Costa oeste de los Estados Unidos

Coastline in the United States

Costa oeste de los Estados Unidos
Línea costera
Ubicación de la costa oeste (rojo) en los Estados Unidos  (bronceado)
País	Estados Unidos
Principales ciudades	Los Ángeles San Diego San José San Francisco Portland Seattle Anchorage Honolulu
Ciudad más grande	los Angeles
Área metropolitana más grande	Gran Los Ángeles
Área
• Total	1,009,688 millas cuadradas (2,615,080 km 2 )
• Tierra	895,287 millas cuadradas (2,318,780 km 2 )
• Agua	21.433 millas cuadradas (55.510 km 2 )
• Costero	28,913 millas cuadradas (74,880 km 2 )
Elevación más alta( Denali )	20,310 pies (6,190.5 m)
Elevación más baja[1] ( Cuenca de Badwater )	−282 pies (−86 m)
Población (Estimación 2019)
• Total	53.492.270 [a]
Zona horaria
Pacífico	UTC − 8: 00
• Verano ( DST )	UTC − 7: 00
Alaska	UTC − 9: 00
• Verano ( DST )	UTC − 8: 00
Hawai	UTC − 10: 00

La costa oeste de los Estados Unidos , también conocida como la costa del Pacífico , los estados del Pacífico y la costa occidental , es la línea costera a lo largo de la cual el oeste de los Estados Unidos se encuentra con el Océano Pacífico norte . El término generalmente se refiere a los estados contiguos de California , Oregón y Washington , pero a veces incluye Alaska y Hawai , especialmente según la Oficina del Censo de los Estados Unidos como una división geográfica de los EE. UU.

Con la exclusión de Alaska, el Partido Demócrata ha dominado la política de la Costa Oeste en la historia contemporánea, con los estados votando constantemente por los demócratas en las elecciones en varios niveles. Cuatro de los cinco estados de la costa oeste han votado por los demócratas en las elecciones presidenciales desde 1992 , tres de los cuales lo han hecho desde 1988 .

Definición

Existen definiciones contradictorias de qué estados comprenden la costa oeste de los Estados Unidos, pero la costa oeste siempre incluye a California , Oregón y Washington como parte de esa definición. Sin embargo, en la mayoría de las circunstancias, el término abarca los tres estados contiguos y Alaska , ya que todos están ubicados en América del Norte. A los efectos del censo, Hawái forma parte de la costa oeste, junto con los otros cuatro estados. ^[3] Encyclopædia Britannica se refiere a la región de América del Norte como parte de la costa del Pacífico, incluidas Alaska y Columbia Británica.. Aunque la enciclopedia reconoce la inclusión de Hawai de alguna manera como parte de la región, los editores escribieron que "geológicamente tiene poco en común con los estados del continente". ^[4]

Varios diccionarios ofrecen diferentes definiciones de la costa oeste. Lexico restringe la definición de la Costa Oeste a "la costa occidental de los Estados Unidos desde Washington hasta California". ^[5] Sin embargo, el Diccionario Macmillan proporciona una definición menos específica como "la costa occidental de los Estados Unidos, a lo largo del Océano Pacífico". ^[6] En cuanto al Diccionario de Cambridge , la costa oeste es "el área de la costa del Pacífico en los Estados Unidos que incluye California". ^[7]

Historia

Ver también: Asentamiento de las Américas , Historia de Mesoamérica y Nativos Americanos en los Estados Unidos

La historia de la costa oeste comienza con la llegada de los primeros humanos conocidos de América, los paleoindios , cruzando el estrecho de Bering desde Eurasia hacia América del Norte a través de un puente terrestre, Beringia , que existió entre el 45.000 a. C. y el 12.000 a. Hace 14.000 años). Pequeños grupos aislados de cazadores-recolectores migraron junto con manadas de grandes herbívoros hacia Alaska . Entre el 16.500 a. C. y el 13.500 a. C. (hace 18.500-15.500 años), se desarrollaron corredores sin hielo a lo largo de la costa del Pacífico y los valles de América del Norte y posiblemente por mar. ^[8]

Los nativos de Alaska , los pueblos indígenas de la costa noroeste del Pacífico y los pueblos indígenas de California eventualmente descendieron de los paleoindios . Desarrollaron varios idiomas y establecieron rutas comerciales . ^{[ cita requerida ]}

Más tarde, exploradores y colonos españoles, británicos, franceses, rusos y estadounidenses comenzaron a colonizar la zona . ^{[ cita requerida ]}

