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The Central Time Zone is in the Americas
Americas

The Americas are the region of the Western hemisphere that consists of the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions....
 and observes standard time
Standard time

Standard time is the result of synchronizing clocks in different geographical locations within a time zone to the same time rather than using the local meridian as in local mean time or solar time....
 by subtracting six hours from UTC
Coordinated Universal Time

Coordinated Universal Time is a time standard based on International Atomic Time with leap seconds added at irregular intervals to compensate for the Earth's slowing rotation....
 during standard time (UTC-6
UTC-6

Sorry, no overview for this topic
) and five hours during daylight saving time (UTC-5
UTC-5

UTC-5 is the time offset used in the North American Eastern Time Zone during standard time and in the North American Central Time Zone during Daylight Saving Time ....
). The clock time in this zone, comprised almost totally of a strip of territory in North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
, is based on the mean solar time of the 90th meridian west
90th meridian west

The meridian 90? west of Prime Meridian is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, North America, the Gulf of Mexico, Central America, the Pacific Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
 of the Greenwich Observatory.

In the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 and Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
, this time zone is generically called Central Time (CT).






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Timezoneswest
The Central Time Zone is in the Americas
Americas

The Americas are the region of the Western hemisphere that consists of the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions....
 and observes standard time
Standard time

Standard time is the result of synchronizing clocks in different geographical locations within a time zone to the same time rather than using the local meridian as in local mean time or solar time....
 by subtracting six hours from UTC
Coordinated Universal Time

Coordinated Universal Time is a time standard based on International Atomic Time with leap seconds added at irregular intervals to compensate for the Earth's slowing rotation....
 during standard time (UTC-6
UTC-6

Sorry, no overview for this topic
) and five hours during daylight saving time (UTC-5
UTC-5

UTC-5 is the time offset used in the North American Eastern Time Zone during standard time and in the North American Central Time Zone during Daylight Saving Time ....
). The clock time in this zone, comprised almost totally of a strip of territory in North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
, is based on the mean solar time of the 90th meridian west
90th meridian west

The meridian 90? west of Prime Meridian is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, North America, the Gulf of Mexico, Central America, the Pacific Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
 of the Greenwich Observatory.

In the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 and Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
, this time zone is generically called Central Time (CT). Specifically, it is Central Standard Time (CST) when observing standard time
Standard time

Standard time is the result of synchronizing clocks in different geographical locations within a time zone to the same time rather than using the local meridian as in local mean time or solar time....
 (Winter
Winter

Winter is one of the four seasons of temperate zones. Calculated astronomy, it begins on the solstice and ends on the equinox. It is the season with the shortest days and the lowest average temperatures....
), and Central Daylight Time (CDT) when observing daylight saving (Summer
Summer

Summer generally refers to the warmest and most humid season between spring and autumn, from the summer solstice to the autumnal equinox. In the Northern Hemisphere, this falls from the June solstice to the September equinox, while in the Southern Hemisphere it falls from the December solstice to the March equinox....
). In Mexico
Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
 this time is known as the Central Zone.

The zone is two hours ahead of the Pacific Time Zone
Pacific Time Zone

The Pacific Time Zone observes standard time by subtracting eight hours from Coordinated Universal Time . The clock time in this zone is based on the mean solar time of the 120th meridian west of the Greenwich Observatory....
, one hour ahead of the Mountain Time Zone
Mountain Time Zone

The Mountain Time Zone of North America keeps time by subtracting seven hours from Coordinated Universal Time, sometimes called Greenwich Mean Time during the shortest days of autumn and winter, and by subtracting six hours during daylight saving time in the spring, summer, and early autumn ....
, and one hour behind the Eastern Time Zone.

Regions using Central Standard Time


Canada

The Canadian
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
 province that observes Central Time in its entirety:
  • Manitoba
    Manitoba

    Manitoba is a prairie provinces in Canada, which has an area of 647,797 square kilometres and a population of 1,207,959 , with more than half located within the Winnipeg Capital Region ....


