All About the West
The Western region of the United States includes ten states: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, and Utah. These states have many things in common such as their geographic location. The Western region is located on the west coast of the United States. Some of the states border the Pacific Ocean. The largest city in this region is the city of Los Angeles, California. Other large cities in the area include: Albuquerque, Denver, Boise, and Salt Lake City.
Climate
The climate of the Western region of the United States is very diverse. The climate regions include desert, Mediterranean, Highland alpine, and semiarid steppe. The temperatures in this region can range from several degrees below freezing to over 100 degrees. The amount of rainfall in this region varies drastically as well, with states, such as Nevada, getting only inches of rain per year and other states, such as Washington, getting rain nearly every day.
Famous Natural Features
The West features a variety of landforms. The most well-known landform in the West is the Rocky Mountains that stretch over 3,000 miles all the way from New Mexico into Canada. Another popular landform in the West is Great Salt Lake in the state of Utah. It is the largest salt water lake in the entire Western Hemisphere. Finally there is the San Joaquin Valley that is located in the state of California.
Man-Made Attractions
Golden Gate Bridge
The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge located in San Francisco, California. It stretches three miles across the Golden Gate strait. The bridge was opened in 1937 and was the longest suspension bridge in the world until 1964. The bridge has special walkways for pedestrians and bicyclists separate from the car traffic.
Museum of Glass
The Museum of Glass is a 75,000 square-foot art museum in Tacoma, Washington. The museum is dedicated to displaying works of art that are made of glass. The museum was opened in 2002 by Dr. Philip M. Phibbs and Dale Chihuly. Dale Chihuly is an artist from Washington who specializes in creating colorful works of art from glass. The Museum of Glass displays temporary exhibits of glass artwork from the 20th and 21st centuries. The museum also offers opportunities for art education and nurturing creativity.
Disneyland
Disneyland Park was the first theme park built by Disney in 1955. The park is located in Anaheim, California. It is the only theme park that was designed and built under the supervision of Walt Disney. Disneyland has a larger attendance than any other theme park in the entire world. They host approximately 16.2 million guests per year. Disneyland consists of eight themed "lands" that each have different features.
Olympic Park
Olympic Park is a winter sports park located near Salt Lake City, Utah. The park was built to host the 2002 Winter Olympics. The park was built specifically for the Winter Olympics, but it is now used as a training center for Olympic athletes. The park houses two different museums: the Alf Engen Ski Museum and the George Eccles Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Winter Games Museum.