1. Usa Pacific Region

Mammals of the Pacific States: California, Oregon, and Washington. Stanford University Press, Stanford, Calif., 1965. Xii + 506 pp. Here you may find all the correct answers for Pacific states? Crossword clue. This crossword clue was last seen on February 24 2018 in the popular Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle. Since you are already here on our site then most probably you are looking for the solution of Pacific states? Look no further.Continue reading ‘Pacific states? Crossword clue’ ».

This visualization shows a sequence of -based data in the Pacific Northwest.The Pacific Northwest ( PNW), sometimes referred to as Cascadia, is a geographic region in western bounded by the to the west and (loosely) by the on the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common conception includes the of (BC) and the of,. Broader conceptions reach north into and, south into, and east to the to include and parts of.

Narrower conceptions may be limited to the coastal areas west of the and mountains. The variety of definitions can be attributed to partially overlapping commonalities of the region's history, culture, geography, society, and other factors.The Northwest Coast is the coastal region of the Pacific Northwest, and the Northwest Plateau (also commonly known as 'the ' in British Columbia and the in the United States) is the inland region. The term 'Pacific Northwest' should not be confused with the (also known as the Great Northwest, a historical term in the United States) or the of.The region's largest metropolitan areas are, Washington, with 3.8 million people;, British Columbia, with 2.5 million people; and, Oregon, with 2.4 million people.A key aspect of the Pacific Northwest is the, which the United States and the established at a time when the region's inhabitants were composed mostly of. Two sections of the border—one along the south of British Columbia and one between the and northern British Columbia—have left a great impact on the region. According to Canadian historian, the border has not merely influenced the Pacific Northwest—rather, 'the region's history and character have been determined by the boundary'. None of the multiple possible definitions of the Pacific Northwest is universally accepted. This map shows three possibilities: (1) The shaded area shows the historical.

(2) The green line shows the. (3) The labeled states and provinces include Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and British Columbia.Definitions of the Pacific Northwest region vary, and even Pacific Northwesterners do not agree on the exact boundary. The most common conception includes the of Idaho, Oregon and Washington and the of British Columbia.Broader definitions of the region have included the U.S. States of and parts of the states of California, Montana, and Wyoming, and the Canadian territory of the.Definitions based on the historic reach east to the, thus including all of and parts of western and western.

Sometimes, the Pacific Northwest is defined as being the specifically, excluding. Note that these types of definitions are often made by government agencies whose scope is limited to the United States. History Indigenous peoples.

See also: andThe Pacific Northwest has been occupied by a diverse array of for millennia. The Pacific Coast is seen by some scholars as a major in the by late Pleistocene peoples moving from northeast Asia into the Americas.The coastal migration hypothesis has been bolstered by findings such as the report that the sediments in the Port Eliza Cave on indicate the possibility of survivable climate as far back as 16 (16,000 years ago) in the area, while the continental ice sheets were nearing their maximum extent. Other evidence for human occupation dating back as much as 14.5 kya (14,500 years ago) is emerging from in south-central Oregon. However, despite such research, the coastal migration hypothesis is still subject to considerable debate.Due in part to the richness of Pacific Northwest Coast and river fisheries, some of the indigenous peoples developed complex societies, while remaining. The Pacific Northwest Coast is one of the few places where politically complex hunter-gatherers evolved and survived to historic contacts, and therefore has been vital for anthropologists and archaeologists seeking to understand how complex hunter and gatherer societies function.

When Europeans first arrived on the Northwest Coast, they found one of the world's most complex hunting and fishing societies, with large sedentary villages, large houses, systems of social rank and prestige, extensive trade networks, and many other factors more commonly associated with societies based on domesticated agriculture. In the interior of the Pacific Northwest, the indigenous peoples, at the time of European contact, had a diversity of cultures and societies. Some areas were home to mobile and egalitarian societies. Others, especially along major rivers such as the Columbia and Fraser, had very complex, affluent, sedentary societies rivaling those of the coast.In British Columbia and Southeast Alaska, the and erected large and elaborately carved that have become iconic of Pacific Northwest artistic traditions.

