Ch 16. The Pacific Northwest

http://www.imusgeographics.com/map-of-united-states

     The Pacific Northwest refers to the states of western Oregon, western Washington, British Columbia west of the Rocky Mountains, an the southeastern panhandle of Alaska. Most of the region is mountainous, with the Pacific Ocean at the west. Like that of California, variations in precipitation and temperature are the direct result of the location patterns of mountains and valleus in the Pacific Northwest (Hardwick 304). 

     The region's economy is highly diversified, as lumbering, fishing, aircraft manufacturing, tourism, and high technology industry are all important. Starbucks Coffee, Microsoft, and Amazon are all companies that are internationally associated with the city of Seattle. As a current Starbucks employee, I would like to visit the first original Starbucks at Pikes Place in Seattle, where the best-selling Starbucks coffee Pikes Place Medium Roast got its name from!

http://mividavegan.wordpress.com/2011/01/20/solvang-ca/

     Agriculture is a large part of the Pacific Northwest region; recently, organic famers have become increasingly important contributor to the larger agricultural scene in Washington and Oregon. Many farmers sell their organically grown foods at booths set up at farmer's markets in many parts of this region, such as Seattle's daily indoor Pike Place Market and Downtown Portland's Saturday Market. These markets serve as a social function as gathering places for local residents and visitors as well as providing an outlet for organic farmers to sell their goods. (Hardwick 311). 

     Solvang also hosts farmers' market every week or so as a weekly event. Both residents and tourists can explore the various goods farmers bring in from locally owned farms. Also, like in Solvang, wine industry is pretty big in the Pacific Northwest, especially in Oregon.