Why So Few Americans Live In This HUGE Area Of The West Coast

the west coast of the United States is a heavily populated area of the country overall from San Diego and Los Angeles to San Francisco and Sacramento and California and Portland and Seattle in the Pacific Northwest the west coast is home to over 50 million Americans while the entire region is home to a lot of people this large area in the middle is almost entirely empty so why don't more people live in the empty West Coast thank you hello and welcome to geography by Jeff today we're going to look at an area of the west coast of the United States that has very few people living in it which is weird because if you look to the south of this region you have the bulk of California with over 40 million people living in it and if you look to the north you have Portland and Seattle two major Pacific Northwest cities but right in between very few people call this place home and as usual there's a geographic reason for this but first consider supporting me over on sub stack premium subscribers get access to these extra special perks and of course every subscriber helps me continue to make geography weekend week out so sign up today [Music] foreign thinks of the West Coast it's of the tech heavy Bay Area or Seattle regions the Southern California beaches in Hollywood or even the quirky bicycle-friendly Portland Oregon but nestled in between these areas lies a beautiful stretch of land comprising the northern portion of California and the southern part of Oregon a region also known as the state of Jefferson which we'll get to in a little bit but for now let's run through the geography of this region as a whole starting in the southern part of the empty West the California coast is renowned for its rugged Beauty with Rocky Bluffs golden beaches and huge marine ecosystems but also its vast forests such as the Tahoe National Forest Trinity National Forest six River national forests and many more these forests are home to some of the tallest and oldest trees on Earth and protruding out of these forests is the southern end of the Cascade mountain range and the Northern end of the Sierra Nevada mountain range this would include one of the most prominent mountain peaks in the entire country Mount Shasta with a height of 14 179 feet the U.S us Geological Survey currently monitors the mountain for volcanic activity and ranks it as a very high threat for volcanic eruption moving North we have Southern Oregon Often overshadowed by its northern counterpart is a sparsely populated but still geographically Rich area the Oregon coast is a blend of sandy beaches towering sea stacks and ocean Cliffs Inland the Rogue Valley offers a fertile landscape known for its agriculture including a burgeoning wine industry with a climate that's warmer and drier than the northern part of the state it presents a unique biosphere within Oregon perhaps the most iconic feature of Southern Oregon's landscape is Crater Lake located in the Cascade Mountains Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States and second deepest in North America it was formed by the collapse of Mount Mazama nearly 7 700 years ago finally the empty West eastern boundary is marked by the Great Basin a high desert landscape that's home to a unique array of plant and animal species it offers a stark contrast to the coastal and forested regions of Southern Oregon and Northern California having far more in common with Nevada than the other areas the empty West is a truly striking region of the United States but if you haven't picked up on it yet it's this exact unique geography that makes it almost impossible to establish large population centers we're going to explore why that is both historically and in the modern day and of course if you're enjoying this video hit that subscribe button more fun geography videos are just a single click away but first today's video is sponsored by incognate your data has a geography unto itself when you travel around the web and do things like buy stuff create accounts or manage your personal business there are data brokers who are collecting analyzing and selling your data to buyers all over the planet and this is a problem because when so many organizations are passing around your data it makes it easier for someone even more nefarious to sneak in and steal your data at some point I've had my data stolen recently and as a result have had to deal with some pretty agonizing bureaucracies to fix it I can't stress this enough it was not fun but even scarier is that there are specific websites where people can directly find your information all someone needs to do is input your name and get access to sensitive information such as your address phone numbers employment and even information on your children and while these Services make users promise not to use them for things such as stalking or harassment there's little they can do to enforce that that's why why incogni is such an important service and cogni reaches out to these data Brokers on your behalf requests your personal data to be removed and deals with any objections from their side and this process is 100 automated all you have to do is create an account grant them access to work on your behalf and then kick back and watch as your data disappears from the web it's that easy as part of this sponsorship the first 100 people to use the code geography by Jeff with the link below will get 60 off in cogni so sign up today and be more proactive about securing your data foreign [Music] teen hundreds the United States was still largely confined to the eastern part of the North American continent however with the acquisition of the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 which added a massive 828 000 square miles to the Young Nation expansion to the West Was inevitable this acquisition was a catalyst for the United States expansion propelling explorers like Lewis and Clark to venture into these new territories and report back on their potential the discovery of fertile lands and the Allure of New Opportunities set in motion a wave of pioneers who embarked on challenging Journeys to the West in particular early settlers made their way to the Willamette Valley of modern day Oregon by way of the Oregon Trail a wagon route stretching over 2 000 miles from Missouri to Oregon this was a particular draw for settlers because of a series of geologic events that occurred thousands of years prior called the Missoula floods these floods were the result of a large glacial dam breaking and flooding Eastern Washington and the Willamette Valley over and over again and each time it happened it would bring more sediment and soil that would eventually create one of the most agriculturally fertile areas in the Willamette Valley and with the