Pacific Northwest | |
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  .jpg)   .jpg)    Left-right from top:Seattle skyline andMount Rainier,Multnomah Falls,Crater Lake,Vancouver skyline,the Black Tusk,Cannon Beach,Portland skyline andMount Hood,Boise skyline, andSpokane skyline | |
| Composition | |
| Largest metropolitan areas | |
| Dialect | Pacific Northwest English |
ThePacific Northwest (PNW) is a geographicregion inWestern North America bounded by its coastal waters of thePacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by theRocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common conception includes theU.S. states ofOregon,Washington,Idaho, and the Canadian province ofBritish Columbia. Some broader conceptions reach north intoAlaska andYukon, south intoNorthern California, and east into westernMontana. Other conceptions may be limited to the coastal areas west of theCascade andCoast 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),[1] is the inland region. The term "Pacific Northwest" should not be confused with theNorthwest Territory (also known as the Great Northwest, a historical term in the United States) or theNorthwest Territories ofCanada.
The region's largest metropolitan areas areGreater Seattle, Washington, with 4 million people;[2]Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, with 3.4 million people;[3]Greater Portland, Oregon, with 2.5 million people;[4] theBoise, Idaho metropolitan area with 845,877 people, and theSpokane-Coeur d'Alene combined statistical area with 793,285 people.
The culture of the Pacific Northwest is influenced by theCanada–United States border, which the United States and theUnited Kingdom established at a time when the region's inhabitants were composed mostly ofindigenous peoples. Two sections of the border—one along the49th parallel south of British Columbia and one between theAlaska Panhandle and northern British Columbia—have left a great impact on the region. According to Canadian historianKen Coates, the border has not merely influenced the Pacific Northwest—rather, "the region's history and character have been determined by the boundary".[5]
Definitions of the "Pacific Northwest" region vary, and even residents of the region do not agree on the exact boundary.[7][8] The most common conception includes theU.S. states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and theCanadian province of British Columbia.[5]
Broader definitions of the region have included the U.S. states ofAlaska and parts of the states of California, Montana, and Wyoming, and the Canadian territory ofYukon.[5][9][10]
Definitions based on the historicOregon Country reach east to theContinental Divide, thus including all of westernMontana and westernWyoming. Sometimes, the Pacific Northwest is defined as being theNorthwestern United States specifically, excludingCanada.
The Pacific Northwest has been occupied by a diverse array ofindigenous peoples for millennia. The Pacific Coast is seen by some scholars as a majorcoastal migration route in thesettlement of the Americas by late Pleistocene peoples moving from northeast Asia into the Americas.[11]
The coastal migration hypothesis has been bolstered by findings such as the report that the sediments in the Port Eliza Cave[12] onVancouver Island indicate the possibility of survivable climate as far back as 16kya (16,000 years ago) in the area, while the continental ice sheets were nearing their maximum extent.[13] Other evidence for human occupation dating back as much as 14.5 kya (14,500 years ago) is emerging fromPaisley Caves in south-central Oregon as of 2008[update].[14][15] However, despite such research, the coastal migration hypothesis is still subject to considerable debate.[16][17]
Due in part to the richness of Pacific Northwest Coast and river fisheries, some of the indigenous peoples developed complexsedentary societies, while remaininghunter-gatherers.[18] The Pacific Northwest Coast is one of the few places where politically complex hunter-gatherers evolved and survived to historic contacts, and therefore has been vital for anthropologists and archaeologists seeking to understand how complex hunter and gatherer societies function.[19] When Europeans first arrived on the Northwest Coast, they found one of the world's most complex hunting and fishing societies, with large sedentary villages, large houses, systems of social rank and prestige, extensive trade networks, and many other factors more commonly associated with societies based on domesticated agriculture.[19][20] In the interior of the Pacific Northwest, the indigenous peoples, at the time of European contact, had a diversity of cultures and societies. Some areas were home to mobile and egalitarian societies. Others, especially along major rivers such as the Columbia and Fraser, had very complex, affluent, sedentary societies rivaling those of the coast.[21]
In British Columbia and Southeast Alaska, theHaida andTlingit erected large and elaborately carvedtotem poles that have become iconic of Pacific Northwest artistic traditions. Throughout the Pacific Northwest, thousands of indigenous people live, and some continue to practice their rich cultural traditions, "organizing their societies around cedar and salmon".[22]
Sailing for the Spanish Crown, Portuguese navigatorJuan Rodríguez Cabrillo became in 1542 the first European to explore the west coast of today's United States and reached as far as Punta del Año Nuevo, north ofMonterrey.Bartolomé Ferrer continued on and may have reached as far north as theRogue River on the Oregon coast.[23][24]
By 1579, English captain and erstwhileprivateerFrancis Drake sailed up the west coast of North America during the course of hiscircumnavigation undertaking. Drake may have reached as far North as 48N and may have conducted some preliminary assessments of the western entry channels to theNorthwest Passage under royal secrecy order. He then headed back south to land, to careen the ship, to rest and to continue on the undertaking. Drake and his crew eventually found a protected cove where they landed, in either the Pacific Northwest or Northern California. Contacts with a local indigenous population were established over the course of several weeks. While ashore, Drake claimed the area for Queen Elizabeth I as Nova Albion orNew Albion.[25] Various theories regarding the landing location of New Albion in the northern Pacific have been proposed, including the one recognized by the United States National Historic Landmark and California Historical Landmarks atPoint Reyes National Seashore.
By 1589,Ortelius was publishing theMaris Pacifici first ever Pacific map featuring on the west coast of North-America a first ever representation of two major coastline features: the mouth of theColumbia River identified as"Rio Grande" and the delta of the Fraser River labeled"Baia de las isleas".
Juan de Fuca, aGreek captain sailing for theCrown of Spain, supposedly found theStrait of Juan de Fuca around 1592. The strait was named for him, but whether he discovered it or not has long been questioned.[26]
During the early 1740s,Imperial Russia sent the Danish-born RussianVitus Bering to the region.[27] By the late 18th century and into the mid-19th century, Russian settlers had established several posts and communities on the northwest Pacific coast, eventually reaching as far south asFort Ross, California. TheRussian River was named after this local presence and three ranch outposts located alongside.
In 1774, the viceroy ofNew Spain sent Spanish navigatorJuan Pérez in the shipSantiago to the Pacific Northwest. Peréz made landfall onHaida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands) on July 18, 1774. The northernmost latitude he reached was54°40′ N.[28] This was followed, in 1775, by another Spanish expedition, under the command ofBruno de Heceta and including Juan Peréz andJuan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra as officers. On July 14, 1775, they landed on theOlympic Peninsula near the mouth of theQuinault River. On August 17, 1775, Heceta, returning south, sighted the mouth of theColumbia River and named itBahia de la Asunción. While Heceta sailed south, Quadra continued north in the expedition's second ship,Sonora, reachingAlaska, at59° N.[29] In 1778 English marinerCaptain James Cook visitedNootka Sound on Vancouver Island and also voyaged as far asPrince William Sound.
