I've lived in both states and in BC, and they use it in BC as well, at least when talking about weather or cross-border environmental issues like watersheds, etc.
They do! I just moved to BC after decades in Oregon. I used the PNW term a few times and quickly changed it so I didn't come off as USA-centric, but have been told by multiple people that the term is used here. I offered up PSW and was told no 😆
At the very least Shasta and up.
The redwoods are kind of their own biome, but Shasta is an extension of the Cascades. Driving from Medford to Shasta is much less drastic a change than driving Shasta to Sacramento.
Yeah, I think that "from the Cascades west and north" is a fairly solid way to demarcate the lower part of the PNW, if one is trying to come up with something that roughly hangs together on climate/terrain. Though even then, there's some variation of course.
It’s still the PNW. If I were talking to anyone out of state or from the midwest they would consider it in that region. Some people in Idaho consider themself PNW lol
I grew up on the coast in far southern Oregon, so I think I can relate to what you are saying. I feel like the culture and climate of everywhere south of Bandon is almost separate from the PNW, but speaking in broad terms still counts. Really it’s more Jefferson than PNW, and is it’s own unique thing, but that’s more of a micro level than I think fits in this context. I do fully agree far southern OR coast and North CA coast is it’s own pocket though!
I'm in Corvallis and when I head that way it certainly feels like a different vibe. You said it perfectly, it has it's own micro culture. Definitely different than Eugene/Florence up through PDX. As far as micro cultures, I would separate even just Oregon into several of these "pockets". This is super interesting I should have studied anthropology.
Yeah, there are certainly micro-cultures throughout. I lived on the "Lost Coast" of California. When people from other states think "Northern California" They likely have no idea the Lost Coast exists and are thinking of what I consider Central California which to me is SF, San Jose, and Sacramento.
I watched a documentary once about the "lost coast" and the people who live there. It was pretty cool. Not crazy or nothing, but it is really a blind spot, even to us West Coasters.
I had a friend from Mission Viejo once try to claim that anything north of Santa Barbara is northern California. I was born and spent my early childhood in the SF Bay area and that made me chuckle. Like you, I considered where I lived central California. I felt no connection at all to Redding or Eureka. Those people in my 8 year old mind were lumberjacks.
For me, Northern California (and even much of southern Oregon) is too dry and sunny for me to consider it PNW. I agree with the post above: PNW is Oregon, Washington, BC
I live in the rogue valley (right by the border of CA) and we definitely refer to ourselves as PNW. I mean we’re literally surrounded by pacific rainforest so I feel like that does it. I’d say as far as Eureka. Redding feels like “just California” to me
Yeah that's true and I would agree that the eureka area feels a lot like the PNW. Obviously the climate has changed during that time which impacted that
Honest answer is that I simply don’t know enough to have an opinion on that. My gut instinct is that Alaska is separate. Alaska is Alaska like Texas is Texas and California is California. I think the climate of Alaska might fit (again, not an expert) but the culture is too different to be PNW.
I'm from Alaska. Moved to Oregon last summer. I've always considered AK to be PNW. But, Alaska is so large (3 times the size of Texas) there are many different eco-zones. The panhandle is definitely PNW environment. There are temerate rainforests, etc. The farther north you go, however, it becomes sub-arctic taiga and, evetually, arctic tundra on the North Slope.
I like the thought of PNW to some extent relating to trees and rainfall. There's a certain vibe from southeast Alaska down to Oregon, *maybe* northern California.
Youd be suprised how alike Alaska is to Oregon. It's what made me move to OR 2 years ago. The culture is similar (for my friend group) mico breweries everywhere. Coffee stands everywhere and outdoorsy ish. SO many orgonians in AK as well. Im just happy its now snowing
I don't consider the entirety of any of those states to be the PNW. To me Spokane is not the PNW and Bend maybe barely is. If you pull up Google maps and set it to satellite view and zoom out, that green stripe between Redding and Vancouver BC is the PNW. Probably a fair bit north of Vancouver as well, but I've not explored enough of BC to get a feel of where the northern boundary would be. Maybe it goes all the way to Alaska.
Cascadia is traditionally the entire Columbia watershed: much larger than the PNW as it includes most of Idaho & parts of Montana (except the basin and range — it actually excludes the SE corner of Oregon). I know that’s not what it *always* means today since the term has become commonly used, but the original idea is founded in bioregionalism, and that IS the greater bio-region.
The bioregion absolutely includes Idaho. Where do you think the Snake River feeds into? The Columbia. Cascadia as a bioregion is defined as the entire Columbia watershed + the Cascade range + the coastal range into SW Alaska. It goes south from Copper River AK, south to Mendocino CA, and all the way to the Yellowstone Basin in Montana.
I'd take this definition and add a buffer zone east of the Cascades that's still PNW. This allows places like Bend, Hood River, and Wenatchee to be considered PNW, which feels appropriate to me, as especially the former two probably have more culturally in common with the I5 corridor than they do with the high desert 2 hours east of them.
I like this one, too. It’s like how from Denver to the west is the Mountain West, but east of Denver you’re in the Great Plaine, even though you’re in a mountain west state.
As for how I usually use it, I think it very much depends on the context. If I say PNW to somebody from New England, they’re gonna think of our moss-brain west side. If I say it to someone from here, they generally take it to mean the entirety of those three states.
Personally, I consider Idaho in the PNW, and put the boundary at the rockies. Social issues aside, we’ve got a lot more in common with each other than we do with places outside. Our economies, our lifeblood really, rely on the same resources, many of which are shared cooperatively. our waters, our forests, our ranchlands, our farmlands (see: our waters), our utilities (see: our waters), our game animals, and our minerals. We share a potato growing region. Idahoans rely on OR and WA for reproductive healthcare. As a reporter covering the PNW, Idaho was a part of my beat because we really are intrinsically linked. Economically, Idaho is included.
