Western United States

Geography

Main article: Geography of the Western United States.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The West is the most geographically diverse region of the country and its largest region, and can comprise more than half the land area of the United States, depending on how it is defined. This diversity includes a number of the geographic regions, including; the Pacific Coast, the temperate rain forests of the Northwest, the Rocky Mountains, all of the Great Plains, most of the tall-grass prairie, the western Ozark plateau, the western portions of the southern forests, the Gulf Coast, and all of the desert areas located in the United States (the Mojave, Sonara, Great Basin, and Chihuahua deserts).

Related Topics:
Pacific Coast - Rain forest - Northwest - Rocky Mountains - Great Plains - Ozark - Gulf Coast - Mojave - Sonara - Great Basin - Chihuahua

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The region encompasses much of the Louisiana Purchase, most of the land ceded by Britain in 1818, some of the land acquired when the Republic of Texas joined the U.S., all of the land ceded by Britain in 1846, all of the land ceded by Mexico in 1848, and all of the Gadsden Purchase.

Related Topics:
Louisiana Purchase - Britain - Republic of Texas - Mexico - Gadsden Purchase

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Variation and regionalism

As the largest region in the United States there is varation to such an extent in the west that it is often broken down into regions. Arizona, Colorado, California, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah or regions of those states are sometimes considered part of the Southwest, while all or part of Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming can be considered part of the Northwest, more narrowly part or all of those same states, with the exception of Wyoming and the eastern protions of Montana and Idaho, and the addition of Northern California, and the Canadian province of British Columbia comprise the Pacific Northwest. Alternately the west can be divided into the Pacific States; Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington, with the term West Coast usually restricted to just California, Oregon, and Washington, and the Mountain States, always Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. Alaska and Hawaii, being detached from the other western states, have few similarities with them, but are usually also classified as part of the West. Not all states that can be considered part of the west are: Kansas, Nebraska and North Dakota are often included in the Midwest, while Oklahoma and Texas are often in the South or Southeast. In truth they have ties to both regions, as do the first tier of states west of the Mississippi River (Louisiana to Minnesota).

Related Topics:
Southwest - Northwest - Northern California - Canadian - British Columbia - Pacific Northwest - Pacific States - West Coast - Mountain States - Midwest - South - Southeast - Louisiana - Minnesota

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~