McCall

The coolest thing I did during spring break was go to McCall. While the rest of my family except for my mom and sisters skied, stayed at the condo and took a nap. While this sounds rest full for some, it was boring. But that aside, McCall was beautiful. It got tons of snow while we were there.  That was what I did on spring break.

Payette Lake image via Wikipedia

Intrests in North America

     There were several countries interested in North America. The first of these was Spain. Spain had three main reasons to explore North America. According to Washington: A State of Contrasts, a book by Dale Lambert, the first thing was they wanted the western entrance to the northwest passage. With the northwest passage explored, they wold be able to have much faster trade in the northern hemisphere.  Their second interest was control of the Native Americans. Their final interest was gold and silver, according to Washington: A State of Contrasts by Dale Lambert.
    The next country interested in North America was Great Britain. They wanted only one main thing, and that was the northwest passage. If they could find it, it would give their navy a foothold in the area, and from there they could safely trade without Spain attacking them.
    The next country interested was Russia. According to Washington: A State of Contrasts, a book by Dale Lambert, Russians were interested in discovering the Bering Straight, claiming Alaska,establishing trapping and trading posts, and exploring islands north of the Queen Charlotte Islands.

William Clark picture via Wikipedia

The last country to explore this area was the U.S.  The U.S. was interested in establishing a claim in the area. They did this through the Lewis and Clark expedition, and Captain Robert Grays expedition.

James Cook

Image via Wikipedia

The explorer I'm writing about is James Cook. He was an English explorer and his expedition began in 1788, according to the book Washington: A State of Contrasts. Captain Cook sailed down the Pacific coastline, and charted it, the book states, but that was not all he did. Additionally, according to plantexplorers.com he discovered the fact that there was no northwest passage. He also discovered many islands, such as Hawaii, according to old.gold.ac, a Goldsmith's College site. Unfortunately for him, Cook was killed by Hawaiian
 natives on the same voyage as he did all of these things.

Image via Wikipedia

 

The Three Most Plausible Indian Migration Theorys

         The first plausible theory about how indians migrated to North America is the land bridge theory.  This states that during the ice age there was much less water in the ocean and more in the form of ice on land.  Because of this, according to the book Washington: A State of Contrasts, there was dry land in the Bearing Strait. Also the book states that the Indians could walk across the land. They would have a sort of land bridge .
       The next theory is the ice bridge theory. This states that the Bearing Strait could have just froze. This is also stated as a possibility in Washington: A State of Contrasts. The book then states that if it was frozen, the Bering Strait would still be able to be walked across.
      The last plausible theory is that when the water was lower in the ocean, which according to Washington: A State of Contrasts it was, that a narrow shelf was exposed. This shelf, and this theory are both named the continental shelf.  This theory also includes a much narrower pathway. The continental shelf goes out from the land, then drops to ocean floor according to rockhoundingar.com. Because of this there is much less depth in some areas of the ocean. If during the ice age there was less water in the ocean, two on both sides could be exposed.
       I think the most plausible theory is the ice bridge. This is because I think that there is not a lot of proof that the ocean levels actually dropped enough for one of the other theories. But for proof of this theory think of how easy it would be for water to freeze in the kind of temperatures generated by an ice age. That is why I believe the ice bridge theory is the most plausible indian migration theory. 

 

                                      

The region of Washington I would like to live in

Picture of Mt. Rainier over Puget Sound. Picture via Wikipedia

The region of Washington I would like to live in is the Western Lowlands. There are several reasons for this. According to the book Washington: A State of Contrasts, the weather in this region is mild in winter and summer. Also the book states that the grass stays green all year, so my yard wouldn't turn yellow in the winter. Additionally there are a lot of lakes and rivers in this region which would be fun places to take a vacation. Finally I would live right next to the Puget sound, so I could fish and do other water-related activities.

Rainshadow Effect on Washington State's Economy

Diagram of Rain-Shadow Via Wikipedia

There are several ways the Rain-Shadow effects the economy of Washington. According to Washington:  a State of Contrasts, the Rain-Shadow effect is caused by the Cascades, which are a physical barrier that keeps out moisture on the leeward side of the Cascades. According to the National Weather Service there is less moisture on the eastern side of the Cascades, from less than 10 inches of rain to 30 for most of the area.  Crops that would not survive with as much moisture as there is on the western side can grow on the eastern side.  A lot of the land east of the Cascades is farmland, for example according to New World encyclopedia, the Palouse  region of southeast Washington is mostly farmland.

Most Influential Geological Process In Washington's Geography

Picture via Wikipedia

          I believe the most influential geological process in forming Washington's geography was Glaciation.  Glaciation is when glaciers move and erode away valleys and huge paths in the ground, or other things, such as flooding, resulting from this movement. The first reason Glaciation was the most influential was because Glaciation created the Puget Sound . That entire waterway in Washington was caused by the Puget Lobe, which was a glacier. Also there are many glacial lakes in Washington all caused by Glaciation. Dry Falls was also caused by Glaciation. Dry falls was the biggest waterfall in the country when it was still active. Dry Falls was so big Niagara Falls would have been insignificant next to it. It was caused when a glacier created flooding. The fourth reason Glaciation was the most important geological process in shaping Washington's geography was the Palouse Hills. Palouse Hills were created through glacial till, a result of Glaciation. Glaciation is also responsible for the San Juan Islands. Glaciers came as far south as Olympia at the peak of glacial coverage in Washington. The  Polson Lobe was also was a hugely influential. This was because it blocked Clark Fork for over one year and caused flooding which created Lake Missoula, and the Channeled Scablands after the glacial dam broke.

Trail Eroded by Glacier   Picture via Wikipedia