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Pacific Coast Ranges
 
 
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The Pacific Coast Ranges are the series of mountain range
Mountain range

A mountain range is a chain of mountains bordered by highlands or separated from other mountains by mountain pass or valleys. Individual mountains within the same mountain range do not necessarily have the same geology, though they often do; they may be a mix of different orogeny, for example volcanoes, uplifted mountains or Fold mountains...
s that stretch along the west coast of North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
 from Alaska
Alaska

Alaska is the largest U.S. state of the United States by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait....
 south to northern and central Mexico
Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
. They are part of the Western Cordillera (sometimes known in Canada as the Pacific Cordillera and also as the Canadian Cordillera), which includes the Rocky
Rocky Mountains

The Rocky Mountains, often called the Rockies, are a mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than 4,800 kilometre from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in Canada, to New Mexico, in the United States....
, Columbia Mountains
Columbia Mountains

Columbia Mountains is a group of mountain ranges located in British Columbia, and partially in Montana, Idaho, Washington. The mountain range covers 135,952 km? ....
, Interior Mountains
Interior Mountains

The Interior Mountains, also called the Northern Interior Mountains and Interior Ranges, are the semi-official names for a huge area that comprises much of the northern two thirds of the Canadian province of British Columbia and a large area of southern Yukon....
, the Interior Plateau
Interior Plateau

The Interior Plateau comprises a large region of central British Columbia, and lies between the Cariboo Mountains and Monashee Mountains on the east, and the Hazelton Mountains, Coast Mountains and Cascade Range on the west....
, Sierra Nevada, Great Basin
Great Basin

The Great Basin is a large, arid region of the western United States. Its boundaries depend on how it is defined. Its most common definition is the contiguous drainage basin, roughly between the Wasatch Mountains, in Utah and the Sierra Nevada , that has no natural outlet to the sea....
 and other ranges and various plateaus and basins. The Pacific Coast Ranges designation, however, only applies to the Western System of the Western Cordillera, which comprises the Saint Elias Mountains
Saint Elias Mountains

The Saint Elias Mountains are a subgroup of the Pacific Coast Ranges located in southeastern Alaska , southwestern Yukon and the very far northwestern part of British Columbia ....
, Coast Mountains
Coast Mountains

The Coast Mountains are a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southwestern Yukon through the Alaska Panhandle and virtually all of the British Columbia Coast....
, Insular Mountains
Insular Mountains

The Insular Mountains are a mountain range on the British Columbia Coast, Canada, comprising the Vancouver Island Ranges and Queen Charlotte Mountains....
, Olympic Mountains
Olympic Mountains

The 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 - but the western slopes of the Olympics face the Pacific Ocean and are thus the wettest place in the 48 contiguous states; the Hoh Ranger Station in the Ho...
, Cascade Range
Cascade Range

The Cascade Range is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California....
, Oregon Coast Range
Oregon Coast Range

The Oregon Coast Range, often called simply the Coast Range and sometimes the Pacific Coast Range, is a mountain range in the United States of Oregon along the Pacific Ocean....
, California Coast Ranges and the Sierra Nevada.






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The Pacific Coast Ranges are the series of mountain range
Mountain range

A mountain range is a chain of mountains bordered by highlands or separated from other mountains by mountain pass or valleys. Individual mountains within the same mountain range do not necessarily have the same geology, though they often do; they may be a mix of different orogeny, for example volcanoes, uplifted mountains or Fold mountains...
s that stretch along the west coast of North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
 from Alaska
Alaska

Alaska is the largest U.S. state of the United States by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait....
 south to northern and central Mexico
Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
. They are part of the Western Cordillera (sometimes known in Canada as the Pacific Cordillera and also as the Canadian Cordillera), which includes the Rocky
Rocky Mountains

The Rocky Mountains, often called the Rockies, are a mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than 4,800 kilometre from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in Canada, to New Mexico, in the United States....
, Columbia Mountains
Columbia Mountains

Columbia Mountains is a group of mountain ranges located in British Columbia, and partially in Montana, Idaho, Washington. The mountain range covers 135,952 km? ....
, Interior Mountains
Interior Mountains

The Interior Mountains, also called the Northern Interior Mountains and Interior Ranges, are the semi-official names for a huge area that comprises much of the northern two thirds of the Canadian province of British Columbia and a large area of southern Yukon....
, the Interior Plateau
Interior Plateau

