Monday 23 February 2015

5 Themes of Geography (West USA: Portland,Oregon)


Location: The absolute location of Portland is the latitude and longitude which is  45.5200° N, 122.6819° W. A relative location of Portland is that it's located 70 miles east of the pacific ocean in the Willamette Valley between Coast Range and the Cascade Range.


Place: This picture of Multnomah Falls in Portland shows forestry and the falls itself; natural traits that belong in the physical characteristics. The bridge that links one pathway to another is a human characteristic.
*The physical characteristics of Portland include a mild marine climate with wet winters and nearby forests.  


Interaction between humans and the environment: Due to the rivers that divide the city, Portland must accomodate by building bridges as means of transportation.  People living in Portland must also accomodate to its wet, and occasional cold climate.  They would do this from the clothing that they wear to the gear that they carry such as; umbrellas, rain coats, rain boots, etc. Heaters would be prevalent in homes as well due to its chilly winters, something you will not see in other countries.


Movement: The Port of Portland is the port district responsible for general aviation and marine activities. Its organization promotes the regions' economy and quality of life by providing efficient cargo.  The Port imports over 400,000 automobiles from Asia every year, which contributes to the transportation mode of the people in the city. 

Region: Portland is located in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States.  It is considered a part of "Cascadia," a bioregion that includes Western Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, Alaska, Idaho, Montana, and parts of California.

Thursday 12 February 2015

"Good Friday" Earthquake hits West USA

In 1964 on March 27th, an earthquake followed by a tsunami hit the western areas of USA. It was the most powerful recorded earthquake in the US history; having a moment magnitude of 9.2, it even lifted parts of Alaska. The massive ground movements unleashed a powerful tsunami, sloshing water up to 220ft high. Another impactful destruction was when an underwater landslide and tsunami caused the Voltez dock to collapse, killing 32 people. Not only were the Alaskan coastal communities devastated by the tsunami, but so were the west coast regions including Oregon and California. This natural disaster caused soil liquefaction and several landslides that caused major structural damage to property. The result of the earthquake and tsunami had believed to have killed 139 people.  Evidence of motion directly related to the earthquake was reported from all over the world.

Hydrosphere: The tsunamis causing destruction is related to the Hydrosphere as tsunamis are a series of waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of water.
Biosphere: The deaths impacted from the collapsing buildings and the damaged, irreparable property are all related to the Biosphere as these are both parts and contributions to the ecosystem
Lithosphere: The landslides and soil liquefaction are involved in the lithosphere, the earthquake also belongs in this category.

The three spheres correlate in this corresponding manner:
The earthquake caused by the movement of tectonic plates which belongs in the category of lithosphere, impacts the biosphere by killing many of its inhabitants and ruining countless structures.  The landslides and soil liquefaction which also belong in the lithosphere category, are after-effects from the earthquake. The tsunamis belonging in the hydrosphere, were from the impacts of the moving tectonic plates belonging in the lithosphere category.

Wednesday 11 February 2015

1st Post

2) Where is it?
 It's in the western region of USA; West of the Rocky Mountains
3) Major cities?
The largest city in Western USA is Los Angeles, California
Others are: Las Vegas, Nevada
                   Seattle, Washington
                   Phoenix, Arizona
                   Portland, Oregon
4) Size (square km including water)?
Including Alaska, West USA has a size of 4,892,545 km^2
5) Population (2010)?
71, 945, 553
6) Type of Government?
Republic