Clima

Ver también: Cordilleras de la costa del Pacífico

La costa oeste de los Estados Unidos tiene un clima oceánico en su borde noroeste, norte y este hacia la frontera entre Estados Unidos y Canadá, pero desde la frontera de California hacia la frontera entre Estados Unidos y México el clima es mediterráneo . La costa ve temperaturas significativamente suaves en comparación con las áreas del interior durante el verano. En el extremo norte de California hay una diferencia de 17 ° C (30 ° F) entre Eureka y Willow Creek in spite of only 25 miles (40 km) separating the locations and Willow Creek being located at a 500 metres (1,600 ft) elevation. Slightly narrower fluctuations can be seen all through the coastline, and could partially be explained by the cold currents in the Pacific Ocean moderating coastal temperatures and the mountain ranges blocking the maritime air from moving farther inland than its foothills during summer. Coastal fog is also prevalent in keeping shoreline temperatures cool. This does not only occur in the San Francisco Bay Area, but it also affects Santa Monica in Los Angeles, Southern California, with very little yearly temperature differences but with cool summers similar to those expected in Northern Europe. A short journey inland and summer temperatures are comparable with the rest of the United States on the same latitudes, sometimes warmer due to prevailing winds from the Nevada and Arizona hot desert climate.^{[citation needed]}

Government and politics

State governments

Governors of the West Coast

State	Governor	Party		Term
				Start	End
Alaska	Mike Dunleavy		Republican	December 3, 2018	2022
California	Gavin Newsom		Democratic	January 7, 2019	2023
Hawaii	David Ige		Democratic	December 1, 2014	2022
Oregon	Kate Brown		Democratic	February 18, 2015	2023
Washington	Jay Inslee		Democratic	January 16, 2013	2025

Ideology and party strength

See also: Left Coast, Politics of Alaska, Politics of California, Politics of Hawaii, Politics of Oregon, and Politics of Washington (state)

In politics, the West Coast usually refers to the contiguous coastal states of California, Oregon, and Washington because of their similar political leanings. In 2017, The Oregonian columnist David Sarasohn described the West Coast as a "blue wall" of shared values on immigration, abortion, climate change, and civil liberties.^[9] By 2016, the West Coast states legalized marijuana after California voted to do so.^[10] According to a 2019 Pew Research Center poll, 72% of adults in Pacific states said that "climate change is affecting their local community at least some", higher than in any other region in the country.^[11]

Since 1992, the three states have voted for Democrats in presidential elections without interruption, but Oregon and Washington also voted for the Democratic presidential candidate in 1988.^[12] Although the three states have reliably voted Democratic, no Democratic presidential candidate from any of the three states has won their party's nomination as of 2020.^[13]

In the 2010s, Democrats strengthened their political power along the West Coast. After winning a special election for a seat in the Washington state senate in 2017, Democrats built a government trifecta in all three West Coast states.^[14] After the 2018 U.S. House of Representatives elections, Democrats controlled all West Coast congressional districts except Washington's 3rd, represented by a Republican.^[15]

Even though Hawaii is not usually part of the West Coast in the political definition, it has been a Democratic stronghold. Before achieving statehood in 1959, Hawaii became a state favorable to Democrats to the point that they sought statehood for the territory. However, Southern Democrats opposed the move because it would mean additional votes against their region on several issues.^[16] Since achieving statehood, Hawaii consistently voted for Democrats in presidential elections, except in 1972 and 1984.^[17] In 2016, the Democratic Party unseated the lone Republican in the Hawaii Senate and controlled all seats in the state's upper house, which had not occurred anywhere in the country since 1980.^[18]

Dissimilar to the rest of the West Coast, Alaska has been a reliable state for Republicans in presidential elections. Since achieving statehood, Alaska has voted for the Democratic presidential candidate only once in 1964. In 1960, the state narrowly voted for Republican Richard Nixon over Democrat John F. Kennedy and had voted for Republicans uninterrupted since 1968.^[19]

