seaward
to a marked change in slope at the top of the continental slope . Seaward
depth averages about 130 m.

margin The tectonic region that lies at the edge of
a continent, whether it coincides with a plate boundary or not.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: tinman,

As usual, Tinman, superb research! Thanks!

BTW, your residence city belies my assertion! Let's hope those tectonic plates don't shift to the point that it's literally the case.
After all the Northwest coast is overdue for a BIG quake.

There wasn't really much research. I remember from college courses that the east coast is much older geologically is not very active, except for erosion. Erosion tends to level everything and eat away at the coast line. The west coast, on the other hand, is relatively recent and very active geologically and is expanding due to subduction of tectonic plates and the resulting uplifts and volcanism. Eventually, in a few million or billion years, Geoff, you'll be living on the East Coast and I'll be in the Midwest. I can hardly wait.

quote:

Eventually, in a few million or billion years, Geoff, you'll be living on the East Coast and I'll be in the Midwest. I can hardly wait.

Using that criteria, my house will then be the equivalent of Atlantis.

Of course, Tinman, you are right. The entire Pacific Ocean's coastlines are anything BUT pacific; it's known to geologists as "the ring of fire," since vulcanism encircles it as subduction/uplift occurs both east and west. And I bet we both remember Mt St Helens reminding of us of it back in 1980.

quote:

remember Mt St Helens reminding of us of it back in 1980

Technically, that is "volcano sex." It's a mountain getting its rocks off.

Not many rocks; St. Helens mostly lost its ash.