Western United States
- American West redirects here. For the similarly-named airline see America West Airlines.
- If you have been redirected here after viewing any statistical information, note that as defined by the Census Bureau, the western United States includes 13 states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. In the map to the right, this would correspond to the eight dark red states and the five striped states bordering the Pacific Ocean.
The Western United States, also referred to as the American West or simply The West, traditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States (see geographical terminology section for further discussion of these terms). Since the United States has expanded westward since its founding, the definition of the West has evolved over time.
The "West" had played an important part in American history; the Old West is embedded in America's folklore.
Geography
Main article: Geography of the Western United States. In its most expansive definition, the western U.S. is the largest region, covering more than half the land area of the United States. It is also the most geographically diverse, incorporating geographic regions such as the Pacific Coast, the temperate rain forests of the Northwest, the Rocky Mountains, the Great Plains, most of the tall-grass prairie eastward to Illinois, the western Ozark plateau, the western portions of the southern forests, the Gulf Coast, and all of the desert areas located in the United States (the Mojave, Sonoran, Great Basin, and Chihuahua deserts).
The region encompasses much of the Louisiana Purchase, most of the land ceded by Britain in 1818, some of the land acquired when the Republic of Texas joined the U.S., all of the land ceded by Britain in 1846, all of the land ceded by Mexico in 1848, and all of the Gadsden Purchase.
Variation and regionalism
As the largest region in the United States there is variation to such an extent in the west that it is often broken down into regions. Arizona, Colorado, California, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah or regions of those states are sometimes considered part of the Southwest, while all or part of Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming can be considered part of the Northwest, more narrowly part or all of those same states, with the exception of Wyoming and the eastern portions of Montana and Idaho, and the addition of Northern California, and the Canadian province of British Columbia comprise the Pacific Northwest.
The west can be divided into the Pacific States; Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington, with the term West Coast usually restricted to just California, Oregon, and Washington, and the Mountain States, always Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. Alaska and Hawaii, being detached from the other western states, have few similarities with them, but are usually also classified as part of the West.
Not all western states that could be considered part of the west are. Kansas, Nebraska and North Dakota are often included in the Midwest. Texas and particularly Oklahoma are considered part of the Southwest. Though bordering the Mississippi river to the east, Illinois and Wisconsin fall in this category as well.
Natural geography
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Antelope Canyon -
Yosemite -
Delicate Arch -
Bryce Canyon -
The Tetons -
Pacific Ocean -
Monument Valley -
Rogue River -
Angels Landing -
Mount Hood -
Grand Canyon -
Yellowstone
Along the Pacific Ocean coast lie the Coast Ranges, which, while not approaching the scale of the Rockies, are formidable nevertheless. They collect a large part of the airborne moisture moving in from the ocean. Even in the relatively arid climate of central California, the Coast Ranges squeeze enough water out of the clouds to support the growth of coast redwoods. East of the Coast Ranges lie several cultivated fertile valleys, notably the San Joaquin Valley of California and the Willamette Valley of Oregon.
Beyond the valleys lie the Sierra Nevada in the south and the Cascade Range in the north. These mountains are some of the highest in the United States. Mount Whitney, at 4,421 metres (14,505 feet) the tallest peak in the contiguous 48 states, is in the Sierra Nevada. The Cascades are also volcanic. Mount Rainier, a volcano in Washington, is also well over 4,392 metres (14,000 feet approx). Mount St. Helens, a volcano in the Cascades erupted explosively in 1980. A major volcanic eruption at Mount Mazama around 4860 BCE, forming Crater Lake. These mountain ranges see heavy precipitation, capturing most of the moisture that remains after the Coast Ranges, and creating a rain shadow to the east forming vast stretches of arid land. These dry areas encompass much of Nevada, Utah and Arizona. The Mojave Desert and Sonoran Desert along with other deserts are found here.
Beyond the deserts lie the Rocky Mountains. In the north, they run immediately east of the Cascade Range, so that the desert region does not reach all the way to the Canadian border. The Rockies are hundreds of miles wide, and run uninterrupted from New Mexico to Alaska. The tallest peaks of the Rockies, some of which are over 4,250 metres (14,000 feet approx.), are found in central Colorado.