In 1779, a third Spanish expedition, under the command ofIgnacio de Artega in the shipPrincesa, and with Quadra as captain of the shipFavorite, sailed from Mexico to the coast of Alaska, reaching61° N. Two further Spanish expeditions, in 1788 and 1789, both underEsteban Jose Martínez andGonzalo López de Haro, sailed to the Pacific Northwest. During the second expedition, they met the American captainRobert Gray nearNootka Sound. Upon entering Nootka Sound, they foundWilliam Douglas and his shipIphigenia. Conflict led to theNootka Crisis, which was resolved by agreements known as theNootka Convention. In 1790, the Spanish sent three ships to Nootka Sound, under the command ofFrancisco de Eliza. After establishing a base at Nootka, Eliza sent out several exploration parties.Salvador Fidalgo was sent north to the Alaska coast.Manuel Quimper, with Gonzalo López de Haro as pilot, explored the Strait of Juan de Fuca, discovering theSan Juan Islands andAdmiralty Inlet in the process. Francisco de Eliza himself took the shipSan Carlos into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. From a base atPort Discovery, hispilotos (masters)José María Narváez andJuan Carrasco explored theSan Juan Islands,Haro Strait,Rosario Strait, andBellingham Bay. In the process, they discovered theStrait of Georgia and explored it as far north asTexada Island. The expedition returned to Nootka Sound by August 1791.Alessandro Malaspina, sailing for Spain, explored and mapped the coast fromYakutat Bay to Prince William Sound in 1791, then sailed to Nootka Sound. Performing a scientific expedition in the manner of James Cook, Malaspina's scientists studied theTlingit andNuu-chah-nulth peoples before returning to Mexico. Another Spanish explorer,Jacinto Caamaño, sailed the shipAranzazu to Nootka Sound in May 1792. There he met Quadra, who was in command of the Spanish settlement andFort San Miguel. Quadra sent Caamaño north, to carefully explore the coast between Vancouver Island andBucareli Bay, Alaska. Various Spanish maps, including Caamaño's, were given to George Vancouver in 1792, as the Spanish and British worked together to chart the complex coastline.[29]
From 1792 to 1794,George Vancouver charted the Pacific Northwest on behalf of Great Britain, including the Strait of Georgia, the bays and inlets ofPuget Sound, and theJohnstone Strait–Queen Charlotte Strait and much of the rest of theBritish Columbia Coast and southeast Alaska shorelines.[28] For him the city ofVancouver and Vancouver Island are named, as well asVancouver, Washington. From Mexico, Malaspina dispatched the last Spanish exploration expedition in the Pacific Northwest, underDionisio Alcalá Galiano andCayentano Valdes aboard the schoonersSutil andMexicana.[30] They met Vancouver in the Strait of Georgia on June 21, 1792. Vancouver had explored Puget Sound just previously. The Spanish explorers knew of Admiralty Inlet and the unexplored region to the south, but they decided to sail north. They discovered and entered theFraser River shortly before meeting Vancouver. After sharing maps and agreeing to cooperate, Galiano, Valdés, and Vancouver sailed north toDesolation Sound and theDiscovery Islands, charting the coastline together. They passed through Johnstone Strait andCordero Channel and returned to Nootka Sound. As a result, the Spanish explorers, who had set out from Nootka, became the first Europeans to circumnavigate Vancouver Island. Vancouver himself had entered the Strait of Juan de Fuca directly without going to Nootka first, so had not sailed completely around the island.[29]
In 1786,Jean-François de La Pérouse, representing France, sailed to Haida Gwaii after visiting Nootka Sound, but any possible French claims to this region were lost when La Pérouse and his men and journals were lost in a shipwreck near Australia. Upon encountering the Salish coastal tribes, either Pérouse or someone in his crew remarked, "What must astonish most is to see painting everywhere, everywhere sculpture, among a nation of hunters".[31]Maritime fur traderCharles William Barkley also visited the area inImperial Eagle, a British ship falsely flying the flag of theAustrian Empire. American merchant sea-captainRobert Gray traded along the coast, and discovered the mouth of theColumbia River.
ExplorerAlexander Mackenzie completed in 1793 the first continental crossing in what is called today centralBritish Columbia and reached thePacific Ocean.Simon Fraser explored and mapped theFraser River from Central British Columbia down to its mouth in 1808. And mapmakerDavid Thompson explored in 1811 the entire route of the Columbia River from its northern headwaters all the way to its mouth. These explorations were commissioned by theNorth West Company and were all undertaken with small teams ofVoyageurs.
United States PresidentThomas Jefferson commissioned theLewis and Clark Expedition to travel through the Midwest starting fromSt. Louis, cross theContinental Divide and reach the Columbia River up to its mouth. Americans reached thePacific Ocean "overland" in 1805. ThePacific Fur Company sent in 1811 an "over-lander" crew including a large contingent ofVoyageurs to retrace most of the path of the earlier expedition up to the mouth of the Columbia and join the company ship. TheTonquin came oversea viaCape Horn to build and operateFort Astoria.
These early land expeditions mapped the way for subsequent land explorations and building early settlements.
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TheWillamette River was the first PNW inland waterway to be explored north–south during trapping expeditions carried out throughout the 1810s by thePacific Fur Company soon acquired by theNorth West Company (NWC). During the 1820s, the upper Willamette, theUmpqua, theRogue, theKlamath were all reached still heading southward up toward theSacramento River andCalifornia under theHudson's Bay Company (HBC) having now itself acquired the NWC. TheSiskiyou Trail was gradually being established byAlexander Roderick McLeod andPeter Skene Ogden leading related expeditions for the HBC.
Also during the 1820s, HBC explorations were carried out northward originating from theColumbia RiverFort Astoria long renamed to Fort George. Simon Plamondon first ventured during the early 20s into theCowlitz River up toCowlitz Prairie. By 1824, an expedition led byJames McMillan was reachingPuget Sound via theChehalis River (Washington) and a portage. The same expedition went on all the way toBoundary Bay and reached theFraser River via theNicomekl and theSalmon linked via a portage. The lower Fraser was revisited 16 years after explorerSimon Fraser (NWC) had first reached its mouth, although originating from northern present-dayBritish Columbia. Puget Sound soon after would get reached via the Cowlitz and the Cowlitz Landing portage, but originating from new HBC headquarterFort Vancouver located closer by, north of the Columbia.
Noteworthy Russian settlements still in place include:Unalaska (1774),Kodiak (1791), andSitka (1804) making them the oldest permanent non-Indigenous settlements in the Pacific Northwest. Temporary Spanish settlementSanta Cruz de Nuca (1789–1795) held on a few years atNootka Sound.
Other early occupation non-Indigenous settlements of interest, either long lasting or still in place, built and operated by either theNorth West Company, thePacific Fur Company or theHudson's Bay Company include:Fort Saint-James (1806; oldest in British Columbia west of the Rockies),Fort Astoria (1811; oldest in Oregon),Fort Nez Percés (1818),Fort Alexandria (1821),Fort Vancouver (1824),Fort Langley (1827; oldest in southern British Columbia),Fort Nisqually (1833), andFort Victoria (1843).
Also of interest are the first mixed ancestry settlements sometimes referred as Métis settlements or French Canadian settlements. Native and newly arrived "half-breeds" (born out of "Europeans" and Indigenous alliances), local and newly arrived Indigenous people as well as "French Canadians" all issued of the fur trade were all able to peacefully coexist. Small scale farming occurred. Catholic missions and churches thrived for many years. These first settlements were:French Prairie,Frenchtown near Walla Walla,Cowlitz Prairie (Washington),French Settlement (Oregon) andFrenchtown near Missoula. Most mixed ancestry people ended up resettled in or around Indigenous reserves during the subsequent period, or otherwise assimilating in the mainstream.[32]
Initial formal claims to the region were asserted by Spain in 1513 with explorerNuñez de Balboa, the first European to sight the Pacific Ocean from the Americas. Russianmaritime fur trade activity, through theRussian-American Company, extended from the farther side of the Pacific toRussian America. This prompted Spain to send expeditions north to assert Spanish ownership, while Captain James Cook and subsequent expeditions by George Vancouver advanced British claims. As of theNootka Sound Conventions, the last in 1794, Spain gave up its exclusive a priori claims and agreed to share the region with the otherpowers, giving up its garrison at Nootka Sound in the process.
