The west coast of North America consists of the modern American states of California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, and arguably Alaska and parts of the Yukon. World map showing location of North America A satellite composite image of North America North America is a continent in the northern hemisphere, bounded on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the south by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west... State nickname: The Golden State Other U.S. States Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles [[List of Governors of California|Governor]] Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) Official languages English Area 410,000 km² (3rd)  - Land 404,298 km²  - Water 20,047 km² (4. ... State nickname: Beaver State Other U.S. States Capital Salem Largest city Portland Governor Ted Kulongoski (D) Senators {{{Senators}}} Official languages None Area 255,026 km² (9th)  - Land 248,849 km²  - Water 6,177 km² (2. ... State nickname: The Evergreen State Other U.S. States Capital Olympia Largest city Seattle Governor Christine Gregoire (D) Senators Patty Murray (D) Maria Cantwell (D) Official languages None Area 184,824 km² (18th)  - Land 172,587 km²  - Water 12,237 km² (6. ... Motto: Splendor Sine Occasu (Splendour without diminishment) Other Canadian provinces and territories Capital Victoria Largest city Vancouver Lieutenant Governor Iona Campagnolo Premier Gordon Campbell (BC Liberal) Area 944,735 km² (5th) Land 925,186 km² Water 19,549 km² (2. ... State nickname: The Last Frontier, The Land of the Midnight Sun Other U.S. States Capital Juneau Largest city Anchorage Governor Frank Murkowski (R) Senators Ted Stevens (R) Lisa Murkowski (R) Official languages English Area 1,067,653 mi² / 1,717,854 km² (1st)  - Land 1,481,347 km²  - Water... Motto: none Other Canadian provinces and territories Capital Whitehorse Largest city Whitehorse Commissioner Jack Cable Premier Dennis Fentie (Yukon Party) Area 482,443 km² (9th) Land 474,391 km² Water 8,052 km² (1. ...

Climatically the region is quite moist and that has long led to far higher population density than the region to the east of the Rocky Mountains. However, the large stretch of arid land separating the east and west coast long prevented the agricultural developments of the east reaching the west. The crops and practices of the Great Plains were also wholly unsuited to the coast. In what is today southern California this led to relatively scattered populations of nomadic tribes. Further north the Haida people took advantage of the bounty sea and many rivers allowing even hunter-gathered populations to settle into permanent settlements. White Goat Wilderness Area, Alberta, Canada The Rocky Mountains, often called the Rockies, are a broad mountain range in western North America. ... The Great Plains states. ... Haida Haida Copper Shield The Haida are an indigenous people of the west coast of North America. ...

It took far longer for Europeans to reach the west coast than the east coast due to the necessity of the long trip around Cape Horn or the even more arduous one across the continent. The first to erect much of a presence in the region were the Spanish who settled in southern California. In the eighteenth century. The northern stretch was claimed by the British, but their region was sparsely settled by Europeans and was mainly the preserve of the Hudson's Bay Company until well into the nineteenth century. The area was largely unaffected by the American Revolution. This article is about the continent. ... Cape Horn is often said to be the southernmost point of South America. ... The Hudsons Bay Company (HBC) (TSX: HBC) is the oldest corporation in Canada (and North America) and is one of the oldest in the world still in existence. ... Before the Revolution: The 13 colonies are in red, the pink area was claimed by Great Britain after the French and Indian War, and the orange region was claimed by Spain. ...

Again it was California that first attracted settlers. Unlike the heavily forested region of Northern California and above, Southern California was attractive American farmers who began to arrive in large numbers in the early eighteenth century. They soon chafed under Mexican control and rebelled, and the territory was eventually annexed to the United States. The growth of the United States to the Pacific Ocean concerned the residents of British North America who were worried that the Americans would annex the entire region. An influx of settlers into Oregon Territory succeeded in wresting the territory from British control. The British refused American demands to surrender any more territories, and for a time it looked as though the dispute could result in war. In the end the border issue was decided in 1846 when the border was set along the 49th parallel, as it was further east. By 1763, British North America included 19 British colonies and territories on the continent of North America. ... The Oregon Territory is the name applied both to the unorganized Oregon Country claimed by both the United States and Britain, as well as to the organized U.S. territory formed from it that existed between 1848 and 1859. ... 1846 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... The 49th parallel of north latitude forms part of the International Boundary between Canada and the United States from Manitoba to British Columbia on the Canadian side and from Minnesota to Washington on the U.S. side. ...

