Download Regions of Washington PPT

Washington’s Regions
Topic 1
The Regions
Coastal Range Region
• Encompasses basically the Olympic Peninsula
• Borders the Pacific Ocean to the West
– The Strait of Juan de Fuca to the North
– Puget Sound to the East
– The Columbia River to the South
• Holds the Olympic Mountains, Olympic
National Forest
• Not much in the way of industry or large cities
– Rely mainly on tourism and the environment
– Lumber mills have closed and the fishing industry
is much smaller
The Puget Sound Lowlands
• Made up of the land between Puget Sound and the
Cascade Mountains from Oregon in the South to Canada
In the North
– Also known as the “I-5 Corridor” after the freeway that
runs through it
• This region holds the bulk of Washington’s population
and big cities
– Includes Seattle, Bellingham, Tacoma, Vancouver,
Olympia, Everett, and Burlington!
– Holds the bulk of the states manufacturing industry
as well
• Large sea ports, airports, companies such as Boeing and Microsoft
– Also holds some agricultural lands
• Such as the Skagit Valley, and Chehalis and Cowlitz River
Valley’s to the South of Tacoma
– Tourism in this region includes the States Capital city
of Olympia, Seattle and the San Juan Islands
Cascade Mountain Region
• This region encompasses the Cascade Mountain
Range
– Here you will find intense geographic features
as well as some of the natural features
Washington is known for
• Mount Rainier, Mount St. Helens, Mt. Baker etc.
• Lake Chelan is part of this region
– Steep hills and rapidly changing weather
• Cold and snow in the winter poses problems for
travel, but is perfect for snow sports
• Summer hiking and camping is popular
– Includes North Cascades and Mt. Rainier
National Parks
The Rocky Mountain Region
• Located in the Northeastern corner of
the State and is also known as the
Okanogan Highlands
– Steep, rocky foothills of the
Rocky Mountains
– Sparsely populated and these small towns
rely on tourism
– Mining, farming, ranching and to an extent
lumbering is done here
Columbia Plateau
• This region encompasses most of Eastern
Washington
– The high, flat plateau actually extends geographically
into Eastern Oregon and Idaho
– Very dry with limited vegetation including grassland
and desert sagebrush
– Much of the land is irrigated for farming
• Apples, cherries, grapes, corn and alfalfa
– Major cities include Spokane, Moses Lake, Wenatchee,
Walla Walla, Pullman the Tri- Cities (Richland, Pasco,
and Kennewick)
• Grand Coulee Dam is a major point of interest in
Eastern Washington and is located in this region
Quiz Time
• You will see a picture of a place and you
must state the region which the picture
depicts
Name The Regions!!!
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