The United States established a claim based on the discoveries ofRobert Gray, theLewis and Clark Expedition, the construction of Fort Astoria, and the acquisition of Spanish claims given to the United States in theAdams–Onís Treaty.[33] From the 1810s until the 1840s, modern-day Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and western Montana, along with most of British Columbia, were part of what the United States called theOregon Country and Britain called theColumbia District. This region was jointly claimed by the United States and Great Britain after theTreaty of 1818, which established a co-dominion of interests in the region in lieu of a settlement. In 1840, AmericanCharles Wilkes explored in the area.John McLoughlin, Chief Factor of theHudson's Bay Company, headquartered at Fort Vancouver, was thede facto local political authority for most of this time.
This arrangement ended as U.S. settlement grew and PresidentJames K. Polk was elected on a platform of calling for annexation of the entire Oregon Country and of Texas. After his election, supporters coined the famous slogan "Fifty-four Forty or Fight", referring to54°40′ north latitude—the northward limit of the United States' claim.[34] After a war scare with the United Kingdom, theOregon boundary dispute was settled in the 1846Oregon Treaty, partitioning the region along the49th parallel and resolving most, but not all, of the border disputes (seePig War).
The mainland territory north of the 49th parallel remained unincorporated until 1858, when a mass influx of Americans and others during theFraser Canyon Gold Rush forced the hand ofColony of Vancouver Island's GovernorJames Douglas, who declared the mainland aCrown colony. The two colonies were amalgamated in 1866 to cut costs, and joined theDominion of Canada in 1871. The U.S. portion became theOregon Territory in 1848. It was later subdivided into Oregon Territory andWashington Territory. These territories became the states of Oregon, Idaho, Washington and parts of other Western states.
During theAmerican Civil War, British Columbia officials pushed for London to invade and conquer the Washington Territory in effort to take advantage of Americans being distracted in the war on the Eastern region. This was rejected, as the UK did not wish to risk war with the United States, whose forces were better prepared and trained much more than the British troops.[35]
American expansionist pressure on British Columbia persisted after the colony became a province of Canada, even though Americans living in the province did not harborannexationist inclinations. TheFenian Brotherhood openly organized and drilled in Washington, particularly in the 1870s and the 1880s, though no cross-border attacks were experienced. During theAlaska Boundary Dispute, U.S. PresidentTeddy Roosevelt threatened to invade and annex British Columbia if Britain would not yield on the question of theYukon ports. In more recent times, during the so-called "Salmon War" of the 1990s, Washington SenatorSlade Gorton called for theU.S. Navy to "force" theInside Passage, even though it is not an official international waterway. Disputes between British Columbia and Alaska over theDixon Entrance of theHecate Strait betweenPrince Rupert andHaida Gwaii have not been resolved.[36]
The Northwest is still highly geologically active, with both activevolcanoes andgeologic faults.[37]
The last known great earthquake in the northwest was the1700 Cascadia earthquake.[38] The geological record reveals that "great earthquakes" (those with moment magnitude 8 or higher) occur in theCascadia subduction zone about every 500 years on average, often accompanied bytsunamis. There is evidence of at least 13 events at intervals from about 300 to 900 years.[39]
Activevolcanoes in the region includeMount Garibaldi,Mount Baker,Mount Rainier,Mount St. Helens,Mount Adams,Mount Hood,Mount Meager,Mount Jefferson,Mount Shasta,Lassen Peak andGlacier Peak.
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The Pacific Northwest is a diverse geographic region, dominated by several mountain ranges, including theCoast Mountains, theCascade Range, theOlympic Mountains, theColumbia Mountains, and theRocky Mountains. The highest peak in the Pacific Northwest is Mount Rainier, in the Washington Cascades, at 14,410 feet (4,392 m). Immediately inland from the Cascade Range are broad, generally dry plateaus. In the US, this region is known as theColumbia Plateau, while in British Columbia, it is theInterior Plateau, also called theFraser Plateau. The Columbia Plateau was the scene of massive ice-age floods, and as a consequence, there are manycoulees, canyons, and theChanneled Scablands. Much of the plateau, especially in eastern Washington, isirrigatedfarmland.[40] The Columbia River cuts a deep and wide gorge around the rim of the Columbia Plateau and through the Cascade Range on its way to the Pacific Ocean.
Because many areas have plentiful rainfall and mild summers, the Pacific Northwest has some of North America's most lush and extensive forests, which are extensively populated withCoast Douglas fir trees, the second tallest growingevergreenconifer on earth. The region also contains specimens of thetallest trees on earth, thecoast redwoods, in southwestern Oregon, but the largest of these trees are located just south of the California border in northwestern California. Coastal forests in some areas are classified astemperate rainforest.
Coastal features are defined by the interaction with the Pacific and the North American continent. The coastline of the Pacific Northwest is dotted by numerous fjords, bays, islands, and mountains. Some of these features include theOregon Coast,Burrard Inlet,Puget Sound, and the highly complex fjords of theBritish Columbia Coast andSoutheast Alaska. The region has one of the world's longestfjord coastlines.[41]
The Pacific Northwest contains an uncountable number of islands, many of the smaller ones being unnamed. The vast majority of such islands are in British Columbia and Alaska. Vancouver Island is by far the largest island in the area, but other significant land masses include theHaida Gwaii, vast and remotePrincess Royal Island,Prince of Wales Island andChichagof Island. TheSalish Sea located close to major populated areas contains smaller but more frequently visited and well known islands. These includeWhidbey Island,Salt Spring Island, andTexada Island, along with dozens of smaller islands in theSan Juan andGulf Island chains.
The major cities of Vancouver,Portland,Seattle, andTacoma all began asseaports supporting the logging, mining, and farming industries of the region, but have developed into major technological and industrial centers (such as theSilicon Forest), which benefit from their location on thePacific Rim.
If defined as British Columbia, Idaho, Oregon and Washington, the Pacific Northwest has fourUS National Parks:Crater Lake in Oregon, andOlympic,Mount Rainier, andNorth Cascades in Washington. If a larger regional definition is used, then other US National Parks might be included, such asRedwood National and State Parks,Glacier Bay National Park,Wrangell–St. Elias National Park,Grand Teton National Park, and parts ofGlacier National Park andYellowstone National Park. There are severalCanadian National Parks in the Pacific Northwest, includingPacific Rim National Park on the west coast of Vancouver Island,Mount Revelstoke National Park andGlacier National Park in the Selkirk Range alongsideRogers Pass,Kootenay National Park andYoho National Park on the British Columbia flank of the Rockies,Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve in Haida Gwaii, and theGulf Islands National Park Reserve in the Strait of Georgia. There are numerousprotected areas in British Columbia andin the United States.
Other outstanding natural features include theColumbia River Gorge,Fraser Canyon,Mount St. Helens,Malaspina Glacier, andHells Canyon. The south-central Coast Mountains in British Columbia contain the five largest mid-latitudeicefields in the world.
