Pacific Northwest Totally Explained

Everything about Pacific Northwest totally explained

ť This page is about the region that includes parts of Canada and the United States. For the U.S.-only region, see Northwestern United States.

The Pacific Northwest is a region in the northwest of North America (the term refers to the land, not the ocean). There are several partially overlapping definitions but the term Pacific Northwest shouldn't be confused with the Northwest Territory (aka the Great Northwest) or the Northwest Territories. The term Northwest Coast is often used when referring only to the coastal regions. The term Northwest Plateau has been used to describe the inland regions, although they're commonly referred to as "the Interior" (which in British Columbia is by convention capitalized and is used as a proper name). The inland portion of the U.S. is called the Inland Empire.
The region's biggest cities are Vancouver, British Columbia; Seattle, Washington; and Portland, Oregon.
The area's biomes and ecoregions are distinct from the surrounding areas. The Georgia Strait-Puget Sound basin is shared between British Columbia and Washington, and the Pacific temperate rain forests, comprising the world's largest temperate rain forest zone, stretch along the coast from Alaska to California. The dryland area inland from the Cascade Range and Coast Mountains is very different from the terrain and climate of the Coast, and comprises the Columbia and Fraser Plateaus and mountain ranges contained within them. The interior regions' climates are a northward extension of the Great Western Desert which spans the Great Basin farther south, although by their northern reaches dryland and desert areas verge with boreal forest and various alpine flora regimes.

Definitions and related terms

The Pacific Northwest, broadly defined, extends from the ocean to the continental divide and includes all of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, part of British Columbia, and adjoining parts of Alaska, Montana, Yukon Territory and California. Both the name Pacific Northwest and the name Cascadia, which is derived from the Cascade Range, are commonly used without a definition, although the term "Pacific Northwest" is considerably older, having its origins in the early 19th century. Cascadia is of recent coinage (1980s) and is sometimes used in geology, ecology and climatology and increasingly by community members and small businesses and organizations with a regional-marketing identity. It is also the name of a two-year college in Bothell, Washington. Of the two terms, only "Pacific Northwest" is in general use throughout the region, and also encompasses more area than the Cascadia concept, which tends to be more coastal and limited to the Evergreen Triangle area of Washington and Oregon and British Columbia. As a bioregion, Cascadia has been defined as "the watersheds of rivers that flow into the Pacific Ocean through North America's temperate rainforest zone."
In the United States, the term Pacific Northwest is also used for most of the official region of the Northwestern United States, which includes the American states of the Pacific Northwest but excludes areas of it in Canada. Canadians might be forgiven for asking "Northwest of what?" since the areas popularly designated "Pacific Northwest" are actually to the South and West of central Canada; however, the dominance of US popular culture in Canada means that many Canadians accept this term as applying to British Columbia's coastal regions.

History

The Pacific Northwest was occupied by a diverse array of Native American peoples for millennia, beginning with Paleoindians who explored and colonized the area roughly 15,000 years before Europeans arrived. The Pacific Coast is seen by a growing number of scholars as a major migration route for late Pleistocene peoples moving from northeast Asia into the Americas. Archaeological evidence for these earliest Native Americans is sketchy--in part because heavy glaciation, flooding, and post-glacial sea level rise have radically changed the landscape--but fluted Clovis-like points found in the region were probably left by Paleoindians at least 13,000 years ago. Even earlier evidence for human occupation dating back as much as 14,500 years ago is emerging from caves in central Oregon. With a history of human occupation spanning many millennia, and the incredible richness of Pacific Northwest fisheries (salmon, etc.), it isn't surprising that the Indian Tribes who occupied the area historically were some of the most complex hunter-gatherer-fishers in history. They lived in large villages or towns, built plank houses and large canoes, and had sophisticated artistic and technological traditions. In British Columbia and Southeast Alaska, for instance, maritime tribes like the Tlingit and Haida erected the large and elaborately carved totem poles that are iconic of Pacific Northwest artistic traditions. Throughout the area, thousands of descendants of these proud Pacific Northwest tribes still live and many of their cultural traditions continue to be practiced.