Presidential election history

Parties
Democratic	Republican	Progressive

• Bold denotes election winner

Presidential electoral votes in the Pacific States since 1852

Year	Alaska[20]	California[21]	Hawaii[22]	Oregon[23]	Washington[24]
1852	No election	Pierce	No election	No election	No election
1856	No election	Buchanan	No election	No election	No election
1860	No election	Lincoln	No election	Lincoln	No election
1864	No election	Lincoln	No election	Lincoln	No election
1868	No election	Grant	No election	Seymour	No election
1872	No election	Grant	No election	Grant	No election
1876	No election	Hayes	No election	Hayes	No election
1880	No election	Hancock	No election	Garfield	No election
1884	No election	Blaine	No election	Blaine	No election
1888	No election	Harrison	No election	Harrison	No election
1892	No election	Cleveland	No election	Harrison	Harrison
1896	No election	McKinley	No election	McKinley	Bryan
1900	No election	McKinley	No election	McKinley	McKinley
1904	No election	Roosevelt	No election	Roosevelt	Roosevelt
1908	No election	Taft	No election	Taft	Taft
1912	No election	Roosevelt	No election	Wilson	Roosevelt
1916	No election	Wilson	No election	Hughes	Wilson
1920	No election	Harding	No election	Harding	Harding
1924	No election	Coolidge	No election	Coolidge	Coolidge
1928	No election	Hoover	No election	Hoover	Hoover
1932	No election	Roosevelt	No election	Roosevelt	Roosevelt
1936	No election	Roosevelt	No election	Roosevelt	Roosevelt
1940	No election	Roosevelt	No election	Roosevelt	Roosevelt
1944	No election	Roosevelt	No election	Roosevelt	Roosevelt
1948	No election	Truman	No election	Dewey	Truman
1952	No election	Eisenhower	No election	Eisenhower	Eisenhower
1956	No election	Eisenhower	No election	Eisenhower	Eisenhower
1960	Nixon	Nixon	Kennedy	Nixon	Nixon
1964	Johnson	Johnson	Johnson	Johnson	Johnson
1968	Nixon	Nixon	Humphrey	Nixon	Humphrey
1972	Nixon	Nixon	Nixon	Nixon	Nixon
1976	Ford	Ford	Carter	Ford	Ford
1980	Reagan	Reagan	Carter	Reagan	Reagan
1984	Reagan	Reagan	Reagan	Reagan	Reagan
1988	Bush	Bush	Dukakis	Dukakis	Dukakis
1992	Bush	Clinton	Clinton	Clinton	Clinton
1996	Dole	Clinton	Clinton	Clinton	Clinton
2000	Bush	Gore	Gore	Gore	Gore
2004	Bush	Kerry	Kerry	Kerry	Kerry
2008	McCain	Obama	Obama	Obama	Obama
2012	Romney	Obama	Obama	Obama	Obama
2016	Trump	Clinton	Clinton	Clinton	Clinton
2020	Trump	Biden	Biden	Biden	Biden
Year	Alaska	California	Hawaii	Oregon	Washington

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1900	2,634,285		—
1910	4,448,534		68.9%
1920	5,877,788		32.1%
1930	8,622,011		46.7%
1940	10,228,556		18.6%
1950	15,114,964		47.8%
1960	21,198,044		40.2%
1970	26,524,131		25.1%
1980	31,799,705		19.9%
1990	39,127,306		23.0%
2000	45,025,637		15.1%
2010	49,880,102		10.8%
2019 (est.)	53,492,270		7.2%
Source: 1910–2010[25] 2019 estimate[26]

Los Angeles is the largest city on the West Coast and second-largest in the United States

According to the 2019 population estimates from the United States Census Bureau, 16 of the 20 largest cities on the West Coast exist in California. Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Jose lead the West Coast in population with more than a million people in each city, with Los Angeles being nearly three times the size of San Diego's population. Behind four California cities, Seattle and Portland are respectively fifth and sixth in population. Hawaii's capital, Honolulu, is the 13th largest city, and Alaska's largest city, Anchorage, is 17th on the West Coast.^[27]

Major Cities

City	City Population
Los Angeles	3,990,456
San Francisco	883,305
Seattle	744,955
San Diego	1,425,976
San Jose	1,030,119
Oakland	428,827
Portland	653,115
Sacramento	501,529
Fresno	530,093
Long Beach	467,354

^{[28][29][30][31][32]}

Culture

Since the West Coast has been populated by immigrants and their descendants more recently than the East Coast, its culture is considerably younger. Additionally, its demographic composition underlies its cultural difference from the rest of the United States. California's history first as a major Spanish colony, and later Mexican territory, has given the lower West Coast a distinctive Hispanic American tone, which it also shares with the rest of the Southwest. Similarly, two of the three cities in which Asian Americans have concentrated, San Francisco and Los Angeles,^[33][34][35] are located on the West Coast, with significant populations in other West Coast cities. San Francisco's Chinatown, the oldest in North America, is a noted cultural center.

