West Coast of the United States - wikipedia West Coast of the United States Not to be confused with Western United States. Coastline West Coast of the United States Coastline The states shown in dark red are included in the term West Coast or Pacific Coast. Population ( 2016 ) Total 50,631,000 Time zone Pacific Standard Time ( PST ) ( UTC − 8 : 00 ) Summer ( DST ) Pacific Daylight Time ( PDT ) ( UTC − 7 : 00 ) Play media This video was taken by the crew of Expedition 29 on board the ISS on a pass down the American West Coast. The West Coast or Pacific Coast is the coastline along which the contiguous Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. As a region, this term most often refers to the coastal states of California, Oregon and Washington. More specifically, it refers to an area defined on the east by the Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada and Mojave Desert, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. The U.S. Census groups the five states of California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and Hawaii together as the Pacific States division. Contents 1 Population 1.1 Major cities 2 History 3 Climate 4 Culture 5 See also 6 References Population As of the 2010 Census, the estimated population of the Census Bureau 's Pacific Region was approximately 47.8 million ( 56.9 million if Nevada and Arizona are included ) -- about 15.3 % ( 18.2 % with Nevada and Arizona ) of US population. The largest city on the west coast of the United States is Los Angeles. Major cities See also : California megapolitan areas Major cities and metropolitan areas on the West Coast include ( from north to south ) : Spokane metropolitan area Spokane Spokane Valley Seattle metropolitan area Seattle Bellevue Tacoma Portland metropolitan area Portland Gresham Vancouver Sacramento metropolitan area Sacramento San Francisco Bay Area San Francisco Oakland San Jose Stockton Modesto Fresno Bakersfield Inland Empire San Bernardino Riverside Los Angeles metropolitan area Los Angeles Long Beach Anaheim San Diego However, of these aforementioned cities and metropolitan areas, only Los Angeles, Long Beach, San Francisco, and San Diego are directly on the open Pacific Ocean. History See also : Models of migration to the New World, History of Mesoamerica, and Native Americans in the United States The history of the West Coast begins with the arrival of the earliest known humans of the Americas, Paleo - Indians, crossing the Bering Strait from Eurasia into North America over a land bridge, Beringia, that existed between 45,000 BCE and 12,000 BCE ( 47,000 -- 14,000 years ago ). Small isolated groups of hunter - gatherers migrated alongside herds of large herbivores far into Alaska. Between 16,500 BCE and 13,500 BCE ( 18,500 -- 15,500 years ago ), ice - free corridors developed along the Pacific coast and valleys of North America and possibly by sea. Alaska Natives, indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, and California indigenous peoples eventually descended from the Paleo - Indians. They developed various languages and established trade routes. Later, Spanish, British, French, Russian, and American explorers and settlers began colonizing the area. Climate Köppen climate types of the US West Coast The West Coast of the United States has an oceanic climate in its Northern edge towards the Canada -- US border, but from the California border towards the Mexico -- US border the climate is mediterranean. The coastline sees significantly mild temperatures when compared to the inland areas during summer. In far Northern California there is a difference of 17 ° C ( 30 ° F ) between Eureka and Willow Creek in spite of only 25 miles ( 40 km ) separating the locations and Willow Creek being located at a 500 metres ( 1,600 ft ) elevation. Slightly narrower fluctuations can be seen all through the coastline, and could partially be explained by the cold currents in the Pacific Ocean moderating coastal temperatures and the mountain ranges blocking the maritime air from moving farther inland than its foothills during summer. Coastal fog is also prevalent in keeping shoreline temperatures cool. This does not only occur in the San Francisco Bay Area, but it also affects Santa Monica in Los Angeles, Southern California, with very little yearly temperature differences but with cool summers similar to those expected in Northern Europe. A short journey inland and summer temperatures are compatible with the rest of the United States on the same latitudes, sometimes warmer due to prevailing winds from the Nevada and Arizona hot desert climate. Culture Since the West Coast has been populated by immigrants more recently than the East Coast, its culture is considerably younger. Additionally, its demographic composition underlies its cultural