The Canadian provinces and territories that observe Central Time in part with another time zone (other time zone):
  • Nunavut
    Nunavut

    Nunavut is the largest and newest Provinces and territories of Canada of Canada; it was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999 via the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, though the actual boundaries had been established in 1993....
     (Eastern) most of Kivalliq Region and part of Qikiqtaaluk Region
  • Ontario
    Ontario

    Ontario is a Provinces and territories of Canada located in the Central Canada part of Canada, the largest by population and second largest, after Quebec, in total area....
     (Eastern) northwestern part
  • Saskatchewan
    Saskatchewan

    Saskatchewan is a prairie provinces in Canada, which has an area of 588,276.09 square kilometres and a population of 1,015,895 , mostly living in the southern half of the province....
     (Mountain) nearly all Central


United States

The states of the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 that observe Central Time in their entirety:
  • Alabama
    Alabama

    Alabama is a state located in the Southern United States of the United States of America. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west....
    • Although the entire state of Alabama is legally on Central Time, Phenix City
      Phenix City, Alabama

      Phenix City is a city in Lee County, Alabama and Russell County, Alabama in the U.S. state of Alabama, although primarily in Russell County. As of 2006, the population of the city was 30,067, according to Census Bureau estimates....
       and its surrounding area unofficially observe Eastern Time, as Phenix City is part of the media market and metropolitan area of the considerably larger city of Columbus, Georgia
      Columbus, Georgia

      Columbus is a city in Muscogee County, Georgia, Georgia , United States. It is the primary city of the Columbus, Georgia Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area, an MSA which encompasses all of Columbus, Georgia, Chattahoochee County, Georgia, Harris County, Georgia, Marion County, Georgia, and Muscogee County, Georgia counties, Georgia, and Russ...
      .
  • Arkansas
    Arkansas

    Arkansas is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States of the United States. Arkansas shares a border with six states, with its eastern border largely defined by the Mississippi River....
  • Illinois
    Illinois

    The State of Illinois is a U.S. state of the United States, the 21st to be admitted to the United States. Illinois is the most populous and demographically diverse Midwestern United States state and the fifth most populous state in the nation....
  • Iowa
    Iowa

    The State of Iowa is a U.S. state in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland." It is bordered by Minnesota to the north, Wisconsin and Illinois to the east, Nebraska and South Dakota to the west, and Missouri to the south....
     
  • Louisiana
    Louisiana

    The State of Louisiana is a U.S. state located in the U.S. Southern States of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans....
  • Minnesota
    Minnesota

    Minnesota is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States of the United States. The twelfth largest state by area in the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with just over five million residents....
  • Mississippi
    Mississippi

    Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Deep South of the United States. Jackson, Mississippi is the state capital and largest city. The state's name comes from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, and takes its name from the Anishinaabe language word misi-ziibi ....
  • Missouri
    Missouri

    Missouri is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States of the United States bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska....
  • Oklahoma
    Oklahoma

    Oklahoma is a U.S. state and a sovereignty located in the South Central United States and Southern United States of the United States of America ....
  • Wisconsin
    Wisconsin

    Wisconsin is one of the fifty U.S. state in the United States of America, located in the north central part of the United States. It borders two of the five Great Lakes and four U.S....


The states of the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 that observe Central Time only in part with another time zone: Part in Mountain Time
  • Kansas
    Kansas

    The State of Kansas is a Midwestern U.S. state in the Central United States of the United States of America, an area often referred to as the United States "Heartland"....
  • Nebraska
    Nebraska

    Nebraska is a U.S. state located on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States and Western United States.Nebraska probably gets its name from the archaic Chiwere language words ?? Br?sge or the Omaha-Ponca language N? Bth?ska meaning "flat water," after the Platte River that flows through the state....
  • North Dakota
    North Dakota

    North Dakota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States and Western United States regions of the United States of America. North Dakota is the 19th largest state by area in the US; it is the 48th most populous, with just over 640,000 residents as of 2006....
  • South Dakota
    South Dakota

    South Dakota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States of the United States of America. It is named after the Lakota people and Sioux Sioux Native Americans in the United States tribes....
  • Texas
    Texas

    Texas is a U.S. state located in the South Central United States, nicknamed the Lone Star State. Texas is the second largest U.S. state in both area and population, spanning , and with a growing population of 24.3 million residents....
Part in Eastern Time
  • Florida
    Florida

    Florida is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the northeast....
  • Indiana
    Indiana

