Portal:Pacific Northwest

The Pacific Northwest Portal

P:PNWP:PNW

The Pacific Northwest (PNW; French: Nord-Ouest Pacifique), also referred to as Cascadia, is a bi-national geographic and cultural region in Western North America defined by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common conception includes the U.S. states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and the Canadian province of British Columbia. Some broader conceptions reach north into the Alaska Panhandle and Yukon, south into Northern California, and east into Western Montana. Other conceptions may be limited to the coastal areas west of the Cascade and Coast mountains.

The Northwest Coast is the coastal region of the Pacific Northwest, and the Northwest Plateau (known simply as "the Interior" in British Columbia), is the inland region. The term "Pacific Northwest" should not be confused with the Northwest Territory (also known as the Great Northwest, a historical term in the United States) or the Northwest Territories of Canada.

The region's largest metropolitan areas are Greater Seattle, Washington, with 4 million people; Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, with 3.4 million people; Greater Portland, Oregon, with 2.5 million people; the Boise, Idaho metropolitan area with 845,877 people, and the Spokane-Coeur d'Alene combined statistical area with 793,285 people.

The culture of the Pacific Northwest is influenced by the Canada–United States border, which had been established at a time when the region's inhabitants were composed mostly of indigenous peoples. Two sections of the border—one along the 49th parallel south of British Columbia and one between the Alaska Panhandle and northern British Columbia—have left a great impact on the region. According to Canadian historian Ken Coates, the border has not merely influenced the Pacific Northwest—rather, "the region's history and character have been determined by the boundary". (Full article...)

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Sleater-Kinney performing in 2019. L–R: Brownstein, Tucker

Sleater-Kinney (/ˌsleɪtərˈkɪniː/ SLAY-tər-KIN-ee) is an American rock band that formed in Olympia, Washington, in 1994. The band's lineup features Corin Tucker (vocals and guitar) and Carrie Brownstein (guitar and vocals), following the departure of longtime member Janet Weiss (drums, harmonica, and vocals) in 2019. Sleater-Kinney originated as part of the riot grrrl movement and has become a key part of the American indie rock scene. The band is also known for its feminist and progressive politics.

The band released seven studio albums between 1994 and 2005: Sleater-Kinney (1995), Call the Doctor (1996), Dig Me Out (1997), The Hot Rock (1999), All Hands on the Bad One (2000), One Beat (2002) and The Woods (2005). They disbanded in 2006 and devoted themselves to solo projects. They reunited in 2014 and have since released a further four albums: No Cities to Love (2015), The Center Won't Hold (2019), Path of Wellness (2021), and Little Rope (2024). (Full article...)

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Official portrait, 2009

Gary Faye Locke (Chinese: 骆家辉; born January 21, 1950) is an American politician, attorney, and former diplomat.

Locke served as the 21st governor of Washington from 1997 to 2005, where he was the first American of Chinese descent governor as well as the first Asian American governor in the contiguous United States. During the Obama administration, Locke served as Secretary of Commerce from 2009 to 2011, and as Ambassador to China from 2011 to 2014, the first Chinese American to serve in the role. (Full article...)

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Largest cities of the Pacific Northwest

City	State/Province	Population	Metropolitan Area	Urban Area
Seattle	Washington	784,000^[1]	3,905,026^[2]	3,059,393^[3]
Portland	Oregon	635,109^[2]	2,753,168^[2]	1,849,898^[3]
Vancouver	British Columbia	631,486^[4]	2,737,698^[5]	2,264,823^[6]
Surrey	British Columbia	598,530^[4]	^{[n 1]}	^{[n 1]}
Burnaby	British Columbia	257,926^[4]	^{[n 1]}	^{[n 1]}
Boise	Idaho	226,570^[7]	691,423^[2]	349,684^[3]
Spokane	Washington	222,081^[1]	573,493 ^[8]^[9]	486,225^[3]
Richmond	British Columbia	216,046^[4]	^{[n 1]}	^{[n 1]}
Tacoma	Washington	198,397^[1]	^{[n 2]}	^{[n 2]}
Salem	Oregon	178,309^[1]	^{[n 3]}	^{[n 4]}