The main general climatic types of the Pacific Northwest are temperate; cool temperatures and frequent cloudy skies are typical. Under theKöppen climate classification, awarm-summer Mediterranean (Csb) designation is assigned to many areas of the Pacific Northwest as far north as central Vancouver Island and theGulf Islands, including cities such asVictoria, Vancouver (coast area), Seattle, and Portland.[42] Other climate classification systems, such asTrewartha, place these areas in the oceanic zone (Do).[43] AnAlpine climate dominates in the high mountains.Semi-arid andarid climates are found east of the higher mountains, especially inrainshadow areas. TheHarney Basin of Oregon is an example of arid climate in the Pacific Northwest.Humid continental climates occur inland on windward sides, in places such asRevelstoke, British Columbia. Asubarctic climate can be found farther north, especially in Yukon and Alaska.[44]
The lack of rain in the hot season is associated withhigh atmospheric pressure. The shadows of the mountains also greatly decrease the amount of precipitation. West of theCascades, the marine climates have a much greater precipitation than the west coast ofEurope due toorographic lift, with some regions seeing as much as 3,500 mm (138 in) of precipitation per year. Winters are very mild for the region's latitude. The growth ofArbutus, an evergreen broad-leafed tree, is possible on Vancouver Island due to the mild winters.[45][46][47][48][49][50]
The Big Dark is a term for winter in the Pacific Northwest. At a latitude of almost48 degrees north, Seattle has sunsets before 6 PM between October and March, and fewer than nine hours of daylight for many weeks around the winter solstice.[51][52] The darkness contributes toseasonal affective disorder among people living in northern cities, including those in thePuget Sound region.[53][54][55] The darkness is enhanced by a return from dry summers to extremely cloudy and wet weather characterized by recurringatmospheric rivers andPacific Northwest windstorms.[51][56]
Much of the Pacific Northwest is forested. TheGeorgia Strait–Puget Sound basin is shared between western British Columbia and Washington, and thePacific temperate rain forests ecoregion, which is the largest of the world'stemperate rain forestecoregions in the system created by theWorld Wildlife Fund, stretches along the coast from Alaska to California. The dry desert inland from theCascade Range andCoast Mountains is very different from the terrain and climate of the coastal area due to therain shadow effect of the mountains, and comprises the Columbia, Fraser and Thompson Plateaus and mountain ranges contained within them. The interior regions' climates largely within Eastern Washington, south central British Columbia, Eastern Oregon, and southern Idaho are a part of theGreat Basin Desert, although by their northern and eastern reaches, dry land and desert areas verge at the end of the Cascades' andCoast Mountains'rain shadows with the boreal forest and variousalpine flora regimes characteristic of eastern British Columbia, theIdaho Panhandle and westernMontana roughly along a longitudinal line defined by the Idaho border with Washington and Oregon. TheNorth American inland temperate rainforest is in the so-called interior wet-belt, approximately 500–700 km inland from the Pacific coast on western, windward mountain slopes and valley bottoms of theColumbia Mountains and theRocky Mountains. The interior wet-belt refers to a discontinuous band of humid forest patches, that are scattered over 1000 km betweenPurden Lake in Canada'sBritish Columbia (54° North) and Montana and Idaho'sBitterroot Mountains and Idaho'sSalmon River Mountains (45° North).[57] It is closely associated with theNorth Central Rockies forestsecoregion designated by theWWF, which extends over a similar range but incorporates various non-temperate rainforest ecosystems.
The overwhelming majority of the population of the Pacific Northwest is concentrated in anurban megaregion, typically identified with its three major cities (Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver) but extending south from Vancouver to theEugene, Oregon area, following the path of U.S.Interstate 5. Most of this urban megaregion is located between 40–90 miles inland from thePacific Ocean coast.[58]
As of 2021, the combined populations of theLower Mainland region (which includes theMetro Vancouver Regional District), thePuget Sound region (which includes theSeattle metropolitan area), and theWillamette Valley (which includes thePortland metropolitan area) totaled more than ten million people.[59][60][61] However, beyond these three urban areas, the PNW region is characterized by a very low density population distribution. Large geographical areas may only have one mid-sized to small-sized city as a regional center (often a county seat), with smaller cities and towns scattered around. Vast areas of the region may have little or no population at all, largely due to the presence of extensive mountains and forests, and plateaus containing both extensive farm and range lands, much of which is protected from development in large parks and preserves, or by zoning use regulation related to traditional land use. For example, all cities within the vast coastal area between Eugene, Oregon andSan Francisco, California, includingSouthern Oregon andfar northern California (often included in the "Pacific Northwest") have populations less than 100,000, with that portion of the state containing millions of acres of national forests and parks.
The most densely populated region west of theCascade Range outside this corridor is SouthernVancouver Island near British Columbia's Pacific coast, includingVictoria andNanaimo, (with a population of approximately 500,000).[62][63] In contrast, most of the coastal areas of Washington andOregon are sparsely populated.
East of the Cascades, populated areas include theOkanagan Valley in the British Columbia interior centered around the city ofKelowna, theYakima Valley andKennewick in Washington, theBend-Redmond area just east of the Cascades in Central Oregon. Further east are urban areas includingSpokane andBoise that are sometimes included in the Pacific Northwest, but share relatively few ties with the core Vancouver-Seattle-Portland corridor.
| City | State/Province | Population | Metropolitan area | Urban area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle | Washington | 704,000[64] | 3,905,026[65] | 3,059,393[66] |
| Portland | Oregon | 658,347[65] | 2,753,168[65] | 1,849,898[66] |
| Vancouver | British Columbia | 631,486[67] | 2,737,698[3] | 2,264,823[68] |
| Surrey | British Columbia | 598,530[67] | [a] | [a] |
| Burnaby | British Columbia | 257,926[67] | [a] | [a] |
| Boise | Idaho | 236,634[69] | 691,423[65] | 349,684[66] |
| Spokane | Washington | 222,081[64] | 573,493[70][71] | 486,225[66] |
| Richmond | British Columbia | 216,046[67] | [a] | [a] |
| Tacoma | Washington | 198,397[64] | [b] | [b] |
| Vancouver | Washington | 175,673[64] | [c] | [c] |
| Salem | Oregon | 169,798[72] | 390,738[65] | 236,632[66] |
| Eugene | Oregon | 168,916[72] | 351,715[65] | 247,421[66] |
| Abbotsford | British Columbia | 161,581[67] | 204,265[3] | 121,279[68] |
| Coquitlam | British Columbia | 152,734[67] | [a] | [a] |
| Bellevue | Washington | 148,164[73] | [b] | [b] |
| Kelowna | British Columbia | 146,127[67] | 222,748[3] | 151,957[68] |
| Redmond | Washington | 136,420[73] | [b] | [b] |
| Langley (Township) | British Columbia | 133,302[67] | [a] | [a] |
| Kent | Washington | 125,560[64] | [b] | [b] |
| Saanich | British Columbia | 125,107[67] | [d] | [d] |
| Delta | British Columbia | 111,281[67] | [a] | [a] |
| Gresham | Oregon | 111,063[72] | [c] | [c] |
| Hillsboro | Oregon | 106,894[72] | [c] | [c] |
| Meridian | Idaho | 106,000[74] | [e] | [e] |
| Everett | Washington | 103,019[64] | [b] | [b] |
| Nanaimo | British Columbia | 101,336[67] | 117,144[3] | 88,799[68] |
| Kamloops | British Columbia | 101,198[67] | 116,896[3] | 78,026[68] |
| Beaverton | Oregon | 97,514[72] | [c] | [c] |
| Renton | Washington | 95,448[64] | [b] | [b] |
| Spokane Valley | Washington | 94,919[64] | [f] | [f] |
| Chilliwack | British Columbia | 95,178[67] | 116,626[3] | 73,161[68] |
| Bend | Oregon | 94,520[75] | 170,705 | 83,794[66] |
| Victoria | British Columbia | 94,415[67] | 408,883[3] | 335,696[68] |
| Nampa | Idaho | 93,590[76] | [e] | [e] |
| Kirkland | Washington | 93,010[73] | [b] | [b] |
| Maple Ridge | British Columbia | 91,479[67] | [a] | [a] |
| Bellingham | Washington | 92,314[64] | 201,140[77] | 114,473[66] |
| Yakima | Washington | 91,067[78] | 243,231[78] | 129,534[66] |
| North Vancouver (District) | British Columbia | 89,767[67] | [a] | [a] |
| Federal Way | Washington | 89,306[64] | [b] | [b] |
| Kennewick | Washington | 84,347[73] | 268,200 | 232,954[66] |
| New Westminster | British Columbia | 82,590[67] | [a] | [a] |
| Prince George | British Columbia | 82,290[67] | 96,015[3] | 65,510[68] |
| Missoula | Montana | 76,784 | 117,922 | |
| Medford | Oregon | 74,907[75] | 207,010 | 154,081[66] |
| Olympia[g] | Washington | 55,605[79] | 294,793[80] | [h] |
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In British Columbia,Europeans form 64% of the population withAsians comprising a further 29% of the provincial population. Both the Asian and European populations of the province are diverse; of the Asian population, 15% of the population is ofEast Asian descent, 8% of the population is ofSouth Asian descent, with smaller numbers of Southeast Asians (4%) andWest Asians (2%); the European population contains large communities ofEnglish Canadians,Scottish Canadians,Irish Canadians,French Canadians,German Canadians, and many others.[81] Europeans form between 80 and 90 per cent of the population in U.S. section of the Pacific Northwest, thus the Asian presence is comparably smaller, with all Asian groups together comprising about 8% of Washington state's population, and less than 4% in Oregon and Idaho. This is due to immigration quotas at the federal level, as while Canada has one-tenth the population of the United States, it takes in one-quarter as many immigrants, many of whom are from Asia. Vancouver settled about a quarter of allemigrants from Hong Kong to Canada in the late 1980s.[82]
In the U.S. side of the region,Latinos make up a large portion of the agricultural labor force east of the Cascade Range, and are an increasing presence in the general labor force west of the Cascades. Despite theSecond Great Migration from the 1940s to 1960s due to the booming Boeing war industry and post-war growing economy,African Americans are less numerous in the Pacific Northwest; however, the overall African American population has been growing in other smaller urban areas throughout the region such as Eugene.[83] African Americans tend to concentrate in western urban areas such as Tacoma, south Seattle, and Portland. Nonetheless, Black people have a very large presence in Tacoma'sHilltop and South Tacoma neighborhoods, Seattle'sCentral District andRainier Valley neighborhoods,[84] and in Portland's Northeast Quadrant.[85] There are growing numbers in Vancouver as well, particularly Africans, Jamaicans and Black people from the United States.