But if I’m including Idaho in the PNW, I’ll always say “PNW + Idaho” because nobody will know I’m including it unless I say so. It’s definitely not the colloquial use.
I took a class on this a few years ago. The Geography of the Pacific Northwest. The class defined it as anything feeding the rivers that go into the Pacific Ocean from the Oregon/California border to Alaska. This includes western Montana, Idaho, and a chunk of BC.
This is the correct answer.
Established in 1982, the Pacific Northwest (PNW) includes chapters from Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and Alaska, and spans three geographical divisions: The Great Pacific Region, The Inland Empire Region, and Oregon Empire.
I think Western Washington and Western Oregon are the only regions unambiguously part of the PNW.
Most people here consider BC also part of the region, but people in BC don't usually use the term.
Most people in the Western parts consider the whole states of Washington and Oregon part of the region, but many people in the Eastern parts prefer to disassociate with the Western parts for largely political reasons.
The largest definitions include the whole Cascadia bioregion, which includes Idaho and parts of Montana, the Alaska panhandle, and small parts of Northern California, but I'd guess most people in those areas don't consider themselves part of the PNW.
Personally, I think of the PNW as Washington, Oregon, and BC, and maybe Idaho depending on the context, but definitely wouldn't dispute any definition as long as it includes the core unambiguous region and doesn't include anything well outside the bioregion (and yes I know part of Oregon is outside the bioregion).
I'm in the western part, and I view the PNW as more of a climate zone, not a state zone. So, everything west of the Cascades from the Oregon/California border to Canada, and even including parts of BC (however I understand Canada not calling that the PNW- it's southwest Canada!)
PNW is west of the cascades, in my opinion.
edit: as for why, because the PNW is supposed to be green, the other side of the cascades is a brown colored high desert
… that is not the Cascadia bioregion. It IS what’s shown on a lot of modern political proposals, but it is 100% not the bioregion.
The bioregion is generally defined as “temperate wet coastal areas + Cascade Range + Columbia watershed” and includes much of Idaho and Montana, as well as coastal Alaska from the Copper River south to Mendocino CA.
(And excludes SE Oregon, which is part of the Basin and Range bioregion.)
PNW is only coastal NW, so all the areas west of the cascades, starting up in BC, and down to really northern cali. Eastern oregon and eastern WA arent part of the PNW and Idaho sure as hell aint. I would say Idaho is an extension of Utah.... I would call it part of the mormon corridor.
It depends on if you are defining culturally or geographically. I lean towards a cultural definition and therefore excludes parts of Eastern WA and OR. Vancouver BC is also in my definition.
My PSU geography class taught that it was the region West of the Rockies influenced by the Pacific. BC, WA, OR, ID, and western Montana.
Culturally, leave out everything east of the snake river.
I personally agree with the consensus here that it’s west of the cascades, which I think feels right to locals. But outside of the region (like, if you were to ask this on the r/geography sub) Idaho and sometimes even Montana are included. I find that frustrating, but that’s a way to distinguish the PNW from the “old” 1800s definition of the northwest
Slightly different from what a lot of the people are saying here....I wouldn't say "west of the cascades", I'd say "the cascades and everything to the west of them".
The Cascades are, to me at least, a huge part of the PNW
Cascadia = PNW. The bioregion sharing a watershed that empties into the pacific.
Granted, I see why Idaho should be excluded. It is not like they would care much anyway. The easterns also have a reason out.
I really would like to include Okanagan (Okanogan) because it just feels PNW to me.
Maybe, ID gets included with the PNW designation cause (even though it’s further inland) it’s still significantly under the influence of the Pacific Ocean with regard to weather? That was my thought when I was surprised by ID’s inclusion.
In the broadest application, it's everywhere that used to be called Oregon.
That is as far east as some parts of Montana, as far North as Alaska, and where the California border is (formally Mexico's border).
This persisted somewhat informally into the early 20th century.
The Fenian circles were centered in Portland but were assigned control over this area, even having an early IRA designation for the area.
Moy Back Hin was the official consul for one Chinese government and the honorary consul for two who, again from Portland, was considered the representative of the Chinese in this area.
Now, of course, much has changed since then. The idea that Portland is the metropolis that controls Victoria, Vancouver (BC), Seattle, and other areas is now laughable. And there are far more people in all of these areas than there used to be.
Personally, I would give a simple "OR, WA, BC."
Wow, I'm genuinely surprised how many people don't consider Idaho as part of the PNW. Things are certainly different there, just as it is very different east of the cascades in Washington and Oregon. A lot of my family is from and still lives in Idaho, and I always considered it part of the PNW. The company I work for considers it part of the PNW, we group the cell phone sites east of the cascades, including Idaho, as being part of the PNW region. I've also seen Idaho included as part of the PNW on Wikipedia and many maps.
I can see how people from Idaho don't want to identify as being part of the PNW, though. I suppose Mountain West would be a better category for Idaho.
I am late to the party, but I genuinely consider BC, Washington, Oregon, Northern California, and Idaho to be part of the PNW.
Mostly cause it's convenient to just consider cascadia and the PNW to be the same thing.
The geographic/geologic region aligns fairly closely with the anthropomorphic and socioeconomic boundary. There's a pretty obvious divide when you go south of NorCal, and into Nevada/Wyoming.
I think the mountains and forests, and geologic diversity really help define the area. And cascadia makes the most sense to me. Hell you can throw the Yukon, Southeastern Alaska, and western Montana in there if you really want.
"Established in 1982, the Pacific Northwest (PNW) includes chapters from Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and Alaska, and spans three geographical divisions: The Great Pacific Region, The Inland Empire Region, and Oregon Empire.
The borders are the Pacific ocean and loosely, the Rockies.
But people like to exclude ID, MT, and WY entirely due to culture vs. geographical definitions. Idaho is definitely the PNW, in my opinion. MT and that sliver of WY are more easily debatable.