The Interior Plateau comprises a large region of central British Columbia, and lies between the Cariboo Mountains and Monashee Mountains on the east, and the Hazelton Mountains, Coast Mountains and Cascade Range on the west....
, Sierra Nevada, Great Basin
Great Basin

The Great Basin is a large, arid region of the western United States. Its boundaries depend on how it is defined. Its most common definition is the contiguous drainage basin, roughly between the Wasatch Mountains, in Utah and the Sierra Nevada , that has no natural outlet to the sea....
 and other ranges and various plateaus and basins. The Pacific Coast Ranges designation, however, only applies to the Western System of the Western Cordillera, which comprises the Saint Elias Mountains
Saint Elias Mountains

The Saint Elias Mountains are a subgroup of the Pacific Coast Ranges located in southeastern Alaska , southwestern Yukon and the very far northwestern part of British Columbia ....
, Coast Mountains
Coast Mountains

The Coast Mountains are a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southwestern Yukon through the Alaska Panhandle and virtually all of the British Columbia Coast....
, Insular Mountains
Insular Mountains

The Insular Mountains are a mountain range on the British Columbia Coast, Canada, comprising the Vancouver Island Ranges and Queen Charlotte Mountains....
, Olympic Mountains
Olympic Mountains

The 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 - but the western slopes of the Olympics face the Pacific Ocean and are thus the wettest place in the 48 contiguous states; the Hoh Ranger Station in the Ho...
, Cascade Range
Cascade Range

The Cascade Range is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California....
, Oregon Coast Range
Oregon Coast Range

The Oregon Coast Range, often called simply the Coast Range and sometimes the Pacific Coast Range, is a mountain range in the United States of Oregon along the Pacific Ocean....
, California Coast Ranges and the Sierra Nevada. The term "Coast Range" is used by the United States Geographical Survey]] to refer only to the ranges south from the Strait of Juan de Fuca
Strait of Juan de Fuca

The Strait of Juan de Fuca is a large body of water about long forming the principal outlet for the Strait of Georgia and Puget Sound, connecting both to the Pacific Ocean....
 to the Mexican border, and excluding the Sierra Nevada, although the same term is used informally in Canada to refer to the Coast Mountains
Coast Mountains

The Coast Mountains are a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southwestern Yukon through the Alaska Panhandle and virtually all of the British Columbia Coast....
 and adjoining inland ranges such as the Hazelton Mountains
Hazelton Mountains

The Hazelton Mountains are a grouping of mountain ranges on the inland lee of the Kitimat Ranges of the Coast Mountains in northwestern British Columbia, Canada, spanning the area of Hazelton, British Columbia south to the Nechako Reservoir....
, and sometimes also the Saint Elias Mountains
Saint Elias Mountains

The Saint Elias Mountains are a subgroup of the Pacific Coast Ranges located in southeastern Alaska , southwestern Yukon and the very far northwestern part of British Columbia ....
.

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
Scrubland

Scrubland is a plant community characterized by scrub vegetation. Scrubland consists of shrubs, mixed with grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Scrublands may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity....
-covered hills of southern California
California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
, but the entire coast is consistent in dropping steeply into the sea, often resulting in photogenic views. Along the British Columbia
British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's Provinces and territories of Canada and is famed for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu ....
 and Alaska coast, the mountains intermix with the sea in a complex maze of fjords, with thousands of islands.

There is a handful of small coastal plains at the mouths of rivers that have punched through the mountains, most notably at the Copper River
Copper River (Alaska)

The Copper River or Ahtna River is a river, approximately 300 mi long, in south-central Alaska in the United States. It drains a large region of the Wrangell Mountains and Chugach Mountains into the Gulf of Alaska....
 in Alaska, the Fraser River
Fraser River

The Fraser River is the longest river in British Columbia, Canada, rising near Mount Robson in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for 1,375 km , into the Pacific Ocean at the city of Vancouver, British Columbia....
 in British Columbia, the Columbia River
Columbia River

The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. It is named after the Columbia Rediviva, the first ship from the western world known to have traveled up the river....
 between Washington and Oregon, and the Sacramento
Sacramento River

The Sacramento River is the longest river entirely within the United States state of California. Starting at the confluence of the South Fork and Middle Fork Sacramento River, near Mount Shasta in the Cascade Range, the Sacramento flows south for , through the northern California Central Valley, between the Pacific Coast Range and the Sierr...
 and San Joaquin
San Joaquin River

The San Joaquin River , 330 miles long, is the second-longest river in California, United States. The average unimpaired runoff of the main stem of the river at Millerton Lake is about 1.8 million acre feet per year ....
 rivers in California, which create San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay

San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento River and San Joaquin River rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean....
.

