The Cultural and Geographical Connections Between California and Alaska

In America, there are 52 recognized states. 50 on the mainland and two disconnected this means that there are many cultural differences in the states, but culture isn’t bound by the states. Culture can be spread further out into a certain region or even affect the entire country. One prime example of this is what people call objects, more specifically, soda. The southern states of America call soda a “coke” to describe all sorts of soda while Northern parts of America call soda “Pop.” And the people who call soda “soda” are the people who live in the south west. There are 5 states along the west coast of the United States. California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska and Hawaii. These states are known as the Pacific States. These states each are extremely unique in their own ways, but they also have many cultural and geographical connections between them.

One unifying factor between the five states is the presence of mountainous regions. All five states have some form of mountain whether it be just a mountain to a mountain range, they still have mountains. All countries also have some form of a forest. More specifically the mainland states including Alaska. The main type of forest present there are Pacific Coniferous Forests. These forests contain trees that has adapted to winter-wet and summer-dry. These forests are mostly contained in America with only a few select places in the Europe. Another major similarity is the fact that these states are all costal states or surrounded by water. This means that all five states have some form of seafood in their diet. For example, some of Washington’s most famous foods are salmon or oysters. In Oregon, some commonly eaten seafood is crawfish or crabs. In California, they consume oysters or fish tacos. In Alaska, some of the most famous foods are smoked salmon or black cod. In Hawaii, the food influence may be more Asian due to Polynesians migrating there but they still eat many seafood dishes such as Poki or Lomi-Salmon. The dialect is a bit distinct in some parts of pacific states among the states, English is the main language. The accent in the pacific north-west is a bit different compared to southern California or Hawaii but for the most part, the accent is quite like one another. The main religion of America is Christianity, but the types of Christianity can be quite diverse in the country. However, in the pacific states, the most believed in religion is the Evangelical Protestant all ranging around 20-25% of all Christians. Another common thing among these states is electronics more importantly how it affects the economy and the main exports/imports.

Imports and Exports are one of the most important parts of any country. Without imports, we wouldn’t have access to luxuries which not only help speed up the progression of society but also makes our lives a whole lot easier. The economy is greatly affected by the region and what unique objects exist within those regions. In terms of exports in the pacific states, there are quite a few unique things within these states that help contribute not only to their economy but also the economies of other countries. In California, the main exports are Electronics, Machine Parts, Almonds, Diamonds, and transportation. Each of these exports each have their own reason for being a popular export. In the case of Almonds, you need a climate that has a dry summer and a wet winter. Northern parts of California usually have a dry summer and a wet winter, the perfect climate to grow almonds. California is also one of the larger states which allow the mass farming of almonds in the US.

California is also very well known for its abundance of gold. Gold is one of the most valuable and useful minerals. It can be used for industrial uses, technological uses, and production of jewelry. The reason why there is so much gold in California is all due to where it is located. California was originally submerged underwater, where there is the Faultline. The Faultline near California meant that many volcanos formed. These volcanos often erupted and spread minerals rich in gold. This is the reason why gold was so abundant in California.

In Alaska, the most prominent export is frozen fish. Alaska is the highest located state in terms of longitude which means that it is very cold. This allows many types of fish that live in colder waters to reside near Alaska. Some of the more well-known fishes include salmon, halibut, herring and mackerel. This means that the most consumed food in Alaska can be seafood. This also means that fish are easily frozen in the cold environment and can be sold off to other states in the U.S and places in Canada. This greatly contributes to their economy and is in fact the second main export of Alaska. In Hawaii, one of the main exports is the export of fish. But this is different from Alaska. Hawaii is more of a tropical region which make the main fish export warm fishes. Most of the fish exports in Hawaii are in Honolulu where they are chilled on ice and sold for auction in the Honolulu fish auction.

Washington may be well known for their rainy and hilly climate but that’s mostly situated in the eastern side of Washington. The central part of Washington is a lot more dryer and milder in terms of terrain. This along with its volcanic soil makes it an ideal place to grow crops. A large part of Washington’s terrain is like this in the central parts of Washington which allows many fields for farming. This allows for the efficient production of corn, wheat and soybeans. This makes it one of the most prominent exports in Washington. This is similar to Oregon where they farm many different types of grains.

The pacific states often cooperate with many different regions including Canada. These interactions often can connect each other’s culture and promote a more stable relationship with one another. One large example of this is the national hockey team better known as the NHL. Some teams from the Pacific states are the Washington Capitals, Los Angeles Kings, and Anaheim Mighty Ducks. They often have play against teams in Canada such as the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Alaska covers most of the west leaving almost no area for ports. This is a large problem for Canada as they need to cooperate to send things through water ways. They can try sending shipments from the east side but if they would like to ship things to Russia or Asia, it would be a waste of resources to ship from the west. That’s why they often need to cooperate with the U.S to send shipments across from Alaska’s Ports.