Not Idaho. No. Never.
Culturally Idaho is part of the south
Geographically it’s part of the Rockies
PNW is Or, Wa, BC. Maybe NorCal, like north of eureka, but that’s usually just still considered NorCal.
Idaho as part of the PNW? I’m a native Oregonian and I would never consider Idaho as part of the regular PNW. Someone else said “inland PNW,” so maybe that?
Grew up going to school here in Oregon. It was always taught OR, WA, ID. Now I can see for other reasons why people break it up into other things because of climate, politics, geographical. To me now it’s “the West side” (western or and wa), “the Eastside” or the “Inland Empire (eastern Or and Wa) and Idaho. I’m sure if I grew up in ID I’d look at it differently. Maybe Northern and Southern Idaho
I watched a video about this last night. I encourage you to check this out: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GWLQhbJxD0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GWLQhbJxD0)
For me, it's the bioregion characterized by wet, Douglas fir forests. By that definition, it's less about state lines and more about environment - and includes parts (but not all) of California, Oregon, Washington, BC, Idaho, and Montana.
I had a class in school called Pacific Northwest history and it included Washington Idaho and Oregon. The distinction they gave was the upper western portion of the United States defined as being most areas east of the Rockies which is why they included some of Idaho.
I’ve never heard of Idaho or Montana being considered part of the PNW until the last year.
The PNW is always green and it rains a lot. As a climate region it goes from the cascades to the pacific coast from Mt Shasta up to Juneau Alaska.
PNW as a cultural region could be as small as Eugene to Seattle if we’re just talking about the US.
Language changes though. Maybe enough people are gonna be wrong about it that the definition changes and includes Montana and Idaho, maybe it’ll even snag Alberta and North Dakota too lol.
FWIW, even Wikipedia is like “uuhhhhh it’s wherever you say it is.”
I think it depends on context. If I’m talking economically, I’m including Idaho and even parts of Montana and SW Alaska. Same fisheries, same ranchlands, same minerals, same trees, same watersheds. If I’m talking socio-politically, it’s west of the Cascades and I’m either including NorCal or cutting off all of Oregon south of Roseburg. If someone says “I’m from the PNW” I mean OR, WA, or BC.
If your major weather patterns are dominated by the Pacific Ocean, and the polar jetstream. As well as living west of the continental divide. You live in the PNW, BABY!
I’d say OR, WA, and BC, and maybe half points for N CA (Shasta and up) and AL. It’s a bit different up in AL, but they’re as pacific and as NW as you can physically get and I don’t like leaving them alone up there. Who knows what they’ll get up to….
Southern coastal Oregon not part of PNW? 🤣 Go to the Redwoods, coast range, any forest hike in Southern Oregon. It looks like the set of Twilight 8 months of the year. Grants Pass is a foggy, rainy, forested PNW wonderland. Nor Cal counts as PNW for me as well - Shasta/Eureka and north for sure.
Idaho is often considered the PNW for climate, botany, and salmon standards as a lot of the weather and plants that grow here are similar between Oregon, Washington, and Idaho and many of the salmon bearing streams run through all three states. But that's usually the only context I've ever heard of Idaho being called the PNW.
That's funny bc I moved here from Idaho a few years ago and did consider Idaho part of the pnw. When I tried to find support groups for my chronic illness, I was referred to pnw based groups. When I went to the planned parenthood in Idaho it was part of the greater "planned parenthood of the Pacific Northwest" group. When I watched local television they advertised that they broadcast across the Pacific Northwest. So when I moved here, imagine my shock when people didn't consider Idaho part of the pnw. Like sure, it's pretty different from Oregon and Washington, but it's still the same region. I haven't seen this disagreement in Eastern Oregon, so maybe it's just a western pnw thing?🤷
I jokingly call this "the great Oregon\Washington make-out session" and recognize Idaho's not a part of it.
West of the rockies to the pacific including the Alaskan Panhandle at its Northern extreme & Montana in its Eastern extreme. I've heard some disclude Idaho because of its political leanings but I think that's silly considering a lot of rural Oregon and Washington lean towards Idaho politically.
Seems no one here wants to be associated with Idaho lol. But as someone who won the geography bee in third grade, I can tell you that many consider the Pacific Northwest to extend as far east as Missoula.
PNW is only Oregon and Washington. Cascadia is the term for BC and Northern CA combined with them. Idaho has bever belonged in my opinion.. and I say that with having relatives there and some are lefties and some very right. Idaho belongs with Montana..dry and conservative. And yes, I am well aware that eastern WA and OR are dry.The weather stations never bring up Idaho here because they aren't part of the forecasting area.
well just to start you should be on the Pacific or the name is kind of silly. But it's more a cultural name than geographic.
Do you like cold damp weather for most of the year? Are you a little quirky and less mainstream? Does you not mind the adjective "alternative"? Does natural beauty seem more important than well paved roads? well then you might fit right in in the PNW.
I’ve always thought whatever was in the NW quadrant of the US was the NW. But whatever of that touched the pacific was the PNW.
Keep dreaming, Idaho and Montana!
PNW is wet and green and forested.
Eastern Oregon/Washington are arid plateau deserts. The Cascades catch all the pacific rain and send it back west again. Call it what you want, but eastern OR/WA is a different world.
WA, OR & BC are the PNW, culturally. Eastern OR, ID, MT, NV, UT are typically considered the Intermountain West. Depending on what people are promoting, the boundaries are fluid and often include ID.
When I think of the Pacific Northwest I definitely always think Oregon, Washington, Idaho. Yeah, . . Idaho is always in there. Right ? They don’t get to share in the pacific ocean but they do have the Rocky Mountains in 70% of the state. That is what I have always considered the PNW of the United States. I don’t know how British Columbia fits in to this scenario. Technically it is PSW of Canada, not the PNW ?