Throughout the Pacific Northwest, thousands of indigenous people live, and some continue to practice their rich cultural traditions, 'organizing their societies around cedar and salmon'. Initial European exploration. US Navy Admiral ' 1841 Map of the from 'Narrative of the United States Exploring Expedition'. Philadelphia: 1845Initial formal claims to the region were asserted by Spain in 1513 with explorer, the first European to sight the Pacific Ocean from the Americas. Russian activity, through the, extended from the farther side of the Pacific to. This prompted Spain to send expeditions north to assert Spanish ownership, while Captain James Cook and subsequent expeditions by George Vancouver advanced British claims.

As of the, the last in 1794, Spain gave up its exclusive a priori claims and agreed to share the region with the other, giving up its garrison at in the process.The United States established a claim based on the discoveries of, the, the construction of, and the acquisition of Spanish claims given to the United States in the. From the 1810s until the 1840s, modern-day Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and western Montana, along with most of British Columbia, were part of what the United States called the and Britain called the. This region was jointly claimed by the United States and Great Britain after the, which established a co-dominion of interests in the region in lieu of a settlement. In 1840, American explored in the area., Chief Factor of the, headquartered at, was the de facto local political authority for most of this time.This arrangement ended as U.S.

Settlement grew and President was elected on a platform of calling for annexation of the entire Oregon Country and of Texas. After his election, supporters coined the famous slogan 'Fifty-four Forty or Fight', referring to —the northward limit of the United States' claim. After a war scare with the United Kingdom, the was settled in the 1846, partitioning the region along the and resolving most, but not all, of the border disputes (see ).The mainland territory north of the remained unincorporated until 1858, when a mass influx of Americans and others during the forced the hand of 's Governor, who declared the mainland a.

The two colonies were amalgamated in 1866 to cut costs, and joined the in 1871. Portion became the in 1848. It was later subdivided into Oregon Territory. These territories became the states of Oregon, Idaho, Washington and parts of other Western states.American expansionist pressure on British Columbia persisted after the colony became a province of Canada, even though Americans living in the province did not harbor inclinations. The openly organized and drilled in Washington, particularly in the 1870s and the 1880s, though no cross-border attacks were experienced. During the, U.S.

President threatened to invade and annex British Columbia if Britain would not yield on the question of the ports. In more recent times, during the so-called ' of the 1990s, Washington Senator called for the to 'force' the, even though it is not an official international waterway. Disputes between British Columbia and Alaska over the of the between and have not been resolved. (top) and (bottom) are the highest mountains in Washington and Oregon, and the 3rd and 20th, respectivelyThe Pacific Northwest is a diverse geographic region, dominated by several mountain ranges, including the, the, the, the, and the. The highest peak in the Pacific Northwest is, in the Washington Cascades, at 14,410 feet (4,392 m).

Immediately inland from the Cascade Range are broad, generally dry plateaus. In the US, this region is known as the, while in British Columbia, it is the, also called the.

The Columbia Plateau was the scene of massive ice-age floods, and as a consequence, there are many, canyons, and the. Much of the plateau, especially in eastern Washington, is. The cuts a deep and wide gorge around the rim of the Columbia Plateau and through the Cascade Range on its way to the Pacific Ocean.Because many areas have plentiful rainfall and mild summers, the Pacific Northwest has some of North America's most lush and extensive forests, which are extensively populated with trees, the second tallest growing on earth. The region also contains specimens of the tallest trees on earth, the, in southwestern Oregon, but the largest of these trees are located just south of the California border in northwestern California.