From the vicinity of San Francisco Bay north, it is common in winter for cool unstable air masses from the Gulf of Alaska
Gulf of Alaska

The Gulf of Alaska is an arm of the Pacific Ocean defined by the curve of the southern coast of Alaska, stretching from the Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak Island in the west to the Alexander Archipelago in the east, where Glacier Bay and the Inside Passage are found....
 to make landfall in one of the Coast Ranges, resulting in heavy precipitation
Precipitation (meteorology)

File:MeanMonthlyP.gifIn meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of Atmosphere water vapor that is deposited on the earth's surface....
, both as rain
Rain

Rain is liquid precipitation . On Earth, it is the condensation of atmospheric water vapor into droplet heavy enough to fall, often making it to the surface....
 and snow
Snow

Snow is a type of precipitation in the form of crystalline water ice, consisting of a multitude of snowflakes that fall from clouds. The process of this precipitation is called snowfall....
, especially on their western slopes.

Omitted from the list below, but often included is the Sierra Nevada, a major mountain range of eastern California that is separated by the Central Valley over much of its length from the California Coast Ranges and the Transverse Ranges.

Major ranges

These are the members of the Pacific Coast Ranges, from north to south:
  • Kenai Mountains
    Kenai Mountains

    The Kenai Mountains are a mountain range in the U.S. state of Alaska. They extend 192 km northeast from the southern end of the Kenai Peninsula to the Chugach Mountains....
    , southern Alaska
    Alaska

    Alaska is the largest U.S. state of the United States by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait....
  • Chugach Mountains
    Chugach Mountains

    The Chugach Mountains of southern Alaska are the northernmost of the several mountain ranges that make up the Pacific Coast Ranges of the western edge of North America....
    , southern Alaska
  • Talkeetna Mountains
    Talkeetna Mountains

    Image:Talkeetna Mountains 3.jpg The Talkeetna Mountains are a mountain range in Alaska. The mountains help form the Matanuska and Susitna Valleys and are surrounded by towns such as Wasilla, Palmer, Sutton, and Talkeetna....
    , southern Alaska
  • Yukon Ranges
    Yukon Ranges

    The Yukon Ranges are a mountain range comprising the mountains in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Alaska and most of the Yukon, Canada. Named after the Yukon, this range has area of 364710 km?....
    , Alaska, Yukon
    Yukon

    Yukon is the westernmost and smallest of Canada three Territories of Canada. It was named after the Yukon River, Yukon meaning "Great River" in Gwich?in language....
    • Wrangell Mountains
      Wrangell Mountains

      The Wrangell Mountains are a high mountain range of eastern Alaska in the United States. Much of the range is included in Wrangell-Saint Elias National Park and Preserve....
      , southern Alaska
  • Saint Elias Mountains
    Saint Elias Mountains

    The Saint Elias Mountains are a subgroup of the Pacific Coast Ranges located in southeastern Alaska , southwestern Yukon and the very far northwestern part of British Columbia ....
    , southern Alaska, southwestern Yukon, far northwestern British Columbia
    British Columbia

    British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's Provinces and territories of Canada and is famed for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu ....
    • Alsek Ranges
      Alsek Ranges

      The Alsek Ranges are the southeasternmost subdivision of the Saint Elias Mountains of the Pacific Cordillera. They span the region between the Alsek River, Glacier Bay and the Kelsall River ....
      • Fairweather Range
        Fairweather Range

        The Fairweather Range is the unofficial name for a mountain range located in the U.S. state of Alaska and the Canadian province of British Columbia....
      • Takshanuk Mountains
        Takshanuk Mountains

        The Takshanuk Mountains are a mountain range in Alaska Panhandle, United States that separate the Chilkoot River and Chilkat River watersheds and also form the northern portion of the Chilkat Peninsula....
        , Haines
        Haines, Alaska

        Haines is a census-designated place in Haines Borough, Alaska, Alaska, United States. As of the 2000 United States Census, the population of the area was 1,811....
        , Alaska
        Alaska

