Pacific Northwest

The Pacific Northwest is a region of the USA.

Overview
Formed after The Collapse, the Pacific Northwest is made up of the states of Hawaii, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.

History
Politically speaking, the Pacific Northwest region is as powerful as the Great Plains region, and these are the only two real competitors to the Appalachian dominance of national politics. Despite the fact that the region only has four states, it possesses the largest West Coast port (also the only Pacific port not in a Free State) and the Pacific Ocean Military Base. It also still has a large reserve of lumber, and produces a lot of real food, like apples, potatoes, hops,. wine grapes, and the few fish that are still safe to eat.

Added to these resources is the fact that these four states take their politics very seriously. The region's senators have the best attendance record in the national government. Furthermore, the Pacific Northwest region is the only region which has always voted as a bloc on every issue. These practices have added clout to what is a relatively small group of states.

Thanks to the port of Seattle, the Pacific Northwest has become somewhat of a thoroughfare for American society. Far from being a backwater relegated to a lonely corner o f the continent, the Northwest is towards the front of the American cultural wave, and it's slowly gaining ground on the leaders of the pack, Appalachia and the Free States. Many of the grunge rockers are making pilgrimages to the rebuilt ruins of the Northwest, hoping to find something of their roots in the new port and the abandoned skyscrapers. Or, as Kerry Eurodyne said, "We ll, the Northwest music scene used to be the pits. Now the only thing that stinks is Tacoma."

Despite years of severe ecological damage, the states of the Pacific Northwest region are trying to improve things, recognizing that natural resources are one of their biggest assets. The rugged beauty of the area, though, has been largely destroyed, and it may never return.