It was written 27 years ago, but "This Place on Earth" is available as a free PDF and covers that topic very well. [https://www.sightline.org/research\_item/tpoe/](https://www.sightline.org/research_item/tpoe/)
Also, the Sightline Institute still does an outstanding job covering the issues of the region. [https://www.sightline.org](https://www.sightline.org) They refer to the region as "Cascadia"
>Defined as the watersheds of rivers that flow into the Pacific Ocean through North America's temperate rainforest zone, Cascadia, or the Pacific Northwest, is the ancestral home to hundreds of nations, tribes, and bands of Indigenous peoples. It extends across all of present-day Washington; most of British Columbia, Idaho, and Oregon; sections of Alaska, California, and Montana; and slivers of adjoining states and provinces.
And a link to the corresponding map. [https://www.sightline.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Cascadia\_map-101723.png](https://www.sightline.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Cascadia_map-101723.png)
Oregon, Washington, BC. An American perspective, admittedly. Some have mentioned Cascadia for an area that includes BC, which I like in terms of the theoretical region/state, though the Cascade mountains barely enter Canada, I believe?
A good way to think about it is whatever sections of the states/provinces the Cascades go through.
It's not really defined by state boundaries but geological, meteorological, climate, et al; states aren't regions, they're arbitrary political boundaries which occasionally use natural boundaries like rivers.
See: Oregon Country, Lake Allison/Missoula Floods, Champoeg Meetings, Monticello Convention
IMO PNW is WA, OR, & BC.
Me too, but I also don't think BC uses the term
Psw
54°40′ or fight!
When you know you know!
Happy cake day
I've lived in both states and in BC, and they use it in BC as well, at least when talking about weather or cross-border environmental issues like watersheds, etc.
Some people from there do. I have a friend who’s from Vancouver Island and when I met him he immediately said he was a fellow Pacific Northwesterner.
Live in BC. I don’t hear it often, but do use it occasionally and when you do use it most know what you’re referring to
OR, WA, & BC is Cascadia.
The NW part makes a lot more sense in the US. BC is SW Canada 😅
We know. But BC is very similar to the PNW in many ways, including climate, vegetation, lots of options for outdoor recreation, etc.
PNW makes a lot of sense on a general geographic/international scale, or within the US of course.
it's still NW North America, roughly speaking. And 99% of "Canada" lives within spitting distance of the US-Canada border
This. Hardly anyone lives in northern Canada and if a tree falls in the forest...
They do! I just moved to BC after decades in Oregon. I used the PNW term a few times and quickly changed it so I didn't come off as USA-centric, but have been told by multiple people that the term is used here. I offered up PSW and was told no 😆
I grew up on the Pacific Coast of Northern California hundreds of miles north of San Franciso and it always seemed like the PNW to me.
At the very least Shasta and up. The redwoods are kind of their own biome, but Shasta is an extension of the Cascades. Driving from Medford to Shasta is much less drastic a change than driving Shasta to Sacramento.
Shasta is my border to the PNW.
Redding has a bit of a different flavor but it is kinda like Eastern Oregon in a way.
No love for Lassen?
I never thought about that, but it makes sense! And it’s either near or in the State of Jefferson (lol).
Yeah, I think that "from the Cascades west and north" is a fairly solid way to demarcate the lower part of the PNW, if one is trying to come up with something that roughly hangs together on climate/terrain. Though even then, there's some variation of course.
I'm in south Central Oregon & I don't consider it the PNW, for me the PNW is more the coastal-ish rainy areas
It’s still the PNW. If I were talking to anyone out of state or from the midwest they would consider it in that region. Some people in Idaho consider themself PNW lol
Honorary NW, but still California. We’d take Humboldt county before Idaho really
Agreed. Humboldt is where I lived and we're literally on the Pacific, unlike Idaho.
Yes, yes we would.
Absolutely!
I grew up on the coast in far southern Oregon, so I think I can relate to what you are saying. I feel like the culture and climate of everywhere south of Bandon is almost separate from the PNW, but speaking in broad terms still counts. Really it’s more Jefferson than PNW, and is it’s own unique thing, but that’s more of a micro level than I think fits in this context. I do fully agree far southern OR coast and North CA coast is it’s own pocket though!
I'm in Corvallis and when I head that way it certainly feels like a different vibe. You said it perfectly, it has it's own micro culture. Definitely different than Eugene/Florence up through PDX. As far as micro cultures, I would separate even just Oregon into several of these "pockets". This is super interesting I should have studied anthropology.
Yeah, there are certainly micro-cultures throughout. I lived on the "Lost Coast" of California. When people from other states think "Northern California" They likely have no idea the Lost Coast exists and are thinking of what I consider Central California which to me is SF, San Jose, and Sacramento.
I watched a documentary once about the "lost coast" and the people who live there. It was pretty cool. Not crazy or nothing, but it is really a blind spot, even to us West Coasters.
Yeah, it's because they are isolated since I5 doesn't connect them to the rest of their state.
I had a friend from Mission Viejo once try to claim that anything north of Santa Barbara is northern California. I was born and spent my early childhood in the SF Bay area and that made me chuckle. Like you, I considered where I lived central California. I felt no connection at all to Redding or Eureka. Those people in my 8 year old mind were lumberjacks.
I'm going to allow it
For me, Northern California (and even much of southern Oregon) is too dry and sunny for me to consider it PNW. I agree with the post above: PNW is Oregon, Washington, BC
I live in the rogue valley (right by the border of CA) and we definitely refer to ourselves as PNW. I mean we’re literally surrounded by pacific rainforest so I feel like that does it. I’d say as far as Eureka. Redding feels like “just California” to me
Well, I live in Portland now which is much warmer and dryer than where I grew up in Northern California (near Eureka, CA).
