Thursday February 10, 2011Pacific Northwest History

Mr. Rice

The Geological Pacific Northwest

Free Response #2Please do not simply list the items for this

response, tell me what you know about each item.

Minimum of 3-5 Sentences

Except for the harbor that we live on, what are some other land forms and features that are different across the state of Washington?

5 minutes to finish.

What is Geography?Geography is the study of landforms and

natural features that make up the earth.Geography can also be described as the

study of how people live in/with these features

The study of geography and also history (time and place) allows us to understand aspects of peoples lives in history. It allows us to understand the formidable struggles that early pioneers and settlers faced when settling our land.

Washington Basic InformationLocated between the 46th and 49th parallels north

latitude and in between 117 degrees and 125 degrees west longitude.

Boundaries – Canada to the North, Oregon to the South, Idaho to the East and the Pacific Ocean to the West.

Washington is considered a Hinterland.Because of it’s “far corner” location. Because of it’s late settlement. Because of it’s location from other heavily populated

areas. Also a hinterland usually exports raw materials and

imported manufactured goods.

The Mighty OceanThe ocean is very important to the

economic and social vitality of Washington state. However, we will spend a full class period, at least, talking about why the Pacific Ocean is so important.

The Pacific Rim – The Ring of Fire

VocabularyMountains – High rugged landPlateaus – High, wide, flat land many miles acrossMouth of River – where a river opens into a larger

body of waterValley or Basin – lower land between mountains

and plateaus.Strait – A narrow passage way of water.Bay – A body of water that curves into a coastlineHarbor – A sheltered part of a body of water deep

enough for anchoring shipsPeninsula – A piece of land that is surrounded on

three sides by water.

Different Geographic features

The Five Regions of WA

The Coastal Range RegionThe Puget Sound LowlandsThe Cascade Range RegionThe Columbia Plateau RegionThe Rocky Mountain Region

Five Regional Areas

Coastal Range RegionMade up by the Olympic PeninsulaHas some of the greatest diversity and greatest

weight of living matter found anywhere in the world.

It is considered a RainforestThis is the region that is bordered by the ocean

in the west and the Olympic Mountains and the Puget sound in the east.

Heavy industries include: Logging and Commercial fishing.

Also, there are five Indian reservations on the coast and one along the strait.

Puget Sound LowlandsThis region is made up of the area between the

eastern base of the Olympic Mountains and the Cascade Range.

Because of the deep sound and the large amount of commerce found in this region, there are many large metropolitan cities found here.

Has some of the worst traffic in the entire nation.

While there are large cities there are also bustling farming communities, especially those found in the Skagit River Valley.

The Cascade Range RegionThis range consists of the Cascade

Mountains, which run from the northern border of Canada all the way to the Northern portion of Oregon.

They serve as a rugged division between Eastern and Western Washington.

“The Cascade Curtain”Five famous mountains – Mt. St. Helens, Mt.

Rainier, Mt. Adams, Mt. Baker and Glacier Peak.

I-90 and Snoqualmie Pass serve as the major arterial to move over this region.

The Washington Rain Shadow

The Columbia PlateauSits directly in the rain shadow created by the

Cascade Region.Fertile soil makes this region a strong

agricultural areaIncludes the wheat growing fields of the Palouse

and the huge Columbia Basin Irrigation Project.Spokane is the major Metropolis of the region

Why do you think that the areas of the Puget Sound Lowlands attract more people than the Columbia Plateau?

The Rocky Mountain RegionSometimes called the Okanogan HighlandsThe steep hills are the foothills of the Rocky

Mountains.There are three Indian reservations found

hereMost of the communities are very small and

are supported by logging, mining and ranching and farming.