Northwestern United States

The Northwestern United States, also known as the American Northwest or simply the Northwest, is an informal geographic region of the United States. The region consistently includes the states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. Some sources include Southeast Alaska in the Northwest. The related but distinct term "Pacific Northwest" generally excludes areas from the Rockies eastward.

The two dark red states are always included, and the three striped states are usually included as making up the Northwestern United States.

The Northwestern United States is a subportion of the Western United States (which is, itself, even more ambiguous). In contrast, states included in the neighboring regions (Southwestern United States and Great Plains) and Utah are not simultaneously considered part of both regions.

Like the southwestern United States, the Northwest definition has moved westward over time. The current area includes the old Oregon Territory (created in 1848–Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and areas in Montana west of the Continental Divide).[1] The region is similar to Federal Region X, which comprises Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Alaska.

It is home to over 14.2 million people. Some of the fastest growing cities in this region and in the nation include Seattle, Spokane, Bellevue, Tacoma, Kennewick, Pasco, Yakima, Portland, Eugene, Salem, Boise, Idaho Falls, Missoula, Bozeman, and Billings.

Etymology

As the United States' westward expansion, the country's western border also shifted westward, and consequently, so did the location of the Northwestern and Southwestern United States. In the early years of the United States, newly colonized lands lying immediately west of the Allegheny Mountains were detached from Virginia and given the name Northwest Territory. During the decades that followed, the Northwest Territory covered much of the Great Lakes region east of the Mississippi River.

Centers of population
Seattle, the largest metropolitan area in the Northwest
Portland, the second largest metropolitan area in the Northwest
Boise, the third largest metropolitan area in the Northwest
Spokane, the fourth largest metropolitan area in the Northwest

As of 2016, the Northwestern states have a cumulative population of 14,297,316, with Oregon and Washington accounting for 77% of the entire five-state region's population. As of 2016, there are 25 metropolitan statistical areas in the Northwest with populations of 100,000 or more, none of which are in Wyoming. Since adjacent metropolitan areas often function as one combined agglomeration, the U.S. Census Bureau additionally defines nine combined statistical areas across the Northwest, eight of which having populations of 100,000 or more.

Rank Combined or Metropolitan

Statistical Area

 State(s) Population

(2016)

1 Seattle–Tacoma Washington 4,684,516
2 Portland–Vancouver–Salem Oregon
Washington		 3,160,488
3 Boise–Mountain Home–Ontario Idaho
Oregon		 770,906
4 Spokane–Spokane Valley–Coeur d'Alene Washington
Idaho		 710,945
5 Eugene Oregon 369,519
6 Medford–Grants Pass Oregon 302,431
7 Kennewick–Pasco–Richland Washington 283,846
8 Yakima Washington 249,636
9 Idaho Falls–Rexburg–Blackfoot Idaho 239,764
10 Bellingham Washington 216,800
11 Bend–Prineville Oregon 203,877
12 Billings Montana 169,728
13 Wenatchee Washington 117,665
14 Missoula Montana 116,130
15 Moses Lake–Othello Washington 112,784
16 Roseburg Oregon 108,457
17 Twin Falls Idaho 106,508
18 Bozeman Montana 104,502

Presidential elections
Presidential electoral votes in the Northwestern States since 1952
YearIdahoMontanaOregonWashingtonWyoming
1952EisenhowerEisenhowerEisenhowerEisenhowerEisenhower
1956EisenhowerEisenhowerEisenhowerEisenhowerEisenhower
1960NixonNixonNixonNixonNixon
1964JohnsonJohnsonJohnsonJohnsonJohnson
1968NixonNixonNixonHumphreyNixon
1972NixonNixonNixonNixonNixon
1976FordFordFordFordFord
1980ReaganReaganReaganReaganReagan
1984ReaganReaganReaganReaganReagan
1988BushBushDukakisDukakisBush
1992BushClintonClintonClintonBush
1996DoleDoleClintonClintonDole
2000BushBushGoreGoreBush
2004BushBushKerryKerryBush
2008McCainMcCainObamaObamaMcCain
2012RomneyRomneyObamaObamaRomney
2016TrumpTrumpClintonClintonTrump
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References
  1. Merriam-Webster (1997). Merriam-Webster's geographical dictionary. Merriam-Webster. p. 876. ISBN 978-0-87779-546-9. Retrieved November 30, 2010.

Further reading
  • Lavender, David. Land of Giants: The Drive to the Pacific Northwest, 1750- 1950 (1958) online
  • Schwantes, Carlos. The Pacific Northwest: An Interpretive History (1996) online
  • Warren, Sidney. Farthest Frontier: The Pacific Northwest (1949) online
  • Winther, Oscar Osburn. The great northwest: a history (Greenwood Press, 1981)

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