Geography Of The Pacific States (1956)

[Music] this is the pacific ocean and this is part of the pacific coast western edge of the united states [Music] in the pacific coast states are lands of great variety from snow-covered peaks to warm fertile valleys and scorching hot deserts in the coastal states we'll also find a great variety of farm products we'll see some of the wealth from many kinds of fruit and vegetables wealth from the seafood of the pacific ocean wealth from timber and other natural resources and wealth from new and growing industries these are all found in the western most part of the united states the pacific states they are often studied as a unit the three states are washington oregon and california an important feature of the coastal terrain is a double row of mountains on the west are the mountains of the coastal ranges and inland the sierra nevadas and the cascade range the mountains generally parallel the coast coming from the northwest the warm japanese current or north pacific drift brings warm water to the coast westerly winds blowing over the sea carry moisture to the land in general the amount of moisture is less as we go southward and so these pacific winds moving inland bring warmth and moisture to the coastal region when these warm moist winds reach the mountains rain falls especially on the western slopes the puget sound lowlands of washington and the willamette valley of oregon have mild moist winters here are lush grasslands for dairy farming in the willamette valley of oregon and great forests in the puget sound region of washington in northern california are forests of giant redwood trees that grow on the moist western slopes of the sierra nevada mountains but these areas are usually dry sunny places the columbia plateau the great central valley of california the lowlands near los angeles and the imperial valley so we find wheat growing on the columbia plateau for wheat can grow in rather dry lands and beef cattle graze on the rangelands of southern california that are quite dry too it was the warm dry lands of southern california that first attracted settlers from mexico many settled around the franciscan missions the franciscan monks found that although the climate was dry they could raise fruit and other crops by irrigation today irrigation makes possible many kinds of specialized fruit and vegetable farming water for irrigation in the pacific states comes from several great rivers and river systems the columbia river system in the north the sacramento and san joaquin rivers in the great central valley of california and the colorado river in the south in these irrigation developments we can find almost any crop grown anywhere else in the united states in washington and oregon apples are a main crop fine apples are grown in the yakima valley a semi-arid region of orchards these orchards would not be possible without irrigation the yakima valley is part of the columbia basin where one of the greatest irrigation projects in the world is being developed behind many storage dams built in the mountainous country water is collected in lakes and reservoirs in the same way reservoirs make possible irrigation in central california this is rice on irrigated land in the sacramento valley these are irrigated cotton plants in the san joaquin valley of california many fruits are grown in the san joaquin valley including grapes for which the valley is well known this is a grapefruit orchard in southern california grapefruit oranges and other citrus fruits as well as various vegetables are grown on irrigated lands of southern california throughout the pacific states harvest time finds fruit growers very busy each grower must get the perishable fruit to market quickly some growers ship their produce by truck today fast transportation for moving the perishable fruit together with modern methods of preserving and packing have helped in the development of the food industries of the pacific states some fruits and vegetables are quick frozen to reach our tables garden fresh some are packed fresh and shipped in refrigerated railway cars refrigerator cars played an important role in the growth of the pacific states because they made possible the first long-distance shipping of fresh produce today many cities of the pacific states are terminals of the great transcontinental railway routes highways and air lanes also follow in general three main routes for the northern route seattle and portland are the terminals for the central route it's san francisco while the southern route ends at los angeles all four cities are important transportation centers the city of portland oregon is a growing center of trade on the willamette river portland is a processing center for products of the willamette valley seattle washington with one of the finest internal harbors in the world is the leading port of the northwest like other pacific ports seattle is the home of a fishing fleet that operates in the pacific fishing is an important industry of the pacific coast states and the catch includes a great variety of seafood san francisco and neighboring cities make up the largest port center of the pacific states in san francisco bay are ships from many world ports especially from the orient san francisco is not only famous for its golden gate but it is one of the great gateways to the orient for the big coastal cities are not only terminals of transcontinental routes but terminals for sea and air routes across the pacific to asia of the large western ports los angeles is the most recently developed created by dredging the huge artificial harbor of los angeles is one of the major ports of the world los angeles is the distribution center of southern california the bustling sprawling city about 50 miles long is a huge metropolis because of its size it depends very much upon automobile transportation for moving its large population los angeles is one of the fastest growing cities in the united states its people are employed in many industries including large studios that are part of the motion picture industry another activity is the aircraft industry that employs thousands of people many workers with specialized skills are needed to build planes the aircraft industry has expanded very fast especially since world war two oil refining is another leading industry of los angeles some of the oil comes from such places as bakersfield california the oil industry is playing a large part in the development of the pacific states the refining of aluminum especially in the pacific northwest is another growing industry aluminum refining requires much electric power and projects such as bonneville dam are the source of electric power for many new industries and yet some of the older industries such as lumbering are still very important today mechanization has speeded up the various steps of the lumbering industry fast methods of transportation are used to move the timber from the forests and also to handle the cut lumber an important part of the lumber industry is the manufacture of wood pulp the source of paper paper products and certain plastics new uses for wood and wood pulp point to a growing lumber industry of the future and in the future too will come much more development of the pacific states within a wide range of climate and landscape a variety of products can be produced we saw some of the specialized farming and some of the many kinds of fruit and vegetables grown we saw some of the important industries and learned that industries are expanding rapidly together with expansion of power developments we learned two of the coastal cities that are western gateways to the pacific and we saw los angeles as an example of fast city growth growth that is very much a part of the rapidly developing pacific states