        Alaska is the largest U.S. state of the United States by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait....
        -area. Between Chilkat
        Chilkat River

        The Chilkat River is a river in British Columbia and southeastern Alaska that flows southward from the Coast Range to the Chilkat Inlet and ultimately Lynn Canal....
         and Chilkoot
        Chilkoot River

        The Chilkoot River is a river in Alaska Panhandle that flows into Chilkoot Inlet of Lynn Canal. The Chilkoot River is separated from the Chilkat River and its watershed by the Takshanuk Mountains....
         watersheds
  • Coast Mountains
    Coast Mountains

    The Coast Mountains are a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southwestern Yukon through the Alaska Panhandle and virtually all of the British Columbia Coast....
    • Boundary Ranges
      Boundary Ranges

      The Boundary Ranges, also known in the singular and as the Alaska Boundary Range, are the largest and most northerly subrange of the Coast Mountains....
      , southeastern Alaska, northwestern British Columbia
      British Columbia

      British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's Provinces and territories of Canada and is famed for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu ....
      • Cheja Range
        Cheja Range

        The Cheja Range is an icefield-bound mountain range on the inside perimeter of the Alaska Panhandle in northernwestern British Columbia, Canada....
         (southeast of Taku/Whiting Rivers)
      • Chechidla Range
        Chechidla Range

        The Chechidla Range is a mountain range in northernwestern British Columbia, Canada, located about west of Dease Lake and 125-150 km south-southeast of Atlin....
      • Chutine Icefield
      • Adam Mountains
        Adam Mountains

        The Adam Mountains, sometimes called the Adam Range, are a small mountain range in the southeastern extremity of the Alaska Panhandle, in the Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Alaska near the Halleck Range....
      • Ashington Range
        Ashington Range

        The Ashington Range is a mountain range of the Boundary Ranges in northwestern British Columbia, Canada. North of the Ashington Range lies the Burniston Range....
      • Burniston Range
        Burniston Range

        The Burniston Range is a mountain range of the Boundary Ranges in northwestern British Columbia, Canada, located on the northeast side of Portland Canal and north of the Ashington Range....
      • Dezadeash Range
        Dezadeash Range

        The Dezadeash Range is a mountain range in southern Yukon, Canada, located east of Haines Junction, Yukon and south of the Alaska Highway. It has an area of and its appearance has a triangular shape....
      • Florence Range
      • Halleck Range
      • Juneau Icefield
      • Kakuhan Range
      • Lincoln Mountains
      • Longview Range
      • Peabody Mountains
      • Rousseau Range
      • Seward Mountains
      • Snowslide Range
        Snowslide Range

        The Snowslide Range is a mountain range in northwestern British Columbia, Canada, located west of the Bell-Irving River, between Treaty Creek in the south and Teigen Creek in the north....
      • Spectrum Range
        Spectrum Range

        The Spectrum Range, formerly called the Spectrum Mountains and the Rainbow Mountains, is a mountain range of the Tahltan Highland and Boundary Ranges in the Stikine Country of northwestern British Columbia, 20 km west of the Stewart-Cassiar Highway, south of Mount Edziza and north of the Arctic Lake Plateau....
      • Stikine Icecap
        Stikine Icecap

        The Stikine Icecap is a large icefield straddled on the Alaska–British Columbia boundary in the Alaska Panhandle region. It lies in the Boundary Ranges of the Coast Mountains....
    • Kitimat Ranges
      Kitimat Ranges

      The Kitimat Ranges are one of the three main subdivisions of the Coast Mountains in Canada, the other being the Pacific Ranges to the south and the Boundary Ranges to the north....
       BC North Coast
    • Pacific Ranges
      Pacific Ranges

      The Pacific Ranges are the southernmost subdivision of the Coast Mountains portion of the Pacific Cordillera. Located entirely within British Columbia, they run northwest from the lower stretches of the Fraser River to Bella Coola, British Columbia, north of which are the Kitimat Ranges....
       BC South & Central Coast
      • Rainbow Range
        Rainbow Range (Coast Mountains)

        The Rainbow Range, formerly known as the Rainbow Mountains, is a mountain range in British Columbia, Canada, located northwest of Anahim Lake....
         northwest Chilcotin, also classifiable as part of the Interior Plateau
        Interior Plateau