    The State of Indiana was the 19th U.S. state admitted into the union. It is located in the Midwestern United States of the United States of America....
  • Kentucky
    Kentucky

    The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a U.S. state located in the East Central United States of America. Kentucky is normally included in the group of Southern United States , but it is uncommonly included, geographically and culturally, in the Midwestern United States....
  • Michigan
    Michigan

    Michigan is a Midwestern United States U.S. state of the United States of America. It was named after Lake Michigan, whose name is a French adaptation of the Anishinaabe language term mishigama, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
  • Tennessee
    Tennessee

    Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States United States. In 1796, it became the sixteenth state to join the United States....
The exact specification for the location of time zone
Time zone

A time zone is a region of the earth that has uniform standard time, usually referred to as the local time. By convention, time zones compute their local time as an offset from Coordinated Universal Time ....
s and the dividing line between zones is set forth in the Code of Federal Regulations
Code of Federal Regulations

File:Codeoffederalregulations.jpgThe Code of Federal Regulations is the codification of the general and permanent rules and regulations published in the Federal Register by the executive departments and agencies of the Federal Government of the United States....
 at 49 CFR 71. The boundary between Eastern and Central is set forth at 49 CFR 71.5, and is listed in and formats.The boundary between Central and Mountain is set forth at 49 CFR 71.7, and is listed in and formats.

Mexico

Most of Mexico
Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
 belongs to the Central Time Zone, with the six northwestern-most states
States of Mexico

The Mexico are a federation made up of thirty-one "free and sovereign states". These states constitute one federated State or Union. The federal government has exclusive jurisdiction over the Mexico City, a territory which does not belong to any state but to all, as well as the islands, atolls and reefs that do not belong to any stat...
 being the exception: Baja California Sur
Baja California Sur

Baja California Sur The state is known for its natural riches and tourism. The Vizca?no Desert and small coastal lakes San Ignacio and Ojo de Liebre in the north are protected by the federal government....
, Chihuahua, Nayarit
Nayarit

Nayarit is one of Political divisions of Mexico and is located on the central west coast, bordering the Pacific Ocean. Nayarit is surrounded by the states of Sinaloa to the northwest, Durango to the north, Zacatecas to the northeast and Jalisco to the south with the Pacific Ocean bordering it to the west....
, Sinaloa
Sinaloa

Sinaloa is one of the 31 mexican state of Mexico....
, and Sonora
Sonora

Sonora is one of the 31 States of Mexico and is located in the northwest of the country....
 follow UTC-7
UTC-7

UTC-7 can be observed in:...
, while Baja California
Baja California

Baja California is the northernmost States of Mexico of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North Territory of Baja California....
 follows UTC-8
UTC-8

UTC-8 is a band of timezones separated from the Universal Coordinated Time by 8 hours....
.

The states of Mexico
Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
 that observe Central Time in their entirety:
  • Aguascalientes
    Aguascalientes

    Aguascalientes is a States of Mexico of Mexico, situated in the center of the country. The name means "hot waters" in Spanish language and originated from the abundance of hot springs in the area, thus the corresponding adjective for the state and its inhabitants is the whimsical demonym hidroc?lido ....
  • Campeche
    Campeche

    The State of Campeche is a state in the south-east region of the Mexico. It is bordered by the Mexican states of Yucat?n to the north east, Quintana Roo to the east, and Tabasco to the south west....
  • Coahuila
    Coahuila

    Coahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza is one of Mexico's 31 component States of Mexico. It is located in the north of the country.To the north, Coahuila accounts for a stretch of the U.S....
  • Colima
    Colima

    Colima is a state in western Mexico. It shares its name with its capital and main city, Colima, Colima.Colima is a small state, sharing a border with the Mexican states of Jalisco to the north and east, and Michoac?n to the south....
  • Chiapas
    Chiapas

    Chiapas is the southernmost States of Mexico of Mexico, located towards the southeast of the country. Chiapas is bordered by the states of Tabasco to the north, Veracruz to the northwest, and Oaxaca to the west....
  • Distrito Federal
    Distrito Federal

    Distrito Federal may refer to:*Brazilian Federal District*Mexican Federal District...
  • Durango
    Durango

