The West Coast Washington Oregon Montana North Dakota Minnesota New Hampshire Vermont Maine Idaho South Dakota Wisconsin Wyoming Michigan New York Massachusetts Rhode Island Connecticut Nevada Nebraska Iowa Utah Colorado Illinois Indiana Pennsylvania Ohio California Arizona New Mexico Kansas Missouri Kentucky Oklahoma Arkansas Tennessee New Jersey Delaware Maryland Washington D C West Virginia Virginia North Carolina South Carolina Texas Alabama Mississippi Georgia Louisiana Florida Can you imagine the tallest trees in the world Now think about huge ocean waves They crash over jagged rocks Cold salt water flows into caves where sea lions live Nearby are mountains and sandy beaches This is the West Coast region of the United States It stretches 1,500 miles 2,400 kilometers along the Pacific Ocean 4
The first section of State Route 1 in California was built in the 1930s A drive down the West Coast goes through Washington Oregon and California and will take about four days 5
In Washington the coastline is a rainforest The land looks like a jungle It is covered with plants moss and large trees Trees grow to nearly 300 feet 91 meters That’s almost as tall as the Statue of Liberty Further south into Oregon the beaches become sandy and rocky To the east are the mighty Cascade Mountains Volcanoes are part of this rugged mountain range Some are still active In the rainforest of Washington snow stays in the treetops It can’t fall to the ground because the vegetation is too thick 6
In 1980 Mount St Helens in Washington erupted This active volcano spewed out lava ash and rock Ash fell on eleven states Huge mudslides flowed 50 miles 80 kilometers to the Columbia River Fifty-seven people and thousands of animals died It was the first volcanic eruption in the U S since 1915 when Mount Lassen in California erupted 7