The West has several long rivers that empty into the Pacific Ocean, while the eastern rivers run into the Gulf of Mexico. The Mississippi River forms the easternmost possible boundary for the West today. The Missouri River, a tributary of the Mississippi, flows from its headwaters in the Rocky Mountains eastward across the Great Plains, a vast grassy plateau, before sloping gradually down to the forests and hence to the Mississippi. The Colorado River snakes through the Mountain states, at one point forming the Grand Canyon. The Colorado is a major source of water in the Southwest and many dams, such as the Hoover Dam, form reservoirs along it. So much water is drawn for drinking water throughout the West and irrigation in California that in some years, water from the Colorado no longer reaches the Gulf of California. The Columbia River, the largest river in volume flowing into the Pacific Ocean from North America, and its tributary, the Snake River, water the Pacific Northwest. The Platte runs through Nebraska and is a mile (2 km) wide but only a half-inch (1 cm) deep. The Rio Grande forms the border between, Texas and Mexico before turning due north and splitting New Mexico in half.
Climate and agriculture
The seasonal temperatures vary greatly throughout the West. Annual rainfall is greater in the eastern portions, gradually tapering off until reaching the Pacific Coast where it again increases. In fact, the greatest annual rainfall in the United States falls in the coastal regions of the Pacific Northwest. The heaviest snows in the nation fall in the Rockies. Drought is much more common in the West than the rest of the United States. The driest place recorded in the U.S. is Death Valley, California.
Violent thunderstorms occur east of the Rockies. Tornadoes occur every spring on the southern plains, with the most common and most destructive centered on Tornado Alley, which covers eastern portions of the West, (Texas to North Dakota), and all states in between and to the east.
Agriculture varies depending on rainfall, irrigation, soil, elevation, and temperature extremes. The arid regions generally support only livestock grazing, chiefly beef cattle. The wheat belt extends from Texas through the Dakotas, producing most of the wheat and soybeans in the U.S. and exporting more to the rest of the world. Irrigation in the Southwest and allow the growing of great quantities of fruits, nuts, and vegetables as well as grain, hay, and flowers. Texas is a major cattle and sheep raising area. Washington is famous for its apples, and Idaho for its potatoes. California and Arizona are major producers of citrus crops, although growing metropolitan sprawl is absorbing much of this land.
Government officials became convinced, after several surveys made during the latter part of the nineteenth century, that only federal action could provide water resources adequate to support the development of the West[citation needed]. Starting in 1902, Congress passed a series of acts authorizing the establishment of the United States Bureau of Reclamation to oversee water development projects in seventeen western states.
During the first half of the 20th century, dams and irrigation projects provided water for rapid agricultural growth throughout the West and brought prosperity for several states, where agriculture had previously only been subsistence level. Following World War II, the West's cities experienced an economic and population boom, due to the cheap water and power available[citation needed]. The unrestrained population growth, mostly in the Southwest, has strained water and power resources to the limits[citation needed], with water diverted from agricultural uses to major population centers, such as Las Vegas and Los Angeles.
Geology
Plains make up most of the eastern half of the West, underlain with sedimentary rock from the Upper Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic eras. The Rocky Mountains expose igneous and metamorphic rock from both the Precambrian and the Post Precambrian periods. The Inter-mountain States and Pacific Northwest have huge expanses of volcanic rock from the Cenozoic period. Salt flats and salt lakes reveal a time when the great inland seas covered much of what is now the West. The Pacific states are the most geologically active areas in the United States. Earthquakes cause major damage every few years in California. While the Pacific states are the most volcanically active areas, extinct volcanoes and lava flows are found throughout most of the western half of the West.
Human geography
Most of these states are growing rapidly. The coastal strip includes several major cities, but the areas between the Rocky Mountains in the east and the Sierra Nevada are still thinly populated. In 2000, Wyoming was the least populous state, with population of 493,782 while California was the most populous, with 33,871,648.
The largest city in the region is Los Angeles, located on the West Coast. Other West Coast cities include San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, Seattle, and Portland. Prominent cities in the Mountain States include Denver, Phoenix, Albuquerque, Las Vegas and Salt Lake City.
