Pacific Northwest
The northwestern part of the United States is known as the Pacific Northwest, encompassing the states of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. Extreme western Montana, located near Missoula, Montana, is also generally considered to be part of this region.Residents of the south coast of British Columbia, Canada often consider themselves to be part of the Pacific Northwest. There is considerable cultural interchange and much shared history between this part of Canada, and their American counterparts directly to the south.
History
During the colonial period, various claims to the Pacific Northwest were made by Russia, Spain, and the United Kingdom. The United States established a claim following the exploration of the region by the Lewis and Clark Expedition. From the 1810s until the 1840s, modern-day Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and western Montana, along with most of British Columbia, were part of the Oregon Country, which was jointly administered by the United States and the United Kingdom.This arrangement ended when increased settlement caused the US government to move toward controlling the region directly. After a war scare with the United Kingdom, the two nations negotiated the 1846 Oregon Treaty partitioning the region along the 49th parallel. The US portion became the Oregon Territory which was later subdivided into several territories that were eventually admitted as states. British Columbia, the UK portion, later joined the Dominion of Canada in 1871.
Geography
The Pacific Northwest is dominated by several mountain ranges, including the Coast Ranges, the Cascade Range, and the Rocky Mountains. Because of plentiful rainfall and a relatively low population density, it has some of North America's most extensive forests.
The major cities of Vancouver, Portland, and Seattle all began as sea ports supporting the logging, mining, and farming industries of the region, but have developed into major technological and industrial centers that benefit from their proximity to Asia.