Coastal forests in some areas are classified as.Coastal features are defined by the interaction with the Pacific and the North American continent. The coastline of the Pacific Northwest is dotted by numerous fjords, bays, islands, and mountains. Some of these features include the, and the highly complex fjords of the. The region has one of the world's longest coastlines.The major cities of, and all began as supporting the logging, mining, and farming industries of the region, but have developed into major technological and industrial centers (such as the ), which benefit from their location on the.If defined as British Columbia, Idaho, Oregon and Washington, the Pacific Northwest has five: in Idaho, in Oregon, and, and in Washington. If a larger regional definition is used, then other US National Parks might be included, such as, and parts of. There are several in the Pacific Northwest, including on the west coast of Vancouver Island, and in the Selkirk Range alongside, and on the British Columbia flank of the Rockies, in Haida Gwaii, and the in the Strait of Georgia.

There are numerous and.Other outstanding natural features include the,. The south-central Coast Mountains in British Columbia contain the five largest mid-latitude in the world.Climate The main general climatic types of PNW are temperate: both moderate and four seasons, but mountainous and arid climates occupy much of the less inhabited or inland areas of the region. An (') occurs in most coastal areas, typically between the ocean and high mountain ranges. An dominates in the high mountains.

And climates are found east of the higher mountains, especially in areas. The of Oregon is an example of arid climate in the Pacific Northwest. Climates occur inland on windward sides, in places such as.

A can be found farther north, especially in Yukon and Alaska.Under the, a warm-summer version of the ( Csb) designation, is assigned to many areas of the Pacific Northwest as far north as central Vancouver Island and the, including cities such as, (coast area),. These zones are not associated with a typical, and would be classified as ( Cfb), except dry-summer patterns typical to the Pacific Northwest meet minimum Cs thresholds.

Other climate classification systems, such as, place these areas firmly in the oceanic zone ( Do).Summer air dryness and low humidity do as defined above the main cities of the region have Mediterranean climates and trends tend to further embody such an assertion. The lack of rain in the hot season is associated with a. The shadows of the mountains also greatly decrease the amount of precipitation, west of the the have a much greater precipitation than the.

Winters are like mild ocean climates to cold depending on location but never strict. Although they are marked like this not like those often hotter climates and mild winters that are defined in their classic version as. The growth of, a broad-leafed tree is possible on.

Ecoregions Much of the Pacific Northwest is forested. The – basin is shared between British Columbia and Washington, and the ecoregion, which is the largest of the world's in the system created by the, stretches along the coast from Alaska to California. The dry land area inland from the and is very different from the terrain and climate of the coastal area due to the of the mountains, and comprises the Columbia, Fraser and Thompson Plateaus and mountain ranges contained within them. The interior regions' climates largely within eastern Washington, south central British Columbia, eastern Oregon, and southern Idaho are a northward extension of the, which spans the Great Basin farther south, although by their northern and eastern reaches, dry land and desert areas verge at the end of the Cascades' and ' with the boreal forest and various characteristic of eastern British Columbia, and western roughly along a longitudinal line defined by the Idaho border with Washington and Oregon.Population. Map of ', showing population density (shades of yellow/brown), highways (red), and major railways (black). Public land shown in shades of green.Most of the population of the Pacific Northwest is concentrated in the Portland–Seattle–Vancouver corridor. This area is sometimes seen as a (also known as a, an, or a ).

This 'mega-city' stretches along in the states of Oregon and Washington, and in the province of British Columbia. As of 2016, the combined populations of the region (which includes ), the, and the totaled around nine million people.

However, beyond the mega-city with few exceptions, the PNW region is characterized by a relatively low density population distribution. Some other regions of greater population density outside this corridor include the Greater Victoria area on southern Vancouver Island (with a population of approximately 370,000), the Okanagan Valley in the British Columbia interior (about 350,000 people centered around the city of Kelowna, which has close to 200,000 people), and the greater Spokane area (with about 550,000 residents). Large geographical areas may only have one mid-sized to small-sized city as a regional center (often a county seat), with smaller cities and towns scattered around. Vast areas of the region may have little or no population at all, largely due to the presence of extensive mountains and forests, and plateaus containing both extensive farm and range lands, much of which is protected from development in large parks and preserves, or by zoning use regulation related to traditional land use.