    Durango is one of the constituent states of Mexico. Its population is 1,509,118. It has Mexico's second-lowest population density, after Baja California Sur....
  • Guanajuato
    Guanajuato

    Guanajuato is a state in the central highlands of Mexico. It is named after its capital city, Guanajuato, Guanajuato, which comes from the local indigenous P'urh?pecha language, meaning "Hill of Frogs"....
  • Guerrero
    Guerrero

    The State of Guerrero is a state in the southern meridional region of Mexico. With an area of , it occupies about 3.3% of Mexican territory. It borders the Pacific Ocean to the south , Michoac?n to the west , Oaxaca to the east , and Mexico State , Morelos , and Puebla to the north ....
  • Hidalgo
    Hidalgo

    Hidalgo is a States of Mexico in central Mexico, bordered on the north by San Luis Potos?, on the east by Veracruz and Puebla, on the south by Tlaxcala and Mexico State, on the northwest by Quer?taro....
  • Jalisco
    Jalisco

    Jalisco is a Mexican state in Mexico. The capital of Jalisco is the city of Guadalajara, Jalisco. In the 2005 census, Jalisco had a population of 6,752,113 people....
  • Mexico
    Mexico (state)

    Mexico State or State of Mexico is a Political divisions of Mexico in the center of the country of Mexico. The state's capital is the city of Toluca....
  • Michoacán
    Michoacán

    Michoac?n formally Michoac?n de Ocampo , is one of the 31 constituent States of Mexico of Mexico. It borders the states of Colima and Jalisco to the west, Guanajuato and Quer?taro to the north, Mexico to the east, Guerrero to the south-east, and the Pacific Ocean to the south....
  • Morelos
    Morelos

    Morelos is one of the 31 constituent states of Mexico. Morelos has an area of about , making it the second-smallest of the country's states. Morelos is bordered by Mexico State to the north-east and north-west, the Distrito Federal to the north, Puebla to the east, and Guerrero to the south-west....
  • Nuevo León
    Nuevo León

    Nuevo Le?n is a States of Mexico located in northeastern Mexico. It borders the states of Tamaulipas to the north and east and San Luis Potos? to the south, and Coahuila to the west....
  • Oaxaca
    Oaxaca

    The Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca }} is one of the 31 Mexican state of Mexico, located in the southern part of the country, west of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec....
  • Puebla
    Puebla

    Puebla is a Political divisions of Mexico located in the center east of the country, to the east of Mexico City.The state of Puebla borders the states of Veracruz to the east, Hidalgo , Mexico State, Tlaxcala, and Morelos to the west, and Guerrero and Oaxaca to the south....
  • Querétaro
    Querétaro

    Quer?taro is a state in the center of M?xico.Its capital is the city of Santiago de Quer?taro, although in general parlance the name "Quer?taro" is used for both the city and the state....
  • Quintana Roo
    Quintana Roo

    Quintana Roo is a Mexican state of Mexico, on the eastern part of the Yucat?n Peninsula. It borders the States of Yucat?n and Campeche to the north and west, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the nation of Belize to the south....
  • San Luis Potosí
    San Luis Potosí

    The Mexico state of San Luis Potos? has an area of .It is in the north-central part of the Mexican republic, It borders Coahuila to the north, Nuevo Leon to the north-east, Tamaulipas to the east, Veracruz to the east, Hidalgo, Queretaro, and Guanajuato to the south,and Zacatecas to the north-west....
  • Tabasco
    Tabasco

    Tabasco is a States of Mexico in Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Veracruz to the west, Chiapas to the south, and Campeche to the north-east....
  • Tamaulipas
    Tamaulipas

    Tamaulipas is one of the 31 States of Mexico of Mexico and is located in the northeast....
  • Tlaxcala
    Tlaxcala

    Tlaxcala is one of the 31 mexican states of Mexico, located to the east of Mexico City....
  • Veracruz
    Veracruz

    Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave is one of the 31 states of Mexico that constitute the republic of Mexico....
  • Yucatán
    Yucatán

    Yucat?n is one of the States of Mexico of Mexico, located on the north of the Yucat?n Peninsula. The Yucatan peninsula includes three states: Yucat?n, Campeche, and Quintana Roo; all three modern states were formerly part of the larger historic state of Yucat?n in the 19th century....
  • Zacatecas
    Zacatecas

    Zacatecas States of Mexico of Mexico is located in the north-central region and it is bounded to the northwest by Durango, to the north by Coahuila, to the east by San Luis Potos?, to the south by Aguascalientes and Guanajuato and to the southwest by Jalisco and Nayarit....


