North+Pacific

= North Pacific Coast = The Northwest Pacific Coast includes the coastal areas of Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, northern California, and Vancouver Island. There is some overlap with the California region, and the Empty Interior.

=Beautiful Places=

Palouse Falls
Palouse Falls State Park is a 105-acre camping park in Washington state with a unique geology and history. The park offers a dramatic view of one of the state's most beautiful waterfalls. Palouse Falls drops from a height of 198-feet with high volumes of water flow in spring and early summer.



Capilano Suspension Bridge
The Capilano Suspension Bridge is a simple suspension bridge crossing the Capilano River in the District of North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The current bridge is 140 metres (460 ft) long and 70 metres (230 ft) above the river. It is part of a private facility, with an admission fee, and draws over 800,000 visitors a year. The bridge was originally built in 1889 by George Grant Mackay, a Scottish civil engineer and park commissioner for Vancouver. It was originally made of hemp ropes with a deck of cedar planks, and was replaced with a wire cable bridge in 1903. In 1910 Edward Mahon purchased the Capilano Suspension Bridge. "Mac" MacEachran purchased the Bridge from Mahon in 1935 and invited local natives to place their totem poles in the park, adding a native theme.

Seattle, WA
Seattle is a coastal seaport city and the seat of King County, in the U.S. state of Washington. With an estimated 652,405 residents as of 2013, Seattle is the largest city in the Pacific Northwest region of North America and the fastest-growing major city in the United States. The city is situated on a narrow isthmus between Puget Sound (an inlet of the Pacific Ocean) and Lake Washington, about 100 miles (160 km) south of the Canada–United States border. The Seattle area had previously been inhabited by Native Americans for at least 4,000 years before the first permanent European settlers. Arthur A. Denny and his group of travelers, subsequently known as the Denny Party, arrived at Alki Point on November 13, 1851. The settlement was moved to its current site and named "Seattle" in 1853, after Chief Si'ahl of the local Duwamish and Suquamish tribes.



Vancouver, BC
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. Vancouver is one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities in Canada; 52% of its residents have a first language other than English. The original settlement, named Gastown, grew around the Hastings Mill logging sawmill and a nearby tavern, both established in 1867. Enlarging to become the townsite of Granville, with the announcement that the railhead would reach the site it was renamed "Vancouver" and incorporated as a city in 1886. By 1887, the transcontinental railway was extended to the city to take advantage of its large natural seaport, which soon became a vital link in a trade route between the Orient, Eastern Canada, and London. While forestry remains its largest industry, Vancouver is well known as an urban centre surrounded by nature, making tourism its second-largest industry.

**News!**

 * Ailing Great Dane in Oregon packed his belly with 43.5 socks**



From paddles to pedals, British adventurer makes Anchorage stop in around-the-world trip



==Father on meth dangles baby out window ==



=Big City=

Seattle, WA
Seattle is a coastal seaport city and the seat of King County, in the U.S. state of Washington. With an estimated 652,405 residents as of 2013, Seattle is the largest city in the Pacific Northwest region of North America and the fastest-growing major city in the United States. The city is situated on a narrow isthmus between Puget Sound and Lake Washington, about one hundred miles south of the Canada–United States border. The Seattle area had previously been inhabited by Native Americans for at least 4,000 years before the first permanent European settlers. Arthur A. Denny and his group of travelers, subsequently known as the Denny Party, arrived at Alki Point on November 13, 1851. The settlement was moved to its current site and named "Seattle" in 1853, after Chief Si'ahl of the local Duwamish and Suquamish tribes. Logging was Seattle's first major industry, but by the late 19th century the city had become a commercial and shipbuilding center as a gateway to Alaska during the Klondike Gold Rush. By 1910, Seattle was one of the 25 largest cities in the country. However, the Great Depression severely damaged the city's economy. Growth returned during and after World War II, due partially to the local Boeing company, which established Seattle as a center for aircraft manufacturing. The city developed as a technology center in the 1980s, with companies like Amazon.com, Microsoft and T-Mobile US based in the area. The stream of new software, biotechnology, and Internet companies led to an economic revival, which increased the city's population by almost 50,000 between 1990 and 2000. Since then, Seattle has become a hub for green industry and a model for sustainable development. Seattle has a noteworthy musical history. From 1918 to 1951, there were nearly two dozen jazz nightclubs along Jackson Street from the current Chinatown/International District to the Central District. The jazz scene developed the early careers of Ray Charles, Quincy Jones, Ernestine Anderson and others. Seattle is also the birthplace of rock musician Jimi Hendrix and the alternative rock style grunge.

