Facts About the West Region free essay sample

Fast Facts about the West Region There are 11 states in the West Region. It’s divided into 2 areas—the Pacific and the Mountain areas. The Pacific area has 5 states: Alaska, Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, and California. They all touch the Pacific. The Mountain area has 6 states—Idaho, Utah, Montana, Wyoming, Nevada, and Colorado. They Rocky Mountains run through all of them. Mudslides, wildfires, and earthquakes are common in the West Region. Volcanoes are also found in this section of the U. S. Natural Resources in the West include gold, silver, copper, iron, oil, and trees. The West’s climate varies. There’s the hot high desert of Nevada and the cold Alaska tundra (treeless frozen region). Washington has a rain forest, and it snows in the Rockies. Hawaii has many warm beaches, and volcanoes! The Rocky Mountains’ Continental Divide is this mountain range’s highest point. The Continental Divide determines the direction of river flow. We will write a custom essay sample on Facts About the West Region or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The lowest point in the U. S. is Death Valley, California (282 feet below sea level). Mount McKinley, Alaska is the highest point in the U. S. (20,320 feet). Native Americans first owned the west. Later Spain, France, England and the U. S. claimed it. The U. S. brought some of it from France in 1803 and took part of it from Mexico in 1848. In 1853, the U. S. and England made a deal over that gave the U. S. the land that became the Pacific states of Washington and Oregon. Gold was discovered in California in 1848. This led to boomtowns such as Denver, Colorado and Helena, Montana. The West Region quickly became populated with people who had dreams of becoming rich! Today, computer manufacturing, mining, auto manufacturing, farming, and tourism are ways people in the West Region make a living. Alaska and Hawaii joined the United States in 1959, becoming the 49th and 50th states—and adding the final 2 stars to our U. S. Flag! The U. S. is divided into 5 time zones. Hawaii is 5 hours behind us while Alaska is 4 behind. Nevada, Oregon, California, and Washington are 3 hours behind us in Virginia—we’re in the Eastern Time Zone.