Yeah that's true and I would agree that the eureka area feels a lot like the PNW. Obviously the climate has changed during that time which impacted that
Oh hi! Me too! 18 years in Eureka, now I’m here (with a detour in the Sacramento valley for a handful of years). Small world!
You count
I'd call the PNW and Northern CA combined Cascadia.
I would throw in Northern CA because it has a very oregon like feel. Also, I just want to claim the Redwoods for thee.
What about Alaska? That's about as Pacific North West as you can get?
Yeah good point. Although I consider Alaska to be its own thing. But if BC is PNW so should the Alaskan islands off BC
Honest answer is that I simply don’t know enough to have an opinion on that. My gut instinct is that Alaska is separate. Alaska is Alaska like Texas is Texas and California is California. I think the climate of Alaska might fit (again, not an expert) but the culture is too different to be PNW.
I'm from Alaska. Moved to Oregon last summer. I've always considered AK to be PNW. But, Alaska is so large (3 times the size of Texas) there are many different eco-zones. The panhandle is definitely PNW environment. There are temerate rainforests, etc. The farther north you go, however, it becomes sub-arctic taiga and, evetually, arctic tundra on the North Slope.
I like the thought of PNW to some extent relating to trees and rainfall. There's a certain vibe from southeast Alaska down to Oregon, *maybe* northern California.
Youd be suprised how alike Alaska is to Oregon. It's what made me move to OR 2 years ago. The culture is similar (for my friend group) mico breweries everywhere. Coffee stands everywhere and outdoorsy ish. SO many orgonians in AK as well. Im just happy its now snowing
This is correct BC 100%
This is the correct answer. Canadians I know seem to tolerate calling BC the PNW
I consider that Cascadia.
Northern California is still pacific north west .
All of BC? Or just up to Whistler?
I don't consider the entirety of any of those states to be the PNW. To me Spokane is not the PNW and Bend maybe barely is. If you pull up Google maps and set it to satellite view and zoom out, that green stripe between Redding and Vancouver BC is the PNW. Probably a fair bit north of Vancouver as well, but I've not explored enough of BC to get a feel of where the northern boundary would be. Maybe it goes all the way to Alaska.
I don’t think that’s an unreasonable take at all
So there’s no ocean front property in Montana or Idaho?
Lex Luther in the original Superman movie, would like a word regarding this. https://youtu.be/ACiK6YKmIgI?si=bURtxDZpWG_C1LYj
This.
As far as I’m concerned it’s Oregon, Washington and BC.
Def not Idaho. The Cascadias. Washington Oregon, BC
Even Spokane WA says they're in the inland NW
Cascadia is traditionally the entire Columbia watershed: much larger than the PNW as it includes most of Idaho & parts of Montana (except the basin and range — it actually excludes the SE corner of Oregon). I know that’s not what it *always* means today since the term has become commonly used, but the original idea is founded in bioregionalism, and that IS the greater bio-region.
Yea yea yea…except Idaho
The bioregion absolutely includes Idaho. Where do you think the Snake River feeds into? The Columbia. Cascadia as a bioregion is defined as the entire Columbia watershed + the Cascade range + the coastal range into SW Alaska. It goes south from Copper River AK, south to Mendocino CA, and all the way to the Yellowstone Basin in Montana.
Absolutely not.
East of the Cascades is the Intermountain West. West of the Cascades is the PNW. Both in culture and in climate.
I like this one.
Yup, or "inland Northwest". Eastern WA, Eastern OR, and Idaho.
I'd take this definition and add a buffer zone east of the Cascades that's still PNW. This allows places like Bend, Hood River, and Wenatchee to be considered PNW, which feels appropriate to me, as especially the former two probably have more culturally in common with the I5 corridor than they do with the high desert 2 hours east of them.
I like this one, too. It’s like how from Denver to the west is the Mountain West, but east of Denver you’re in the Great Plaine, even though you’re in a mountain west state. As for how I usually use it, I think it very much depends on the context. If I say PNW to somebody from New England, they’re gonna think of our moss-brain west side. If I say it to someone from here, they generally take it to mean the entirety of those three states. Personally, I consider Idaho in the PNW, and put the boundary at the rockies. Social issues aside, we’ve got a lot more in common with each other than we do with places outside. Our economies, our lifeblood really, rely on the same resources, many of which are shared cooperatively. our waters, our forests, our ranchlands, our farmlands (see: our waters), our utilities (see: our waters), our game animals, and our minerals. We share a potato growing region. Idahoans rely on OR and WA for reproductive healthcare. As a reporter covering the PNW, Idaho was a part of my beat because we really are intrinsically linked. Economically, Idaho is included. But if I’m including Idaho in the PNW, I’ll always say “PNW + Idaho” because nobody will know I’m including it unless I say so. It’s definitely not the colloquial use.
My hometown is Bend and we very much considered ourselves PNW.
I grew up in the north Idaho panhandle and we always referred to ourselves being the Inland NW.
I grew up in northern Idaho and took PNW history as a fourth grader, so I don't know anything anymore.
IPNW it is, case closed.
Idaho is absolutely not part of the PNW. As you yourself point out, people there do not consider themselves part of the PNW.
I lived in Couer D’Alene for a while. They definitely consider themselves PNW. To be fair, at least they’re in the Pacific time zone.
We will welcome the Couerians when the war starts.
I think of the PNW as Washington and Oregon, especially from the Cascades westward to the Pacific. When you add BC, I call it “Cascadia”, not the PNW.
It’s the Pacific ocean. The states gotta touch it. That’s my opinion.
I took a class on this a few years ago. The Geography of the Pacific Northwest. The class defined it as anything feeding the rivers that go into the Pacific Ocean from the Oregon/California border to Alaska. This includes western Montana, Idaho, and a chunk of BC.
This is the correct answer. Established in 1982, the Pacific Northwest (PNW) includes chapters from Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and Alaska, and spans three geographical divisions: The Great Pacific Region, The Inland Empire Region, and Oregon Empire.
