PNW question

dhays said:

I recall a couple years ago being gently chided for referring to WA and BC waters as the PNW by either Keith or Murray. It was something that I had never considered before but I have since tried to change that US-centric habit. When I am including BC coastal waters I try to be specific about it. It is easy to do, provides better clarity, and why pet my friends peeves unnecessarily?

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Get over it. It IS the Pacific Northwest of North America not of the US. Jeez.

aginglawyer said:

Get over it. It IS the Pacific Northwest of North America not of the US. Jeez.

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Thanks for the suggestion. I’ll continue to try and be respectful and considerate to my northern neighbors and virtual friends. Since it never hurts to be more geographically specific and since some usages of terms can be confusing between residents of different locals, I’ll likely continue to endeavor to use terms that aren’t irritating to my friends. However, I certainly recognize that there is a plurality of definitions for PNW so there will likely be differences in how it is used and defined here in TF.

Looking at a map of NA, I’m still not sure how Washington State could be considered to be the PNW of NA. The most NW area of NA appears to be Alaska but I don’t think they consider themselves to be part of the PNW. I never was great at geography however.

dhays said:

Get over what exactly? Get over trying to be polite to our northern neighbors and virtual friends? ... But what do I know, I live near Tacoma.

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aginglawyer said:

Get over it. It IS the Pacific Northwest of North America not of the US. Jeez.

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Either not aged enough, or far too much.

MurryM

Locals do know what they call various places and they also differentiate because they usually must and know the differences. It's a matter of scale.

Strangers on the other hand don't have a clue and the further away from the area of interest, the greater the generalities.

Thus, ask most New Yorkers and most would say any place from San Francisco to Anchorage. Pin them down and most probably think Vancouver B.C. is part of Oregon or Washington. Some may even opine that the Pacific Northwest consists of Japan, Korean and Kamchatka.

Interior Alaskans call everything outside Alaska, the "Outside".
Simple, works for Seattle or Miami.
Though the Yukon would be called the Yukon, but B.C. "Outside"

Don't take it personally.

As a transplanted Midwesterner to Washington over 20 years ago, I have always thought of the PNW as that area along the eastern coast of the North Pacific that has the common ecosystem of being a temperate rain forest. This would include parts of Northern CA through SE AK.

Tator,

+1

Wxx3 said:

MurryM

Locals do know what they call various places and they also differentiate because they usually must and know the differences. It's a matter of scale.

Strangers on the other hand don't have a clue and the further away from the area of interest, the greater the generalities.

Thus, ask most New Yorkers and most would say any place from San Francisco to Anchorage. Pin them down and most probably think Vancouver B.C. is part of Oregon or Washington. Some may even opine that the Pacific Northwest consists of Japan, Korean and Kamchatka.

Interior Alaskans call everything outside Alaska, the "Outside".
Simple, works for Seattle or Miami.
Though the Yukon would be called the Yukon, but B.C. "Outside"

Don't take it personally.

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That makes perfect sense.

What I'm confronting is the inflexible sole arbiter attitude some people in the USA seem to hold. It may not raise an eyebrow at home, but there are many other people living on this planet with vastly different cultures, societal norms, and world views.

Being ignorant of other countries is one thing, but being indifferent to their heritage and assuming the USA way is the Right Way is something I have to challenge. If nobody says anything against this attitude, how would they ever know it doesn't fly outside their borders?

Just because someones voice is loudest, doesn't make them right.

In the context of this thread, the OP would probably get more responses from knowledgeable TF’ers if the title had been something like, “South Coast BC in Winter?”

Murray,

I've always believed the locals get to define who they are, and more Germaine to this thread, where they are, hence, it's "San Francisco", not "Frisco"; "Ory-gun", not "Ory-gone"; but I draw the line at "the Sunshine Coast".

When I lived in Alaska I always thought of the PNW as “down south”.

Nomad Willy said:

When I lived in Alaska I always thought of the PNW as “down south”.

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Or "Lower 48"

AlaskaProf said:

but I draw the line at "the Sunshine Coast".

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That’s just good marketing.

Anyway, whatever folks like to call it, I’m really glad that I have access to boating in the Salish Sea and appreciate all the information and advice this group has provided as I have had the opportunity to explore more of it.

Salish what?
Not on my map.

What a great cruising year it has been in the PNW. From Tacoma to Glacier Bay and the literally thousands of named points, bays, inlets and regions in between.

I remain confused on weather reports for Johnstone Strait. When JS weather forecasts come out, where on the general charts are are they referencing?

Other than this geographical weather question the weather district naming for the rest of the BC coastal areas seem logical.

Al said:

Or "Lower 48"

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We called it "the Lesser 48."