incredibly large Columbia River Running along the Willamette Valley it made growing and shipping agricultural products to the world much easier between 1841 and 1869 it's estimated that more than 400 000 settlers miners farmers and ranchers would use the Oregon Trail to reach Western lands the next significant push Westward came with the California Gold Rush in 1848 The Lure of gold brought an estimated 300 000 people to Northern California drastically altering the state's demographics San Francisco more from a small settlement of around 200 residents in 1846 to a booming town of about 36 thousand by 1852 to facilitate this migration and make the journey less treacherous the Transcontinental Railroad was constructed between 1863 and 1869. this massive feat of engineering linked the existing Eastern rail network with the Pacific coast at San Francisco effectively Bridging the continent and heralding a new era of Westward Expansion the passing of the a homestead act of 1862 further encouraged westward migration by providing settlers with 160 Acres of public land nearly free of charge in exchange homesteaders were required to build a dwelling and cultivate crops this act led to the distribution of 270 million acres of land by 1934 largely in the western states this steady flow of sellers to the West continued well into the 1900s bolstered by factors such as the dust bowl of the 1930s which drove many farming families from the Prairies of the Midwest to the Southwest part of the country but while the Oregon Trail and Columbia River Drew settlers to the northern part of Oregon and the gold Russian Port of San Francisco lured vast amounts of people to the central part of California the large swath in between didn't have much of anything pulling people to settle it which is why growth during this period of time was rather anemic compared to its northern and southern Neighbors [Music] today the empty West is one of the least populated areas of the country and much of this has to do with the natural geography of the region most human settlements begin because of a variety of factors that include access to fertile lands for agriculture and places that would naturally be susceptible to establishment of shipping and trade unfortunately this region makes both of these incredibly challenging outside of the Sacramento Valley in Northern California this entire region is very mountainous between the Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountain ranges there's relatively few low-lying Flatlands available to establish large cities and those that do exist such as in the Rogue Valley in southern Oregon are fairly small and not amenable to establishing Transportation infrastructure such as large ports the Rogue River for example is much smaller than the Columbia river that connects Portland Oregon to the Pacific Ocean and it's this complicated natural geography that makes it so hard to build out infrastructure highways rails and even ports are incredibly challenging to build within this region even on the coast the Northern California and Oregon beaches are often rugged and Rocky which with few areas where a sizable Port such as the ones found in Seattle San Francisco and Los Angeles could be built it's for this region that the largest city in the empty West is Eugene Oregon with about 380 000 people within the Metro region Eugene exists in the far southern tip of the Willamette Valley this would be about 1 7 the size of the Portland metro region Eugene would be followed by the Medford Oregon Metro region with 223 000 people and the Chico California Metro region with about 211 000 people Bend Oregon and Redding California round out what would be the only other medium-sized cities in the region with 99 000 and 94 000 people respectively those should be noted that bend has constantly made the top 10 fastest growing cities in the country over the last decade and it's because of this overall lack of infrastructure and general difference in geography that has led to some calling for a new state to be made entirely [Music] so I'm watching this video might better know the general area I've been talking about as the long-desired 51st state of Jefferson tracing its roots back to the early 1940s residents of several counties in Northern California and Southern Oregon propose the formation of a brand new state this was largely due to perceived neglect from their respective state governments and feeling alienated from their Urban counterparts these residents would choose the name Jefferson in honor of the third U.S president Thomas Jefferson who championed the ideals of rural Independence and agrarian democracy the region even went so far as to inaugurate a governor and design a flag featuring two x's signifying their Double Cross by the Oregon capital in Salem and California capital in Sacramento the movement was put on hold due to the outbreak of World War II but it never truly dissipated in recent years the push for the state of Jefferson has seen a Resurgence modern proponents argue that their rural communities lack adequate representation in state government leading to discontent over issues such as land use regulations taxation and natural resource management currently the state of Jefferson is more a state of mind than an actual recognized entity unfortunately for Jefferson statehood proponents creating a new state is very challenging and requires approval from both the state's legislator and U.S Congress and that's even if the region itself actually still wants to form a new state at all not everyone within the area is on board the Jefferson statehood train but despite these challenges the dream of the State of Jefferson endures the empty West is largely empty because of some unique Geographic issues and despite being part of California and Oregon respectively this region has its own unique identity that is to draw for millions of Americans and in fact it's this exact geography and low population that is attractive to the people who live there I hope you enjoyed learning more about America's empty West if you did please subscribe to my channel and if you want to watch more of my videos you can do so here thanks for watching see you next time

Channel: Geography By Geoff

Views: 6,363,196

Keywords: california, empty west coast, geography, geography by geoff, geography facts, geography now, geography quiz, geography youtube, oregon, real life lore, redwood national forest, state of jefferson, usa west coast, washington, west coast, why do so few people live in northern california, why do so few people live in southern oregon, why do so many people live on the west coast, why so few americans live in this huge area, youtube videos about geography

Id: cOoFsehit6U

Length: 11min 40sec (700 seconds)

Published: Mon Jul 17 2023