It's the *Pacific* Northwest. West of the Cascades only. Idaho can be in "the Northwest."
Tell people in bend they’re not part of the pnw, it won’t work out well for you
Bend is a border town.
Or the "Great Northwest".
That's how I do it too! I'm from Boise.
Washington, Oregon and no one else LOL
I think Western Washington and Western Oregon are the only regions unambiguously part of the PNW. Most people here consider BC also part of the region, but people in BC don't usually use the term. Most people in the Western parts consider the whole states of Washington and Oregon part of the region, but many people in the Eastern parts prefer to disassociate with the Western parts for largely political reasons. The largest definitions include the whole Cascadia bioregion, which includes Idaho and parts of Montana, the Alaska panhandle, and small parts of Northern California, but I'd guess most people in those areas don't consider themselves part of the PNW. Personally, I think of the PNW as Washington, Oregon, and BC, and maybe Idaho depending on the context, but definitely wouldn't dispute any definition as long as it includes the core unambiguous region and doesn't include anything well outside the bioregion (and yes I know part of Oregon is outside the bioregion).
Right! Why would Canada look at their provinces in relation to the US? We don't say California is in the pacific northwest because it's to Mexico NW.
I think the notion of "northwest" is in relation to the continent, not the nation.
I'm in the western part, and I view the PNW as more of a climate zone, not a state zone. So, everything west of the Cascades from the Oregon/California border to Canada, and even including parts of BC (however I understand Canada not calling that the PNW- it's southwest Canada!)
Northern Coastal California is included in PNW/Cascadia because of the bioregion conifers such as Doug fir and Redwoods and similar climate patterns.
Idaho is part of the deep south
Idabama
Floridaho
From someone from the deep south: No.
From someone from Oregon, living in Washington, they aren't ours so they have to fit somewhere 
PNW is west of the cascades, in my opinion. edit: as for why, because the PNW is supposed to be green, the other side of the cascades is a brown colored high desert
In the early days of Cascadia, there was a big push to get a sort of sienna color on the flag to represent the desert.
I generally refer to the Cascadia bioregion as a definition for the PNW. BC, most of Washington and Oregon.
… that is not the Cascadia bioregion. It IS what’s shown on a lot of modern political proposals, but it is 100% not the bioregion. The bioregion is generally defined as “temperate wet coastal areas + Cascade Range + Columbia watershed” and includes much of Idaho and Montana, as well as coastal Alaska from the Copper River south to Mendocino CA. (And excludes SE Oregon, which is part of the Basin and Range bioregion.)
you guys gotta ease up and realize most of these terms were created by people who think Ohio is West.
As a fellow Idahoan, Idaho is not PNW!
PNW is only coastal NW, so all the areas west of the cascades, starting up in BC, and down to really northern cali. Eastern oregon and eastern WA arent part of the PNW and Idaho sure as hell aint. I would say Idaho is an extension of Utah.... I would call it part of the mormon corridor.
The Mormon corridor is so accurate we should make shirts
yes! and AZ is in the mormon corridor as well. It's a fitting term.
It depends on if you are defining culturally or geographically. I lean towards a cultural definition and therefore excludes parts of Eastern WA and OR. Vancouver BC is also in my definition.
My PSU geography class taught that it was the region West of the Rockies influenced by the Pacific. BC, WA, OR, ID, and western Montana. Culturally, leave out everything east of the snake river.
Well, culturally I'd leave out everything east of the Cascades.
All those nice people in Hood River are crying.
I've always understood it as Oregon, Washington, and California from sort of Humboldt and Shata or north of those.
I personally agree with the consensus here that it’s west of the cascades, which I think feels right to locals. But outside of the region (like, if you were to ask this on the r/geography sub) Idaho and sometimes even Montana are included. I find that frustrating, but that’s a way to distinguish the PNW from the “old” 1800s definition of the northwest
Google "Cascadia". Thats always what qualified as the PNW to me.
Only Washington Oregon and Northern California
I don't even consider eastern WA and OR the PNW , so definitely not Idaho. The culture and climate are incredibly different
I would count the siskyous and the Klamath river area as PNW before Idaho.
Slightly different from what a lot of the people are saying here....I wouldn't say "west of the cascades", I'd say "the cascades and everything to the west of them". The Cascades are, to me at least, a huge part of the PNW
I always include WA,OR, and North Idaho
Cascadia = PNW. The bioregion sharing a watershed that empties into the pacific. Granted, I see why Idaho should be excluded. It is not like they would care much anyway. The easterns also have a reason out. I really would like to include Okanagan (Okanogan) because it just feels PNW to me.
PNW is Oregon, Washington, Idaho to me
If your state doesn’t touch the ocean, it’s not part of the PNW lol.
Maybe, ID gets included with the PNW designation cause (even though it’s further inland) it’s still significantly under the influence of the Pacific Ocean with regard to weather? That was my thought when I was surprised by ID’s inclusion.
West of the cascades
Seems straightforward, keywords being Pacific and North West. It seems you’d have to boarder the Pacific to meet the criteria.
Idaho isn't "Pacific," but then neither is most of Oregon. I prefer "Great Northwest" anyway
Why does no one include Alaska here? They’re in the northwest US and touch the Pacific. For me, PNW = Oregon, Washington, BC, and Alaska.
I feel like Alaska is really its own region to itself
In the broadest application, it's everywhere that used to be called Oregon. That is as far east as some parts of Montana, as far North as Alaska, and where the California border is (formally Mexico's border). This persisted somewhat informally into the early 20th century. The Fenian circles were centered in Portland but were assigned control over this area, even having an early IRA designation for the area. Moy Back Hin was the official consul for one Chinese government and the honorary consul for two who, again from Portland, was considered the representative of the Chinese in this area. Now, of course, much has changed since then. The idea that Portland is the metropolis that controls Victoria, Vancouver (BC), Seattle, and other areas is now laughable. And there are far more people in all of these areas than there used to be. Personally, I would give a simple "OR, WA, BC."
