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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Mount Thielsen's eroded edifice from the Pacific Crest Trail

Mount Thielsen, or Big Cowhorn (Klamath: hisc’akwaleeʔas), is an extinct shield volcano in the Oregon High Cascades, near Mount Bailey. Because eruptive activity ceased 250,000 years ago, glaciers have heavily eroded the volcano's structure, creating precipitous slopes and a horn-like peak. The spire-like shape of Thielsen attracts lightning strikes and creates fulgurite, an unusual mineral. The prominent horn forms a centerpiece for the Mount Thielsen Wilderness, a reserve for recreational activities such as skiing and hiking. Thielson is one of Oregon's Matterhorns.

Thielsen was produced by subduction of the Juan de Fuca Plate under the North American Plate. Volcanism near the Cascades dates back to 55 million years ago (mya), and extends from British Columbia to California. Thielsen is part of the High Cascades, a branch of the main Cascades range that includes several Oregon volcanoes less than 3.5 million years old; it is also a member of a group of extinct volcanoes distinguished by their sharp peaks. (Full article...)

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Cobain with Nirvana in 1992

Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – c. April 5, 1994) was an American musician who was the lead vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter, and a founding member of the grunge rock band Nirvana. Through his angsty songwriting and anti-establishment persona, his compositions widened the thematic conventions of mainstream rock music. He was heralded as a spokesman of Generation X and is widely recognized as one of the most influential alternative rock musicians.

Cobain formed Nirvana with Krist Novoselic and Aaron Burckhard in 1987, establishing themselves as part of the Seattle music scene that later became known as grunge. Burckhard was replaced by Chad Channing before the band released their debut album Bleach (1989) on Sub Pop, after which Channing was in turn replaced by Dave Grohl. With this finalized line-up, the band signed with DGC and found commercial success with the single "Smells Like Teen Spirit" from their critically acclaimed second album Nevermind (1991). Cobain wrote many other hit Nirvana songs such as "Come as You Are", "Lithium", "In Bloom", "Heart-Shaped Box", "All Apologies", "About a Girl", "Aneurysm", "You Know You're Right" and "Something in the Way". Although he was hailed as the voice of his generation following Nirvana's sudden success, he was uncomfortable with this role. (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 1Mount Edziza, a large shield volcano in northwestern British Columbia (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 2The immense floods created channels that are presently dry, such as the Drumheller Channels (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 3Mountain goat on Wallaby Peak in the North Cascades (from Cascade Range)
Image 4The Coast Mountains are heavily eroded by glaciers, including Mount Waddington (far background, center). (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 5Geology of the Cascade Range-related plate tectonics. (from Cascade Range)
Image 6The 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens (from Cascade Range)
Image 7A man in Portland, Oregon with Cascadian flag on International Workers' Day, 2012 (from Pacific Northwest)
Image 8Map 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 9Public 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 10Map of the Anahim Volcanic Belt centers. (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 11May 1915 Lassen Peak eruption column (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 12Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail overview map (from Pacific Northwest Trail)
Image 13Lava Butte, Oregon, erupted roughly 5000 years BCE (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 14HMS Discovery was the lead ship used by George Vancouver (from Pacific Northwest)
Image 15Oval-leaf blueberry on Mount Pilchuck (from Cascade Range)
Image 16Map of the Garibaldi Volcanic Belt centers. (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 17Lumen Field, home of Seattle Seahawks and Sounders FC (from Pacific Northwest)
Image 18The Pacific Northwest from outer space. (from Pacific Northwest)
Image 19Lassen Peak in the California Cascades. Southernmost volcano in the Cascade Range and part of Lassen Volcanic National Park (from Cascade Range)
Image 20State Route 302 after the Nisqually earthquake (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 21Mount St. Helens erupts on May 18, 1980 (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 22Image 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 23Pacific Northwest Trail at Blanchard Mountain in Washington (from Pacific Northwest Trail)
Image 24Magnetic 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 25None 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 26The Columbia River basalts cover portions of three states (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 27The Cascades range (from Pacific Northwest)
Image 28Mount Hood is the tallest point in the U.S. state of Oregon. (from Cascade Range)
Image 29The Golden Hinde on Vancouver Island was formed by erosion carving into basalt. (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 30The Boundary Trail section of the PNT in Horseshoe Basin, Pasayten Wilderness (from Pacific Northwest Trail)
Image 31West side view of Mount Shuksan in summer as seen from Artist Point in Washington (from Cascade Range)
Image 32The Pacific Northwest from space (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 33The Columbia Gorge marks where the Columbia River splits the Cascade Range between the states of Washington and Oregon. (from Cascade Range)
Image 34U.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 35The Coquihalla River in the Canadian Cascades (from Cascade Range)
Image 36The North Cascades are heavily eroded by glaciers (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 37A map of the Snake River Plain, showing its smooth topography (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)

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... that Saint Rose Catholic Church was moved from the ghost town of Fleetwood, Oregon, to the Fort Rock Valley Historical Homestead Museum in 1988?
... that the flightless suliforme Klallamornis likely went extinct when the volcanic islands it used for shelter along the coast of the Pacific Northwest eroded away into the Pacific Ocean?
... that Earle M. Chiles, a businessman and philanthropist from Portland, Oregon, was also a senator of the board of Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, Germany?
... that former Oregon legislator William Massingill died while attending a boxing match?
... that in 1943, it took the Oregon State Senate 45 ballots to elect William H. Steiwer as president of the senate over fellow Republican Dorothy McCullough Lee?
... that Dan Lanning, who coached his final game at Georgia in the 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship, will face Georgia in his first game as the new head coach at Oregon?