Desert Southwest (AZ and NM) vs. Pacific Northwest (OR and WA) (best, largest)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
^ Interesting, i didn't know that OR and WA's desert areas were contiguous with the great basin. Cool map, thanks
I agree the North American desert area is larger than many people seem to give it credit for, even without including the much lesser-known desert areas in the northern united states, and up to canada (deserts in OR, WA, ID and BC? that would surprise quite a few).
Status:
"From 31 to 41 Countries Visited: )"
(set 4 days ago)
4,640 posts, read 13,913,974 times
Reputation: 4052
Without hesitation, Pacific Northwest.
I think the Pacific Northwest also includes most of British Columbia in Canada. It might even include parts of northwestern Montana, extreme northwestern parts of California, and maybe even parts of the Canadian rockies in parts of British Columbia/Alberta. Parts of Oregon are not the Pacific Northwest, such as areas south and east of Eugene, Oregon. Also the Desert southwest is not just Arizona and New Mexico, but also parts of southeastern California, southern Nevada, southern Utah, and the most western parts of Texas around El Paso. Maybe the OP is just inquiring about only those regions for the Northwest and Southwest in particular and not the other areas that are technically part of the Northwest and southwest?
Seattle, and Vancouver(BC) seem like much better cities to me than any city in the Southwest can provide for urban landscapes, urban amenities, skyline, culture, vibe, urban excitement, more socially and environmentally progressive environment, more intellectual and creative environment, and other things too. I would say maybe even Portland, Oregon beats all the cities in the Southwest. But the Southwest cities do have some charm and I actually see some potential in them.
There is also better scenery and variety of scenery in the nature areas in the Northwest than the Southwest with mountains, ocean, temperate rain forests, desert, glaciers, alpine meadows, heavily dense and lush forests, islands, volcanoes. However, the Southwest does have some great scenery and variety of scenery, but just not nearly as much as the Northwest.
Arizona and New Mexico have some of the highest crime rates out of all USA states such as somewhere in the top 5 most dangerous while Washington and Oregon are in the middle(Oregon is 20th safest out of all states and Washington is 25th safest), so in terms of safety, the Northwest for the most part wins.
Also, I dont even think the Southwest even wins in the weather/climate department. Its "sunshine dryness, and warmth" is overrated. There can be sunshine, warmth, and dryness in the Northwest too. If the entire world was like the desert southwest, the world would COLLAPSE because of lack of water and trees. Seriously, it would not be good if the entire world was like the Southwest because of that. Wow, thank god for that. However, its still cool and interesting that there is a region like the Southwest.
Also, as the population increases over there, there will be more water shortages and serious problems with that as well as more pollution because of its weather/climate.
And, the heat 3-6 months of the year there is absurd in the lower elevations there! I dont want to be in an oven outside! I hate it when it is above 90 degrees! Talk about depressing! And the almost never ending dryness would depress me too and lack of green in most areas. I rather take clouds and rain and moderate temperatures any day over that! And plus, its not always cloudy and rainy here in the Northwest. Its not as bad as most people think.
I think the Pacific Northwest also includes most of British Columbia in Canada. It might even include parts of northwestern Montana, extreme northwestern parts of California, and maybe even parts of the Canadian rockies in parts of British Columbia/Alberta. Parts of Oregon are not the Pacific Northwest, such as areas south and east of Eugene, Oregon. Also the Desert southwest is not just Arizona and New Mexico, but also parts of southeastern California, southern Nevada, southern Utah, and the most western parts of Texas around El Paso. Maybe the OP is just inquiring about only those regions for the Northwest and Southwest in particular and not the other areas that are technically part of the Northwest and southwest?
Seattle, and Vancouver(BC) seem like much better cities to me than any city in the Southwest can provide for urban landscapes, urban amenities, skyline, culture, vibe, urban excitement, more socially and environmentally progressive environment, more intellectual and creative environment, and other things too. I would say maybe even Portland, Oregon beats all the cities in the Southwest. But the Southwest cities do have some charm and I actually see some potential in them.
There is also better scenery and variety of scenery in the nature areas in the Northwest than the Southwest with mountains, ocean, temperate rain forests, desert, glaciers, alpine meadows, heavily dense and lush forests, islands, volcanoes. However, the Southwest does have some great scenery and variety of scenery, but just not nearly as much as the Northwest.
Arizona and New Mexico have some of the highest crime rates out of all USA states such as somewhere in the top 5 most dangerous while Washington and Oregon are in the middle(Oregon is 20th safest out of all states and Washington is 25th safest), so in terms of safety, the Northwest for the most part wins.
Also, I dont even think the Southwest even wins in the weather/climate department. Its "sunshine dryness, and warmth" is overrated. There can be sunshine, warmth, and dryness in the Northwest too. If the entire world was like the desert southwest, the world would COLLAPSE because of lack of water and trees. Seriously, it would not be good if the entire world was like the Southwest because of that. Wow, thank god for that. However, its still cool and interesting that there is a region like the Southwest.
Also, as the population increases over there, there will be more water shortages and serious problems with that as well as more pollution because of its weather/climate.
