Pacific States

1. Pacific States Jack Erin Samara

2. Introduction • Kilauea is the world’s most active volcano. It is located in Hawaii. • Mount McKinley is the highest mountain in North America. It is located in Alaska.

3. People and History • In 1805, the Lewis and Clark expedition reached the Pacific Coast. A few years later, American fur traders began arriving in the lands that are now Washington and Oregon. Americans had reached the Pacific Coast. • Scientists believe that Californian Indians began using the bow and arrow around 300 A.D. because this is when the bow and arrow first appeared in their petroglyphs (carvings on rocks). • A total of 12% of Americans live in California. • Hawaii is the most racially mixed country in the USA. Japanese Americans make up about 20 percent of the population.

4. Land in the Area • The weather varies in the pacific from tropical Hawaii to arctic Alaska. • California has a rainy and a dry season. It barely rains in the summer, but is very wet in the winters. • California’s Death Valley is larger than the state of CT. In it is the lowest point in North America , which is 282 feet below sea level. Death Valley is so hot in the summer. It can be 120 to 130 degrees F! • There are volcanoes throughout the entire Pacific Region. Alaska has 80 volcanoes. The Hawaiian islands were formed by volcanoes bubbling up from ocean. Hawaii Alaska VS hawaii

5. Plants and Animals • Animals include: Condors, grizzly bears, whales, mountain lions, and salmon • Plants include: Redwood, Giant Sequoias, Bristlecone pines, Joshua trees, Kukui (the candlenut tree, Hawaii state tree), orchids, Western Hemlock, Sitka spruce • Joshua trees can live for 200 or more years. • Starting in 1980, scientists began to collect the remaining 27 condors and started a breeding program. After kept in captivity and having babies, the condors were set free. • California’s redwood trees are the tallest trees in the world. One of them is about 368 ft. tall or about as tall as a 30 story building.

6. Cities and Towns • Cities: Honolulu, Hawaii, San Francisco, California, Seattle, Washington, Los Angeles, California, San Diego, California, Portland, Oregon • Towns: Palm Springs, California, Juneau, Alaska • Honolulu is Hawaii’s state capital and largest city. In the Hawaiian language, Honolulu means “sheltered bay“ or “place of shelter”. • Juneau is the capital of Alaska. It is the nation’s only capital that has no roads leading in or out. The only way to get into Juneau is by boat or plane. • Seattle’s soaring space needle was built for the 1962 World’s Fair to reflect on the world’s future in space.

7. Rural Life • Farmers have grown huge vegetables such as 90-pound cabbages and 30-pound turnips. They are able to do this because of the many extra hours or sunlight during Alaska’s short growing season. • Beginning in 1970’s, residents removed signs to prevent people from getting to Bolinas, California. They did this because they liked the small-town , rural life and they didn’t want it to get too busy or populated. Eventually, the highway department stopped trying to replace the signs. • One of America’s biggest cattle ranches is actually on Hawaii’s Big Island. This place is generally known for it’s volcanoes and beautiful beaches. Modern cowboys at historic Parker Ranch on Hawaii’s Big Island catch cattle just like the cowboys of the old Wild West. • There are people in Alaska that live in the wilderness that depend on pilots who deliver mail and supplies by small plane. They are very far away from other people

8. Getting Around • The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge is 5.2 miles long. It is a double-decker bridge. An upper and lower deck were required because of the heavy traffic. In 1989, part of the bridge collapsed due to an earthquake. But it is being rebuilt. • Los Angeles has 27 freeways which is more than any other city in America. The Pasedena Freeway was built in 1945. it was called a “stopless motorway” and was designed to speed cars along at 45 miles per hour. • The beautiful Golden Gate Bridge connects San Francisco with Marin County to the north. More than 100,000 vehicles cross this bridge in one day. It was open for traffic in 1937. The beautiful views of the city, the bay, and the ocean can be seen from this bridge. At the time, this was the longest suspension bridge, with a length of 1.7 miles. Today there are longer bridges, but they don’t offer the views you can get on the Golden Gate Bridge. • The best way to travel in Alaska is by dogsled. This type of transportation is best through the snowy wilderness. Traveling by dogsled is known as “mushing”.

9. Work in the Area • Fifty years ago the area known as Silicon Valley was filled with orchards and farms. Today visitors would have a hard time finding a peach as they drive by high tech companies and modern glass buildings. • About 10 billion apples are grown every year. This is more than any other state. • Steve Jobs, head of Apple Computer Company, launched the iPod mini at a computer event in San Francisco. He has since passed away. • Alaska produces 500 million barrels of oil a year. This is about 23% of the United States oil production. • Hawaii is the nation’s biggest supplier of pineapples and an important producer of sugar. Silicon Valley 50 years ago Silicon Valley now TO

10. Free Time • A popular food in the Pacific Region is Dim Sum, which is pastry-like items filled with pork, shrimp, or vegetables. Other foods that are popular in the Pacific Region are items made with garlic. California is also influenced by the foods of Mexico including tacos, enchiladas, and burritos served with spicy salsa. • There is a garlic festival in Gilroy, California. People enjoy garlic milkshakes, garlic ice cream, and other garlic food items. • In the Pacific Region, people do a lot of water sports because they are so close to the Pacific Ocean. Some water sports they enjoy doing are sailing, kayaking, swimming, windsurfing, and surfing. • Every September in Monterey, California there is the Monterey Jazz Festival. It is a great place to enjoy all types of jazz music. • Every winter in Alaska, there is a race called the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. It is a 1,000 mile race from Anchorage to Nome.

11. Conclusion • The Pacific States Region is a land of wild extremes including volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis, North America’s highest and lowest points and hottest and coldest temperatures. There are also some of the wettest and driest areas. There are burning deserts, frozen wilderness, lots of islands, beautiful forests, mountain ranges, and tropical jungles. • The Pacific Rim is used to describe the countries that form a “rim” around the Pacific Ocean, including islands. A “Ring of Fire” is said to extend all around the Pacific Rim. • Many of the nation’s colleges and universities, including the University of California, are located within the states of the Pacific Region.

12. Works Cited • Feinstein, Stephen. Regions of the United States: The Pacific States: Chicago, Illinois: Raintree, 2006