The northwestern part of the United States is known as the Pacific Northwest. Its boundaries are imprecise: the Pacific coast states of Washington and Oregon are always included, with Idaho a common addition. Extreme western Montana, near Missoula, is also sometimes included.
A broader view of the region leads to the inclusion of the southwestern British Columbia. This broader view may relate to the region's modern origins in the former Oregon Country.
This arrangement ended when increased settlement caused the US government to move toward controlling the region directly. After a war scare with the United Kingdom, the two nations negotiated the 1846Oregon Treaty partitioning the region along the 49th parallel. British Columbia, the UK portion, joined the Dominion of Canada in 1871. The US portion became the Oregon Territory; it was later subdivided into territories that were eventually admitted as states.
The major cities of Vancouver, Portland, and Seattle all began as sea ports supporting the logging, mining, and farming industries of the region, but have developed into major technological and industrial centers that benefit from their proximity to Asia.
The Cascadia is a proposed name for an independent state that would unite British Columbia, Washington State, and Oregon, each seceding from their respective federal governments in Ottawa and Washington DC. Its boundaries would incorporate those of the existing province and states. It would, according to its proponents, also include coastal Northern California and Alaska.
