The Geological Pacific Northwest
Thursday February 10, 2011
Pacific Northwest History
Mr. Rice
Free Response #2
 Please 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 Information
 Located 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 Ocean
 The 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
Vocabulary
 Mountains – High rugged land
 Plateaus – High, wide, flat land many miles across
 Mouth of River – where a river opens into a larger body of water
 Valley or Basin – lower land between mountains and plateaus.
 Strait – A narrow passage way of water.
 Bay – A body of water that curves into a coastline
 Harbor – A sheltered part of a body of water deep enough for
anchoring ships
 Peninsula – A piece of land that is surrounded on three sides by
water.
Different Geographic features
The Five Regions of WA
The Coastal Range Region
The Puget Sound Lowlands
The Cascade Range Region
The Columbia Plateau Region
The Rocky Mountain Region
Five Regional Areas
Coastal Range Region
 Made up by the Olympic Peninsula
 Has some of the greatest diversity and greatest weight of
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living matter found anywhere in the world.
It is considered a Rainforest
This 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 Lowlands
 This 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 Region
 This range consists of the Cascade Mountains, which run
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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 Plateau
 Sits directly in the rain shadow created by the Cascade
Region.
 Fertile soil makes this region a strong agricultural area
 Includes 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 Region
 Sometimes called the Okanogan Highlands
 The steep hills are the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.
 There are three Indian reservations found here
 Most of the communities are very small and are supported by
logging, mining and ranching and farming.