difference from the rest of the United States. California 's history first as a major Spanish colony, and later Mexican territory, has given the lower West Coast a distinctive Hispanic tone, which it also shares with the rest of the Southwest. Similarly, two of the three cities in which Asian Americans have concentrated, San Francisco and Los Angeles, are located on the West Coast, with significant populations in other West Coast cities. San Francisco 's Chinatown, the oldest in North America, is a vibrant cultural center. The West Coast also has a proportionally large share of green cities within the United States, which manifests itself in different cultural practices such as bicycling and organic gardening. On the other hand, the French writer Guillaume Faye, comparing California to Europe, wrote that `` as super-America, California stands out as the absolute antithesis of authentic Europe (... ) California has set itself up as the world centre of the simulacrum and the inauthentic, as the absolute synthesis of `` cool '' Stalinism. An hysterical land ; focus and meeting - place for the rootless, California is the land of non-history, of the non-event, but at the same time the site of the constant swirl, the uninterrupted rhythm of fashion, that is to say, the site of tremors going nowhere, those tremors which so obsess it, constantly threatened as it is by earthquakes. '' Other writers, like Jean Baudrillard, Mike Davis, and Umberto Eco, have made related statements on Californian culture. In the Northwest, Portland and Seattle are both considered among the coffee capitals of the world. While Starbucks originated in Seattle, both towns are known for small - scale coffee roasters and independent coffeeshops. In the Pacific Northwest at large, which includes the Canadian west coast, the culture has been significantly shaped by the environment, especially by its forests, mountains, and rain. This may account for the fact that the Northwest has many high - quality libraries and bookshops ( most notably Powell 's Books and the Seattle Central Library ) and a `` bibliophile soul ''. The region also has a marginal, but growing independence movement based on bioregionalism and a Cascadian identity. The Cascadian flag has become a popular image at Seattle Sounders and Portland Timbers games. See also United States portal Southern California Bight British Columbia Coast East Coast of the United States Gulf Coast of the United States Pacific coast Left Coast Third Coast Sun Belt References Wikivoyage has a travel guide for West Coast ( United States of America ). Jump up ^ `` U.S. Census Regions and Divisions ''. U.S. Energy Information Administration. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. Retrieved September 18, 2014. Jump up ^ `` United States Census Bureau, 2005 American Community Survey. Summed estimates for CA, OR, WA, AK, and HI ''. Factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved October 18, 2012. Jump up ^ `` First Americans Endured 20,000 - Year Layover -- Jennifer Viegas, Discovery News ''. Retrieved 2009 - 11 - 18. Archaeological evidence, in fact, recognizes that people started to leave Beringia for the New World around 40,000 years ago, but rapid expansion into North America did not occur until about 15,000 years ago, when the ice had literally broken. Jump up ^ `` Selected Population Profile in the United States ''. United States Census Bureau. United States Department of Commerce. Retrieved June 25, 2011. Jump up ^ Lee, Sharon M. ( 1998 ). `` Asian Americans : Diverse and Growing '' ( PDF ). Population Bulletin. Population Reference Bureau. 53 ( 2 ). Retrieved March 9, 2013. Jump up ^ Ng, Franklin ( 1998 ). The History and Immigration of Asian Americans. Taylor & Francis. p. 211. ISBN 978 - 0 - 8153 - 2690 - 8. Retrieved March 9, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Top ten green U.S. cities ''. Mother Nature Network. Retrieved June 26, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Utopia Achieved : How Can Anyone Be European ? ''. International Journal of Baudrillard Studies. Archived from the original on 2015 - 03 - 21. Retrieved October 13, 2014. Jump up ^ Baudrillard, Jean ( 1989 ). America. Verso. Jump up ^ Davis, Mike ( 1990 ). City of Quartz. Verso. Jump up ^ Eco, Umberto ( 1990 ). Travels in Hyperreality. Mariner Books. Jump up ^ `` World 's 10 best cities for coffee ''. USA Today. Retrieved February 22, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Pacific Northwest : bicycles, bookshops, weirdness and coffee ''. The Guardian. Retrieved February 22, 2015. Jump up ^ `` The People Who Would n't Mind if the Pacific Northwest Were Its Own Country ''. Vice. Retrieved February 22, 2015. Regions of North America Northern Eastern Canada Western Canada Canadian Prairies Central Canada