Beginning in the late 20th century, a generalsuburbanization of East and South Asian communities occurred in Vancouver, prompting concerns regarding the preservation of historical inner-city communities particularly inChinatown andPunjabi Market.
African Americans have held the positions of Mayor in Seattle; King County executive, while the state of Washington elected aChinese American governor during the 1990s,Gary Locke.
British Columbians of many ethnicities are prominent in all levels of politics and government, and the province has a number of "firsts" in Canadian political history, including the first non-white and AsianPremier,Ujjal Dosanjh (who isIndo-Canadian) and the first AsianLieutenant-Governor, the Hon.David Lam. The Lieutenant-Governor from 2007 to 2012,Steven Point, was of aboriginal origin, beingStó:lō (the dominant type ofCoast Salish in BC's Lower Mainland) from theChilliwack area. The leader of the opposition party from 2005 to 2011, theNDP, wasCarole James, of partialMétis origin. Colonial governorJames Douglas was himselfmulatto of Guyanese extraction and his wife was ofCree origin.
Oregon has been a national leader concerningLGBT representation in government. At the time of his election to the office of Portland mayor in 2008,Sam Adams was the first openly gay individual to represent a city of Portland's size in the United States. InSilverton, Oregon, the same year,Stu Rasmussen was elected the firsttransgender mayor in U.S. history. The first two LGBT state supreme court justices in the country both sit on theOregon Supreme Court. At the time of her election, the previousGovernor of OregonKate Brown was the highest-ranking openlybisexual politician in the United States. The current governor isTina Kotek, who became one of the first two openly lesbian women elected governor of a U.S. state after her election in 2022. In 2017,Jenny Durkan was elected as the first openly lesbian mayor of Seattle.
Most Americans and Canadians consider thePacific Northwest English accent "neutral", though distinct from the Midwestern dialects that some believe typify American speech.[86][87][88] It possess the low back vowel merger, or thecot–caught merger.Canadian raising occurs in British Columbia and some speakers in Washington to a similar degree as it does insouthern Ontario, but weaker than other parts of Canada. TheCalifornia Vowel Shift also affects speech in the region.
Chinook Jargon was apidgin ortrade language established amongindigenous inhabitants of the region. After contact with Europeans, French, English, andCree words entered the language, and "eventually, Chinook became the lingua franca for as many as 250,000 people along the Pacific Slope from Alaska to Oregon".[89] Chinook Jargon reached its height of usage in the 19th century, though remained common in resource and wilderness areas, particularly, but not exclusively, byNative Americans andCanadian First Nations people, well into the 20th century. Today, its influence is felt mostly inplace names and a handful of localizedslang terms, particularly the wordskookum, which remains hallmark of people raised in the region.
French was thevoyageurs' working language of the early continental crossover exploration crews. The ensuing fur trade was dominated by French Canadian (and Métis) workers. The language held on South of the border in a few early settlements such asFrench Prairie,Frenchtown (Washington),Frenchtown (Montana),Cowlitz Prairie, andFrench Settlement. These early settlements got resupplied through waves of new arrivals from theOregon Trail attracted by the language and Catholics communities. Much of it ended up assimilating to the melting pot or sometimes folding intoreservations. New waves of French speaking workers came in later on to work in forestry and wood mills such asMaillardville in thegreater Vancouver area. French remains much used inplace names, in the documentation of products intended for North America (along with Spanish and English), as well as an official language in Canada. French schooling is also popular inWestern Canada, including British Columbia.
Besides English and indigenous languages,Chinese has been common since thegold rushes of the mid-19th century, most particularly in British Columbia. Since the 1980s,Taishanese, aYue dialect predominant in the area, has been replaced by mainstreamCantonese and byMandarin because of large-scale immigration from Asia.Punjabi is also common in British Columbia, specifically in Greater Vancouver and theFraser Valley owing to the largePunjabiSikh population in the region, first arriving in the late 19th century.[90]Spanish is also spoken in parts of Oregon and Washington as well as British Columbia byMexicans and other Hispanics, both recent immigrants and long-standing communities.
| Religion | British Columbia (2021)[91] | Washington (2014est.)[92] | Oregon (2014est.)[93] | Idaho (2014est.)[94] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Affiliation | % of population | |||||||
| Christian | 34 | 61 | 61 | 67 | ||||
| Protestant | 10 | 40 | 43 | 37 | ||||
| Catholic | 12 | 17 | 12 | 10 | ||||
| Mormon | <1 | 3 | 4 | 19 | ||||
| Jehovah's Witnesses | 1 | 2 | <1 | <1 | ||||
| Orthodox | 1 | <1 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Other Christian/Not Specified | 11 | 1 | 1 | <1 | ||||
| Unaffiliated | 52 | 33 | 32 | 28 | ||||
| Non-Christian | 14 | 6 | 7 | 4 | ||||
| Sikh | 6 | <1 | <1 | <1 | ||||
| Muslim | 3 | <1 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Buddhist | 2 | 1 | <1 | <1 | ||||
| Hindu | 2 | 1 | <1 | <1 | ||||
| Jewish | 1 | 1 | 2 | <1 | ||||
| Other faith | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | ||||
| Total | ||||||||
The Pacific Northwest has the lowest rate of church attendance in the United States and consistently reports the highest percentage ofatheism;[95][96] this is most pronounced on the part of the region west of the Cascades.[97] A recent study indicates that one quarter of those in Washington and Oregon have no religion.[98] Similarly, according to the 2011 National Household Survey, 44% of British Columbia residents reported no religion.[99]
Religion plays a smaller part in Pacific Northwest politics than in the rest of the United States. Thereligious right has considerably less political influence than in other regions. Political conservatives in the Pacific Northwest tend to identify more strongly with free-marketlibertarian values than they do with more religioussocial conservatives.[100]
That said, three of the four major internationalcharities in the region are religious in nature:World Concern,World Vision International, andMercy Corps. This is part of a long tradition of activist religion. TheSkid Road Group, a shelter offering soup and sermons to theunemployed and recoveringalcoholics, was launched in Vancouver, with theSalvation Army having deep roots in theGastown district, dating back to the era of the construction of theCanadian Pacific Railway (1880s) and attained prominence in the same centers during theKlondike Gold Rush.
