The Pacific Southwest is a region of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. In its broadest definition, it encompasses five states:

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

, and part of

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

. The region is one of cultural diversity seen all over. Several major urban areas lie within the region, including sunny

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

Definition

There is no universally accepted definition of the phrase "Pacific Southwest." Whereas the related term Southwestern United States is generally used in a cultural or historical sense (for example, to refer to parts of the United States that were once part of the

First Mexican Empire The Mexican Empire ( es, Imperio Mexicano, ) was a constitutional monarchy, the first independent government of Mexico and the only former colony of the Spanish Empire to establish a monarchy after independence. It is one of the few modern-era, ...

), the term "Pacific Southwest" is more commonly defined strictly by geographic or ecological factors. For example, the

American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing The American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) is an American learned society devoted to photogrammetry and remote sensing. It is the United States' member organization of the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remo ...

has a geographical application of the term, defining it as California, Arizona, Nevada and Hawaii. The

Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...

, on the other hand, uses an ecological approach to define it as California, Nevada, and the

Klamath Basin The Klamath Basin is the region in the U.S. states of Oregon and California drained by the Klamath River. It contains most of Klamath County and parts of Lake and Jackson counties in Oregon, and parts of Del Norte, Humboldt, Modoc, Siskiyou ...

(which includes parts of

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

). Ambiguity regarding the term is further compounded by the fact that even several United States federal agencies use different definitions. In addition to the Fish and Wildlife Service mentioned above, the Environmental Protection Agency defines Pacific Southwest as California, Nevada, Arizona and Hawaii, and the Forest Service defines it as California, Hawaii, and other U.S. islands in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

Largest cities

Pop. 3,792,621 *

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

Pop. 1,469,471 *

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

Pop. 1,301,617 *

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

Pop. 583,756 *

Tucson , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

Pop. 520,116 *

Mesa A mesa is an isolated, flat-topped elevation, ridge or hill, which is bounded from all sides by steep escarpments and stands distinctly above a surrounding plain. Mesas characteristically consist of flat-lying soft sedimentary rocks capped by a ...

Pop. 439,041 *

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

Pop. 337,256

Culture

Cultures combine and collaborate in the Pacific Southwest. Traces of the Old American West can still be seen in some areas, especially in the deserts. Hip-hop is one of the many cultures prevalent here, most noticeable in

. Polynesian culture flourishes in Hawaii, and

Hawaiian Pidgin Hawaiian Pidgin (alternately, Hawaiʻi Creole English or HCE, known locally as Pidgin) is an English-based creole language spoken in Hawaiʻi. An estimated 600,000 residents of Hawaii speak Hawaiian Pidgin natively and 400,000 speak it as a se ...

can still be heard in certain areas of the state. Spanish/Mexican culture is the most visible in the region, due to four of the five states having once been Spanish/Mexican possessions. Cowboys in the '' vaquero'' traditions of northern

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

can be found in the Pacific Southwest, though less along the Pacific coast. Hawaii has its own version of the American cowboy, the

paniolo A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the '' vaquer ...

. Asian culture is demonstrated in the region, especially in

and

Geography

The Pacific Southwest contains a vast diversity in environments. Sub-arctic conditions are common in the high mountains of the region, such as in the Sierra Nevada and on Mauna Kea. California, Nevada, and Arizona contain significant deserts, both hot and cold type. California is characterized primarily by hot summer and warm summer Mediterranean climates, in addition to 33 million acres of forests. Rainforests, both temperate and tropical, exist along the northernmost coast of California, as well as in certain areas of

. Hawaii has an array of tropical ecologies.

References

{{reflist, 35em

Definition

Largest cities

Culture

Geography

References

Further reading