Seattle's climate is usually described as oceanic or temperate marine, with cool, wet winters and warm, relatively dry summers. Seattle's classification under the koppen climate system is debated. It is sometimes classified as Cfb, or Oceanic, and other times because of its wet winter dry summer rainfall patterns it is classified as Csb or Mediterranean. Other climate classification systems, such as Trewartha, place it firmly in the Oceanic zone (Do), like much of Western Europe. The city and environs are part of USDA hardiness zone 8b, with isolated coastal pockets falling under 9a.

Of the city's population over the age of 25, 53.8% (vs. a national average of 27.4%) hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and 91.9% (vs. 84.5% nationally) have a high school diploma or equivalent. A 2008 United States Census Bureau survey showed that Seattle had the highest percentage of college and university graduates of any major U.S. city. The city was listed as the most literate of the country's 69 largest cities in 2005 and 2006, the second most literate in 2007 and the most literate in 2008 in studies conducted by Central Connecticut State University.



**Vancouver Art Gallery**
The Vancouver Art Gallery is Vancouver's finest facility for modern and classical art. Besides a permanent display featuring works by historically famous artists, there are visiting exhibitions by modern artists. The art gallery has a total of 7,900 pieces of art available for permanent viewing.

**Portland Art Museum** Created in 1892 primarily to promote visual arts, the museum is set up with several large and open viewing rooms. It is the oldest museums in the area. More than 112,000 square feet of galleries reflecting the history of art from ancient times to the present.

__**Population Information**__
=Eureka, California = 26,961 (100% urban, 0% rural). Males: 13,298 (49.3%) Females: 13,663 (50.7%) =Eugene, Oregon =  157,986 (100% urban, 0% rural).

**Ocean Falls, BC** Only accessible via boat or [|seaplane], and is home for a few dozen full-time residents, with the seasonal population upwards of 100. Population Total: 50
 * Males: 77,449 || [[image:http://pics3.city-data.com/sg.gif width="98" height="10"]] (49.0%) ||
 * Females: 80,537 || [[image:http://pics3.city-data.com/sg3.gif width="101" height="10"]] (51.0%) ||

**Historic Site**
For historic site, we've chosen Barkerville. Barkerville is a city in British Columbia. It was the epicentre of the Cariboo Gold Rush, the catalyst for the economic and political development of British Columbia; the town was eventually abandoned and became a ghost town, but restoration commenced in 1958.



Barkerville, once the largest city north of San Francisco and west of Chicago, was situated on the western edge of the Cariboo Mountains. It was named after Billy Barker from Cambridgeshire, England, who was among those who first struck gold at the location in 1861, and whose claim was the richest and the most famous. Barkerville grew up almost overnight, and was a case of "growth via word of mouth". Barkerville grew as fast as word of Barker's strike spread. His claim would eventually yield 37,500 ounces (1,065 kg/2,350 lb) of gold. Before the construction of the Cariboo Wagon Road, people hauled their own supplies to Barkerville, either on their backs or in a pack train. Because supplies were scarce, the prices of even the most everyday items were extremely high. High prices for goods in Barkerville did not ease up until the Cariboo Road had been finished, when goods could be transported by huge freight wagons. Soon, movers of freight boasted that they could pack and carry a set of champagne glasses without any breakage - for a price, of course. More women also came to Barkerville after the construction of the Cariboo Road. On September 16, 1868, Barkerville was destroyed by a fire that spread quickly through the wooden buildings. Rebuilding began immediately, and at an impressive pace. Within six weeks, ninety buildings had been rebuilt. Boardwalks were improved and the narrow and winding main street was widened and straightened. By 1880, there were enough children in the area to build the Barkerville School. It had just thirteen pupils and one piece of school equipment - a chalkboard. Even so, Barkerville's population was declining by the end of the century and it eventually only had a few people resident. It did, however, have a revival in the 1930s, when the Great Depression caused widespread unemployment, and the price of gold skyrocketed. But as the depression turned for the better, Barkerville declined to a very small village.

