<P> The Piedmont region is closely associated with the Piedmont blues, a style of blues music that originated there in the late 19th century . According to the Piedmont Blues Preservation Society, most Piedmont blues musicians came from Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia . During the Great Migration, African Americans migrated to the Piedmont . With the Appalachian Mountains to the west, those who might otherwise have spread into rural areas stayed in cities and were thus exposed to a broader mixture of music than those in, for example, the rural Mississippi delta . Thus, Piedmont blues was influenced by many types of music such as ragtime, country, and popular songs--styles that had comparatively less influence on blues music in other regions . </P> <P> Many major cities are located on the fall line, the eastern boundary of the Piedmont . (In Georgia and Alabama, where the Piedmont runs mostly east to west, the fall line is its southern boundary .) The fall line, where the land rises abruptly from the coastal plain, marks the limit of navigability on many major rivers, so inland ports sprang up along it . </P> <P> Within the Piedmont region itself, there are several areas of urban concentration, the largest being the Philadelphia metropolitan area in Pennsylvania . The Piedmont cuts Maryland in half, covering the Baltimore--Washington metropolitan area . In Virginia, the Greater Richmond metropolitan area is the largest urban concentration . In North Carolina, the Piedmont Crescent includes several metropolitan clusters such as Metrolina, the Piedmont Triad, and the Research Triangle . Other notable areas include the Greenville - Spartanburg - Anderson, SC Combined Statistical Area in South Carolina, and in Georgia, the Atlanta metropolitan area . </P>

Where does the piedmont region begin and end