The entire region was still sparsely populated. This changed dramatically in 1849 with the onset of the California gold rush that saw an influx of prospectors. While few found much gold many stayed, founding communities and turning to farming and other practices. Soon the gold rush fever spread progressively north, in 1853 a gold rush began in British Columbia, and at the end of the century the Klondike Gold Rush saw the Yukon hit by a mass of prospectors. 1849 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Gold rush handbill The California Gold Rush was a period in American history marked by mass hysteria concerning a gold discovery in Northern California. ... 1853 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... A typical gold mining operation, on Bonanza Creek The Klondike Gold Rush was a frenzy of gold rush immigration to and gold prospecting in the Klondike near Dawson City in the Yukon Territory, Canada, after gold was discovered in the late 19th century. ... Motto: none Other Canadian provinces and territories Capital Whitehorse Largest city Whitehorse Commissioner Jack Cable Premier Dennis Fentie (Yukon Party) Area 482,443 km² (9th) Land 474,391 km² Water 8,052 km² (1. ...

Despite these increases in population the west coast was still on the periphery. The American Civil War had little effect. This began to change as the first transcontinental railroads began to stretch across the United States. For the first time it was relatively cheap and easy to move to the west coast. The delineating of the border had not completely allayed Canada's fears of losing their western region, especially as it continued to lag behind the western United States in population and development. With British Columbia's joining Canadian Confederation in 1871 the Canadian government began to monumental task of building their own railroad to the west to break the American monopoly. The Canadian Pacific Railway was completed in 1885 and firmly cemented the north-south divide of the region. The American Civil War was fought in North America from 1861 until 1865 between the United States of America – forces coming mostly from the 23 northern states of the Union – and the newly-formed Confederate States of America, which consisted of 11 southern states that had declared their secession. ... A transcontinental railroad is a railway that crosses a continent, typically from sea to sea. Terminals are at or connected to different Oceans. ... Canadian Confederation, or the Confederation of Canada, was the process that ultimately brought together a union among the provinces, colonies and territories of British North America to form the Dominion of Canada, a dominion of the British Empire, which today is the federal nation state called Canada. ... 1871 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... The Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR; AAR reporting marks CP, CPAA, CPI), known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a Canadian Class I railway operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited. ... 1885 is a common year starting on Thursday. ...

Both the gold rushes and the building of the railroads required vast amounts of labour. One available source that was used on both sides of the border were immigrants from East Asia, largely from China and Japan. These immigrants were willing to work for very little and played a crucial role in building the infrastructure of the west coast. However, they faced constant discrimination. Asians were deprived of their civil rights in both Canada and the United States. There was also pressure to restrict Asian immigration, opinions that were acted on with quotas, head taxes, and finally a complete ban in both nations in the 1920s. Because of discrimination, and also a desire to remain a community, Chinatowns developed in all the major cities along the west coast. Immigration is the act of moving to or settling in another country or region, temporarily or permanently. ... East Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms. ... Civil rights or positive rights are those legal rights retained by citizens and protected by the government. ... A quota is a prescribed number or share of something. ... Origins and purpose The Chinese Immigration Act of 1885, 1900, and 1903 were a series of anti-Chinese legislations in Canada that were meant to discourage Chinese from entering Canada after the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway. ... New York City is home to one of the largest Chinatowns in North America, and is centered around Canal Street in Manhattan. ...

The opening of the Panama Canal in 1914 benefited the region economically as trade with the Atlantic region became far easier. The rise of the Japanese economy also benefited the region as the ability to trade across the Pacific first showed its great potential. Satellite image of the Panama Canal NASA image of the Panama canal The Pnama Canal is a canal 82 km (51 mi) long that cuts through the isthmus of Panama, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans in Central America. ... 1914 is a common year starting on Thursday. ...

Only a few decades later Japan would become a major threat. There were few attacks against North America in the Second World War, but the occasional Japanese submarine lurked off the shores. Japan tried to damage the region by sending over hundreds of balloon bombs in an attempt to light the forest of the northwest on fire. These were generally ineffective, however. Several did land in both Canada and the United States and they caused a handful of deaths, but no great destruction. Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... USS Los Angeles A submarine is a specialized watercraft that can operate underwater. ... The term fire balloon can mean a small unmanned hot air balloon for festivities; this is also called a sky lantern. ...