        The Interior Plateau comprises a large region of central British Columbia, and lies between the Cariboo Mountains and Monashee Mountains on the east, and the Hazelton Mountains, Coast Mountains and Cascade Range on the west....
      • Pantheon Range
        Pantheon Range

        The Pantheon Range is a subrange of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in British Columbia. It is located between the edge of the Chilcotin Plateau at Tatla Lake on its northeast and the Klinaklini River on its west, with a southeastern boundary along Mosley Creek, a major tributary of the Homathko River....
         Homathko area
      • Niut Range
        Niut Range

        The Niut Range is 3600 km? in area. It is a subrange of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains of British Columbia, although in some classifications it is considered part of the Chilcotin Ranges ....
         Homathko area
      • Waddington Range
        Waddington Range

        The Waddington Range is a subrange of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. It is only about 4000 km? in area, relatively small in area within the expanse of the range, but it is the highest area of the Pacific Ranges and of the Coast Mountains, being crowned by its namesake Mount Waddington 4019...
         Homathko area
      • Whitemantle Range
        Whitemantle Range

        The Whitemantle Range is a subrange of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in British Columbia. Located between the heads of Bute Inlet on the east and Knight Inlet on the west, it is extremely rugged and glaciated....
         Homathko area
      • Bendor Range
        Bendor Range

        The Bendor Range is a small but once-famous subrange of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains, about It is approximately 7,000 square kilometres in area and about 40 km long and about 18 km at its widest....
      • Garibaldi Ranges
        Garibaldi Ranges

        The Garibaldi Ranges are the next-to-southwesternmost subdivision of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains; only the North Shore Mountains are farther south....
      • Clendinning Range
        Clendinning Range

        The Clendenning Range is a subrange of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains of British Columbia. About 1500 km2 in area and lies to the northwest of the better-known Tantalus Range near Squamish, British Columbia....
      • Tantalus Range
        Tantalus Range

        The Tantalus Range is a small but spectacular subrange of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in southern British Columbia, Canada. The range is well-known to travellers to and from the ski resort at Whistler, British Columbia as the stunning vista on the highway to the resort from Squamish, British Columbia....
      • Chilcotin Ranges
        Chilcotin Ranges

        The Chilcotin Ranges are a subdivision of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains . They lie on the inland lea of the Pacific Ranges, abutting the Interior Plateau of British Columbia....
        • Dickson Range
          Dickson Range

          The Dickson Range is a subrange of the Chilcotin Ranges subset of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in southwest-central British Columbia....
        • Shulaps Range
          Shulaps Range

          The Shulaps Range is a subrange of the Chilcotin Ranges subset of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in southwest-central British Columbia....
        • Camelsfoot Range
          Camelsfoot Range

          The Camelsfoot Range is a sub-range of the Chilcotin Ranges subdivision of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in British Columbia.* The range is c....
      • Lillooet Ranges
        Lillooet Ranges

        The Lillooet Ranges are the southeasternmost subdivision of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains of British Columbia. They are located between the drainage of the Lillooet River and Harrison Lake on the west and the canyon of the Fraser River on the east, and by the lowland coastal valley of that river on the south....
        , Fraser Canyon west bank
        • Cantilever Range
          Cantilever Range

          The Cantilever Range is a subrange of the Lillooet Ranges subgrouping of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains. About 1100 km? in area and about 50 km E-W and 35 km N-S, it is located west of Lytton, British Columbia between the valleys of the Stein River and Kwoiek Creek ....
        • Cayoosh Range
          Cayoosh Range

          The Cayoosh Range is the northernmost section of the Lillooet Ranges, which are a subrange of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in British Columbia....
      • Douglas Ranges
        Douglas Ranges

        The Douglas Ranges are a subrange of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains of the Canadian province of British Columbia, about 70 km east of downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, north of the Fraser River and between the valleys of Stave Lake and Harrison Lakes....
      • Front Ranges (North Shore Mountains
        North Shore Mountains

        The North Shore Mountains are a mountain range overlooking Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada. These peaks are visible from most areas in Vancouver, British Columbia and form a distinctive backdrop for the city....
        )
  • Insular Mountains
    Insular Mountains

    The Insular Mountains are a mountain range on the British Columbia Coast, Canada, comprising the Vancouver Island Ranges and Queen Charlotte Mountains....
    , British Columbia
    • Vancouver Island Ranges
      Vancouver Island Ranges

      The Vancouver Island Ranges, formerly called the Vancouver Island Mountains, is a mountain range extending along the length of Vancouver Island which has an area of 31,788 km?....
      , British Columbia
    • Queen Charlotte Mountains
      Queen Charlotte Mountains

      The Queen Charlotte Mountains are a mountain range comprising all mountains and small mountain ranges of the Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia, Canada....
      , British Columbia
  • Olympic Mountains
    Olympic Mountains

    The 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 - but the western slopes of the Olympics face the Pacific Ocean and are thus the wettest place in the 48 contiguous states; the Hoh Ranger Station in the Ho...
    , Washington
    Washington

    Washington is a U.S. state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Washington was carved out of the western part of Washington Territory which had been ceded by Britain in 1846 by the Oregon Treaty as settlement of the Oregon Boundary Dispute....
  • Cascade Range
    Cascade Range

    The Cascade Range is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California....
    , British Columbia (Fraser Canyon west bank), Washington, Oregon
    Oregon

    Oregon is a U.S. state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The area was inhabited by many indigenous tribes before the arrival of traders, explorers and settlers....
     and California
    California

    California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
  • Oregon Coast Range
    Oregon Coast Range

    The Oregon Coast Range, often called simply the Coast Range and sometimes the Pacific Coast Range, is a mountain range in the United States of Oregon along the Pacific Ocean....
    , Oregon
    • Northern Oregon Coast Range
      Northern Oregon Coast Range

      The Northern Oregon Coast Range is the northern section of the Oregon Coast Range located in the northwest portion of the state of Oregon, United States....
    • Central Oregon Coast Range
      Central Oregon Coast Range

      The Central Oregon Coast Range is the middle section of the Oregon Coast Range located in the west-central portion of the state of Oregon, United States roughly between the Salmon River and the Umpqua River and the Willamette Valley and the Pacific Ocean....
    • Southern Oregon Coast Range
      Southern Oregon Coast Range

      The Southern Oregon Coast Range is the southernmost section of the Oregon Coast Range located in the southwest portion of the state of Oregon, United States roughly between the Umpqua River and the middle fork of the Coquille River, beyond which are the Klamath Mountains....
  • Calapooya Mountains
    Calapooya Mountains

    The Calapooya Mountains are a short mountain range in southwestern Oregon in the United States. The range runs for approximately 60 miles  west from the Cascade Range between Eugene, Oregon and Roseburg, Oregon ....
    , Oregon
  • Klamath-Siskiyou
    • Klamath Mountains
      Klamath Mountains

      The Klamath Mountains, which include the Siskiyou, Marble, Scott, Trinity, Trinty Alps, Salmon, and northern Yolla-Bolly Mountains, are a rugged lightly populated mountain range in northwest California and southwest Oregon in the United States....
      , Oregon, northern California
    • Siskiyou Mountains
      Siskiyou Mountains

      The Siskiyou Mountains are a Coast Ranges mountain range in the northern Klamath Mountains in northwestern California and southwestern Oregon in the United States....
      , Oregon, northern California
    • Trinity Alps
      Trinity Alps

      The Trinity Alps are mountains in Northern California, located to the northwest of Redding, California. Elevations there range from to at Thompson Peak ....
       and Salmon Mountains
      Salmon Mountains

      The Salmon Mountains are a mountain range in Siskiyou County, California, California.File:Russian Lake-Peak in the Russian Wilderness.jpgRussian Lake and Russian Peak in the heart of the Salmon Mountains...
      , California
    • Yolla Bolly Mountains, Northern California
  • Northern Coast Ranges, California
    • King Range, northern California
    • Mendocino Range
      Mendocino Range

      The Mendocino Range is one of several coastal mountain ranges which compose the Pacific Coast Ranges. This massive range of coastal mountains was formed during a period of coastal orogeny, millions of years ago....
      , northern California
    • Mayacamas Mountains, California
    • Marin Hills
      Marin Hills

      The Marin Hills are a series of steep high ridges and peaks in southern Marin County. They are a part of the long Pacific Coast Ranges mountain system....
      , California, including Mount Tamalpais
      Mount Tamalpais

      Mount Tamalpais is a mountain in Marin County, California, United States, often considered symbolic of Marin County. Much of Mount Tamalpais is protected within public lands such as Mount Tamalpais State Park and the Mount Tamalpais Watershed....
  • Southern Coast Ranges, central California
    • Diablo Range
      Diablo Range