In 1958, the government of British Columbia decided that the town should be restored and operated as a tourist attraction. Today, Barkerville appears as it did in its heyday and is referred to as Barkerville Historic Town. The history of each building has been researched and documented. No actual residents remain; they were either bought out or moved to New Barkerville during the restoration of the site.



**Literature**
For literature, we've chosen one of my favorite books: Call of the Wild by Jack London. The Call of the Wild is a novel by Jack London published in 1903. The story is set in the Yukon during the 1890s Klondike Gold Rush—a period when strong sled dogs were in high demand. The novel's central character is a dog named Buck, a domesticated dog living at a ranch in the Santa Clara valley of California as the story opens. Stolen from his home and sold into the brutal existence of an Alaskan sled dog, he reverts to atavistic traits. Buck is forced to adjust to, and survive, cruel treatments and fight to dominate other dogs in a harsh climate. Eventually he sheds the veneer of civilization, relying on primordial instincts and lessons he learns, to emerge as a leader in the wild. London lived for most of a year in the Yukon collecting material for the book. The story was serialized in the Saturday Evening Post in the summer of 1903; a month later it was released in book form. The novel’s great popularity and success made a reputation for London. Much of its appeal derives from the simplicity with which London presents the themes in an almost mythical form. As early as 1908 the story was adapted to film and it has since seen several more cinematic adaptations.



The Call of the Wild by Jack London

=**Music**=

Traditional Indigenous
Among the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, the music varied in function and expression. As some groups have more cultural differences than the rest (like the Coast Salish and the more northern nations), there remains a lot of similarities. Some instruments used by the indigenous were hand drums made of animal hides, plank drums, log drums, box drums, along with whistlers, wood clappers, and rattles. A great deal of the instruments were used mostly in the potlatch, but also carried over in to other festivities throughout the year. The songs employed are used with dancing, although it is also for celebration, which at times may not be accompanied by dancing. Most singing is community based. There are some solo parts, often the lead singer would begin in the first line of each round of a song, but not long solos. For some ceremonies, solo songs would be used by men and women without the accompaniment of any person or drum. Usually slow in tempo and accompanied by a drum. Principal function of music in this area is spiritual; music honors the Earth, Creator, Ancestors, all aspects of the supernatural world. Sacred songs are not often shared with the wider world. Women and men, families own their own songs as property which can be inherited, sold or given as a gift to a prestigious guest at a Feast. Professionals existed for some communities, but music is taught and then rehearsed. For some nations, the tradition was those who made musical errors were punished, usually through shaming. Employing octave singing, but rather than running up and down the scale, it is not uncommon to jump notes and go from bottom to top or top to bottom in a couple of notes. Vocal Rhythmic patterns are often complex and run counter to rigid percussion beats. The tribes would dance in groups in circles.

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Grunge
Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in Seattle. The early Grunge movement revolved around Seattle's independent record label Sub Pop, but by the early 1990s its popularity had spread, with Grunge acts in California and other parts of the U.S. building strong followings and signing major record deals. Inspired by hardcore punk and heavy metal, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song dynamics, "growling" vocals and apathetic or angst-filled lyrics. The grunge aesthetic is stripped-down compared with other forms of rock music, and many grunge musicians were noted for their unkempt appearances and rejection of theatrics. Often characterized by a sludgy guitar sound that uses a high level of distortion, fuzz and feedback effects, grunge fuses elements of hardcore punk and heavy metal, although some bands performed with more emphasis on one or the other. The music shares with punk a raw sound and similar lyrical concerns. However, it also involves much slower tempos, dissonant harmonies, and more complex instrumentation—which is reminiscent of heavy metal. Lyrics are typically angst-filled, often addressing themes such as social alienation, apathy, confinement, and a desire for freedom.

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Contemporary Music
The North Pacific Coast is known for producing music that is often radical or experimental in nature which does not often fit into a pre-defined genre. There is a large independent music scene in this area which a wide variety of bands that have not signed to record labels. With the growth of the internet through the nineties and 2000s and the creation of sites such as youtube and bandcamp, it has been possible for musical artists to find success off label in much greater numbers.

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 * Favorite Tidbit of History**

Canadians have made many important inventions, including Kerosene, the electron microscope, the electronic organ, insulin, the IMAX film system, the snowmobile, and the electric cooking range
 * Inventions from Canada**