Where is Cascadia?

This blog is dedicated to the going-ons of the greastest world region to grace this glorious globe. That is, Cascadia. But, before this wonderful adventure into Cascadia begins, there is one incredibly pertinent question that must be addressed: What exactly constitutes the borders of Cascadia?

Ernest Callenbach, author of the 1975 novel, Ecotopia, and one of the founding father's of the Cascadian ideal, thought mostly of the coastal regions. Callenbach envisioned Cascadia, or as he called it, Ecotopia, as Washington Oregon and Northern California. Coming from an older generation he centered in the South, with San Francisco as the capital. More recent Cascadian nationalists have tended to look north, generally including Canada's British Columbia within the parameters (see Republic of Cascadia). It is also important to note that due to the original boundaries of the Oregon Territory, the eastern side of the mountains has long been politically bound to the west and therefore shares a common historical tradition. Scholar and historian Carlos Arnaldo Schwantes, considers the states of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho to be the most historically and culturally homogenous, and, thus, has influentially dubbed this region as the Pacific Northwest.

But regardless of where you draw the lines, the fact remains that these recently colonized lands shelter a distinct identity that exists nowhere else on earth. In 1925 Almira Bailey traveled to this region and his comments about Seattle reflect a greater embodiment of the Cascadian spirit.

"Old cities forget that they were once-trees. In those cities they love old "musky, tusky" houses where the regicides once hid or Paul Revere stopped and supposed a cup of tea. But in Seattle, it is as though the trees changed to house shapes, still keeping the essence and benediction of earth-contact"

So without further ado, I bring you Cascadia Rising, the first and only blog dedicated to news and information about this greatly underappreciated, but not under-watered (sorry, a little NW humor for you) region. Viva Cascadia!