Empty+Interior

= The Empty Interior =

The Empty Interior includes West Texas, New Mexico, the western portions of Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana, most of Arizona, Utah, Idaho and Nevada. It covers the interior of British Columbia, Yukon Territory, Alaska, and even Eastern California too. There is some overlap with the Southwest Border Area, California, and the North Pacific.

= Seattle, Washington: = ====Seattle,Washington, is known for it's wet climate and is one of the most northern cities in The Empty Interior. The city averages about 36 inches of rain a year, in LA we have an average of 15.6 inches. The city also averages about 223 cloudy days a year, so it could be pretty depressing for some people. So it may not be a surprise that Seattle is also home to the genre of music known as Grunge Rock. Grunge emerged in Seattle during the mid to late 80's and early 90's and gained a large cult following. Grunge meshed the sounds of hardcore Punk and heavy Metal creating a unique sound which complements Seattle area well.====




 * "Benson & Hedges, Seattle 1983" **




 *  Michael Lavine, "Grunge" **

It wasn't long until the rest of the country caught up to the Grunge scene and began to appreciate it's influence, bands such as Nirvana and Pearl Jam generated national success. Nirvana is most notably known as one of the best-selling bands of all-time, two of their recordings "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and "All Apologies" are inducted into the Rock and Roll hall of fame.


 * "Nirvana"**

Some interesting facts about Seattle include:
 * Seattle is ranked the most literate city in the country. The Seattle Public Library system has the highest percentage of library card-holders per capital in the country.
 * Seattle is home to the worlds first gas station on East Marginal Way
 * The original Starbucks is found in Pikes Peak, Seattle


 * Arizona **

Arizona is the complete opposite of Washington in terms of climate, and is the southern most state in The Empty Interior. The state is very dry and has extreme weather patterns ranging from very hot during the summer, to very cold in the winter. The southern half of the state receives an average of 3 inches of rain a year, and as a whole only gets about 9 inches total. Because of the climate, Arizona is home to some of the most awesome Red Rock formations in the world. Making it a great place to hike and spend time outdoors.

Sedona, AZ:

Red Rock formations





Slide Rock Park

Phoenix, AZ: Phoenix is the largest city in Arizona and experienced exponential growth after World War 2, in 1940 the city only had 65,000 people and today is one of the largest cities in the United States. Phoenix, 1940 Phoenix, 2011



Phoenix is also home to the Arizona Dimondbacks, which plays at Chase Stadium. Because of the extreme weather, the stadium is built with a retractable dome and is air conditioned.

Some interesting facts about Arizona:
 * 1) Arizona leads the nation in copper production.
 * 2) The amount of copper on the roof of the Capitol building is equivalent to 4,800,000 pennies.
 * 3) Arizona, among all the states, has the largest percentage of its land set aside and designated as Indian lands.

=Idaho= Historic Downtown =The Grand Canyon= Mojave Point view of the Grand Canyon
 * 1) Pocatello Idaho where the potatoes grow.
 * 2) Idaho State University.[[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/7f/Idaho_State_University_Seal.svg/538px-Idaho_State_University_Seal.svg.png]]
 * 1) The Colorado River has been carving the Grand Canyon for over the past 2 million years.
 * 2) The Grand Canyon is 277 miles long and has a depth of over 6000 feet.

=Glacier National Park, Montana=
 * 1,000,000 Acres of protected lang cover over 16,000 square miles.
 * 1) The Natives that lived on the land inrelation to current tribes are the Salish, Flathead, Shoshone, and Cheyenne. the Blackfeet arrived in the early 18th certury. Flathead tribes live on the Westerns side of the Park where as the Blackfeet stay on the Eastern side of the Park.
 * 2) Contains a dozen large lakes and over 700 smaller ones. However only 131 lakes actually have names.
 * 3) The mountain ranges were created by ancient glaciers that have melted over the past 12,000 years.
 * 4) The park has an abundance of Beargrass (Xerophyllum tenax)



=**New Mexico:**=

**State Flag**

New Mexico is located in the southwest of the Empty Interior, and is home to 2,085,000 people state wide. It's low population makes New Mexico the 36th most empty state in the country. It's capital is Santa Fe and largest city is Albuquerque.


 * Stuffed Sopapilla**


 * Sweet Sopapilla**

The most common food in New Mexico is Mexican food, but they have Mexican food that is original to New Mexico. The Sopapilla is a fried pastry which can be served as a meal and dessert. As a meal it's stuffed with meat and cheese, typically carne asada or chicken, and served with rice and beans. As a dessert it's sometimes stuffed with a sweet filling, and topped with honey and sugar.


 * Green Chile**


 * Green Chile stew**


 * Green Chile on burgers**

If you were to ask anyone in New Mexico what the state food was, you would get the response "New Mexico Green Chile". The Chile is prepared as a salsa or stew and can be topped on every food possible, in New Mexico.

=Utah:=

**State Flag** media type="youtube" key="fdJc1_IBKJA" width="560" height="315" **Bryce Canyon** Utah is the 13th largest state in the country and it's capital is Salt Lake City. It's home to about 3,000,000 people and is the fastest growing state in the country. It is also the most religious homogeneous state in the US. Over 60% of Utahan are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, also known as Mormons.

In 1847, Brigham Young, became the leader of the religious group and proposed a movement of church organization from Illinois to Utah. That year, over 70,000 people moved founded the city of Salt Lake.
 * Emigration****:**


 * Salt Lake, 1850**

=**Salt Lake, 1860**=

= = = = = = =Alaska:= Alaska is the most northern state in the Empty Interior and is home to over 730,000 people. It is also the coldest state in the Untied States with a summer time average ranging between 55-78 degrees to a winter average of 5 to 30 degrees. The largest city in Alaska is Anchorage, which is also a major break-in-bulk point for the entire state.

Native People:
Alaska is home to two native languages spoken by the indigenous people, Eskimo-Aluet and Na-Dene. The Eskimo-Aluet has did not evolve from any known language, however seems similar to Finnish but no official connection can be made. The Na-Dene can be linked to Siberian roots, but has changed greatly overtime.

Movies:
There are many movies about Alaska which highlight it's extreme climate and what it takes to live in a brutal environment. My two favorite movies that take place in Alaska are survival thrillers:

Liam Neeson plays a wolf hunter who is hired to protect oil riggers from being eaten while drilling, and a plane taking the crew back to Anchorage crashes in the middle of Alaska, where they are being picked off by a pack of Grey Wolves.

Supposedly this one is based on case studies of people who are abducted by aliens in Nome, Alaska. The directors claim that Nome has the most alien sightings and abductions than any other state in America. Just another reason not to move to Alaska!

Cool facts:

 * Aurora Borealis (northern lights) can be seen an average of 243 days a year in Fairbanks. The northern lights are produced by charged electrons and protons striking the earth’s upper atmosphere.
 * Alaska is less than 50 miles from Russia.
 * While it is legal to shoot bears in Alaska, waking a sleeping bear for the purpose of taking a photograph is prohibited.

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