Portal:Pacific Northwest

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The Pacific Northwest Portal

P:PNW

The Pacific Northwest (PNW), sometimes referred to as Cascadia, 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, northern 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 is sometimes referred to as Cascadia, which, depending on the borders, may or may not be the same thing as the Pacific Northwest.

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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Seal of the governor

The governor of Washington is the head of government of Washington and commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The officeholder has a duty to enforce state laws, the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Washington Legislature and line-item veto power to cancel specific provisions in spending bills. The Washington governor may also convene the legislature on "extraordinary occasions".

Washington Territory had 14 territorial governors from its organization in 1853 until the formation of the state of Washington in 1889. Territorial governors were appointed by the president of the United States. Elisha P. Ferry had the longest term of eight years and went on to become the state's first governor. William H. Wallace was appointed governor but never took office due to being elected as the territory's congressional delegate. George Edward Cole was appointed governor and took office, but his appointment was never ratified by the U.S. Senate and he was replaced as governor after four months. (Full article...)

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Official portrait, 2006

Christine Gregoire (/ˈɡrɛɡwɑːr/; née O'Grady; born March 24, 1947) is an American politician who served as the 22nd governor of Washington from 2005 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, she defeated Republican candidate Dino Rossi in 2004, and again in 2008. She is the second female governor of Washington. Gregoire chaired the National Governors Association for the 2010–2011 term. She also served on the Governors' Council of the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, D.C. (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 1State Route 302 after the Nisqually earthquake (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 2Mount St. Helens erupts on May 18, 1980 (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 3The Cascades range (from Pacific Northwest)
Image 4U.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 5The 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens (from Cascade Range)
Image 6May 1915 Lassen Peak eruption column (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 7The Pacific Northwest from outer space. (from Pacific Northwest)
Image 8Map of the Garibaldi Volcanic Belt centers. (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 9The Golden Hinde on Vancouver Island was formed by erosion carving into basalt. (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 10The Pacific Northwest from space (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 11Mount Edziza, a large shield volcano in northwestern British Columbia (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 12Lumen Field, home of Seattle Seahawks and Sounders FC (from Pacific Northwest)
Image 13Lava Butte, Oregon, erupted roughly 5000 years BCE (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 14Pacific Northwest Trail at Blanchard Mountain in Washington (from Pacific Northwest Trail)
Image 15The Coast Mountains are heavily eroded by glaciers, including Mount Waddington (far background, center). (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 16Magnetic 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 17A map of the Snake River Plain, showing its smooth topography (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 18Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail overview map (from Pacific Northwest Trail)
Image 19Geology of the Cascade Range-related plate tectonics. (from Cascade Range)
Image 20Mountain goat on Wallaby Peak in the North Cascades (from Cascade Range)
Image 21Oval-leaf blueberry on Mount Pilchuck (from Cascade Range)
Image 22Map 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 23A man in Portland, Oregon with Cascadian flag on International Workers' Day, 2012 (from Pacific Northwest)
Image 24The North Cascades are heavily eroded by glaciers (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 25The Columbia Gorge marks where the Columbia River splits the Cascade Range between the states of Washington and Oregon. (from Cascade Range)
Image 26Mount Hood is the tallest point in the U.S. state of Oregon. (from Cascade Range)
Image 27West side view of Mount Shuksan in summer as seen from Artist Point in Washington (from Cascade Range)
Image 28Image 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 29The Coquihalla River in the Canadian Cascades (from Cascade Range)
Image 30The Columbia River basalts cover portions of three states (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 31The immense floods created channels that are presently dry, such as the Drumheller Channels (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 32HMS Discovery was the lead ship used by George Vancouver (from Pacific Northwest)
Image 33None 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 34Public 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 35The Boundary Trail section of the PNT in Horseshoe Basin, Pasayten Wilderness (from Pacific Northwest Trail)
Image 36Map of the Anahim Volcanic Belt centers. (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 37Lassen Peak in the California Cascades. Southernmost volcano in the Cascade Range and part of Lassen Volcanic National Park (from Cascade Range)

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... that the bishop of Oregon's residence in Portland once had a private chapel, a ballroom, and a wine cellar?
... that John C. Carson built the first sidewalk in Portland, Oregon?
... that Interstate 182 was created as a compromise for the states of Washington and Oregon?
... that future state senator William T. Vinton was sent to jail for contempt of court when he refused to sign a city paving contract, but was later vindicated by an Oregon Supreme Court decision?
... that a Washington state radio station turned to "professional bikini watchers"—military recruiters—to report on crowds at local beaches?
... that Jack Morris, who set Oregon Ducks football records in single-season scoring and consecutive successful conversions, also won three state titles in hurdling?