      The Diablo Ranges is a mountain range in western California, part of the California Coast Ranges subdivision of the much larger Pacific Coast Ranges....
      , California
    • Santa Cruz Mountains
      Santa Cruz Mountains

      The Santa Cruz Mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are a mountain range in central California, United States. They form a ridge along the San Francisco Peninsula, south of San Francisco, California, separating the Pacific Ocean from San Francisco Bay and the Santa Clara Valley, and continuing south, bordering Monterey Bay and ending...
      , California
    • Santa Lucia Range, California
    • Temblor Range
      Temblor Range

      The Temblor Range lies at the southwestern end of the San Joaquin Valley in California in the United States. It runs in a northwest-southeasterly direction along the borders of Kern County and San Luis Obispo County....
      , California
    • Caliente Range
      Caliente Range

      Home to the highest peak in San Luis Obispo County, the 1556 meter Caliente Mountain, the Caliente Range is a west-east trending zone of uplift along the Pacific Coast Ranges....
      , California
  • Transverse Ranges
    Transverse Ranges

    The Transverse Ranges are a group of mountain ranges of southern California, one of the various North American Coast Ranges that run along the Pacific Ocean coast from Alaska to Mexico....
    , California
    • Sierra Madre Mountains
      Sierra Madre Mountains (California)

      The Sierra Madre Mountains are a mountain range in northern Santa Barbara County, California, United States. They are a portion of the Transverse Ranges, which are themselves part of the Pacific Coast Ranges of western North America....
    • Sierra Pelona Mountains
      Sierra Pelona Mountains

      The Sierra Pelona Mountains, also known as the Sierra Pelona Range, are a Rock Transverse Ranges in Southern California. The mountains extend from Interstate 5 at Gorman, California, to the Antelope Valley Freeway at Vincent, California....
    • San Emigdio Mountains
      San Emigdio Mountains

      The San Emigdio Mountains are a part of the Transverse Ranges in Southern California, extending from Interstate 5 at the Grapevine on the east side, to Highway 33-166 on the west....
    • San Rafael Mountains
      San Rafael Mountains

      The San Rafael Mountains are a mountain range in central Santa Barbara County, California, United States. They are a portion of the Transverse Ranges, which are themselves part of the Pacific Coast Ranges of western North America....
    • Santa Ynez Mountains
      Santa Ynez Mountains

      The Santa Ynez Mountains are a portion of the Transverse Ranges, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges of the west coast of North America, and are one of the northernmost mountain ranges in Southern California....
    • Santa Susana Mountains
      Santa Susana Mountains

      The Santa Susana Mountains are a Transverse Ranges range of mountains in Southern California California, north of the city of Los Angeles, California, in the United States....
    • Topatopa Mountains
      Topatopa Mountains

      The Topatopa Mountains are a mountain range in Ventura County, California, California, north of Santa Paula, California. They are part of the Transverse Ranges of Southern California....
    • Simi Hills
      Simi Hills

      The Simi Hills are a low rocky mountain range in Southern California....
    • Santa Monica Mountains
      Santa Monica Mountains

      The Santa Monica Mountains are a low Transverse Ranges in Southern California California in the United States....
    • Tehachapi Mountains
      Tehachapi Mountains

      The Tehachapi Mountains are a short Transverse Ranges in Southern California California in the United States, running SW-NE connecting the Coast Ranges on the west with the southern end of the Sierra Nevada mountains on the east....
    • San Gabriel Mountains
      San Gabriel Mountains

      The San Gabriel Mountains are located in northern Los Angeles County, California and western San Bernardino County, California, United States. The mountain range forms a barrier between the Greater Los Angeles Area and the Mojave Desert....
    • San Bernardino Mountains
      San Bernardino Mountains

      The San Bernardino Mountains are a short Transverse Ranges mountain range northeast of Los Angeles, California in Southern California California in the United States....
  • Peninsular Ranges
    Peninsular Ranges

    The Peninsular Ranges are a group of mountain ranges which stretch 1500 km from southern California in the United States to the southern tip of Mexico's Baja California peninsula; they are part of the North America Coast Ranges that run along the Pacific Ocean coast from Alaska to Mexico....
    • Santa Ana Mountains
      Santa Ana Mountains

