I don't get it. Like, it's a pretty map, but after staring at it for a couple of minutes I can't figure out how it's supposed to relate to the real data:
The idea, I think, is to show the relevant chunk of the United States which is equivalent to the economy of each given country.
Wait a minute, the Southeast produces ~5x more than the Northeast? Please tell me it's not about (Golf Coast) oil.
No, you're misinterpreting it. The Northeast produces more than the southeast. What that map says is that the Northeast's GDP is approximately that of Japan (both ~$4.3 trillion), but $40 billion more than Japan's. Similarly, the Southeast's GDP is $216 billion more than that of the UK (both ~$2.5 trillion).
I gotcha. So you need to know those countries' GDPs to interpret the graphic. I thought it was a comparison based on land area and that those countries GPDs were roughly equal, which is way off.