With Canada and the U.S Bordering each other, there are quite a few similarities between each other. This is the same case with the Pacific states and Canada. One prime example is the main language spoken in the two different places. Canada and the Pacific State’s main religion is Christianity. They also speak the same language which is English. There are some differences in terms of accent and terms to describe objects but nevertheless its English. Another similarity is how America and Canada both celebrate thanksgiving. The root of thanksgiving originates from America, but Canada also being a colony had at points joined the Americans in thanksgiving. Canada celebrates Thanksgiving a bit earlier than America, but the central idea is nearly identical. As stated before, Canada and the Pacific States both participate in the NHL which means that there is a large demographic where people enjoy watching hockey.

One cultural item or more of a man in this case is the Kennewick man. He is believed to be around 9400 years old and originated in Washington. While there is as bit of controversy about if the Kennewick man was native American, we can still find lots of information about him. Washington was also the home to many Native Americans which means that there are many cultural items from the ancient Native American tribes strewn about. There are clothes, harpoons, and other items that have been found that originate to people who hunted seals and other creatures.

Each state has a different demographic set. The state with the highest population in the Pacific States is California. In fact, California is ranked first in terms of population numbers. This also means that California, despite having a large amount of land, comes in first in terms of population density per square mile. The place that comes in second for population density is in fact Hawaii. While the population is quite small in Hawaii (42nd out of all the states in the U.S) due to there being a small amount of space, people usually live in proximity. Not only that but with recent years, Hawaii is Urbanizing their country which means that more and more people move to cities in hopes of new job opportunities.

The state with the highest graduation rate is Alaska with 90.6% of people graduating. This may be because of the small population which means that there could be a higher amount of people graduating from there. Alaska is also the state with the highest Per Capita Income. This may tie in with the graduation rate as the more people graduate, the more job opportunities open for these people. This would mean that Alaska would make more money than other states.

The settlement patterns of each state in the pacific states are all unique due to the natural resources and physical features of each state. Out of all the states, California ranks second in [image: ]terms of American fish exports which means that most of the highly populated locations are located on or near the cost. As seen on the map, the coasts of California are more populated compared to the eastern side of California. The reason why the bottom part of California is a bit more populated is because of immigrants. For Mexicans, California is one of the closest states to flee to. There are quite a few job opportunities and is much safer which is the reason why people move there.

In Alaska, the population is mostly situated towards the south and near the ocean. The reason why is because of the climate and one of their main exports. Firstly, the reason why Alaska is in the south is because Alaska is very cold. The further up you go in Alaska, the harder it is to live there. That means that the southern parts of Alaska would be easier to live in which is why most of the population is there. The reason why the population is mostly near the ocean is due to fish being one of their main exports. Being near the ocean not only makes it easier to catch fish, but also ship it off by using the water for boats to transport items.

The pacific states like any other states has many problems with the environment. The pacific states especially have many problems as they are located near a Faultline and the ring of fire. One example of this is Hawaii’s problem with moving tides. Coastal homes in Hawaii must deal with rising and falling sea levels and with the recent years with global warming, the sea levels will eventually rise. This means that the coastal homes in Hawaii can be submerged over time. There is also the occasional flood which impacts most of Hawaii. This wouldn’t affect Canada too much as there isn’t too much interaction between them. At the very least, it could hinder exports and imports between the two countries and at most, it could delay projects between Canada and Hawaii if a flood happens. To combat this, most coastal homes in Hawaii are built on stilts. This allow water to pass through without damaging the entire home or flooding it. While this may be less effective for floods, it still helps more than a home being attached to the ground.

California being on a Faultline must deal with many problems. One of the largest problems are earthquakes. Earthquakes often form near California due to the tectonic plates slipping after building up pressure after a long time. In terms of cooperation with Canada, It could massively delay projects with Canada if a massive earthquake happens. In order to combat this in the more recent years, construction in California ensures that they make safety measures. They make homes and apartment buildings with better foundation, often reinforce the building and make sure that there will be least amount of damage possible. They also have people learn procedures in case of earthquakes as they are very common there.

In conclusion, The Pacific States are all very important to the development of not only their states, but also the U.S and Canada. The exports between the states and countries help encourage not only further technological growth and economic success, but also encourages interactions between states and countries. The physical characteristics of the location can greatly impact the lifestyle, placement of settlements, and other issues. Even though each states is a bit different in their own way, they are also in a lot of ways, similar.