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The states shown in dark red are usually included in the term West Coast. Additionally, the lighter red states can sometimes be included in the term Pacific Coast.

This video was taken by the crew of Expedition 29 on board the ISS on a pass down the American West Coast.

West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. More specifically, the term refers to an area defined on the east by the Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada and Mojave Desert and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean and can also be included in the West Coast. The U.S. Census groups the five states of California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and Hawaii together as the Pacific region.^[1]

Population

As of the 2010 Census, the estimated population of the Census Bureau's Pacific Region was approximately 47.8 million (56.9 million if Nevada and Arizona are included) - about 15.3% (18.2% with Nevada and Arizona) of US population. ^[2]

Major cities

Major cities and metropolitan areas on the West Coast include (from north to south):

• Seattle metropolitan area:
  • Everett
  • Seattle
  • Bellevue
  • Tacoma
• Spokane
• Portland and Portland metropolitan area
• Reno and Reno–Sparks metropolitan area
• Sacramento and Greater Sacramento
• San Francisco Bay Area:
  • San Francisco
  • Oakland
  • San Jose
• Fresno
• Bakersfield
• Las Vegas and Las Vegas Valley
• Greater Los Angeles Area:
  • Los Angeles
  • Long Beach
  • Riverside
  • San Bernardino
• Phoenix and Phoenix metropolitan area
• San Diego

History

The history of the West Coast begins with the arrival of the earliest known humans of the Americas, Paleo-Indians, crossing the Bering Strait from Eurasia into North America over a land bridge, Beringia, that existed between 45,000 BC and 12,000 BC (47,000–14,000 years ago). Small isolated groups of hunter-gatherers migrated alongside herds of large herbivores far into Alaska. Between 16,500 BC and 13,500 BC (18,500–15,500 years ago), ice-free corridors developed along the Pacific coast and valleys of North America and possibly by sea.^[3]

Alaska Natives, indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, and California indigenous peoples eventually descended from the Paleo-Indians. They developed various languages and established trade routes.

Later, Spanish, British, Mexican, Russian and American explorers and settlers began colonizing the area.

See also

United States portal

• British Columbia Coast
• East Coast of the United States
• Pacific coast
• Left Coast
• Third Coast
• Sun Belt
• West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame

References