Person in, with on, 2012Although the dominant culture in the Pacific Northwest today is, and, there is significant and influence. 23% of Vancouver, British Columbia, is Chinese, and 50% of residents of the City of Vancouver do not speak English as their first language.

Parts of Oregon and Washington are in both English and Spanish, and Native American culture is strong throughout the Pacific Northwest. The also began in California and the Pacific Northwest. There have been proposals for certain parts of the Pacific Northwest becoming its own country because of the shared and culture, the most well-known being. However, the region is strongly divided by the international border, and this division grew more rather than less powerful over the 20th century.

Carl Abbott argues that, given the twin factors of limited economic integration vis-a-vis NAFTA, and cultural similarities, he views the major cities as 'going their separate ways' as east-west gateways of commerce, competing with each other, rather than forming north-south connectors of a tentative 'mega-region'.use is relatively popular, especially around Vancouver, Victoria, Bellingham, Seattle, Olympia, Spokane, Portland, and Eugene. Several of these jurisdictions have made arrests for cannabis a low enforcement priority. Medical marijuana is legal in British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon, as well as in Alaska, though that state prohibits its sale, and has no licensed dispensaries, and in the Yukon, although less than 50 of the territory's residents are licensed to use medical marijuana, and no legal dispensaries operate within its borders. As of December 6, 2012, possession of less than an ounce of marijuana for recreational use by persons over 21 years of age became legal in Washington state as a result of state ballot measure, which was approved by the state's voters on November 6, 2012, by a ten-point margin. As of July 1, 2015, recreational marijuana use was legalized in Oregon as well. Environmentalism.

Public transportation is key to sustainability in the Pacific Northwest region. Vancouver's rapid transit system achieves daily ridership of over 500,000 passengers per day on weekdays and the overall transit ridership levels in the area rank 3rd in North America per capita.is prominent throughout the region, especially west of the Cascades. Environmentally conscious services such as and are widespread, most notably in the more populous areas.

A 2007 statistical analysis ranked the 50 Greenest Cities in the United States, placing Portland, Oregon first, Eugene, Oregon, fifth, and Seattle, Washington, eighth. The region as a whole is also known for its bicycle culture as an alternative form of transportation; Portland is considered by Forbes Traveler to be the second most city in the world. Portland is also the hub of American bicycle manufacturing; as a whole it generated over $68 million in revenue in 2007 alone. Seattle, Washington has also garnered a reputation for its contributions to public transportation with the Puget Sound Transit system, including an underground light rail system and a 38.9% worker commute rate as of 2011. Politically, the Pacific Northwest is actively involved in environmental efforts.

The international organization was born in Vancouver in 1970 as part of a large public opposition movement in British Columbia to US nuclear weapons testing on in the Aleutian Islands. Liberal and Conservative Northwesterners, such as former U.S. Senator (R-WA) and moderate Democrats like former Speaker of the House (D-WA), have been prominent in the development of conservative approaches to environmental protection.

Seattle in particular is also home to a large number of publications and institutions concerned with the environment and sustainability, including both and, the U.S.' S two largest online green magazines. The Pacific Northwest is also noted for a large number of gardening clubs, with Victoria having an annual flower count in February.The direct-intervention oceanic protection group known as the has its headquarters in on.In British Columbia environmentalist fought to protect in the 1980s and 1990s. More recently the province has agreed to environmental protections in the.Music. Main article:The modern-era Pacific Northwest is known for, especially, and as well as historically-strong and traditions. Many are associated with the independent label.

Lately the region has also gained notice for its.org is a popular and nationally noted Seattle-based public indie music radio station. Among the area's largest music festivals are the, the, the in George, Washington, Seattle's, Boise's, and Portland's. Portland's Waterfront Blues Festival is the largest blues-based festival west of the Mississippi River.Local artists who became ground-breaking rock bands of their times include,.