The states of the Mexico
Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
 that observe Central Time only in part with another time zone (other time zone).
  • Nayarit
    Nayarit

    Nayarit is one of Political divisions of Mexico and is located on the central west coast, bordering the Pacific Ocean. Nayarit is surrounded by the states of Sinaloa to the northwest, Durango to the north, Zacatecas to the northeast and Jalisco to the south with the Pacific Ocean bordering it to the west....
     just the Bahia de Banderas municipality uses the Central time zone.


Central America
Central America

Central America is a central geography region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmus portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast....

UTC-6 is also observed in the Central American countries of:
  • Belize
    Belize

    Belize , formerly British Honduras, is a country in Central America. Once part of the Maya civilization, and very briefly the Spanish Empire, it was most recently affiliated with the British Empire, prior to gaining its independence in 1981....
  • Guatemala
    Guatemala

    Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize and the Caribbean to the northeast, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast....
  • Honduras
    Honduras

    Honduras is a democratic republic in Central America. It was formerly known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras ....
  • El Salvador
    El Salvador

    El Salvador is the smallest country in the Americas and Central America by size, and the most densely populated nation in Central America. It borders on the Pacific Ocean between Guatemala and Honduras....
  • Nicaragua
    Nicaragua

    Nicaragua officially the Republic of Nicaragua , is a representative democracy republic. It is the largest state in Central America with an area of 130,000 km2, about the size of the state of New York....
  • Costa Rica
    Costa Rica

    Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the east and south, the Pacific Ocean to the west and south and the Caribbean Sea to the east....


Other regions

In South America
South America

South America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere....
, this zone includes the Ecuador
Ecuador

Ecuador , officially the , literally, "Republic of the equator") is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, by Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west....
ian province of Galápagos
Galápagos Province

Gal?pagos is a province of Ecuador in the country's Insular region, located approximately 600 miles off the western coast of the mainland. The capital is Puerto Baquerizo Moreno....
.

In Oceania
Oceania

Oceania is a geography, often geopolitics, region consisting of numerous lands—mostly islands in the Pacific Ocean and vicinity. The term "Oceania" was coined in 1831 by French explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville....
, Easter Island
Easter Island

Easter Island is a Polynesian island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeastern most point of the Polynesian triangle. The island is a special territory of Chile....
, an island of Chile, also belongs to this time zone.

Central Daylight Time

Daylight saving time
Daylight saving time

Daylight saving time is the convention of advancing clocks so that afternoons have more daylight and mornings have less. Typically clocks are adjusted forward one hour near the start of spring and are adjusted backward in autumn....
 is in effect in much of the time zone between mid-March and early November. The modified time is called Central Daylight Time (CDT) and is UTC-5
UTC-5

UTC-5 is the time offset used in the North American Eastern Time Zone during standard time and in the North American Central Time Zone during Daylight Saving Time ....
. In Central America Nicaragua and Guatemala observe this change. Saskatchewan, Sonora and Galápagos do not observe the change, remaining on Standard Time year round. One reason that Saskatchewan does not take part in the time change is that geographically, most of the province should be placed in the Mountain Time Zone. To avoid this, they have moved onto "permanent" daylight saving by being part of the Central Time Zone. The only exception is the region immediately surrounding the Saskatchewan side of the biprovincial city of Lloydminster
Lloydminster

Lloydminster is a Canada city which has the unusual geography distinction of straddling a provincial border. Unlike most such cases , Lloydminster is not a pair of twin cities on opposite sides of a border which merely share the same name, but is actually incorporated as a single city with a single municipal administration....
, which has chosen to use Mountain Time with DST, synchronizing its clocks with those of Alberta
Alberta

Alberta is one of Canada Canadian Prairies Provinces and territories of Canada. It became a province on September 1, 1905.Alberta is located in western Canada, bounded by the provinces of British Columbia to the west and Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territories to the north, and the U.S....
.