Because the tide of development had not yet reached most of the West when conservation became a national issue, agencies of the federal government own and manage vast areas of land. (The most important among these are the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management within the Interior Department, and the U. S. Forest Service within the Agriculture Department.) National parks are reserved for recreational activities such as fishing, camping, hiking, and boating, but other government lands also allow commercial activities like ranching, logging and mining. In recent years, some local residents who earn their livelihoods on federal land have come into conflict with the land's managers, who are required to keep land use within environmentally acceptable limits.
Geographical terminology
The term Western United States is not strictly interchangeable with American West or the West[citation needed]. The latter terms almost never refer to Alaska or Hawaii, and often exclude the western portions of the Pacific Coast states, meaning, in particular, the exclusion of all of the West Coast cities.
History and Culture
Facing both the Pacific Ocean and the Mexican border, the West has been shaped by a variety of ethnic groups. Hawaii is the only state in the union in which Asian Americans outnumber residents of European stock, and Asians from many countries have settled in California and other coastal states in several waves of immigration since the 1800s.
The southwestern border states – California, Arizona, and New Mexico – all have large Mexican American populations, and the many Spanish place names attest to their history as former Mexican territories.
The West also contains much of the Native American population in the U.S., particularly in the large reservations in the mountain and desert states.
Alaska – the northernmost state in the Union – is a vast land of few, but hearty, people, many of them native; and of great stretches of wilderness, protected in national parks and wildlife refuges. Hawaii's location makes it a major gateway between the U.S. and Asia, as well as a center for tourism.
In the Pacific Coast states, the wide areas filled with small towns, farms, and forests are supplemented by a few big port cities which have evolved into world centers for the media and technology industries. Now the second largest city in the nation, Los Angeles is best known as the home of the Hollywood film industry; the area around Los Angeles also became a major center for the aerospace industry beginning with World War II[citation needed]. Fueled by the growth of Los Angeles – as well as the San Francisco Bay Area, including Silicon Valley – California has become the most populous of all the states. Oregon and Washington have also seen rapid growth. The desert and mountain states have relatively low population densities, and developed as ranching and mining areas which are only recently becoming urbanized. Most of them have highly individualistic cultures, and have worked to balance the interests of urban development, recreation, and the environment.
Culturally distinctive points include the large Mormon population of Southeastern Idaho, Utah, Northern Arizona and Nevada; the extravagant casino resort towns of Las Vegas and Reno, Nevada; and, of course, the many Native American tribal reservations.
American Old West
Major settlement of the western territories by migrants from the states in the east developed rapidly in the 1840s, largely[citation needed] through the Oregon Trail and the California gold rush of 1849; California experienced such a rapid growth in a few short months that it was admitted to statehood in 1850 without the normal transitory phase of becoming an official territory. The 1850s were marked by political controversies which were part of the national issues leading to the Civil War, though California had been established as a non-slave state in the Compromise of 1850; California played little role in the war itself due to its geographically distance from major campaigns. In the aftermath of the Civil War, many former Confederate partisans migrated to California during the end of the Reconstruction period.
The history of the American West in the late 19th Century and early 20th Century has acquired a cultural mythos in the literature and cinema of the United States[citation needed]. The image of the cowboy, the homesteader and westward expansion took real events and transmuted them into a myth of the west which has influenced American culture since at least the 1920s.
Writers as diverse as Mark Twain, Bret Harte, and Zane Grey celebrated or derided cowboy culture, while artists such as Frederic Remington created western art as a method of recording the expansion into the west[citation needed]. The American cinema, in particular, created the genre of the western movie, which, in many cases, use the West as a metaphor for the virtue of self-reliance and an American ethos. The contrast between the romanticism of culture about the West and the actuality of the history of the westward expansion has been a theme of late Twentieth and early Twenty-First century scholarship about the West[citation needed]. Cowboy culture has become embedded in the American experience as a common cultural touchstone, and modern forms as diverse as country and western music and the works of artist Georgia O'Keefe have celebrated the supposed sense of isolation and independence of spirit inspired by the unpopulated and relatively harsh climate of the region[citation needed].
As a result of the various periods of rapid growth, many new residents were migrants who were seeking to make a new start after previous histories of either personal failure or hostilities developed in their previous communities[citation needed]. With these and other migrants who harbored more commercial goals in the opening country, the area developed a strong ethos of self-determinism and individual freedom[citation needed], as communities were created whose residents shared no prior connection or common set of ideals and allegiances. The open land of the region allowed residents to live at a much greater distance from neighbors than had been possible in eastern cities, and an ethic of tolerance for the different values and goals of other residents developed. California's state constitutions (in both 1849 and 1879) were largely drafted by groups which sought a strong emphasis on individual property rights and personal freedom, arguably at the expense of ideals tending toward civic community[citation needed].