But the history of Northwest rock can be traced back to the mid 1950s and 1960s with such bands such as,. Main article:Cuisine of the area include, a wide variety of, and locally produced fruits, vegetables, and cheeses., Mexican, and are prevalent throughout the Northwest, and reflect the historically strong presence of those communities in the restaurant industry there. Restaurants are particularly common in the Seattle area. Eateries featuring, and cuisines are common throughout in Greater Vancouver, as are ethnic specialty restaurants of all kinds. Ethnic staples ranging from frozen to frozen are common in most supermarkets in these communities.Locally-made craft beers and premium wines from various wine-growing area within the region are popular with drinkers and diners. Northern latitude and coastal breezes create a climate that attracts international recognition for its mostly family-owned and operated vineyards and wineries.Portland is a major microbrewery center in America, and is home to the.Sports. CenturyLink Field, home of Seattle Seahawks and Sounders FCSkiing, snowboarding, cycling, mountaineering, hiking, camping, hunting, fishing, boating, and are popular outdoor activities.

Vancouver, Seattle, Tacoma, Portland, and Spokane are home to numerous professional sports teams, including the, and.The region's three USSF Division 1 teams the Whitecaps FC, Sounders FC, and Timbers play to sold out crowds and compete annually for the. The USSF Division 4 also has seven teams in the Northwest Division. In addition to all this, the region has its own representative non-FIFA team which joined the officially in 2013 to participate in friendlies and the.In 2018, the competed in the representing the Pacific Northwest.Vancouver is home to a 4-team league for, the, one of several.Hockey is the most popular spectator sport in British Columbia, with the of the being the most popular professional team, although the of the also have a very strong following. The 's BC Lions are considered Vancouver's second most popular team, although 's Vancouver Whitecaps FC have been rising in popularity in recent years. Hockey is slowly gaining popularity south of the border too, with the.Followers of the Portland Trail Blazers basketball team refer to themselves as the Sixth Man and Blazermania refers to the extraordinary dedication fans have shown the team.

In Seattle, many fans are still upset over the move of the while supporters of the Seattle Seahawks football team are known officially as the 12th Man. And the, (namely the, and ) of the three MLS teams of the region are renowned for their passion and dedication to their teams.The only NASCAR track in the Pacific Northwest region is, the largest short track west of the Mississippi River and has hosted many of the marquee drivers of NASCAR. With three oval tracks, a figure eight track and various road course variants, Evergreen Speedway operates year-round events. Evergreen Speedway hosts the NASCAR Whelen All American Series, the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, National Figure Eight Events, USAC, SCCA, plus Touring Groups and Formula Drift.In Washington and Oregon, many residents passionately follow. In Washington, the major college athletic programs are the and the. In Oregon, the major programs are the and the.

All four of these programs are members of the and compete with each other in a variety of sports. These universities are all considered rivals of one another, particularly in. The most significant of these rivalries are the game, the Washington-Washington State game, a.k.a.

The (named so because of Washington's notoriety for apple production) and the Oregon-Oregon State game a.k.a. As in professional sports, college fans in the Pacific Northwest are known for being particularly passionate about their teams. Both (where the Washington Huskies play football) and (where the Oregon Ducks play football) have gained reputations for deafening noise, despite not being the largest of college football venues. Husky Stadium currently holds the record for the loudest crowd noise in NCAA history at 130, while Autzen Stadium currently holds the record for the 4th at 127 decibels. Video games Seattle is considered by Digital Trends magazine to be the top gaming city in America, a possible indicator of markedly higher rates of video game usage throughout the Pacific Northwest in general. Most major companies are headquartered in the Seattle metropolitan area, including, (a wholly owned subsidiary of ), and 's subsidiary. Microsoft and Nintendo of America also have Canadian branches headquartered in Vancouver—Microsoft Canada and Nintendo of Canada—respectively, while (a subsidiary division of ) is located in the same city.Demographics In the U.S.