In some areas, starting in 2007, the local time changes from CST to CDT at 02:00 LST to 03:00 LDT on the second Sunday in March and returns at 02:00 LDT to 01:00 LST on the first Sunday in November. Mexico decided not to go along with this U.S.-led change
Energy Policy Act of 2005

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 is a Act of Congress passed by the United States Congress on July 29, 2005, and signed into law by President George W....
 and observes DST from the first Sunday in April to the last Sunday in October.

Broadcasting concerns

Due to the structure of broadcasting networks in the United States (mostly television
Television

Television is a widely used telecommunication mass-media for transmitting and receiving moving , either monochrome or color, usually accompanied by sound....
, but to a lesser extent radio
Radio

Radio is the transmission of signals, by modulation of electromagnetic radiation with frequency below those of visible light.Electromagnetic radiation radio propagation by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space....
 as well), prime time programming is aired simultaneously in the Eastern and Central Time zones, which accounts for lines such as "tonight at 8/7 Central" on many network promotional ads, although in the last few years, many cable stations have stopped giving the time in central time. So when a viewer hears "tonight at 9," chances are that the show they are referring to is on at 8:00 Central Time. As a result, morning programming lineups designed for East Coast viewers (Good Morning America
Good Morning America

Good Morning America is an Daytime Emmy Awards breakfast television talk show that is broadcast on the American Broadcasting Company television network, debuting on November 3, 1975....
, The Today Show
The Today Show

Today, also referred to as The Today Show, is an United States Breakfast television airing weekday mornings on NBC. In pre-production, the proposed title was The Rise and Shine Revue....
) may start too early for viewers in the Midwest and the central South; hence, they are tape-delayed to air at 7:00 am Central (except when breaking news happens or special occasions such as the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual parade presented by Macy's Department store. The three-hour event is held in New York City starting at 9:00 a.m....
, which airs at 9:00 a.m. Eastern / 8:00 a.m. Central, pushing back the morning shows to air live at 6:00 a.m. Central).

Also, an hour of syndicated
Television syndication

In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows to multiple individual stations, without going through a broadcast network....
 programming time (between 7:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. in the Eastern Time Zone) is lost since network prime time
Prime time

Prime time or primetime is the block of television program during the middle of the evening.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period, for example, from 8:00 p.m....
 starts at 7:00 p.m. Central, forcing TV stations to choose between airing their 6:00 p.m. newscast and a program, or airing shows in 'blocks' preferred by syndicators (for example, Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!
Jeopardy!

Jeopardy! is a game show featuring trivia in topics such as history, literature, pop culture and science. The show has a decades-long Jeopardy! broadcast history in the United States since its creation by Merv Griffin in the early 1960s....
 together, or Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight

Entertainment Tonight is a daily television entertainment news show that is Television syndication by CBS Television Distribution throughout the United States, Canada and in many countries around the world....
 and The Insider
The Insider (TV series)

The Insider is a tabloid television news program covering events and celebrities. It debuted on September 13, 2004 as a spinoff of Entertainment Tonight and started as a popular segment that took viewers "behind closed doors" and gave them "inside" information....
). Many stations in the Central Time Zone tend to air one or both parts of the syndicated block at 5:00 p.m. or even earlier. The most common set of programming chosen by the big three television networks
Big Three Television Networks

The Big Three Television Networks are the three traditional Broadcasting television networks in the United States: American Broadcasting Company, CBS and NBC....
 (ABC, CBS, and NBC) is to air a newscast at 5:00 p.m., national news at 5:30 p.m., local news at 6:00 p.m., and syndicated programming at 6:30 p.m. Some stations even show a newscast from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. Another more recent dilemma of the 7:00 p.m. prime time
Prime time

Prime time or primetime is the block of television program during the middle of the evening.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period, for example, from 8:00 p.m....
 start is that a combination of longer commutes and work hours than in the past have caused many people to not come home from work until after 7:00 p.m., cutting into the potential ratings of shows that start at this time. Of course, the reverse is also true, as simultaneous broadcasts offer viewers the chance to watch "prime time television" without having to stay awake until 11:00 p.m.

