Pacific Northwest: A Photographic Tour (Photographic Tour (Random House))
The Pacific Northwest—Oregon, Washington State, parts of northern California, and Canadian British Columbia—is a region of staggering beauty.  From the area's stunning expanse of forests to its wild seashore to its innumerable lakes and rivers to the imposing snow-clad peaks of Ranier, Hood, and Shasta, the area is—without much hyperbole—spectacular, panoramic, and sublime.Pacific Northwest: A Photographic Tourtakes the reader on an extraordinary journey faithfully captured by the lens of photographer Carol M. Highsmith.  It is a trip of incredible variety that starts with a visit to California's thirty-three-mile "Avenue of the Giants" near the coast along U.S. Route 101—nicknamed the "Redwood Highway."  It passes by the sapphire-blue Crater Lake, which was formed by the eruption of Mount Mazama 7,700 years ago, and continues through Portland, Oregon's largest city.In Washington, there are stops at the devastation of Mount Saint Helens volcano and Stampede Pass, the purported home ofSasquatch,or "Bigfoot."  In Seattle, there is the famed Space Needle and the popular Underground Seattle Tour takes visitors to the street level that existed more than a century ago.  Across the border in Canada is Vancouver with its incredible skyline, whose motto is "Spectacular by Nature."  In Victoria, there is the dazzling British Columbia Parliament Building complex which is outlined by more than three thousand lights at night.  And nearby is Butchart Gardens, fifty acres of the world's most magnificent floral paintings.These and many more points of interest await the reader.  With its wonderful photos and informative text,Pacific Northwest: A Photographic Tourmakes an excellent gift for anyone who has visited or wishes to visit this incomparable region.