Side of the region, make up a large portion of the agricultural labor force east of the Cascade Range, and are an increasing presence in the general labor force west of the Cascades. Are less numerous in the Pacific Northwest; however, the overall African American population has been growing in other smaller urban areas throughout the region, such as Spokane and Eugene. African Americans tend to concentrate in western urban areas such as Tacoma, south Seattle, and Portland. Nonetheless, blacks have a very large presence in Tacoma's and neighborhoods, Seattle's and neighborhoods, and in Portland's Northeast Quadrant. There are growing numbers in Vancouver as well, particularly Africans, Jamaicans and blacks from the United States.

As of the first decade of the 21st century, many Asians were moving out and into middle class suburbs, though some would voice concern about preserving historical communities particularly in Vancouver. British Columbia has the largest Asian presence per-capita in North America, with 10% of the population being of ancestry and also large numbers of, and others. The Asian presence in the U.S. Section of the Pacific Northwest is comparably smaller, with all Asian groups together comprising about 8% of Washington state's population, and smaller figures in Oregon and Idaho. This is due to immigration quotas at the federal level, as while Canada has one-tenth the population of the United States, it takes in one-quarter as many immigrants.African-Americans have held the positions of Mayor in Seattle and Spokane; King County executive, while the state of Washington elected a governor during the 1990s,.British Columbians of many ethnicities are prominent in all levels of politics and government, and the province has a number of 'firsts' in Canadian political history, including the first non-white, (who is ) and the first Asian, the Hon.

The Lieutenant-Governor from 2007 to 2012, was of aboriginal origin, being (the dominant type of in BC's Lower Mainland) from the area. The leader of the opposition party from 2005 to 2011, the, was, of partial origin. Colonial governor was himself of Guyanese extraction and his wife was of origin.On representation in government, Oregon has been a national leader. At the time of his election to the office of Portland mayor in 2008, was the first openly gay individual to represent a city of Portland's size in the United States. In, the same year, was elected the first mayor in U.S. The first two LGBT state supreme court justices in the country both sit on the. Is the highest-ranking openly politician in the United States.Language Most Americans and Canadians consider the accent 'neutral', though indistinct from the Midwestern dialects that some believe typify American speech.

It possess the low back vowel merger, or the. Occurs in British Columbia and some speakers in Washington to a similar degree as it does in, but weaker than other parts of. The also affects speech in the region.was a or established among.

After contact with Europeans, French, English, and words entered the language, and 'eventually, Chinook became the lingua franca for as many as 250,000 people along the Pacific Slope from Alaska to Oregon'. Chinook Jargon reached its height of usage in the 19th century, though remained common in resource and wilderness areas, particularly, but not exclusively, by and people, well into the 20th century.

Today, its influence is felt mostly in and a handful of localized terms, particularly the word, which remains hallmark of people raised in the region.Besides English and indigenous languages, has been common since the of the mid-19th century, most particularly in British Columbia. Since the 1980s the, a predominant in the area, has been replaced by mainstream and by because of large-scale immigration from Asia. Is also common in Vancouver, which has very large communities from India. Is also spoken in parts of Oregon and Washington by, both recent immigrants and long-standing communities.National Self-determination Desires Among the fiercely independent and frontier nature of the former Oregon Country and now Western Part of the United States, are a desire of many Pacific Northwesterners to improve upon their form of Democracy by further subdividing the region into or defined.

Some desires are and autonomous of the United States while others are in the hope of gaining additional representational control in particular regions of the Northwest. Among these fluidly changing geographical boundaries and areas sought by a segment of the population of the Northwest are the following:. Pacific Northwest Independence and Movements.Spirituality and religion The Pacific Northwest has the lowest rate of church attendance in the United States and consistently reports the highest percentage of; this is most pronounced on the part of the region west of the Cascades. A recent study indicates that one quarter of those in Washington and Oregon believe in no religion. Similarly, according to the 2011 National Household Survey, 44% of British Columbia residents reported no religion.Religion plays a smaller part in Pacific Northwest politics than in the rest of the United States. The has considerably less political influence than in other regions.