The 20th Century
- Main articles: 20th century and 1900s
By 1900, the frontier was gone[citation needed]. In the news, reports spoke of oil boom towns in Texas and Oklahoma rivaling the old mining camps for their lawlessness, of the Dust Bowl forcing children of the original homesteaders even further west. The movies replaced the dime novel as the chief entertainment source featuring western fiction[citation needed].
The advent of the automobile enabled the average American to tour the West. Western businessmen promoted U.S. Route 66 as a means to bring tourism and industry to the West. In the 1950s, representatives from all the western states built the Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Center to showcase western culture and greet travelers from the East. During the latter half of the 20th century, several transcontinental interstate highways crossed the West bringing more trade and tourists from the East.
In recent decades, Western cities' reputation for diversity and tolerance has been marred by segregation, along with accusations of racial profiling and police brutality towards minorities, sometimes leading to racially based riots. Nevertheless, perhaps because so many westerners have moved there from other regions to make a new start, as a rule interpersonal relations remain marked by a tolerant and individualistic "live and let live" attitude. The western economy is varied. California, for example, features both agriculture and high-technology manufacturing as major sectors in its economy.
Demographics
Some geographers feel that the demographics for the West are complicated because the United States Census Bureau uses only one definition of the West in its reporting system. In the 2000 Census, the Census Bureau included the state with the second largest Hispanic population, Texas, in the South, included the state with the second largest American Indian population, Oklahoma, also in the South, and included the Dakotas, with their large populations of Plains Indians, in with the Midwest. However, it should be noted that the western half of Oklahoma and large portions of Texas, especially West Texas, are neither culturally, geographically or socioeconomically identified with the South, as are the eastern portions of those states, and these areas are commonly understood to be part of the West or Southwest, sometimes interchangeably, by residents and visitors alike.
Statistics from the 2000 United States Census, adjusted to include the second tier of States west of the Mississippi, show that, under that definition, the West would have a population of 91,457,662, including 1,611,447 Indians, or 1.8% of the total, and 22,377,288 Hispanics (the majority Mexican), or 24.5% of the total. Indians comprise 0.9% of all Americans, and Hispanics, 12.5%. Asians, important from the very beginning in the history of the West, totaled 5,161,446, or 5.6%, with most living in the Far West. African-Americans, totaled 5,929,968, or 6.5%--lower than the national proportion (12.8%). The highest concentration (12%) of black residents in the West is found in Texas--the only Western state in which slavery was established.
The West is still one of the most sparsely settled areas in the United States with 49.5 inhabitants per square mile (19/km²). Only Texas with 78.0 inhabitants/sq mi. (30/km²), Washington with 86.0 inhabitants/sq mi. (33/km²), and California with 213.4 inhabitants/sq mi. (82/km²) exceed the national average of 77.98 inhabitants/sq mi. (30/km²). Wyoming has the lowest population density in the West with only 5 inhabitants per square mile (2/km²).
The entire Western region has also been strongly influenced by Asian, Native and Latino culture; it contains the largest number of minorities in the U.S. and encompasses the only four American states where everyone including Caucasians are a minority (California, Hawaii, New Mexico, and Texas).
Major population centers
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Los Angeles -
San Francisco -
Phoenix
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Seattle
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San Diego -
Denver -
Portland
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Sacramento -
San Jose -
Las Vegas
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Salt Lake City
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Honolulu
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Tucson -
Anchorage
Some metropolitan areas can be combined into larger urban areas, they include:
- Greater Los Angeles Area (population 17.5 million)
- San Francisco Bay Area (population 8 million)
- Wasatch Front (population 2 million).
Politics
The region's distance from historical centers of power in the East, and the celebrated "frontier spirit" of its settlers offer two clichés for explaining the region's independent, heterogeneous politics. Historically, the West was the first region to see widespread women's suffrage. It birthed both the property rights and conservation movements, and spawned such phenomena as the Taxpayer Revolt and the Berkeley Free Speech Movement. It has also produced two U.S. presidents, Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan.
