The Intermontane West (w/ video)

              The Intermontane West is an area that covers most of the area west of the Rocky Mountains.  This region also covers the east side of Washington State.  This is the area where agriculture is prevalent and where the famous Washington apples are grown.  Massive lava flows in the Pleistocene era formed what is now the Columbia Plateau and its Great Columbia Plain in eastern Washington (Hardwick, 2008).  This is the dry side of the state which consists of rolling hills, steep dry canyons, and lava flows (Hardwick, 2008).  Only grazing, mining and small farm agriculture is practiced here (Hardwick, 2008).  On the southern side of the Columbia River there is more precipitation, the most in the region (Hardwick, 2008).  Here, eastern Oregon is where wheat is grown along with other agricultural productivities. 

            About 15,000 years ago during the last ice age, the Great Missoula Flood occurred in Idaho spilling into eastern Washington.  This great flood changed the landscape, running at 60 miles an hour toward the Pacific Ocean.  The flood carved out deep canyons removing all of the soils exposing bare rock.  There are still large boulders left where the flood dropped them off in parts of Portland, Oregon.  The Intermontane West is the main area of North America where the concepts of rain shadow and orographic lift is prevalent.  The area is blocked by long north-south mountain ranges to the west which stop all of the rain from reaching the region.  The Sierra Nevada Mountains along with the Cascade Range raise the air (orographic lift) and leave all it’s precipitation on the west side of the mountains.  This leaves dry zones on the east side (or rain shadow) which is the region we speak of.  Although this region is relatively dry, it is broken up into four different climate realms according to precipitation pattern. 

            Washington and the Intermontane West in general, have been experiencing a change in the economics of the region.  The tertiary and quaternary sectors are becoming a more important part of the economy in the last decades.  Washington is home to the Hanford Air Force Base which is another venue for research on nuclear energy.  High speed vehicles and race car testing in Utah has also been a part of the tertiary and quaternary sector positions.  The Intermontane West is a very diverse place that will need to be shared among diverse groups.  These groups, along with local and state politics will continue to shape the region.   

Hardwick, Susan W., Shelley, Fred M., Holtgrieve, Donald G. The Geography of North America. Glenview, 2008. Print.

This video features the Redbull Rampage mountain biking contest that takes place in Virgin, Utah every year.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbF6ZZqVMyk