Usa Pacific Region

Political conservatives in the Pacific Northwest tend to identify more strongly with free-market values than they do with more religious.That said, three of the four major international in the region are religious in nature:,. This is part of a long tradition of activist religion. The Group, a shelter offering soup and sermons to the and recovering, was launched in Vancouver, with the having deep roots in the district, dating back to the era of the construction of the (1880s) and attained prominence in the same centers during the.The region is also known as a magnet for a wide range of philosophical and spiritual belief systems.

Eastern spiritual beliefs have been adopted by an unusually large number of people (by North American standards), and in particular has a strong local following. The Northwest Tibetan Cultural Association, claimed to be the largest organization of its kind in the world, was founded in Portland in 1993.The region is home to many unique Christian communities, ranging from the to the. The is based in the British Columbia city of Abbotsford. The and the enjoy a heavy rate of enlistment and donations from the strong Mennonite community in British Columbia's. The Doukhobors, whose church is the, are a Russian sect whose migration to Canada was aided by Count, and who are today focussed in the and regions of Southeastern British Columbia. Their history in Canada includes resistance to state education and industrial development (see ).

Also, within the region, there is a fairly strong representation of churches (Greek, Russian, Serbian, and others), as well as the. Oregon's has a large population of.

Religious sees that are based in the Pacific Northwest include the Roman Catholic of, and, the Anglican, and the dioceses that make up those provinces.Yogic teachings, Sufism, tribal and ancient beliefs and other philosophies are widely studied and appreciated in the region. The of British Columbia has a very large community. Oregon has a considerable population.

There has been major growth in temples since the increase in immigration from in the 1980s, especially in.Also in Vancouver, there is a small population, a number of Parsee , and an emerging, especially the 11,000-strong, population from, the Middle East, Africa, the Balkans, Southeast Asia, and elsewhere.Some people in the area also embrace alternative, such as spirituality.

The Columbia River is the fourth largest river by volume in North America, draining an area the size of France (670,000 square kilometers). There are 14 dams on the main stem of the Columbia River and more than 450 dams throughout the entire Columbia Basin.

The dams on the Columbia River and its tributaries produce half of the electricity used in the Pacific Northwest. These dams have completely altered river habitat and significantly changed the river’s flow, water quality, and Pacific salmon spawning runs along with the survival of out-migrating smolts. By discharge, the Sacramento River is the second largest river on the west coast of the contiguous United States, after only the Columbia River, which has almost seven times the flow. The Columbia River is the fourth largest river by volume in North America, draining an area the size of France (670,000 square kilometers). There are 14 dams on the main stem of the Columbia River and more than 450 dams throughout the entire Columbia Basin. The dams on the Columbia River and its tributaries produce half of the electricity used in the Pacific Northwest. These dams have completely altered river habitat and significantly changed the river’s flow, water quality, and Pacific salmon spawning runs along with the survival of out-migrating smolts.

By discharge, the Sacramento River is the second largest river on the west coast of the contiguous United States, after only the Columbia River, which has almost seven times the flow of the Sacramento. The Sacramento River watershed is often said to receive 66 to 75 percent of northern California's precipitation though it has only 25 to 33 percent of the land. In contrast, the San Joaquin River watershed occupies 66 to 75 percent of northern central California's land but only collects 25 to 33 percent of the precipitation.

Some of the earliest transplants of fish species in the United States were mass introductions of eastern species to the lower Sacramento River in the early 1870s. These stockings included American Shad, Striped Bass, and American Eel.

Chinook Salmon and Rainbow Trout were introduced to eastern streams from the U.S. Fish Commission Baird Hatchery on the McCloud River, a tributary to the Sacramento River above Shasta Dam. There are four species of introduced gobies in the lower Sacramento drainage and one in the lower Columbia drainage. All are from Asia and are a result of ballast water introductions.