My rant about naming the BC Coast.

[druid]

OK, I'm a crotchety old man, so please ignore my rantings. But...

There are two references to the BC Coast that really annoy me. The first is "Inside Passage". To me, this implies some kind of freeway from Washington to Alaska, barely acknowledging that it's a separate country. Sure, it's the "passage" to Alaska, but.. it's also the Western coastline of Canada: you don't refer to the Oregon coast as "outside passage to California", and it's not even a separate country!

The second is "Pacific Northwest". From an ocean point of view, the BC coast is "Pacific NorthEAST", and from the Canadian point of view, it's just "West". In fact, most of what is referred to as "Pacific Northwest" (Gulf Islands, Sunshine Coast, Desolation Sound...) is Pacific SOUTHWEST.

Please remember the BC Coast is CANADIAN. You can call it "BC Coast", or "Canadian West Coast", but please not "Inside Passage" or "Pacific Northwest" (although of course the latter is correct for Puget Sound, San Juans, etc)

druid

 

[Maine Sail]

I wonder if the folks in Mass, NH, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are upset about being on the "Gulf of Maine"..

What about the ICW..??? That too is an inside passage...

 

[RussC]

As an Oregonian, I'd actually prefer that they call us the "passage to California" or "passage to Washington". it implies they're just passing through and don't plan to stay here, which is just hunky dory with us.
I hear what you're saying however. it makes me go when they call San Francisco "northern California". apparently they haven't looked at a map lately.

 

[Maine Sail]

What really gets me is incorrect use of the abbreviation RPM... Hint it is not RPM's

Say RPM's out loud: Revolutions Per Minutes

Oh and don't get me going on "amps per hour"...

And I am certain Mass drivers eg; "passing lane blockers" don't appreciate being known as Massholes....

 

[Terry Cox]

Sheesh! Okay, would it be acceptable to refer to it as just north, or does that word bring more rants?

 

[druid]

Sheesh! Okay, would it be acceptable to refer to it as just north, or does that word bring more rants?

Well, yes. It's not "North", it's "West". "North" is Yukon. Remember, it's Canada, not US.

druid

 

[druid]

The American (US) definition of, or reference to, the "Northwest" changed with westward expansion. In 1850, the "Northwest Territory" of the United States was around Illinois; hence, Northwestern University. I imagine the term "Pacific Northwest" was invented so representatives in D.C. would know what area of "the country" was being referenced. I don't know what the problem is with the "Inside Passage." It's just short hand for the route between Puget Sound and southern Alaska that happens to go though Canada. If someone took an "Outside Passage" to Alaska would any one get twisted up in the name of the route b/c boats chose to steam close along the Pacific coast of Vancouver Island (Canada)? There's much worse out there. For example, folks in southeastern US coastal states often refer to the ocean there as the South Atlantic.

I have no problem with referring to Washington/Oregon/Montana as "Pacific Northwest". It's when it's used for the BC coast that I object to.
And they way you describe the "Inside Passage" is exactly what "my problem" is: it's seen as a "highway" between (US) Washington and (US) Alaska. No reference to the fact that IT'S A SEPARATE COUNTRY and bears no connection to either Washington or Alaska.
druid

 

[Meriachee]

I wonder if the folks in Mass, NH, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are upset about being on the "Gulf of Maine"

Now that the price of oil has punted them home from Alberta, you run the risk of annoying them by raising the question. This conversation's as bad as calling it the "left coast".

 

[Kings Gambit]

I have no problem with referring to Washington/Oregon/Montana as "Pacific Northwest". It's when it's used for the BC coast that I object to.
And they way you describe the "Inside Passage" is exactly what "my problem" is: it's seen as a "highway" between (US) Washington and (US) Alaska. No reference to the fact that IT'S A SEPARATE COUNTRY and bears no connection to either Washington or Alaska.
druid

Historically, BC was probably part of the Pacific Northwest b/f it was even a Province of Canada.

From Wikipedia
"The Pacific Northwest (in the United States, commonly abbreviated as PNW), sometimes referred to as Cascadia, is a region in western North America bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Though no agreed boundary exists, a common conception includes the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington and the Canadian province of British Columbia. Broader conceptions reach north into Alaska and Yukon, south into far Northern California and east into Idaho and Western Montana, western Wyoming, and western Alberta, to the Continental Divide. Narrower conceptions may be limited to the Northwestern U.S. or to the coastal areas west of the Cascade and Coast mountains. The variety of definitions can be attributed to partially overlapping commonalities of the region's history, geography, society, and other factors."

 

[Terry Cox]

Well, yes. It's not "North", it's "West". "North" is Yukon. Remember, it's Canada, not US.

druid

If I leave here and head north I enter Canada. If I head west I end up in Japan. Go figure.

 

[Terry Cox]

Druid, would you consider it correct to say, "inside or outside Vancouver Island?"

 

[Terry Cox]

Of course one has to first perceive that Wikipedia is gospel; please exempt me from that perception. Sort of like saying that fact checkers have no bias towards uncovering the truth.

 

[Terry Cox]

Perhaps rants belong in the "Off Topic" forum?

 

[kloudie1]

Most naming conventions were established long ago.. consider our "big water" here is named Gulf of Mexico..

 

[Kings Gambit]

Of course one has to first perceive that Wikipedia is gospel; please exempt me from that perception. Sort of like saying that fact checkers have no bias towards uncovering the truth.

Wikipedia is only one reference source. There are many publications, including books documenting the history of the region, that put BC along with Washington and Oregon as part of the "Pacific Northwest." Also, the Inside Passage is not confined to BC as it extends into the protected waters of the Alaskan panhandle. I think the OP might have confused the Inside Passage with the Discovery Passage which is solely in Canadian waters. The Discovery Passage begins at Quadra Island and runs up to the Johnstone Strait but the Inside Passage, of which the Discovery Passage and Johnstone Strait are together just one leg, continues from there into Alaska for some distance. So, the Inside Passage is not, nor ever has been, solely within British Columbia so I don't see what the fuss is about.

 

[Ron20324]

Actually, since "Pacific" is the ocean, wouldn't that make the sunjected area "Pacific NorthEAST"?

 

[topcat0399]

Its all really just a matter of perspective...

 

[Jalepeno]

I agree with Durid. If you want the marine weather information for our coast you will be in a lot of trouble if you look for "pacific northwest weather".
Marine Weather for: Pacific - South Coast
https://weather.gc.ca/marine/region_e.html?mapID=02
Also you will not find "The Salish Sea" or the "Great Bear Forest" on any Marine Charts or Government Maps or the "Spirit Bear" in the hunting regulations. Those names are just made-up by the tree hugers and green peace (yes I used to belong to them in a previous life until I saw the light of reality).

 

[jwing]

Much ado about nothing. It's called the Inside Passage. Not the "Inside Passage of the USA" or the "Inside Passage Around Canada." Here's a quote from www.britishcolumbia.com: "The Inside Passage stretches from Port Hardy on Vancouver Island to Prince Rupert in northern BC, through the protected waters of British Columbia’s central and northern coastline. " That sounds like it's completely within Canada.
Regarding the Pacific Northwest designation: BC is northwestern North America, so the "Northwest" part is good. Part of BC has a maritime climate, but a big portion, if not most, of BC has a continental climate. So, the western edge of BC (the part that contains the Inside Passage) is part of North America's Pacific Northwest. It's a global region, not a just portion of Canada.

 

[Kermit]

For example, folks in southeastern US coastal states often refer to the ocean there as the South Atlantic.

Maybe, but most of us call it "The Beach."