Initial European Exploration

British Captain and erstwhile privateer Francis Drake sailed off the Oregon coast in 1579. Juan de Fuca, Greek captain in the employ of Spain, might have found the Strait of Juan de Fuca around 1592. The strait was named for him, but whether he discovered it or not has long been questioned. During the early 1740s, Imperial Russia sent the Dane Vitus Bering to the region. By the late 1700s and into the mid-19th century, Russian settlers had established several posts and communities on northeast Pacific coast, eventually reaching as far south as Fort Ross, California.
   In 1774 the viceroy of New Spain sent Juan Pérez in the ship Santiago to the Pacific Northwest. Peréz made landfall on the Queen Charlotte Islands on July 18, 1774. The northernmost latitude he reached was 54° 40' N. This was followed, in 1775, by another Spanish expedition, under the command of Bruno de Heceta and including Juan Peréz and Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra as officers. On July 14, 1775 they landed on the Olympic Peninsula near the mouth of the Quinault River. Due to an outbreak of scurvy, Heceta returned to Mexico. On August 17, 1775 he sighted the mouth of the Columbia River but couldn't tell if it was a river or a major strait. His attempt to sail in failed due to overly strong currents. He named it Bahia de la Asúnciõn. While Heceta sailed south, Quadra continued north in the expedition's second ship, the Sonora. He reached 59° N, before turning back.
   In 1776 English mariner Captain James Cook visited Nootka Sound on Vancouver Island and also voyaged as far as Prince William Sound. In 1779 a third Spanish expedition, under the command of Ignacio de Artega in the ship Princesa, and with Quadra as captain of the ship Favorite, sailed from Mexico to the coast of Alaska, reaching 61° N. Two further Spanish expeditions, in 1788 and 1789, both under Esteban Jose Martínez and Gonzalo López de Haro, sailed to the Pacific Northwest. During the second expedition they met the American captain Robert Gray near Nootka Sound. Upon entering Nootka Sound, they found William Douglas and his ship the Iphigenia. There followed the Nootka Crisis, which was resolved by agreements known as the Nootka Convention. In 1790 the Spanish sent three ships to Nootka Sound, under the command of Francisco 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 the San Juan Islands and Admiralty Inlet in the process. Francisco de Eliza himself took the ship San Carlos into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. From a base at Port Discovery, he explores the San Juan Islands, Haro Strait, Rosario Strait, and Bellingham Bay. In the process he discovered the Strait of Georgia, exploring it as far north as Texada Island. He returned to Nootka Sound by August of 1791. Alessandro Malaspina, sailing for Spain, explored and mapped the coast from Yakutat Bay to Prince William Sound in 1791, then sailed to Nootka Sound. A scientific expedition in the manner of James Cook, Malaspina's scientists studied the Tlingit and Nuu-chah-nulth peoples before returning to Mexico. Another Spanish explorer, Jacinto Caamaño, sailed the ship Aranzazu to Nootka Sound in May of 1792. There he met Quadra, who was in command of the Spanish settlement. Quadra sent Caamaño north, where he explored the region of today's Alaska panhandle. 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. 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 decided to sail north. They discovered and entered the Fraser River shortly before meeting Vancouver. After sharing maps and agreeing to cooperate, Galiano, Valdés, and Vancouver sailed north, charting the coastline together. They passed through Johnstone Strait 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 hadn't sailed completedly around the island..
   The region also has a long history of starting cooperative and communal businesses and organizations, including Group Health, REI, Puget Consumer's Co-ops 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 own public utilities. In part as a result, the region enjoys the lowest electrical power rates on the continent.

Economy

Some of the notable industries and products from the region:

Agriculture (Washington Apples, Idaho potatoes, Tillamook Cheese, wine)

Aerospace (Boeing, Alaska Air, CHC Helicopter)

Diversified (Jim Pattison Group, Finning, Washington Marine Group)

Entertainment industry (film and television, Lions Gate Entertainment, Lionsgate Studios, Lionsgate Television, Vancouver Film Studios, Bridge Studios)

Finance and Banking (Washington Mutual, HSBC Bank Canada)

Fishing and canning (salmon, halibut, herring, geoducks and other clams, crab, sea-urchin)

High Technology and E-commerce (Microsoft, Intel, Tektronix, Amazon.com, Expedia, Ballard Power Systems, MacDonald Dettwiler, Electronic Arts Canada)

Higher Education (University of Washington, University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, Trinity Western University, University of Victoria, Western Washington University,Central Washington University, Eastern Washington University, University of Puget Sound, Seattle University, Portland State University, Reed College, Lewis & Clark College, Washington State University, Oregon State University, University of Oregon), University College of the Fraser Valley, Vancouver Island University

Hydroelectric power (Grand Coulee Dam, Bonneville Dam, Bridge River Power Project)

Lumber (Weyerhaeuser, Canfor, Tolko, Pope & Talbot, Inc.)