Similarly, media coverage of New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve is on , the final day of the Gregorian calendar year, and the day before New Year's Day.New Year's Eve is a separate observance from the observance of New Year's Day....
 celebrations in New York City
New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
 often leave the Central Time Zone out. Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Night with Conan O'Brien

Late Night with Conan O'Brien was an United States late night television talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien that aired 2,725 episodes on NBC from 1993 to 2009....
, though produced in New York, when broadcast on New Year's Eve (as it does not air on weekends) takes advantage of its later time slot (11:35 p.m. Central) to lampoon this inconsistency and produce its own New Year's
New Year's Day

New Year's Day is the first day of the new year. On the modern Gregorian calendar, it is celebrated on January 1, as it was also in ancient Rome ....
 countdown for television
Television

Television is a widely used telecommunication mass-media for transmitting and receiving moving , either monochrome or color, usually accompanied by sound....
 viewers in the Central Time Zone, although most Central Time local network affiliates usually broadcast Conan after covering their own regional New Year's Eve celebrations. In some locations, New York's New Year's Eve celebration might be repeated or delayed one hour to correspond to the Central Time zone.

Interestingly, U.S. broadcast networks do tape delay in the other two continental U.S. time zones for prime-time programs except during sporting events and other selected live events such as election night and Academy Awards. The Mountain Time Zone
Mountain Time Zone

The Mountain Time Zone of North America keeps time by subtracting seven hours from Coordinated Universal Time, sometimes called Greenwich Mean Time during the shortest days of autumn and winter, and by subtracting six hours during daylight saving time in the spring, summer, and early autumn ....
 is tape-delayed one hour and the Pacific Time Zone
Pacific Time Zone

The Pacific Time Zone observes standard time by subtracting eight hours from Coordinated Universal Time . The clock time in this zone is based on the mean solar time of the 120th meridian west of the Greenwich Observatory....
 three hours from original broadcasts, so that shows match the broadcast times of the Central and Eastern Time Zones respectively (i.e. prime time begins at 7:00 p.m. MT and 8:00 p.m. PT following the same order of programming as the other two time zones). In order to keep up with these differences in time zones, most general-entertainment cable networks offer 2 feeds, one for viewers in the Eastern and Central time zones and another for the Mountain and Pacific time zones.

Canadian broadcasting networks, with six time zones and a difference of 5½ hours to span and a larger percentage of its audience residing in the Mountain Time Zone than in the Central Time Zone (which only has one significant metropolitan area (Winnipeg
Winnipeg

Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada. It is located near the longitude centre of North America, at the confluence of the historic Red River of the North and Assiniboine River Rivers, a point now commonly known as The Forks, Winnipeg....
, Manitoba
Manitoba

Manitoba is a prairie provinces in Canada, which has an area of 647,797 square kilometres and a population of 1,207,959 , with more than half located within the Winnipeg Capital Region ....
), sometimes are able to avoid these issues by airing prerecorded programs on local time (except Newfoundland time), although adjustments are often still made, particularly on private networks (mainly due to the influence of U.S. television). This is particularly a problem in Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan is a prairie provinces in Canada, which has an area of 588,276.09 square kilometres and a population of 1,015,895 , mostly living in the southern half of the province....
 as Central Standard Time is used year round, choosing not to change to daylight saving time
Daylight saving time

Daylight saving time is the convention of advancing clocks so that afternoons have more daylight and mornings have less. Typically clocks are adjusted forward one hour near the start of spring and are adjusted backward in autumn....
 during the summer. While Saskatchewan, Manitoba and parts of northwestern Ontario share the same clock setting during the winter season, Saskatchewan and Alberta
Alberta

Alberta is one of Canada Canadian Prairies Provinces and territories of Canada. It became a province on September 1, 1905.Alberta is located in western Canada, bounded by the provinces of British Columbia to the west and Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territories to the north, and the U.S....
 share the same clock setting during the summer season, despite the fact that Alberta is in the Mountain Time Zone. Schedules must be adjusted for the summer season.

The problem is largely moot in Mexico and other parts of Latin America
Latin America

Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages ? particularly Spanish language and Portuguese language, and variably French language ? are primarily spoken....
 because of the lack of significant other time zones.

Alphabetical list of cities and metropolitan areas


Sources