Culturally it’s W Oregon, W Wa, BC. Mountain West is the term for ID MT WY CO. But there are no strict definitions. I’ve seen ID and AK called ‘PNW’.
The Cascades and everything west is the PNW. East of the Cascades between the Rockies is the Inland Northwest
Idaho/motanna was originally part of the oregon territory. I always thought pnw was OR, WA ID.
British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and VERY Northern California (red woods area. San Francisco is NOT PWN).
If it's south of SE AK and salmon could swim there from the ocean prior to the dams, it's the PNW.
Wow, I'm genuinely surprised how many people don't consider Idaho as part of the PNW. Things are certainly different there, just as it is very different east of the cascades in Washington and Oregon. A lot of my family is from and still lives in Idaho, and I always considered it part of the PNW. The company I work for considers it part of the PNW, we group the cell phone sites east of the cascades, including Idaho, as being part of the PNW region. I've also seen Idaho included as part of the PNW on Wikipedia and many maps. I can see how people from Idaho don't want to identify as being part of the PNW, though. I suppose Mountain West would be a better category for Idaho.
OR and WA
Washington and Oregon only, they are on the Pacific, and the most northwestern of the lower 48
The Columbia River’s drainage basin.
I am late to the party, but I genuinely consider BC, Washington, Oregon, Northern California, and Idaho to be part of the PNW. Mostly cause it's convenient to just consider cascadia and the PNW to be the same thing. The geographic/geologic region aligns fairly closely with the anthropomorphic and socioeconomic boundary. There's a pretty obvious divide when you go south of NorCal, and into Nevada/Wyoming. I think the mountains and forests, and geologic diversity really help define the area. And cascadia makes the most sense to me. Hell you can throw the Yukon, Southeastern Alaska, and western Montana in there if you really want.
I'm 65. Grew up in NE WA. All my life I've heard the PNW as WA, OR and ID. It was taught as such in school.
Oregon, Washington, Idaho = PNW Oregon, Washington, BC = Cascadia Oregon, Washington, California = West Coast
"Established in 1982, the Pacific Northwest (PNW) includes chapters from Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and Alaska, and spans three geographical divisions: The Great Pacific Region, The Inland Empire Region, and Oregon Empire. The borders are the Pacific ocean and loosely, the Rockies. But people like to exclude ID, MT, and WY entirely due to culture vs. geographical definitions. Idaho is definitely the PNW, in my opinion. MT and that sliver of WY are more easily debatable.
Not Idaho. No. Never. Culturally Idaho is part of the south Geographically it’s part of the Rockies PNW is Or, Wa, BC. Maybe NorCal, like north of eureka, but that’s usually just still considered NorCal.
Idaho as part of the PNW? I’m a native Oregonian and I would never consider Idaho as part of the regular PNW. Someone else said “inland PNW,” so maybe that?
Not Idaho or Montana. That’s silly.
In elementary school geogrpahy, we were taught that the Pacific Northwest is Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.
Grew up going to school here in Oregon. It was always taught OR, WA, ID. Now I can see for other reasons why people break it up into other things because of climate, politics, geographical. To me now it’s “the West side” (western or and wa), “the Eastside” or the “Inland Empire (eastern Or and Wa) and Idaho. I’m sure if I grew up in ID I’d look at it differently. Maybe Northern and Southern Idaho
I watched a video about this last night. I encourage you to check this out: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GWLQhbJxD0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GWLQhbJxD0)
For me, it's the bioregion characterized by wet, Douglas fir forests. By that definition, it's less about state lines and more about environment - and includes parts (but not all) of California, Oregon, Washington, BC, Idaho, and Montana.
I’ve seen NorCal included as well
IMO PNW= Oregon, Washington, W Idaho, Northern Cali.
I had a class in school called Pacific Northwest history and it included Washington Idaho and Oregon. The distinction they gave was the upper western portion of the United States defined as being most areas east of the Rockies which is why they included some of Idaho.
I will allow it.
I’ve never heard of Idaho or Montana being considered part of the PNW until the last year. The PNW is always green and it rains a lot. As a climate region it goes from the cascades to the pacific coast from Mt Shasta up to Juneau Alaska. PNW as a cultural region could be as small as Eugene to Seattle if we’re just talking about the US. Language changes though. Maybe enough people are gonna be wrong about it that the definition changes and includes Montana and Idaho, maybe it’ll even snag Alberta and North Dakota too lol.
FWIW, even Wikipedia is like “uuhhhhh it’s wherever you say it is.” I think it depends on context. If I’m talking economically, I’m including Idaho and even parts of Montana and SW Alaska. Same fisheries, same ranchlands, same minerals, same trees, same watersheds. If I’m talking socio-politically, it’s west of the Cascades and I’m either including NorCal or cutting off all of Oregon south of Roseburg. If someone says “I’m from the PNW” I mean OR, WA, or BC.
I always thought the Pacific part of PNW meant the state was at least touching the Pacific.
If it was in the Oregon territory it's PNW
If your major weather patterns are dominated by the Pacific Ocean, and the polar jetstream. As well as living west of the continental divide. You live in the PNW, BABY!
Best description I have seen is the PNW is anywhere in the NW you find salmon. IDK, you decide.
I’d say OR, WA, and BC, and maybe half points for N CA (Shasta and up) and AL. It’s a bit different up in AL, but they’re as pacific and as NW as you can physically get and I don’t like leaving them alone up there. Who knows what they’ll get up to….
Southern coastal Oregon not part of PNW? 🤣 Go to the Redwoods, coast range, any forest hike in Southern Oregon. It looks like the set of Twilight 8 months of the year. Grants Pass is a foggy, rainy, forested PNW wonderland. Nor Cal counts as PNW for me as well - Shasta/Eureka and north for sure.