Mass Retail (Starbucks, Tullys, Blenz, Nordstrom, Zumiez)

Mining (Goldcorp, Cominco)

Outdoor Tourism (Alpine Skiing (Whistler-Blackcomb), Snowboarding, Hiking, Kayaking, Mountain Biking, sport fishing, big-game hunting, ATVing and 4x4ing, surfing)

Shoes & Apparel (Nike, Columbia, R.E.I., Lululemon) Aluminium smelting was once an important part of the region's economy. Hydroelectric power generated by the hydroelectric dams on the Columbia River powered at least ten aluminium smelters during the mid-20th century. By the end of World War II these smelters were producing over a third of the United States' aluminium. Production rose during the 1950s and 1960s, then declined. By the first decade of the 21st century the aluminium industry in the Pacific Northwest was essentially defunct.
The region as a whole, but especially Seattle, is a hot-bed of high-tech business. It is also a leading "creative class" economic driver, with a thriving cultural sector, many knowledge workers and numerous international advertising, media and design firms.
B.C., Washington and Oregon together generate more than $450 billion worth of goods and services annually. If the three were a separate country, their GDP would be in the top 20 economies of the world.

Culture

The Pacific Northwest's culture is quite varied, and to a certain degree reflects the varied geography of the region. Environmentalism is prominent throughout the region. Ecologically conscious services such as recycling and public transportation are fairly well-developed and generally available in the more populated areas. The international organization Greenpeace was born in Vancouver in 1970 as part of a large public opposition movement in British Columbia to US nuclear weapons testing on Amchitka Island in the Aleutians. Conservative Northwesterners, like U.S. Senator Slade Gorton, are prominent in the development of conservative approaches to environmental protection. Seattle, in particular, is an epicenter of environmentalism, with a mayor who has lead the national movement of cities ratifying the Kyoto Protocol, large philanthropic institutions like the Bullitt, Brainerd and Glazer Foundations, the sustainability thinktank Sightline, and two of the nation's leading online environmental journalism magazines, Grist and Worldchanging.
   Skiing, snowboarding, climbing, hiking, camping, hunting, fishing, boating and water sports are popular outdoor activities. In general, residents appreciate the region's varied geography, and enjoy spending time in the great outdoors. The region is noted for a large number of gardening clubs as well.
   In his book Nine Nations of North America, author Joel Garreau claimed that the Pacific Rim region he called "Ecotopia" after the novel of the same name had a different culture from that of what he called The Empty Quarter to the east, and was necessarily different economically as well as ecologically. It must be noted that "Ecotopia," and "Cascadia," vary in definition and can be used to signify a large array of concepts.
   Video game usage is higher per-capita than any other region of the country.
   The Pacific Northwest is also known for indie music, especially grunge and alternative rock as well as historically-strong folk music and world music traditions. This area is where bands like Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Presidents of The United States of America, Heart (band), Death Cab For Cutie, Modest Mouse, Nickelback, Nelly Furtado, Swollen Members, Alice in Chains and Nirvana got their start and became essential rock bands of their times. KEXP.org is a popular and nationally-noted Seattle-based public indie music radio station.
   Cuisine of the area include wild salmon, huckleberries, and locally-produced fruits, vegetables, and cheeses. A distinct version of West Coast fusion cuisine more influenced by Asian and Mid-East influences than its Californian counterpart. Due to the close proximity of locally-grown fruit and vegetables, weekly and monthly farmers markets are popular during the growing season.
   Northwest craft beers and premium Northwest wines are popular with alcohol consumers. Cannabis use is relatively popular and tolerated, especially around Vancouver, Bellingham, Seattle, Olympia, Portland, and Eugene. Latinos make up much of the agricultural labor force and population east of the Cascade Range in the U.S. states, and are an increasing presence in the general labor force in the western regions as well. African Americans are less numerous than either Asians or Latinos in many communities in the American Pacific Northwest, however the overall African American population has been on an upwards growing trend in other smaller urban areas throughout the American portion of the region, such as Spokane and Eugene. They are concentrated in western urban areas such as Seattle and Portland, though unlike other regions, there are fewer majority black communities than the majority Asian communities that can be found in Vancouver and Seattle. As of the 2000s, many Asians were moving out and into middle class suburbs, though some would voice concern about preserving historical communities. African-Americans have held the positions of Mayor and King County executive, while Washington state elected a Chinese American Governor during the 1990s, Gary Locke. British Columbians of many ethnicities are prominent in all levels of politics and government there, and the province has a number of "firsts" in Canadian political history, including the first non-white Premier, Ujjal Dosanjh (who is Indo-Canadian) and the first non-white Lieutenant-Governor, the Hon. David Lam.