The West Coast also has a proportionally large share of green cities within the United States, which manifests itself in different cultural practices such as bicycling and organic gardening.^[36]

In the Pacific Northwest, Portland and Seattle are both considered among the coffee capitals of the world.^[37] While Starbucks originated in Seattle, both cities are known for small-scale coffee roasters and independent coffeeshops. The culture has also been significantly shaped by the environment, especially by its forests, mountains, and rain. This may account for the fact that the Northwest has many high-quality libraries and bookshops (most notably Powell's Books and the Seattle Central Library) and a "bibliophile soul".^[38] The region also has a marginal, but growing independence movement based on bioregionalism and a Cascadian identity.^[39] The Cascadian flag has become a popular image at Seattle Sounders and Portland Timbers games.^{[citation needed]}

Alaska is widely known for its outdoors and its inhabitants engage in a range of activities which are unique to the state. Some of these activities can be experienced through the state's annual events, such as the Iron Dog snowmobile race from Anchorage to Nome and on to Fairbanks. Other events include the World Ice Art Championships (Fairbanks) and the Sitka Whalefest (Sitka).^{[citation needed]}

See also

• British Columbia Coast
• East Coast of the United States
• East Coast–West Coast hip hop rivalry
• Gulf Coast of the United States
• Pacific Coast of Mexico
• Southern California Bight
• Sun Belt
• Third Coast

Notes

1. The population total consists of the combined population of Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington, according to 2019 population estimates provided by the United States Census Bureau.^[2]

References

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for West Coast (United States of America).

1. "Highest and Lowest Elevations". United States Geological Survey. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
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8. "First Americans Endured 20,000-Year Layover – Jennifer Viegas, Discovery News". Retrieved 2009-11-18. Archaeological evidence, in fact, recognizes that people started to leave Beringia for the New World around 40,000 years ago, but rapid expansion into North America did not occur until about 15,000 years ago, when the ice had literally broken.
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11. Hefferon, Meg (2 December 2019). "Most Americans say climate change impacts their community, but effects vary by region". Pew Research Center. Archived from the original on 1 October 2020. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
12. Monkovic, Toni (22 August 2016). "50 Years of Electoral College Maps: How the U.S. Turned Red and Blue". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
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14. Weigel, David (9 November 2017). "Democrats now control all branches of state government along the West Coast". Archived from the original on 26 September 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
15. Bump, Philip (12 November 2018). "With the exception of 38 miles in Washington, the entire continental West Coast is now blue". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
16. Sprunt, Barbara (21 August 2020). "Simmering Disputes Over Statehood Are About Politics And Race. They Always Have Been". NPR. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
17. Eagle, Nathan (7 August 2018). "The Hawaii Republican Party's Slow Path To Extinction". Honolulu Civil Beat. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
18. Bussewitz, Cathy (9 November 2016). "Chang wins seat, securing all-Democrat Hawaii Senate". Honolulu: Associated Press. Archived from the original on 13 November 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
19. Martinson, Erica (5 November 2016). "Alaska has a long history of voting strongly Republican for president. Will it continue?". Anchorage Daily News. Archived from the original on 4 August 2020. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
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23. "Oregon Presidential Election Voting History". 270 To Win. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
24. "Washington Presidential Election Voting History". 270 To Win. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
25. "Resident Population Data – 2010 Census". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 20 December 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
26. "QuickFacts Nevada; United States". United States Census Bureau. 2 March 2019. Archived from the original on 27 December 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
27. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places of 50,000 or More, Ranked by July 1, 2019". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
28. "U.S. Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
29. "U.S. Census Region Map". 2000-08-17. Archived from the original on 2000-08-17. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
30. "California Cities by Population". www.california-demographics.com. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
31. "Oregon Cities by Population". www.oregon-demographics.com. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
32. "Washington Cities by Population". www.washington-demographics.com. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
33. "Selected Population Profile in the United States". United States Census Bureau. United States Department of Commerce. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved June 25, 2011.
34. Lee, Sharon M. (1998). "Asian Americans: Diverse and Growing" (PDF). Population Bulletin. Population Reference Bureau. 53 (2): 1–40. PMID 12321628. Retrieved March 9, 2013.
35. Ng, Franklin (1998). The History and Immigration of Asian Americans. Taylor & Francis. p. 211. ISBN 978-0-8153-2690-8. Retrieved March 9, 2013.
36. "Top ten green U.S. cities". Mother Nature Network. Retrieved June 26, 2014.
37. "World's 10 best cities for coffee". USA Today. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
38. "Pacific Northwest: bicycles, bookshops, weirdness and coffee". The Guardian. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
39. "The People Who Wouldn't Mind if the Pacific Northwest Were Its Own Country". Vice. Retrieved February 22, 2015.

Coordinates: 39°N 122°W / 39°N 122°W / 39; -122