Northern Canada Atlantic Canada The Maritimes French Canada English Canada Acadia Acadian Peninsula Quebec City -- Windsor Corridor Peace River Country Cypress Hills Palliser 's Triangle Canadian Shield Interior Alaska - Yukon lowland taiga Newfoundland ( island ) Vancouver Island Gulf Islands Strait of Georgia Canadian Arctic Archipelago Labrador Peninsula Gaspé Peninsula Avalon Peninsula Bay de Verde Peninsula Brodeur Peninsula Melville Peninsula Bruce Peninsula Banks Peninsula ( Nunavut ) Cook Peninsula Gulf of Boothia Georgian Bay Hudson Bay James Bay Greenland Pacific Northwest Inland Northwest Northeast New England Mid-Atlantic Commonwealth West Midwest Upper Midwest Mountain states Intermountain West Basin and Range Province Oregon Trail Mormon Corridor Calumet Region Southwest Old Southwest Llano Estacado Central United States Tallgrass prairie South South Central Deep South Upland South Four Corners East Coast West Coast Gulf Coast Third Coast Eastern United States Appalachia Trans - Mississippi Great North Woods Great Plains Interior Plains Great Lakes Great Basin Great Basin Desert Acadia Ozarks Ark - La - Tex Waxhaws Siouxland Twin Tiers Driftless Area Palouse Piedmont Atlantic coastal plain Outer Lands Black Dirt Region Blackstone Valley Piney Woods Rocky Mountains Mojave Desert The Dakotas The Carolinas Shawnee Hills San Fernando Valley Tornado Alley North Coast Lost Coast Emerald Triangle San Francisco Bay Area San Francisco Bay North Bay East Bay Silicon Valley Interior Alaska - Yukon lowland taiga Gulf of Mexico Lower Colorado River Valley Sacramento -- San Joaquin River Delta Yukon -- Kuskokwim Delta Colville Delta Arkansas Delta Mobile -- Tensaw River Delta Mississippi Delta Mississippi River Delta Columbia River Estuary Great Basin High Desert Monterey Peninsula Upper Peninsula of Michigan Lower Peninsula of Michigan Virginia Peninsula Keweenaw Peninsula Middle Peninsula Delmarva Peninsula Alaska Peninsula Kenai Peninsula Niagara Peninsula Beringia Belt regions Bible Belt Black Belt Corn Belt Cotton Belt Frost Belt Rice Belt Rust Belt Sun Belt Snow Belt Latin Northern Mexico Baja California Peninsula Gulf of California Colorado River Delta Gulf of Mexico Soconusco Tierra Caliente La Mixteca La Huasteca Bajío Valley of Mexico Mezquital Valley Sierra Madre de Oaxaca Yucatán Peninsula Basin and Range Province Western Caribbean Zone Isthmus of Panama Gulf of Panama Pearl Islands Azuero Peninsula Mosquito Coast West Indies Antilles Greater Antilles Lesser Antilles Leeward Leeward Antilles Windward Lucayan Archipelago Southern Caribbean Aridoamerica Mesoamerica Oasisamerica Northern Middle Anglo Latin French Hispanic American Cordillera Ring of Fire LAC Regions of the United States Administrative ( political ) Units U.S. state District of Columbia Insular area Minor Outlying Island Maritime territory Time zones Hawaii -- Aleutian Alaska Pacific Mountain Central Eastern Census West Pacific Mountain Midwest EN Central WN Central Northeast New England Middle Atlantic South S Atlantic ES Central WS Central Courts of appeals 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th Physical Physiographic Pacific Mountain Intermontane Plateaus Rocky Mountain Superior Upland Interior Plains Interior Highlands Appalachian Atlantic Plain Coastal Arctic West Great Lakes Gulf East Historical Acquisitions Thirteen Colonies Northwest Territory Southwest Territory Louisiana Purchase Gadsden Purchase Texas annexation Oregon Treaty Mexican Cession Alaska Purchase Newlands Resolution Civil War Union Border states Confederacy Old South Dixie Slave and free states Theaters Pacific Western Trans - Mississippi Lower Seaboard Eastern Divided Pacific Northwest Atlantic Northeast Prairie Pothole Columbia Oregon Other Appalachia Border states Red states and blue states Central Eastern Four Corners Great Plains High Plains Intermountain Interior Northern Northwest South Central Southern Deep New Upland Southeast Southwest Upper Midwest List Category United States articles History By event Timeline of U.S. history Pre-Columbian era Colonial era Thirteen Colonies military history Continental Congress American Revolution War American frontier Confederation Period Drafting and ratification of Constitution Federalist Era War of 1812 Territorial acquisitions Territorial evolution Mexican -- American War Civil War Reconstruction Era Indian Wars Gilded Age Progressive Era African - American civil rights movement 1865 -- 1896 / 1896 -- 1954 / 1954 -- 1968 Spanish -- American War Imperialism World War I Roaring Twenties Great Depression World War II home front Nazism in the United States American Century Cold War Korean War Space Race Feminist Movement Vietnam War Post-Cold War ( 1991 -- 2008 ) War on Terror War in Afghanistan Iraq War Recent events ( 2008 -- present ) By topic Outline of U.S. history Demographic Discoveries Economic debt ceiling Inventions before 1890 1890 -- 1945 1946 -- 91 after 1991 Military Postal Technological and industrial Geography Territory counties federal district federal enclaves Indian reservations insular zones minor outlying islands populated places states Earthquakes Extreme points Islands Mountains peaks ranges Appalachian Rocky National Park Service National Parks Regions East Coast West Coast Great Plains Gulf Mid-Atlantic Midwestern New England Pacific Central Eastern Northern Northeastern Northwestern Southern Southeastern Southwestern Western Longest rivers Arkansas Colorado Columbia Mississippi Missouri Red ( South ) Rio Grande Yukon Time Water supply and sanitation Politics Federal Executive Cabinet Civil service Executive departments Executive Office Independent agencies Law enforcement President of the United States Public policy Legislative House of Representatives current members Speaker Senate current members President pro tempore Vice President Judicial Courts of appeals District courts Supreme Court Law Bill of Rights civil liberties Code of Federal Regulations Constitution federalism preemption separation of powers Federal Reporter United States Code United States Reports Intelligence Central Intelligence Agency Defense Intelligence Agency Federal Bureau of Investigation National Geospatial - Intelligence Agency National Reconnaissance Office National Security Agency Office of the Director of National Intelligence Uniformed Armed Forces Army Marine Corps Navy Air Force Coast Guard National Guard NOAA Corps Public Health Service Corps 51st state political status of Puerto Rico District of Columbia statehood movement Elections Electoral College Foreign relations Foreign policy Hawaiian sovereignty movement Ideologies anti-Americanism exceptionalism nationalism Local government Parties Democratic Republican Third parties Red states and blue states Purple America Scandals State government governor state legislature state court Uncle Sam Economy By sector Agriculture Banking Communications Energy Insurance Manufacturing Mining Tourism Trade Transportation Companies by state Currency Exports Federal budget Federal Reserve System Financial position Labor unions Public debt Social welfare programs Taxation Unemployment Wall Street Society Culture Americana Architecture Cinema Cuisine Dance Demography Education Family structure Fashion Flag Folklore Languages American English Indigenous languages ASL Black American Sign Language HSL Plains Sign Talk Arabic Chinese French German Italian Russian Spanish Literature Media Journalism Internet Newspapers Radio Television Music Names People Philosophy Public holidays Religion Sexuality Sports Theater Visual art Social class Affluence American Dream Educational attainment Homelessness Home - ownership Household income Income inequality Middle class Personal income Poverty Professional and working class conflict Standard of living Wealth Issues Ages of consent Capital punishment Crime incarceration Criticism of government Discrimination affirmative action antisemitism intersex rights Islamophobia LGBT rights racism same - sex marriage Drug policy Energy policy Environmental movement Gun politics Health care abortion health insurance hunger obesity smoking Human rights Immigration illegal International rankings National security Mass surveillance Terrorism Separation of church and state Outline Index Book Category Portal Coordinates : 39 ° N 122 ° W ﻿ / ﻿ 39 ° N 122 ° W ﻿ / 39 ; - 122 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=West_Coast_of_the_United_States&oldid=844179753 '' Categories : West Coast of the United States Coasts of the Pacific Ocean Coasts of the United States Regions of the Western United States Landforms of California Landforms of Oregon Landforms of Washington ( state ) Regions of the United States Western United States Hidden categories : Articles with short description All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from September 2013 Articles with unsourced statements from May 2017 Coordinates on Wikidata Articles containing video clips Talk Contents About Wikipedia Wikivoyage Languages Български Català Čeština Deutsch Ελληνικά Español Esperanto فارسی Français 한국어 Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית Latina Македонски Nederlands 日本 語 Polski Português Русский Simple English Slovenčina Suomi Svenska Türkçe Українська اردو Tiếng Việt 中文 21 more Edit links This page was last edited on 3 June 2018, at 05 : 19 ( UTC ). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: where is the west coast in the us
Answer: an area defined on the east by the Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada and Mojave Desert, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean