What’s up? I hope you’re ready for some excitement because I’m going to be showing you around the West today. I need a break from the waves anyway. Ready? We’re going to ride on a train for most of our trip!

The West was the last region discovered by the European explorers. Lewis and Clark finally made their way to the Pacific Ocean and reported back to the people in the east. Soon more and more people were setting out to explore this new territory. Especially since there were tales of gold and riches that lay out West! This led to the Gold Rushes and Silver Booms that you may have heard of. Let’s learn more about this region…

The Gold Rush During the “Gold Rush” when people were moving West in search of riches, a small town called Oro City was a popular mining spot for gold. However, the miners found that the heavy brown sand they were digging in actually contained a lead mineral that was rich in silver! Soon instead of a gold rush, there was a SILVER BOOM!

Leadville, Colorado More and more people moved to the area in search of silver. A new town called Leadville formed near two of the mining spots. This was the beginning of the “Colorado Silver Boom”. Leadville became one of the world’s largest silver camps. This is a picture of “Matchless Mine” in Leadville, Colorado.

Wow! I wish I could find a gold or silver mine today! Let’s keep moving…I want to show you one of my favorite outdoor spots.

Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park was established in 1872 as the world’s first National Park by the United States Congress. The name of the park comes from the Minnataree Native Americans who called the river that flowed through it “Mi tsi a da zi”, which means Rock Yellow River. They called it this because the banks of the river were covered with rocks that were yellowish in color. Later the name became Yellow Rock and eventually Yellow Stone. The Yellowstone River

Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park sits in the Northwest corner of Wyoming close to the Montana border. Yellowstone Facts The park covers 3,472 miles – that’s bigger than the states of Rhode Island and Delaware combined!! There is an active volcano in the park. There are about 2,000 earthquakes there every year! The park has more than 300 geysers.

Yellowstone National Park A geyser is a type of hot spring that erupts sending a column of hot water and steam into the air. Old Faithful is one of the most well- known geysers. The name Old Faithful was chosen because the geyser is predictable. It erupts about every 91 minutes. Each eruption lasts from 1 ½ to 5 minutes.

Whoa! Those geysers are really cool! Let’s see what other cool things we can discover about the West.

Lolo Pass, Montana Lolo Pass is a high mountain pass in the northern Rocky Mountains. It is located on the border between Montana and Idaho. The Rocky Mountains stretch from Canada to New Mexico. Sometimes called the “Rockies”, these mountains are often covered with snow in the winter from harsh blizzards.

Why is Lolo Pass important? You remember that Lewis and Clark were sent on an expedition to find a water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, right? Well, when they came to Lolo Pass their journey became incredibly hard. The land was very rocky and covered with snow. There were no animals to hunt, so Lewis and Clark had to resort to eating some of their own horses and supplies such as candles!

Lewis and Clark sure were some brave dudes! So far I’ve only taken you to the colder states in the West, but we have warm states, too. Follow me.

Welcome to California! When you think of California, you probably think of sunny weather, beaches, and maybe even movie stars or Disneyland! But there is much more to learn about California… Central Valley Central Valley is a long strip in the center of California. It stretches for about 400 miles. That is twice as long as the state of South Carolina!!

Central Valley These aerial views of Central Valley show you how flat the land is in this area. Which region does this remind you of? Do you remember what flat land is good for?

Farming!! Central Valley supplies a lot of the food for the United States of America and the rest of the world! It is often called the “fruit basket of the world”. Crops grown in this area include…

I wish we had time for me to catch some waves while in California. But, we have to keep moving. We have another wonder of the world to see and even warmer weather is on its way!

The deserts of Arizona Monument Valley is a desert located on a Navajo Indian reservation on the Utah and Arizona border. It is made of red mesas surrounded by sandy deserts.

Phoenix, Arizona The capital city of Arizona is Phoenix. It is in one of North America’s largest and hottest deserts, the Sonaran Desert. Large cactuses called saguaros grow here. They can be feet high!

Phoenix, Arizona A desert is an area that receives very little rain and as a result is very dry! Not all deserts have to be hot, but the deserts in Arizona are hot. In fact, Phoenix is VERY HOT. It reaches 100°F on about 89 days out of the year!

The Hoover Dam The Hoover Dam is located on the Colorado River on the border of Arizona and Nevada. It was built in 1931 to prevent the Colorado River from flooding.

The Hoover Dam It took 5,000 workers to build the dam. It was finished in 5 years, but 96 workers died during its construction. The Hoover Dam was named after President Herbert Hoover.

The Grand Canyon The Grand Canyon is one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It is a gorge (or valley) between steep cliffs of rock. The Grand Canyon is 1 mile deep and 277 miles long!

The Grand Canyon The Colorado River runs through the Grand Canyon. Many tourists like to visit the canyon to hike or go rafting on the river.

Well, we’ve seen a lot of the West region. We saw mountains, valleys, plains, and deserts! We’ve been to cold places and HOT places. For our next stop we must get off of our train and onto a plane to get there!

Aloha! The state of Hawaii is made up of 8 main islands. Honolulu is the capital city of Hawaii. It is located on the southern border of the island of Oahu.

Hawaiian Fun Facts Mount Waialeale on Kauai is the wettest place on earth! It receives 460 inches of rain each year! Mauna Loa is the largest volcano on Earth. It takes up half of the area on the island of Hawaii. 75% of Hawaii’s people live on Oahu. Hawaii is a favorite vacation spot for many people because of the warm weather and beautiful beaches! Hula dancing and surfing are very popular in Hawaii.

Surfing? Did someone say surfing? Look, I’ve had a ton of fun showing you around the West, but Hawaii has some monster waves so I’ve got to get going now. See you later!