General images - load new batch

The following are images from various Pacific Northwest-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1The Golden Hinde on Vancouver Island was formed by erosion carving into basalt. (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 2None of the multiple possible definitions of the Pacific Northwest are universally accepted. This map shows three possibilities: (1) The shaded area shows the historical Oregon Country. (2) The green line shows the Cascadia bioregion. (3) The labeled states and provinces include Washington, Idaho, Oregon and British Columbia. (from Pacific Northwest)
Image 3The Coast Mountains are heavily eroded by glaciers, including Mount Waddington (far background, center). (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 4The Columbia Gorge marks where the Columbia River splits the Cascade Range between the states of Washington and Oregon. (from Cascade Range)
Image 5U.S. Navy Lieutenant Charles Wilkes' 1841 Map of the Oregon Territory from "Narrative of the United States Exploring Expedition". Philadelphia: 1845 (from Pacific Northwest)
Image 6Lava Butte, Oregon, erupted roughly 5000 years BCE (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 7Pacific Northwest Trail at Blanchard Mountain in Washington (from Pacific Northwest Trail)
Image 8The Cascades range (from Pacific Northwest)
Image 9West side view of Mount Shuksan in summer as seen from Artist Point in Washington. (from Cascade Range)
Image 10HMS Discovery was the lead ship used by George Vancouver. (from Pacific Northwest)
Image 11The 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. (from Cascade Range)
Image 12Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail overview map (from Pacific Northwest Trail)
Image 13Magnetic anomalies around the Juan de Fuca and Gorda Ridges, off the west coast of North America, color coded by age. (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 14Washington State Ferries' MV Wenatchee on Puget Sound. (from Pacific Northwest)
Image 15Mount Edziza, a large shield volcano in northwestern British Columbia (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 16Image of the Juan de Fuca Plate that produced the magnitude 8.7–9.2 Cascadia earthquake in 1700. (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 17Vancouver's SkyTrain rapid transit system achieves daily ridership of over 500,000 passengers per day on weekdays and the overall transit ridership levels in the Metro Vancouver area rank third in North America per capita. (from Pacific Northwest)
Image 18A map of the Snake River Plain, showing its smooth topography (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 19Lumen Field, home of Seattle Seahawks and Sounders FC (from Pacific Northwest)
Image 20The Boundary Trail section of the PNT in Horseshoe Basin, Pasayten Wilderness (from Pacific Northwest Trail)
Image 21Oval-leaf blueberry on Mount Pilchuck. (from Cascade Range)
Image 22Lassen Peak in the California Cascades. Southernmost volcano in the Cascade Range and part of Lassen Volcanic National Park. (from Cascade Range)
Image 23The North Cascades are heavily eroded by glaciers (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 24Map of the Garibaldi Volcanic Belt centers. (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 25The Coquihalla River in the Canadian Cascades. (from Cascade Range)
Image 26The immense floods created channels that are presently dry, such as the Drumheller Channels (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 27Notable volcanoes in the US portion of the Cascades. (from Cascade Range)
Image 28Map of most of the Cascadia urban megaregion, showing population density (shades of yellow/brown), highways (red), and major railways (black). Public land shown in shades of green. This map omits the southern Willamette Valley, which is typically considered part of the megaregion. (from Pacific Northwest)
Image 29The Pacific Northwest from space (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 30Geology of the Cascade Range-related plate tectonics. (from Cascade Range)
Image 31Mountain goat on Wallaby Peak in the North Cascades. (from Cascade Range)
Image 32Mount Hood is the tallest point in the U.S. state of Oregon. (from Cascade Range)
Image 33State Route 302 after the Nisqually earthquake (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 34Map of the Anahim Volcanic Belt centers. (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 35May 1915 Lassen Peak eruption column (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 36The Seawall around Stanley Park in Vancouver is the longest uninterrupted waterfront pathway in the world, and includes a popular bike route. (from Pacific Northwest)
Image 37The Pacific Northwest from outer space (from Pacific Northwest)
Image 38Mount St. Helens erupts on May 18, 1980 (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)
Image 39A man in Portland, Oregon with Cascadian flag on International Workers' Day, 2012 (from Pacific Northwest)
Image 40The Columbia River basalts cover portions of three states (from Geology of the Pacific Northwest)

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... that the Oregon Garden obtained the Gordon House because of a misunderstanding?
... that a pulp mill was fined by the state of Washington for its greenhouse gas emissions, even though it had been closed for the past two years?
... that Ana María Ochoa was born in Colombia, studied in British Columbia, and taught at Columbia?
... that Canadian rapper Apt Exact, who has been described as "not gangster", was elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in 2024?
... that an Oregon TV station planned to be off the air for two to four weeks to complete a move—but did not fully return to air for nearly two years?
... that an Oregon radio station stayed on the air through a major windstorm even though a tree fell into its studios?