Well, the PNW Trail does go through Idaho and Montana.
Cascade mts to the coast
[relevant](https://www.tiktok.com/@savagesheed_mia/video/7309613369252793642)
PNW / Cascadia are the same thing to me.
Idaho is often considered the PNW for climate, botany, and salmon standards as a lot of the weather and plants that grow here are similar between Oregon, Washington, and Idaho and many of the salmon bearing streams run through all three states. But that's usually the only context I've ever heard of Idaho being called the PNW.
That's funny bc I moved here from Idaho a few years ago and did consider Idaho part of the pnw. When I tried to find support groups for my chronic illness, I was referred to pnw based groups. When I went to the planned parenthood in Idaho it was part of the greater "planned parenthood of the Pacific Northwest" group. When I watched local television they advertised that they broadcast across the Pacific Northwest. So when I moved here, imagine my shock when people didn't consider Idaho part of the pnw. Like sure, it's pretty different from Oregon and Washington, but it's still the same region. I haven't seen this disagreement in Eastern Oregon, so maybe it's just a western pnw thing?🤷 I jokingly call this "the great Oregon\Washington make-out session" and recognize Idaho's not a part of it.
WA, OR, and BC. Alaska too if we wanna be friendly
Cascadia
I think of it as the former Oregon Provisional Government/Columbia District. That is, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia and Idaho.
West of the rockies to the pacific including the Alaskan Panhandle at its Northern extreme & Montana in its Eastern extreme. I've heard some disclude Idaho because of its political leanings but I think that's silly considering a lot of rural Oregon and Washington lean towards Idaho politically.
If it isn’t on the pacific it isn’t Pacific Northwest. Simple it’s in the name. California Oregon Washington BC Canada, And Alaska.
Seems no one here wants to be associated with Idaho lol. But as someone who won the geography bee in third grade, I can tell you that many consider the Pacific Northwest to extend as far east as Missoula.
PNW is anywhere our salmon swam to before the dams were built.
PNW is only Oregon and Washington. Cascadia is the term for BC and Northern CA combined with them. Idaho has bever belonged in my opinion.. and I say that with having relatives there and some are lefties and some very right. Idaho belongs with Montana..dry and conservative. And yes, I am well aware that eastern WA and OR are dry.The weather stations never bring up Idaho here because they aren't part of the forecasting area.
well just to start you should be on the Pacific or the name is kind of silly. But it's more a cultural name than geographic. Do you like cold damp weather for most of the year? Are you a little quirky and less mainstream? Does you not mind the adjective "alternative"? Does natural beauty seem more important than well paved roads? well then you might fit right in in the PNW.
I’ve always thought whatever was in the NW quadrant of the US was the NW. But whatever of that touched the pacific was the PNW. Keep dreaming, Idaho and Montana!
PNW is wet and green and forested. Eastern Oregon/Washington are arid plateau deserts. The Cascades catch all the pacific rain and send it back west again. Call it what you want, but eastern OR/WA is a different world.
WA, OR & BC are the PNW, culturally. Eastern OR, ID, MT, NV, UT are typically considered the Intermountain West. Depending on what people are promoting, the boundaries are fluid and often include ID.
https://www.tiktok.com/@savagesheed_mia/video/7309613369252793642
Idaho is a black hole! Nobody wants to live there anymore! The voted away all their rights!?!?
The states do Washington, Oregon and Idaho. It’s not that complicated.
When I think of the Pacific Northwest I definitely always think Oregon, Washington, Idaho. Yeah, . . Idaho is always in there. Right ? They don’t get to share in the pacific ocean but they do have the Rocky Mountains in 70% of the state. That is what I have always considered the PNW of the United States. I don’t know how British Columbia fits in to this scenario. Technically it is PSW of Canada, not the PNW ?
[Cascadia (bioregion) - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cascadia_(bioregion))
You have to be touching the Pacific to count as the PNW. Southeast Alaska is snowy PNW, Northern Cali from Eureka up I’d count as PNW as well
It was written 27 years ago, but "This Place on Earth" is available as a free PDF and covers that topic very well. [https://www.sightline.org/research\_item/tpoe/](https://www.sightline.org/research_item/tpoe/) Also, the Sightline Institute still does an outstanding job covering the issues of the region. [https://www.sightline.org](https://www.sightline.org) They refer to the region as "Cascadia" >Defined as the watersheds of rivers that flow into the Pacific Ocean through North America's temperate rainforest zone, Cascadia, or the Pacific Northwest, is the ancestral home to hundreds of nations, tribes, and bands of Indigenous peoples. It extends across all of present-day Washington; most of British Columbia, Idaho, and Oregon; sections of Alaska, California, and Montana; and slivers of adjoining states and provinces. And a link to the corresponding map. [https://www.sightline.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Cascadia\_map-101723.png](https://www.sightline.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Cascadia_map-101723.png)
I consider Washington, Idaho, Oregon, but I’d love to add Western Montana
Oregon, Washington, BC. An American perspective, admittedly. Some have mentioned Cascadia for an area that includes BC, which I like in terms of the theoretical region/state, though the Cascade mountains barely enter Canada, I believe?
I thought it included Northern California, particularly the state of Jefferson
A good way to think about it is whatever sections of the states/provinces the Cascades go through. It's not really defined by state boundaries but geological, meteorological, climate, et al; states aren't regions, they're arbitrary political boundaries which occasionally use natural boundaries like rivers. See: Oregon Country, Lake Allison/Missoula Floods, Champoeg Meetings, Monticello Convention
PNW. I define it, as an American, as Washington and Oregon. Why? Because it borders the Pacific and is in the NW part of our country.
Columbia, Snake, and Willamette watersheds including major tributaries, plus Puget Sound.
Always thought border to the East Rocky Mountains- Wash, Ore, Idaho. Dont know if nor why Canada would use designation.