The region is also known as a magnet for a wide range of philosophical and spiritual belief systems. Eastern spiritual beliefs have been adopted by an unusually large number of people (by North American standards), andTibetan Buddhism in particular has a strong local following.[101] The Northwest Tibetan Cultural Association, claimed to be the largest organization of its kind in the world, was founded in Portland in 1993.
The region is home to many unique Christian communities, ranging from theDoukhobors to theMennonites. The Mennonite Central Committee Supportive Care Services is based in the British Columbia city of Abbotsford.[102] TheMennonite Central Committee and theMennonite Disaster Service enjoy a heavy rate of enlistment and donations from the strong Mennonite community in British Columbia'sFraser Valley. The Doukhobors, whose church is the Union of Spiritual Communities of Christ, are a RussianAnabaptist sect whose migration to Canada was aided by CountLeo Tolstoy, and who are today focused in theWest Kootenay andBoundary regions of Southeastern British Columbia. Their history in Canada includes resistance to state education and industrial development (seeSons of Freedom). Also, within the region, there is a fairly strong representation ofOrthodox churches (Greek, Russian, Serbian, and others), as well as theUkrainian Greek Catholic Church. Oregon'sWillamette Valley has a large population ofRussian Old Believers.[103] Religious sees that are based in the Pacific Northwest include the Roman Catholicecclesiastical provinces ofPortland,Seattle, andVancouver,Province 8 of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, the AnglicanEcclesiastical Province of British Columbia and Yukon, and thesuffragan dioceses that make up those provinces.
Yogic teachings, Sufism, tribal and ancient beliefs and other philosophies are widely studied and appreciated in the region. TheLower Mainland of British Columbia has a very largeSikh community. Oregon has a considerableQuaker (Society of Friends) population. There has been major growth inChinese Buddhist temples since the increase in immigration fromEast Asia in the 1980s, especially in Vancouver.
Also in Vancouver, there is a smallHindu population, a number of Parsee (Zoroastrians), and an emergingMuslim, especially the 11,000-strongIsmaili,[104] population fromSouth Asia, the Middle East, Africa, the Balkans, Southeast Asia, and elsewhere.
Two of the fiveShingon Buddhist temples in America are in Seattle.[105]
Some people in the area also embrace alternativereligion, such asNew Age spirituality andNeo-Paganism.[106] ANew Thought church calledLiving Enrichment Center with 4,000 members was inWilsonville, Oregon, from 1992 to 2004.[107]
A major divide in political opinion separates the region's greatly more populated urban core and rural areas west of the mountains from its less populated rural areas to their east and (in British Columbia and Alaska) north.[114] The coastal areas—especially in the cities of Vancouver, Victoria, Bellingham, Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia, Portland, and Eugene—are some of the most politically liberal parts of North America, regularly supporting left-wing political candidates and causes by significant majorities. The religious right has much less influence throughout the region than elsewhere in the U.S. or in Western Canada. Certain areas of the British Columbia Interior, particularly theWest Kootenay, and some areas of Vancouver Island and the B.C. Coast, have long histories oflabour, environmental, and social activism.
The jurisdictions have relatively liberalabortion laws, gender equality laws, legalcannabis, and strongLGBT rights, especially British Columbia where these issues are of federal jurisdiction, and where same-sex marriage has been legal since 2003, Washington, where it has been legal since 2012, and Oregon, where same-sex marriage was made legal in May 2014. Oregon was the first U.S. state to legalizephysician-assisted suicide, with theDeath with Dignity Act of 1994. Washington State was the second when I-1000 passed in 2008.Colegio Cesar Chavez, the first fully accredited Hispanic college in the U.S., was founded inMount Angel, Oregon, in 1973. In 1986,King County, Washington, which contains Seattle, voted to change its namesake fromWilliam R. King toMartin Luther King Jr.[115]
These areas, especially around Puget Sound, have a long history of political radicalism. The radical labor organizers calledWobblies were particularly strong there in the mines,lumber camps and shipyards. A number ofanarchist communes sprang up there in the early 20th century (see Charles Pierce LeWarne'sUtopias on Puget Sound, 1885–1915 for an overview of this movement). There are also pro gun socialist organizations such asPuget Sound John Brown Gun Club. Seattle is one of a handful of major cities in North America in which the populace engaged in ageneral strike (in 1919), and was the first major American city to elect a woman mayor,Bertha Knight Landes (in 1926).[116]Socialist beliefs were once widespread (thanks in large part to the area's large numbers of Scandinavian immigrants), and the region has had a number of Socialist elected officials. So great was its influence that the U.S. Postmaster General, James Farley, jokingly toasted the "forty-seven states of the Union, and the Soviet of Washington", at a gala dinner in 1936 (although Farley denied ever saying it).[117]
Due to the Pacific Northwest being a generally liberal region, it also has a long history of feminism and people with feminist ideologies. The journey on the Oregon Trail may have been the part of the cause of feminism in the region, many women on the trail had to break gender-normative roles.[118] Women occasionally were allowed the chance to try new things like cracking the whip for the wagon, given these opportunities women began to question their roles in society.[118] Early days in the west, no forms of government had been established and this may have been part of the cause of feminist ideologies, new laws were formed to fit the regions needs and women were granted rights to land ownership in the West much earlier than in the East because of high death rates of men in the region.[119] While this may be coincidental, this granted women power. Women's suffrage movements were prominent in the Pacific Northwest; Susan B. Anthony did a tour through the region attempting to spread her ideas and made stops in Portland, the Willamette Valley, Columbia River, and Victoria.[120] Not only were women's suffrage movements prominent in the Pacific Northwest, but there was also a fight for women to keep their jobs after men returned from war in World War I.[121] A group titled the Washington State Women's Council (founded in 1963) fought for women's policies, this group worked towards the states' equal rights amendment, and fought for women's property rights in marriage during the 1972 legislative session.[122]
The region also has a long history of starting cooperative and communal businesses and organizations, includingGroup Health,[123]REI,MEC,Puget Consumers Co-op, and numerous granges and mutual aid societies. It also has a long history of publicly owned power and utilities, with many of the region's cities owning their ownpublic utilities. In British Columbia,credit unions are common and popular cooperatively owned financial institutions.
East of the Cascades, in Eastern Washington and Eastern Oregon, the population is much more conservative. The eastern portions of Washington and especially Oregon, due to their low populations, do not generally have enough voting power to be competitive at the state level, and thus the governorships and U.S. Senate seats of both Oregon and Washington are usually held by theDemocrats. Conservatism in the eastern part of the Pacific Northwest tends to be distrustful of federal government interference in the market.
Aluminum smelting was once an important part of the region's economy due to the abundance of cheap hydroelectric power.Hydroelectric power generated by thehydroelectric dams on the Columbia River powered at least ten aluminum smelters during the mid-20th century. By the end of World War II these smelters were producing over a third of the United States' aluminum. Production rose during the 1950s and 1960s, then declined. By the first decade of the 21st century the aluminum industry in the Pacific Northwest was essentially defunct.[124] TheAlcan smelter atKitimat continues in operation and is fed by the diversion of theNechako River (a tributary of the Fraser) to a powerhouse on the coast atKemano, near Kitimat.