      The Santa Ana Mountains are a short Peninsular Ranges mountain range along the coast of Southern California in the United States. They extend for approximately 35 mi southeast of the Los Angeles Basin largely along the border between Orange County, California and Riverside County, California counties....
      , California
    • San Jacinto Mountains
      San Jacinto Mountains

      The San Jacinto Mountains are a mountain range east of Los Angeles, California in southern California in the United States. The mountains are named for Saint Hyacinth ....
      , California
    • Palomar Mountain Range
      Palomar Mountain Range

      The Palomar Mountain Range is a high Peninsular Ranges in northern San Diego County of Southern California. The peaks are about 3,000 to 6,000 feet above sea level, with Palomar Mountain being the pinnacle of the range at 6,140 feet ....
      , California
    • Sierra Juarez
      Sierra Juárez

      The Sierra Ju?rez is a mountain range on the Baja California peninsula, in northern Mexico. It is located in the state of Baja California, immediately south of the US-Mexico border....
      , Baja California
    • Sierra San Pedro Martir
      Sierra San Pedro Mártir

      The Sierra San Pedro M?rtir is a mountain chain that runs north-south along the middle part of the northwestern Mexico Mexican state of Baja California, with its name Spanish for "mountains of Saint Peter the Martyr"....
      , Baja California
    • Sierra de la Laguna
      Sierra de la Laguna

      The Sierra de la Laguna is a mountain range on the Baja California Peninsula of Mexico. It lies at the southern end of the peninsula in the state of Baja California Sur, and is the southernmost range of the Peninsular Ranges....
      , Baja California Sur
  • Sierra Madre Occidental
    Sierra Madre Occidental

    The Sierra Madre Occidental is a mountain range in western Mexico and the extreme southwest of the United States, extending 1500 km from southeast Arizona southeast through eastern Sonora, western Chihuahua , Durango , Zacatecas, Aguascalientes to Guanajuato , where it joins with the Sierra Madre Oriental and the Eje Volc?nico Transversal...
    , Mexico
    Mexico

    The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....


Major icefields

These are not named as ranges, but amount to the same thing. The Pacific Coast Ranges are home to the largest temperate-latitude icefields in the world.
  • Harding Icefield
    Harding Icefield

    The Harding Icefield is an expansive ice field located in the Kenai Mountains of the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska. It is also partially located in Kenai Fjords National Park....
  • Sargent Icefield
    Sargent Icefield

    The Sargent Icefield is a large icefield located on the eastern portion of the Kenai Peninsula bordering Prince William Sound in Alaska. The ice field has numerous outflow glaciers including the Chenega Glacier, Princeton Glacier, and Ellsworth Glaciers....
  • Bagley Icefield
  • Kluane Icefields
  • Juneau Icefield
  • Stikine Icecap
    Stikine Icecap

    The Stikine Icecap is a large icefield straddled on the Alaska–British Columbia boundary in the Alaska Panhandle region. It lies in the Boundary Ranges of the Coast Mountains....
  • Ha-Iltzuk Icefield
    Ha-Iltzuk Icefield

    The Ha-Iltzuk Icefield is an icefield in the central Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in British Columbia, Canada. It is the largest icefield in the Coast Mountains south of the Alaska Panhandle, with an area of 3610 km?....
     (Silverthrone Glacier)
  • Monarch Icefield
    Monarch Icefield

    The Monarch Icefield is the northernmost of a series of large continental icecaps studding the heights of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in southern British Columbia....
  • Waddington Icefield
    Waddington Range

    The Waddington Range is a subrange of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. It is only about 4000 km? in area, relatively small in area within the expanse of the range, but it is the highest area of the Pacific Ranges and of the Coast Mountains, being crowned by its namesake Mount Waddington 4019...
  • Homathko Icefield
    Homathko Icefield

    The Homathko Icefield is an icefield in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of the largest icefield in the southern half of the Coast Mountains, with an area of over 2000 km?....
  • Lillooet Icecap
    Lillooet Icecap

    The Lillooet Icecap, also called the Lillooet Icefield or the Lillooet Crown, is a large icefield in the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in southwestern British Columbia, Canada....
     (Lillooet Crown)
  • Pemberton Icecap


Only the largest icefields are listed above; smaller icefields may be listed on the various range pages. Formally unnamed icefields are not listed

See also

  • Coast Range (ecoregion)
    Coast Range (ecoregion)

    The Coast Range ecoregion is a List of ecoregions in the United States designated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency in the U.S....


External links