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The Pacific Coast Ranges are the series of mountain ranges that stretch along west coast of North America from Alaska to Mexico. The character of the ranges varies considerably, from the record-setting tidewater glaciers in the ranges of Alaska, to the low but rugged and scrub-covered hills of southern California, but the entire coast is consistent in dropping steeply into the sea, often resulting in photogenic views.There are a handful of coastal plains at the mouths of rivers that have punched through the mountains, most notably at the Fraser River in British Columbia, the Columbia River between Washington and Oregon, and the Sacramento River in California, the last creating San Francisco Bay.
From the vicinity of San Francisco Bay north, it is common for humid air masses from the Gulf of Alaska to make landfall in one of the Coast Ranges, resulting in heavy precipitation, both as rain and snow, especially on their western slopes.
These are the members of the Pacific Coast Ranges, from north to south:
- Chugach MountainsThe Chugach Mountains of southern Alaska are the northernmost of the several mountain ranges that make up the Coast Ranges of the western edge of North America. The range is about 500 km (300 mi) long, running generally east-west. Its highest point is Mou, southern Alaska
- Wrangell MountainsThe Wrangell Mountains are a high mountain range in southeast Alaska in the United States and the southwest Yukon Territory in Canada. The range is just to the north of the Saint Elias Mountains, which are along the coast of the Gulf of Alaska. The ranges, southern Alaska
- Saint Elias MountainsThe Saint Elias Mountains is a mountain range located in southeastern Alaska ( United States) and southwestern Yukon ( Canada). The range spans Wrangell St Elias National Park and Preserve in the USA and Kluane National Park and Reserve in Canada. The hig, southern Alaska, southwestern Yukon Territory
- Coast MountainsThe Coast Mountains range begins just north of Vancouver, British Columbia and stretches along the pacific coast of Canada into South Eastern Alaska. The range is (mostly) covered in dense rain forest. Mount Waddington, at 4,016 metres or 13,176 feet, is, southeastern Alaska, British ColumbiaBritish Columbia or simply B. French: la Colombie-Britannique is the westernmost of Canada's provinces. It was the sixth province to join the confederation of Canada (in 1871). As of 2004, the population was 4,168,123 British Columbians . Geography Its ca
- Vancouver Island Ranges , British Columbia
- Olympic MountainsThe Olympic Mountains are a mountain range on the Olympic Peninsula of western Washington in the United States. The mountains are not especially high Mount Olympus is the highest at 2428 m (7965 ft) but the western slopes of the Olympics face the Pacific, Washington
- Calipoiea Mountains , Oregon
- Klamath Mountains, Oregon, northern California
- Trinity Alps and Salmon Mountains , California
- Mayacmas Mountains , California
- Marin Hills , California
- Diablo Range , California
- Santa Cruz Mountains, California
- Santa Lucia Range, California
- Temblor Range , California
- Caliente Range , California
- Transverse Ranges, California
- Peninsular Ranges
- Sierra Madre Occidental, Mexico
Mountain ranges
North America
