Pacific Coast Ranges

The Pacific Coast Ranges are a discontinuous chain of mountains along western North America, extending from Alaska through Canada and the United States into Mexico. They include ranges formed by varied tectonic processes, from subduction to transform faulting.

North American Cordillera: The vast mountain system extending along western North America from Alaska to Mexico and Central America. The Pacific Coast Ranges form the cordillera’s western, coastal belt.
Plate tectonics: The theory that Earth's lithosphere is divided into moving plates whose interactions shape its surface. Different plate boundaries along the coast produced distinct mountain-building histories.
Olympic Mountains: A rugged mountain group on Washington's Olympic Peninsula, known for heavy precipitation and extensive temperate rainforest. They illustrate how moist Pacific air shapes coastal mountain landscapes.
Rain shadow: A dry region on the downwind side of a mountain range, caused by moisture loss on its windward slopes. Coastal mountains create sharp wet-to-dry transitions across western North America.
Alaska Range: A mountain range in southern Alaska that includes Denali, North America's highest peak. It represents the northern reaches of the coastal mountain system.
Subduction: The descent of one tectonic plate beneath another into Earth's mantle. Subduction built volcanic arcs and uplifted ranges in several coastal regions.
Cascade Range: A volcanic mountain range extending from British Columbia through Washington and Oregon into northern California. Its volcanoes form a prominent inland arc beside the coastal ranges.
Atmospheric river: A concentrated corridor of water vapor transported through the atmosphere, often producing heavy precipitation when it reaches land. These storms deliver much of the precipitation that feeds coastal mountain snowpack and rivers.
Coast Mountains: A mountain range in British Columbia and southeastern Alaska, with extensive glaciated terrain. They form a major northern section of the Pacific Coast Ranges.
San Andreas Fault: A major strike-slip fault system marking part of the boundary between the Pacific and North American plates. Its transform motion reshapes California’s coastal mountains without typical arc volcanism.

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