The prevalence of libertarian political thought, even if not labeled as such, can be widely observed. For example, the majority of Western states have legalized medicinal marijuana (all but New Mexico and Utah) and some forms of gambling (except Utah); Oregon has legalized euthanasia; modern Utah tolerates polygamy and has a long history of polygamous territorial leaders; and most counties in Nevada have legalized prostitution. There is less resistance to the legal recognition of same-sex unions: California and Hawaii recognize them, and only 28% of all western residents are against legal recognition (cf. 48% in southern states). California and Washington have moved to limit affirmative action.
The West is far from homogeneous, however. With the notable exception of Orange County, California, major urban centers on the Pacific Coast and throughout the West lean toward the Democratic Party[citation needed]. San Francisco's two main political parties are the Green Party and the Democratic Party. Seattle has historically been a center of radical left-wing politics; the union Industrial Workers of the World is particularly active, and it is one of the few American cities with a monument to the Communist leader Lenin. The mayor of Salt Lake City, Rocky Anderson, supports same-sex marriage[1], and Denver's residents have voted to decriminalize marijuana completely[citation needed]. Hawaii has come closest to adopting single payer healthcare financing in the U.S.[citation needed] Both the Democratic leaders of the U.S. Congress are from the region: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada.
Interior areas, especially in the Rocky Mountains, lean toward the Republican Party. Broadly speaking, the western GOP is less-influenced by conservative evangelical Christians than elsewhere in the country[citation needed], notably the South, although Colorado Springs is a center for religious conservative activity. U.S. Senator John McCain of Arizona and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, arguably the Western Republicans best-known across the country, have reputations as mavericks within their party.
As the fastest-growing demographic group, Latinos are hotly contested by both parties[citation needed]; immigration remains an important political issue for this group. Backlash against illegal immigration led to the passage of California Proposition 187 in 1994, a ballot initiative which would have denied many pubilc services to undocumented residents. Association of this proposal with the California Republicans, especially incumbent governor Pete Wilson, is credited[citation needed] with driving many Hispanic voters to the Democrats.
In presidential elections since 1996, starting with electoral college importance, California with its 54 votes generally favors Democratic Party candidates by a margin of 11%, Washington with its 11 votes favors Democrats by 8%, Arizona with its 8 votes favors Republican Party candidates by 5%, Colorado with its 8 votes favors Republicans by 5%, Oregon with its 7 votes favors Democrats by 4%, New Mexico with its 5 votes favors Democrats by .3%, Utah with its five votes favors Republicans by 36%, Hawaii with its 4 votes favors Democrats by 17%, Idaho with its 4 votes favors Republicans by 33%, Nevada with its 4 votes favors Democrats by .6%, Alaska with its 3 votes favors Republicans by 24%, Montana with its 3 votes favors Republicans by 16%, and Wyoming with its 3 votes favors Republicans by 31%.
This region has the most swing states than any other part of the United States. Five states defined as having margins of 5% or less are generally called such: Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Oregon.[citation needed]
Related topics
Additional reading
- Beck, Warren A., Haase, Ynez D.; Historical Atlas of the American West. University of Oklahoma Press, Oklahoma, 1989. ISBN 0806121939
- Lamar, Howard. The New Encyclopedia of the American West. Yale University Press, 1998. ISBN 0300070888
- Milner II, Clyde A; O'Connor, Carol A.; Sandweiss, Martha A. The Oxford History of the American West. Oxford University Press; Reprint edition, 1996. ISBN 0195112121
- Phillips, Charles; Axlerod, Alan; editor. The Encyclopedia of the American West. Simon & Schuster, New York, 1996. ISBN 0028974952
- White, Richard. "It's Your Misfortune and None of My Own": A New History of the American West. University of Oklahoma Press; Reprint edition, 1993. ISBN 0806125675
External links
- The American West
- Institute for the Study of the American West
- High Plains Western Heritage Center
- National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum
- Museum of the American West
- Center of the American West
- Western Mining History
- WWW-VL: History: American West
External references
- History of the American West Library of Congress
- Photographs of the American West: 1861-1912 US National Archives & Records Administration
- US Census Bureau Briefs
- Western Region Labor Statistics Bureau of Labor Statistics
- WWW-VL: History: American West
