Topography
- Runs along the west coast of North America
- Consists of many mountain ranges separated by plateaus and valleys
- The Rockies are the most eastern range in the Cordillera
- In the USA, the Cordillera extends towards the middle of the continent
- Coastal mountain ranges are volcanic, while the interior ones are fold mountains
- Western Cordillera is made up of new mountains that have not been majorly affected by erosion
- Twice as high as the Appalachians
- Rocky Mountains form the Continental Divide
- Every river east of the Rockies flow to the east, and drain at the Gulf of Mexico, Arctic Ocean, Hudson Bay or James Bay
- RIvers west of the Rockies flow to the Pacific Ocean
Climate
- West coast in general has a maritime climate, meaning that it is influenced by the presence of a large body of water
- Temperature range is small and precipitation tends to be high
- Cordillera is moist and mild. Some locations in the Cordillera are among the wettest regions of the planet
- Because the Pacific Ocean moderates the temperatures, winters are above freezing and summers are cooler than other regions
- Valleys are warmer than mountain slopes. windward slopes are wetter than leeward ones
- In one example of an area inside the Western Cordillera, Vancouver, BC garners around 150mm of rain in the winter, and receives around 50mm - sometimes even less - in the summer months
Vegetation
- The vegetation of the Western Cordillera varies greatly
- On moist, windward sloped mountains, evergreens such as Douglas fir, western hemlock, and western red cedar, grow to enormous heights and ages on the lower slopes
- Trees are smaller in size on the higher slopes
- At the very tops of the mountains, vegetation either becomes similar to that of a tundra's, or does not exist
- Grasses and cacti grow on the dryer leeward slopes
- Evergreens do not grow in the southern parts of the Cordillera, because there is not enough precipitation to support their growth
Economic Activity
- The forestry, pulp and paper industries are major economic factors of most of the Western Cordillera because of the large amount of trees & vegetation present in the region
- For example, in 2009, British Columbia racked up $3.5 billion in pulp & paper exports
- Other industries include agriculture, mining (iron, lead, zinc, silver, copper and nickel), and fishing (salmon is a very well known commodity of the west coast)
Environmental Concerns
- Pollution, like any other region, is an ongoing problem in the Western Cordillera
- Pollutants include vehicle exhaust, wood smoke, and smoke & waste from factories
- This issue is prominent in California, especially in Los Angeles, where a permanent smog is present because of pollution
- Another environmental issue is salmon farming
- Excessive farming of salmon can damage their ecosystems and population, and as a major commodity of the west coast would cause an economic problem as well