Appalachia provides excellent examples of regional concepts and subregional dynamics that comprise and change regions. The region also illustrates complexities that arise in teaching regional concepts. These concepts often present challenges for students, not only in comprehending the ways that change occurs as the selection of regionally-defining criteria change, but also in seeing the deeper geographies that can be masked when regions are seen as little more that static spatial constructs. This paper presents the geography of low-income counties within the Appalachian region, defined by the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), as an example that clearly illustrates subregional differences and dynamics.