The region as a whole, but especially several specific areas, are concentrated high-tech areas: Seattle eastern suburbs, the PortlandSilicon Forest area, and Vancouver, British Columbia. These areas are also leading "creative class" economic drivers, feeding thriving cultural sectors, and include many knowledge workers and numerous international advertising, media, and design firms.
Colleges and universities in the Pacific Northwest:
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Although the dominant culture in the Pacific Northwest today isAnglo-American,Anglo-Canadian, andScandinavian American, there is significantMexican andChinese influence. 23% of Vancouver, British Columbia, is Chinese, and 50% of residents of the City of Vancouver do not speak English as their first language.[125] Parts of Oregon and Washington arebilingual in both English and Spanish, and Native American culture is strong throughout the Pacific Northwest.
The Pacific Northwest's liberal political leanings and remote location have given the region a reputation for counterculture.[126] This reputation includes the region's major cities, particularly Portland,[127] but also extends to smaller urban areas such asOlympia, Washington andEugene, Oregon.[128][129] This reputation may stem from thehippie movement, which began in the Pacific Northwest and California.
Cannabis use is relatively popular, especially around Vancouver, Victoria, Bellingham, Seattle, Olympia, Portland, and Eugene. Several of these jurisdictions have made arrests for cannabis a low enforcement priority. Medical marijuana is legal in British Columbia,[130] Washington,[131] and Oregon,[132] as well as in Alaska, which has legalised cannabis and has many licensed dispensaries,[133] and in Yukon, although fewer than 50 of the territory's residents are licensed to use medical marijuana, and no legal dispensaries operate within its borders.[134] As of December 6, 2012, possession of less than an ounce of marijuana for recreational use by persons over 21 years of age became legal in Washington state as a result of state ballot measureInitiative 502, which was approved by the state's voters on November 6, 2012, by a ten-point margin. As of July 1, 2015, recreational marijuana use was legalized in Oregon as well.[135][136]
Environmentalism is prominent throughout the region, especially west of the Cascades. Environmentally conscious services such asrecycling andpublic transportation are widespread, most notably in the more populous areas. Politically, the Pacific Northwest is actively involved in environmental efforts. The international organizationGreenpeace was born in Vancouver in 1970 as part of a large public opposition movement in British Columbia to US nuclear weapons testing onAmchitka Island in the Aleutian Islands. Liberal and conservative Northwesterners, such as former U.S. SenatorSlade Gorton (R-WA) and moderate Democrats like former Speaker of the HouseTom Foley (D-WA), have been prominent in the development of conservative approaches to environmental protection. Seattle in particular is also home to a large number of publications and institutions concerned with the environment and sustainability, including bothWorldchanging andGrist.org, the U.S.'s two largest online green magazines. The Pacific Northwest is also noted for a large number of gardening clubs, with Victoria having an annual flower count in February.
The direct-intervention oceanic protection group known as theSea Shepherd Conservation Society has its headquarters inFriday Harbor onSan Juan Island.[137]
In British Columbia, environmentalists fought to protectClayoquot Sound in the 1980s and 1990s. More recently the province has agreed to environmental protections in theGreat Bear Rainforest.
The Pacific Northwest has a rich history in incubating and promoting musicians. It is best known forindie music, especiallygrunge,alternative rock, andmetal; the region also hasfolk music andworld music traditions and has lately gained notice for itship hop scene. Many acts are associated with the record labelSub Pop, based in Seattle; independent labelsK Records of Olympia andKill Rock Stars of Olympia and Portland are also prominent.
The Seattle-based radio stationKEXP has gained a national reputation for promotingindie and alternative music.[138] Among the Northwest's largest music festivals are theMerritt Mountain Music Festival, theVancouver Folk Music Festival, theSasquatch! Music Festival inGeorge, Washington, Seattle'sBumbershoot, Boise'sTreefort Music Fest, and Portland'sMusicfestNW; smaller festivals across the region are held frequently. Portland's Waterfront Blues Festival is the largest blues-based festival west of the Mississippi River.
Among the most notable rock artists originating from the region areElliott Smith,Jimi Hendrix,Nirvana,Modest Mouse,Pearl Jam,Soundgarden,Alice in Chains,Foo Fighters,Mother Mother,the Decemberists, andSleater-Kinney. The history of Northwest rock, however, finds its roots in the mid-1950s and 1960s with such bands asthe Sonics,the Ventures,the Kingsmen, andPaul Revere and the Raiders.[139] Pop and hip-hop musicians includingQuincy Jones,Macklemore, andAmine also hail from the region.[140]
Foods typical of the Pacific Northwest includewild salmon,halibut,shellfish,huckleberries,marionberries, a wide variety ofAsian cuisines, and locally produced fruits, vegetables, and cheeses.[141][142]
Chinese,Japanese,Korean,Indian,Italian, Mexican, andGreek cuisines are prevalent throughout the Northwest, and reflect the historically strong presence of those communities in the restaurant industry there.Teriyaki restaurants are particularly common in the Seattle area.[143][144] Eateries featuringWest Asian (predominantlyPersian),East Asian fusion, andSouth Asian (predominantlyPunjabi) cuisines are common throughout in Greater Vancouver, as are ethnic specialty restaurants of all kinds. Ethnic staples ranging from frozenpierogi orsamosas to frozenspring rolls ordim sum are common in most supermarkets in these communities.
Locally made craft beers, ciders, and premium wines from various wine-growing areas within the region are popular with drinkers and diners. Northern latitude and coastal breezes create a climate that attracts international recognition for its mostly family-owned and operated vineyards and wineries.
Portland is a major microbrewery center in America,[145] and is home tonumerous breweries.
There have been proposals for certain parts of the Pacific Northwest becoming its own country because of the sharedecoregion and culture,[146][147] the most well-known beingCascadia. However, the region is strongly divided by the international border, and this division grew more rather than less powerful over the 20th century.[148] Carl Abbott argues that, given the twin factors of limited economic integration vis-a-vis NAFTA, and cultural similarities, he views the major cities as "going their separate ways" as east–west gateways of commerce, competing with each other, rather than forming north–south connectors of a tentative "mega-region".[148]
Skiing, snowboarding, cycling, mountaineering, hiking, camping, hunting, fishing, boating, andwater sports are popular outdoor activities. Vancouver, Seattle, Tacoma, Portland, Boise and Victoria are home to numerous professional sports teams, including theAbbotsford Canucks,BC Bears,BC Lions,Boise Hawks,Eugene Emeralds,Everett AquaSox,Everett Silvertips,Fraser Valley Bandits,Hillsboro Hops,Idaho Steelheads,Idaho Horsemen,Idaho Falls Chukars,Portland Thorns FC,Portland Timbers,Portland Trail Blazers,Portland Winterhawks,Salem-Keizer Volcanoes,Seattle Dragons,Seattle Mariners,Seattle Kraken,Seattle Reign FC,Seattle Seahawks,Seattle Seawolves,Seattle Sounders FC,Seattle Storm,Seattle Thunderbirds,Pacific FC,Tacoma Defiance,Tacoma Rainiers,Tri City Americans,Vancouver Canadians,Vancouver Canucks,Vancouver Giants,Vancouver Rise FC,Vancouver Warriors,Vancouver Whitecaps FC, andVictoria Royals.
