Portal:Pacific Northwest

The Pacific Northwest Portal

P:PNW

The Pacific Northwest (PNW; French: Nord-Ouest Pacifique) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common conception includes the U.S. states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and the Canadian province of British Columbia. Some broader conceptions reach north into Alaska and Yukon, south into Northern California, and east into western Montana. Other conceptions may be limited to the coastal areas west of the Cascade and Coast mountains.

The Northwest Coast is the coastal region of the Pacific Northwest, and the Northwest Plateau (also commonly known as "the Interior" in British Columbia), is the inland region. The term "Pacific Northwest" should not be confused with the Northwest Territory (also known as the Great Northwest, a historical term in the United States) or the Northwest Territories of Canada.

The region's largest metropolitan areas are Greater Seattle, Washington, with 4 million people; Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, with 2.84 million people; and Greater Portland, Oregon, with 2.5 million people.

The culture of the Pacific Northwest is influenced by the Canada–United States border, which the United States and the United Kingdom established at a time when the region's inhabitants were composed mostly of indigenous peoples. Two sections of the border—one along the 49th parallel south of British Columbia and one between the Alaska Panhandle and northern British Columbia—have left a great impact on the region. According to Canadian historian Ken Coates, the border has not merely influenced the Pacific Northwest—rather, "the region's history and character have been determined by the boundary". (Full article...)

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Oregon (/ˈɒrɪɡən, -ɡɒn/ ^ⓘ ORR-ih-ghən, -⁠gon) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. The 42° north parallel delineates the southern boundary with California and Nevada. The western boundary is formed by the Pacific Ocean.

Oregon has been home to many indigenous nations for thousands of years. The first European traders, explorers, and settlers began exploring what is now Oregon's Pacific coast in the early to mid-16th century. As early as 1564, the Spanish began sending vessels northeast from the Philippines, riding the Kuroshio Current in a sweeping circular route across the northern part of the Pacific. In 1592, Juan de Fuca undertook detailed mapping and studies of ocean currents in the Pacific Northwest, including the Oregon coast as well as the strait now bearing his name. The Lewis and Clark Expedition traversed Oregon in the early 1800s, and the first permanent European settlements in Oregon were established by fur trappers and traders. In 1843, an autonomous government was formed in the Oregon Country, and the Oregon Territory was created in 1848. Oregon became the 33rd state of the U.S. on February 14, 1859. (Full article...)

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Lawrence Edwin Craig (born July 20, 1945) is an American retired politician from the state of Idaho. A Republican, Craig represented Idaho in the United States Senate from 1991 to 2009 and represented Idaho's 1st District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1981 to 1991.

Born in Council, Idaho, Craig was raised on a ranch in Washington County. He attended the University of Idaho, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the university in 1969, and later briefly attended George Washington University before returning to Washington County in 1971 to work in his family's ranching business. Following a brief stint in the Idaho Army National Guard, Craig ran for and won a seat in the Idaho Senate in 1974, and was re-elected in 1976 and 1978, before his successful first run for Congress to represent Idaho's 1st congressional district in the House of Representatives in 1980. He won reelection four times before running for the U.S. Senate in 1990, defeating Ron J. Twilegar in the general election and winning reelection in 1996 and 2002. (Full article...)

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Largest cities of the Pacific Northwest

City	State/Province	Population	Metropolitan Area	Urban Area
Seattle	Washington	704,000^[1]	3,905,026^[2]	3,059,393^[3]
Portland	Oregon	658,347^[2]	2,753,168^[2]	1,849,898^[3]
Vancouver	British Columbia	631,486^[4]	2,737,698^[5]	2,264,823^[6]
Surrey	British Columbia	598,530^[4]	^{[n 1]}	^{[n 1]}
Burnaby	British Columbia	257,926^[4]	^{[n 1]}	^{[n 1]}
Boise	Idaho	226,570^[7]	691,423^[2]	349,684^[3]
Spokane	Washington	222,081^[1]	573,493 ^[8]^[9]	486,225^[3]
Richmond	British Columbia	216,046^[4]	^{[n 1]}	^{[n 1]}
Tacoma	Washington	198,397^[1]	^{[n 2]}	^{[n 2]}
Vancouver	Washington	175,673^[1]	^{[n 3]}	^{[n 3]}

