The Western United States is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term the West changed. Before about 1800, the crest of the Appalachian Mountains was seen as the western frontier. The frontier moved westward and eventually the lands west of the Mississippi River were considered the West.
The U.S. Census Bureau’s definition of the 13 westernmost states includes the Rocky Mountains and the Great Basin to the Pacific Coast, and the mid-Pacific islands state, Hawaii. To the east of the Western United States is the Midwestern United States and the Southern United States, with Canada to the north, and Mexico to the south.
The West contains several major biomes, including arid and semi-arid plateaus and plains, particularly in the American Southwest; forested mountains, including three major ranges, the Sierra Nevada, the Cascades, and Rocky Mountains; the long coastal shoreline of the American Pacific Coast; and the rainforests of the Pacific Northwest.
Here is a set of amazing color photos from dianp that show American West in 1947.
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| Arizona. El Tovar Hotel, Grand Canyon National Park, 1947 |
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| Arizona. Grand Canyon National Park view from Watchtower, 1947 |
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| Arizona. Hopi boy in doorway of Pueblo at El Tovar, Grand Canyon National Park, 1947 |
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| Arizona. Hopi Indian and Canyon, Grand Canyon National Park, 1947 |
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| Arizona. Hopi Indian dance at El Tovar, Grand Canyon National Park, 1947 |
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| Arizona. Hopi Indian dance at El Tovar, Grand Canyon National Park, 1947 |
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| Arizona. Signpost at El Tovar, Grand Canyon National Park, 1947 |
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| Arizona. The Watchtower at Desert View, South Rim, Grand Canyon National Park, 1947 |
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| Arizona. Wishing Well at Hermit’s Rest, Grand Canyon National Park, 1947 |
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| California. Beach scene at Del Mar Beach Club, Santa Monica, 1947 |
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| California. Beach scene at Del Mar Beach Club, Santa Monica, 1947 |
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| California. Beach scene at Del Mar Beach Club, Santa Monica, 1947 |
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| California. Beverly Hills Hotel, Beverly Hills, 1947 |
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| California. Boatman at Fisherman’s Wharf, San Francisco, 1947 |
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| California. Cable car being turned by hand, San Francisco, 1947 |
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| California. Cable car near Powell and Geary streets, San Francisco, 1947 |
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| California. Cable car on California Street, San Francisco, 1947 |
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| California. Cable car on Powell Street, San Francisco, 1947 |
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| California. Cable car, corner of Market and Powell streets, San Francisco, 1947 |
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| California. Civic Center, San Francisco, 1947 |
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| California. Cliff House and Seal Rocks, San Francisco, 1947 |
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| California. Cloisters at Leland Stanford University, Palo Alto, 1947 |
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| California. Del Mar Beach Club, Santa Monica, 1947 |
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| California. Del Mar Beach Club, Santa Monica, 1947 |
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| California. Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco, 1947 |
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| California. Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, 1947 |
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| California. Grant Ave, Chinatown, San Francisco, 1947 |
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| California. Hill Street, Los Angeles, 1947 |
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| California. Looking down Market Street from Twin Peaks, San Francisco, 1947 |
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| California. Mission San Luis Rey, founded 1798, Oceanside, 1947 |
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| California. Mission Santa Barbara, founded 1786, Santa Barbara, 1947 |
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| California. Mosaics over chapel entrance at Stanford University, Palo Alto, 1947 |
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| California. Oakland Bay Bridge at night, San Francisco, 1947 |
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| California. Oakland Bay Bridge, San Francisco, 1947 |
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| California. Oakland Bay Bridge, San Francisco, 1947 |
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| California. Pershing Square, Los Angeles, 1947 |
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| California. Redwood Highway near Golden Gate, San Francisco, 1947 |
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| California. San Francisco Bay, 1947 |
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| California. Southern Pacific Railway Station, San Luis Obispo, 1947 |
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| California. View towards Venice Pier from dining room of Del Mar Beach Club, Santa Monica, 1947 |
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| California. Wilshire Boulevard, near Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills, 1947 |
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| California. Yacht Harbor, San Francisco, 1947 |
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| New Mexico. Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe freight locomotive, Clovis, 1947 |
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| New Mexico. Santa Fe Diesel in Clovis, 1947 |
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| Oregon Coast, 1947 |
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| Oregon. Mt. Hood in winter, 1947 |
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| Oregon. Mt. Hood near Portland, 1947 |
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| Oregon. Shepherd's Dell, Columbia River Valley, 1947 |
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| Washington. Deception Pass Bridge, 1947 |
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| Washington. Lake Washington floating bridge, Seattle, 1947 |