The region's three USSF Division 1Major League Soccer teams the Whitecaps FC, Sounders FC, and Timbers play to sold-out crowds and compete annually for theCascadia Cup. The USSF Division 4USL Premier Development League also has seven teams in the Northwest Division. In addition to all this, the region has its own representative non-FIFA team which joined theN.F.-Board officially in 2013 to participate in friendlies and theVIVA World Cup.[149]
In 2018, theCascadia Association Football Federation competed in the2018 ConIFA World Football Cup representing the Pacific Northwest.
Vancouver is home to a 4-team league forAustralian football, the British Columbia Australian Football League, one of severalCanadian Australian football leagues.
Hockey is the most popular spectator sport in British Columbia, with theVancouver Canucks of theNHL being the most popular professional team, although theVancouver Giants of theWestern Hockey League also have a very strong following. TheCanadian Football League's BC Lions are considered Vancouver's second most popular team, althoughmajor league soccer's Vancouver Whitecaps FC have been rising in popularity in recent years. Hockey is slowly gaining popularity south of the border too, with theEverett Silvertips,Portland Winterhawks, andSeattle Thunderbirds of theWestern Hockey League and theSeattle Kraken of theNHL.
Followers of the Portland Trail Blazers basketball team refer to themselves as theSixth Man andBlazermania refers to the extraordinary dedication fans have shown the team. In Seattle, many fans are still upset over the move of theSeattle SuperSonics while supporters of the Seattle Seahawks football team are known officially as the 12th Man.[150] And thesupporter groups, (namely theEmerald City Supporters,Timbers Army, andVancouver Southsiders) of the three MLS teams of the region are renowned for their passion and dedication to their teams.
The only major track for motorsports in the Pacific Northwest region isPortland International Raceway. PIR currently hosts the NTTIndyCar Series and itsRoad to Indy ladder series', as well as theNASCAR Xfinity Series; the number two stock car series in the country.Evergreen Speedway, north and east of Seattle, is the largest short track west of the Mississippi River and has hosted many of the marquee drivers of NASCAR. With three oval tracks, a figure eight track and various road course variants, Evergreen Speedway operates year-round events. Evergreen Speedway hosts the NASCAR Whelen All American Series, the ARCA Menards Series West, National Figure Eight Events, USAC, SCCA, plus Touring Groups and Formula Drift. The Northwest's most successful racers on a national platform include1983 Indianapolis 500 winnerTom Sneva (Spokane),Greg Moore (Maple Ridge, BC),Greg Biffle, (Vancouver, WA),Kasey Kahne (Enumclaw, WA), and1990 Daytona 500 winnerDerrike Cope (Spanaway, WA). Also,Mike Bliss (Milwaukee, OR),Chuck Bown (Portland), andChad Little (Spokane) have won NASCAR-sanctioned championships, and had lengthy careers in NASCAR's 3 national series.
In Idaho, Washington and Oregon, many residents passionately followcollege athletics. In Washington, the majorNCAA Division I college athletic programs are theUniversity of Washington Huskies. In Oregon, the major programs are theUniversity of Oregon Ducks and theOregon State Beavers. All four of these programs are members of thePac-12 Conference and compete with each other in a variety of sports. These universities are all considered rivals of one another, particularly incollege football. The most significant of these rivalries are theOregon–Washington football rivalry game, the Washington-Washington State game known as theApple Cup due to Washington's notoriety for apple production and theOregon–Oregon State football rivalry. As in professional sports, college fans in the Pacific Northwest are known for being particularly passionate about their teams. BothHusky Stadium (where the Washington Huskies play football) andAutzen Stadium (where the Oregon Ducks play football) have gained reputations for deafening noise, despite not being the largest of college football venues. Husky Stadium currently holds the record for the loudest crowd noise in NCAA history at 130decibels,[151] while Autzen Stadium currently holds the record for the 4th at 127 decibels.[152] In Idaho, the majorNCAA Division I college athletic programs are theBoise State Broncos, theIdaho Vandals and theIdaho State Bengals, the latter two being members of theFootball Championship Subdivision in theBig Sky Conference while Boise State competes in theMountain West Conference of theFootball Bowl Subdivision. Boise State and Idaho enjoyed a healthy rivalry from the 1970s through the late 2000s with each team having significant win streaks in the series over the other, Boise State had the most recent streak with 12 consecutive wins starting in 1999 which was preceded by Idaho's most recent win streak of 12 consecutive wins from 1982 to 1993. In 2018, Idaho rekindled an old rivalry with Idaho State that had been dormant since 1996 when Idaho moved up to FBS. Idaho currently has the lead in theBattle of the Domes series 29–13.
Seattle is considered byDigital Trends magazine to be the top gaming city in America, a possible indicator of markedly higher rates of video game usage throughout the Pacific Northwest in general.[153] A number of major companies are headquartered in the Seattle metropolitan area, includingMicrosoft,Valve,Bungie,Nintendo of America (a wholly owned subsidiary ofNintendo), andSony Computer Entertainment's subsidiarySucker Punch Productions. Microsoft and Nintendo of America also have Canadian branches headquartered in Vancouver—Microsoft Canada and Nintendo of Canada—respectively, whileEA Vancouver (a subsidiary division ofElectronic Arts) is in the same city.
Among the fiercely independent and frontier nature of the former Oregon Country and now western part of the United States, is the desire of some Pacific Northwesterners to improve upon their form of democracy by further subdividing the region intosocio-political orbioregion definednation states. Some desires aretransnational and autonomous of the United States while others are in the hope of gaining additional representational control in particular regions of the Northwest. Among these fluidly changing geographical boundaries and areas sought by a segment of the population of the Northwest are the following Pacific Northwest proposed states andseparatist movements:
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A 2007 statistical analysis ranked the 50 Greenest Cities in the United States, placing Portland, Oregon first, Eugene, Oregon, fifth, and Seattle, Washington, eighth.[155] The region as a whole is also known for itsbicycle culture as an alternative form of transportation; Portland is considered by Forbes Traveler to be the second mostbicycle-friendly city in the world.[156] Portland is also the hub of American bicycle manufacturing; as a whole it generated over $68 million in revenue in 2007.[156]
Seattle, Washington has also garnered a reputation for its contributions to public transportation with thePuget Sound Transit system, including an underground light rail system and a 38.9% worker commute rate as of 2011.[157] Mass transit in Portland Metropolitan area is provided byTriMet and in Vancouver byTransLink (British Columbia).
Some tribal governments offerfree bus service on their respective reservations, including on theMuckleshoot,[158]Spokane,[159]Umatilla[160] andYakama Indian Reservations.[161]
... A multi-disciplinary study at Port Eliza cave on Vancouver Island has refined the timing and character of late Wisconsinan environments and has significant implications for the human Coastal Migration Hypothesis ...
... Recent discoveries and events have breathed new life into the coastal migration theory, which suggests just the opposite of the ice-free corridor hypothesis—that maritime peoples first traveled around the North Pacific Coast then followed river valleys leading inland from the sea. Having a coastal route available, however, does not prove that such a maritime migration took place. Archaeological evidence for early boat use from islands along the western margin of the Pacific may support the idea that such a journey was technologically feasible, but archaeological data from the Pacific coast of North and South America are presently ambiguous about the origins of the earliest coastal occupants. ...
The expression "The Big Dark" has been used by[National] Weather Service staffers in the past to refer to this period between October and March when it feels like there's constantly gray overhead. ... At about 47 degrees latitude, Seattle has one of the most extreme dark seasons in the continental United States. We get fewer than 8 ½ hours of daylight on the shortest day in December, and what little daylight we get is often shrouded by clouds.
The Seattle Times called it the onset of the "Big Dark", but those who know Northwest weather call it the "Big Normal". Right on time we are enjoying the stimulating strong winds and heavy rain of a potent Pacific front.
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