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The following are images from various Pacific Northwest-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1A man in Portland, Oregon with Cascadian flag on International Workers' Day, 2012 (from Pacific Northwest)
Image 2Pacific Northwest Trail at Blanchard Mountain in Washington (from Pacific Northwest Trail)
Image 3Mountain goat on Wallaby Peak in the North Cascades (from Cascade Range)
Image 4Lumen Field, home of Seattle Seahawks and Sounders FC (from Pacific Northwest)
Image 5Lava Butte, Oregon, erupted roughly 5000 years BCE (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 6Mount St. Helens erupts on May 18, 1980 (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 7The Coquihalla River in the Canadian Cascades (from Cascade Range)
Image 8None of the multiple possible definitions of the Pacific Northwest is universally accepted. This map shows three possibilities: (1) The shaded area shows the historical Oregon Country. (2) The green line shows the Cascadia bioregion. (3) The labeled states and provinces include Washington, Idaho, Oregon and British Columbia. (from Pacific Northwest)
Image 9Map of "megacity", showing population density (shades of yellow/brown), highways (red), and major railways (black). Public land shown in shades of green. (from Pacific Northwest)
Image 10Mount Hood is the tallest point in the U.S. state of Oregon. (from Cascade Range)
Image 11The Pacific Northwest from space (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 12Map of the Garibaldi Volcanic Belt centers. (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 13Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail overview map (from Pacific Northwest Trail)
Image 14U.S. Navy Lieutenant Charles Wilkes' 1841 Map of the Oregon Territory from "Narrative of the United States Exploring Expedition". Philadelphia: 1845 (from Pacific Northwest)
Image 15HMS Discovery was the lead ship used by George Vancouver (from Pacific Northwest)
Image 16A map of the Snake River Plain, showing its smooth topography (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 17The Columbia Gorge marks where the Columbia River splits the Cascade Range between the states of Washington and Oregon. (from Cascade Range)
Image 18The immense floods created channels that are presently dry, such as the Drumheller Channels (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 19The Coast Mountains are heavily eroded by glaciers, including Mount Waddington (far background, center). (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 20Mount Edziza, a large shield volcano in northwestern British Columbia (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 21West side view of Mount Shuksan in summer as seen from Artist Point in Washington (from Cascade Range)
Image 22The Pacific Northwest from outer space. (from Pacific Northwest)
Image 23May 1915 Lassen Peak eruption column (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 24Oval-leaf blueberry on Mount Pilchuck (from Cascade Range)
Image 25The Boundary Trail section of the PNT in Horseshoe Basin, Pasayten Wilderness (from Pacific Northwest Trail)
Image 26Geology of the Cascade Range-related plate tectonics. (from Cascade Range)
Image 27Public transportation is used in the Pacific Northwest region. Vancouver's SkyTrain rapid transit system achieves daily ridership of over 500,000 passengers per day on weekdays and the overall transit ridership levels in the Metro Vancouver area rank third in North America per capita. (from Pacific Northwest)
Image 28The 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens (from Cascade Range)
Image 29Image of the Juan de Fuca Plate that produced the magnitude 8.7–9.2 Cascadia earthquake in 1700. (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 30The North Cascades are heavily eroded by glaciers (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 31The Columbia River basalts cover portions of three states (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 32Map of the Anahim Volcanic Belt centers. (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 33Lassen Peak in the California Cascades. Southernmost volcano in the Cascade Range and part of Lassen Volcanic National Park (from Cascade Range)
Image 34The Cascades range (from Pacific Northwest)
Image 35The Golden Hinde on Vancouver Island was formed by erosion carving into basalt. (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 36Notable volcanoes in the US portion of the Cascades (from Cascade Range)
Image 37Magnetic anomalies around the Juan de Fuca and Gorda Ridges, off the west coast of North America, color coded by age. (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 38State Route 302 after the Nisqually earthquake (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)

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... that Ana María Ochoa was born in Colombia, studied in British Columbia, and taught at Columbia?
... that a Washington state radio station turned to "professional bikini watchers"—military recruiters—to report on crowds at local beaches?
... that Debra Toporowski served simultaneously on the Cowichan Tribes council, on the North Cowichan council, and as acting mayor, before being elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia?
... that a massive smallpox epidemic struck the Pacific Northwest shortly before historical records were kept?
... that the bishop of Oregon's residence in Portland once had a private chapel, a ballroom, and a wine cellar?
... that Linn County clerk Del Riley established Oregon's vote-by-mail system, now used as the only voting method in the state?