Jepson, Tim - Lee, Phil : The Rought Guide to The Pacific Northwest

Washington, Oregon, British Columbia, Alberta, Yukon

Few areas of North America owe so little to national and provincial boundaries as the Pacific Northwest. A loosely defined region cutting across the western redoubts of both the United States and Canada, it’s geographically isolated from the rest of the continent and looks out across the Pacific almost as much as it refers back east to the older, federal centres of power in Ottawa and Washington DC. Extending from Oregon and Washington in the south, then hopscotching through British Columbia and the Canadian Rockies to the Yukon in the north, it encompasses – most impressively of all – richly varied and awe-inspiring landscapes. Mountains, lakes and pristine wilderness are the finest features, with abundant wildlife offering the chance to see creatures – from whales to wolves – in their natural habitats. But it is also a region of high historical adventure, the stuff of a thousand cowboy movies, and home to intriguing Native-American and Inuit cultures, superb cuisine (seafood in particular), state-of-the-art museums and some of the most urbane and civilized cities in North America.