Language

The Pacific Northwest English accent is considered to be "very neutral" to most Americans and Canadians. Although it does possess the low back vowel merger, or the Cot-caught merger, it's one of the closest living accents to conservative General American English. It lacks the Northern Cities Vowel Shift, and doesn't participate as strongly in the California Vowel Shift or the Canadian raising as do other regional accents. Because of its lack of any distinguishing vowel shift, the accent is very similar to and hard to distinguish from conservative speakers in other dialect regions especially the Northern Midlands, California, and the prairies. Chinook Jargon was a pidgin or trade language established among the indigenous inhabitants of the region. After contact with Europeans, French, English and Cree 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". (External Link

) Chinook Jargon reached its height of usage in the 19th century though remained common in resource and wilderness areas, particularly but not exclusively by Native Americans and Canadian First Nations people, well into the 20th century. Today its influence is felt mostly in place names and a handful of localized slang terms, particularly the word skookum, which remains hallmark of people raised in the region.
Besides English and indigenous languages, Chinese has been common since the gold rushes of the mid-19th century, particularly in British Columbia. Since the 1980s the Toishan, a Cantonese-based dialect which was predominant in the area, has been replaced by mainstream Cantonese and by Mandarin because of large-scale immigration from Asia. Punjabi is also common in British Columbia, which has a large Sikh community.

Spirituality and religion

Religious views are very much less commonly expressed in Northwest American politics than in the rest of the United States, and conservative Christians have considerably less political influence than in other regions.
   However, the region is certainly not without religion, and three of the four large international charities in the region are faith-based: Northwest Medical Teams International, World Concern, World Vision International, and Mercy Corps. The archetype of the Skid Road mission, a shelter offering soup and sermons to down-and-out workers and inebriates, was launched on the skid roads of Seattle and Vancouver, with the Salvation Army having deep roots in Vancouver's Gastown district, dating back to the era of the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway (1880s) and attained prominence in the same centers during the Klondike Gold Rush.
   Despite its low rate of church attendance, the region is also known as a magnet for unique Christian groups, ranging from the Doukhobors to the Mennonites of British Columbia, and countless religiously-based communal efforts by ethnic groups such as Finns, Norwegians, Danes and others. The Mennonite Central Committee Supportive Care Services is based in Abbotsford, BC. Mennonite Central Committee and Mennonite Disaster Service enjoy a heavy rate of enlistment and donations from the strong Mennonite community in BC's Fraser Valley. Also within the region there's a fairly strong representation of Orthodox churches (Greek, Russian, Serbian and others) as well as the Ukrainian Uniate Catholic church. Eastern religions (especially Buddhism and Taoism) have been adopted by an unusual number of people in the Pacific Northwest, and Tibetan Buddhism in particular has a strong local following. The Northwest Tibetan Cultural Association, claimed to be the largest organization of its kind in the world, was founded in Portland in 1993. Yogic teachings, Sufism, tribal and ancient beliefs and other philosophies are widely studied and appreciated. Because of immigration to Canada the Lower Mainland of British Columbia has a very large Sikh community and cultural presence as well as a major growth in Chinese Buddhist temples and congregations since the increase in immigration from Asia in the 1980s. There is a small Hindu population, a number of Parsee (Zoroastrians), and an emerging Muslim population from India, the Middle East, Africa, the Balkans, Southeast Asia and elsewhere.
   People in the area also embrace alternative religions and spirituality, such as New Age spirituality and Neo-Paganism. Before its closure in 2004, Mary Manin Morrissey's "megachurch" called Living Enrichment Center, located in Wilsonville, Oregon, was one of the biggest New Thought churches in the entire world, with a congregation estimated at between two thousand and five thousand members. Morrissey's "Life Keys" religious program was broadcast to several major networks around the U.S. West Coast. Neale Donald Walsch, author of Conversations with God, lives in Ashland, Oregon, where he runs a retreat center. Gangaji, an internationally recognized spiritual teacher and disciple of Poonjaji, lives in Ashland, Oregon. Established in more recent times, the training school of the immortal (according to the organization) being Ramtha is headquartered in Yelm, Washington. The followers of the Guru Rajneesh, the sannyasins, established a center for their beliefs and lifestyle near Antelope, Oregon, which included an ashram complex as well as, for a while, an attempted takeover of the local economy. The Emissaries of the Divine Light are a notable presence in the region of 100 Mile House, BC. More controversially, the commune run by Brother Twelve in the Gulf Islands of British Columbia early in the 20th century. Oregon's Willamette Valley has a large population of Russian Old Believers.

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