And, the heat 3-6 months of the year there is absurd in the lower elevations there! I dont want to be in an oven outside! I hate it when it is above 90 degrees! Talk about depressing! And the almost never ending dryness would depress me too and lack of green in most areas. I rather take clouds and rain and moderate temperatures any day over that! And plus, its not always cloudy and rainy here in the Northwest. Its not as bad as most people think.
You spelled the "balence" wrong in your name. You are right on about the cultural differences, I think those make the most difference.
Only wanting to see one color all the time(green) seems strange to me. The Sonoran Desert has a lot of green, and red, white, tan, purple, and of course, the hated brown. It's a little more cheerful. I've been up there and the woods are dark during the day. Green and dark and gloomy.
A lot of people in the northern part of the United States are fixated on the SW running out of water. It won't completely run out of water. That's kind of crazy. It'll be expensive to pay for though. Just like the great expense northerners pay for fuel during winter so they don't freeze to death.
They say people shouldn't be living in deserts, but how sustainable is it to have huge population centers in places where it's too cold for humans for 4 months out of the year. You could burn all your trees or more fossil fuels.
If the entire world was like the SW it wouldn't collapse, people would just better conserve their resources.
As for natural beauty, I won't argue with you, it's a matter of preference. I can respect that. I'll take the Sonoran anyday over PNW.
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
24,544 posts, read 56,034,272 times
Reputation: 11862
Quote:
Originally Posted by Darkhyperchaos
I'm probably biased here, but the PNW wins. I really don't like feeling like I'm in a giant oven. Really, who wants to live in the desert? The PNW offers way more diversity in the scenery. Washington is easily one of the most diverse states geographically speaking. Washington has deserts which receive 7 inches of rain annually, and some of the only temperate rain forests in the US that receive 150 inches annually. There's mountain, rain forests, bone dry deserts, steppes, and the Palouse.
Many people think Washington state and think constant rain with plenty of greenery. The greenery part is partially true, but Washington has many, many unique geographic areas that range from a variety of extremes. I think Washington state as a whole is fairly underrated.
The Southwest has some of the most amazing scenery around: what about the Grand Canyon, the Rockies, deserts dotted with mesas, vast canyons, lakes and snow-capped mountain slopes covered in pine trees?
04-21-2010, 02:03 AM
Status:
"From 31 to 41 Countries Visited: )"
(set 4 days ago)
4,640 posts, read 13,913,974 times
Reputation: 4052
To Cacto: I dont care that I spelled "balance" wrong in my user name. It was a typo and it was too late to fix it. Its annoying when people look at petty things like that. Why even bother mentioning it? What if I said your user name isnt even a real word or doesnt sound that interesting at all for a user name? I would come across as annoying ,right? Also your username isnt capitalized appropriately.
The desert depresses me! I would never want to live in a desert. A desert more cheerful than the lands of the Pacific Northwest!?
The Pacific Northwest doesnt have more than the color green? People can see all types of colors here in their surroundings. You make it sound as if people would go to the PCNW and they would literally only see green EVERYWHERE and not see any color, and then even become green themselves. I wouldnt like it if it was that green!
Wow and you make beautiful lush and green forests actually sound ugly! Far from the truth. Thank goodness forests exist.
"They say people shouldn't be living in deserts, but how sustainable is it to have huge population centers in places where it's too cold for humans for 4 months out of the year. You could burn all your trees or more fossil fuels. "
Its much more sustainable than living in a desert. And many deserts can get just as cold or even colder than places that are not deserts. The arctic places in the world are technically deserts, actually. The world would collapse if most/all places were a desert, and I stand by my post picking the Pacific Northwest without hesitation over the Desert southwest.
While some deserts can have nice scenery and seem interesting, I dont have much respect for deserts and would never live in one. Sorry.
Yeah, Ill let your post pass, because you unfortunately live in a desert after all. It can mess with someones perception. Thank goodness I dont live in a desert!
To Cacto: I dont care that I spelled "balance" wrong in my user name. It was a typo and it was too late to fix it. Its annoying when people look at petty things like that. Why even bother mentioning it? What if I said your user name isnt even a real word or doesnt sound that interesting at all for a user name? I would come across as annoying ,right? Also your username isnt capitalized appropriately.
The desert depresses me! I would never want to live in a desert.
The Pacific Northwest has much more than the color green? People can see all types of colors here.
Location: Austin, TX/Chicago, IL/Houston, TX/Washington, DC
10,138 posts, read 16,034,220 times
Reputation: 4047
Leave it to Shadow to pick two regions containing my two top favorite cities in the country...
Tucson is my absolute favorite city in USA. It's very underrated and a lot of fun if you know how to explore and find fun. It's got everything you need, nice and quiet city, very peaceful. It's my ideal summer location. The scenery is superb, very unique from any other large city in the country, the valleys, the mountains, the cactus, everything is nice overall.
Seattle is my second favorite city in the country, I love the scenery, the mountain backdrop and ocean front with the modern skyline jungle and of course the space needle. So much greenery, and so beautiful. I love the rain, and it rains in Seattle for like 70% of the year.
This comes off as a win win situation no matter which way you think about it.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
You make it sound as if people would go to the PCNW and they would literally only see green EVERYWHERE and not see any color, and then even become green themselves. I wouldnt like it if it was that green! 