The post-war years would be ones of great prosperity and growth in the west. The quick reemergence of Japan and its stunning growth over the next decades meant great wealth for the west coast ports. Japan became the second largest trading partner of both Canada and the United States, and this trade was almost entirely based in the west coast. Later the other Asian economies would add to this trade. Throughout the northwest logging, mining, and fishing remained the central industries. California, however, became a cultural centre to rival the northeast due to the film industry as well as a becoming a centre of music, literature, and cooking. The area became home to some of the continent's greatest universities. Loggers on break, c. ... The El Chino Mine located near Silver City, New Mexico is an open-pit copper mine Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, usually (but not always) from an ore body, vein, or (coal) seam. ... Fishing is the activity of hunting for fish. ... Film refers to the celluloid media on which movies are printed Film is a term that encompasses motion pictures as individual projects, as well as the field in general. ... Wikibooks Wikiversity has more about this subject: School of Music Look up Music on Wiktionary, the free dictionary Wikisource, as part of the 1911 Encyclopedia Wikiproject, has original text related to this article: Music Wikicities has a wiki about Music: Music MusicNovatory: the science of music encyclopedia Science of Music... Open Directory Project: Literature World Literature Electronic Text Archives Magazines and E-zines Online Writing Writers Resources Libraries, Digital Cataloguing, Metadata Distance Learning What is Literature? Dictionary of the History of Ideas: Classicism in Literature The Universal Library, by Carnegie Mellon University Project Gutenberg Online Library Abacci - Project Gutenberg texts... Cooking is the act of preparing food for consumption. ...

Unlike the east the western economies were not based upon manufacturing and the great deindustrialization of the 1970s and 1980s did little to hurt the region creating an imbalance between rapid growth in the west and stagnation or decline in the east. During this period the west coast became the bastion of conservatism with the population favouring low taxes and small government. In the United States this manifested itself in support for the Republican Party. Especially for the two Republican presidents Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan. In British Columbia the right wing Social Credit Party governed for over thirty years. Deindustrialization is the process by which a country or region moves from a manufacturing-based economy to a service economy or information economy. ... For an overview of Conservatism in the United States, see Conservatism in North America. ... This article is about the modern United States Republican Party. ... Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913 – April 22, 1994) was the thirty-seventh President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. ... Ronald Wilson Reagan, GCB, (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was the 40th President of the United States (1981–1989) and the 33rd Governor of California (1967–1975). ... The British Columbia Social Credit Party, whose members are known as Socreds, was the governing political party of British Columbia for more than 30 years between the 1952 provincial election and the 1991 election, although there was a break between the 1972 and 1975 elections when the New Democratic Party...

The general economic revival of North America in the late 1990s brought the east back to health, but even greater growth in Southern California due to the high-tech industry. The region was, hurt, however, by the decade long economic slump of Japan beginning at the same time. This was made up for by the rapid growth of Southeast Asia, South Korea, and especially China. The entire region shifted quite dramatically politically, however. Westerners diverged from conservatism over social issues such as gay rights, abortion, and the legalization of soft drugs. In 1991 British Columbia threw out Social Credit electing the socialist NDP. California, Washington, and Oregon were pivotal in Bill Clinton's two victories and Al Gore and John Kerry's near wins in 2000 and 2004. This change was mainly in the urban coastal areas. Inland, rural regions of California reamined stauchly Republican, and the interior of British Columbia has voted solidly for the Reform Party and its successors. The gay rights movement is a collection of loosely aligned civil rights groups, human rights groups, support groups and political activists seeking acceptance, tolerance and equality for non-heterosexual, (homosexual, bisexual), and transgender people - despite the fact that it is typically referred to as the gay rights movement, members also... The term soft drug is given sometimes to a range of drugs that are supposed to be less harmful than other drugs, called hard drugs. ... The color red and particularly the red flag are traditional symbols of Socialism. ... The New Democratic Party of British Columbia is a social democratic political party in British Columbia, Canada. ... William Jefferson Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III on August 19, 1946) was the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. ... Albert Arnold Gore Jr. ... John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is the junior United States Senator from Massachusetts. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... 2004(MMIV) is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Reform Party of Canada was a Canadian federal political party in the 1980s and 1990s. ...

See also:

• History of California
• History of Oregon
• History of Washington
• History of British Columbia