Cascadia movement

The Cascadia movement is a bioregional independence movement based in the Cascadia bioregion of western North America. Potential boundaries differ, with some drawn along existing political state and provincial lines, and others drawn along larger ecological, cultural, political, and economic boundaries.

The proposed country or region largely would consist of the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. states of Washington, Idaho and Oregon, including the major cities of Seattle, Vancouver, Boise and Portland. When all parts of the bioregion are included, Cascadia would stretch from coastal Alaska in the north into Northern California in the south, and inland to include parts of Montana, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, and Yukon. More conservative advocates propose borders that include the land west of the crest of the Cascade Range (named after the long-gone Cascades Rapids), while some advocates propose borders as far north as Alaska and the Yukon region.

As measured only by the combination of present Washington, Oregon, Idaho and British Columbia statistics, Cascadia would be home to more than 19 million people, and would have an economy generating more than US$1.1 trillion worth of goods and services annually. This number would increase if portions of Northern California and Southern Alaska were also included. By land area Cascadia would be the 18th largest country in the world, with a land area of 615,609 sq mi (1,594,420 km²), placing it ahead of Mongolia and behind Libya. Its population would be similar in size to that of Ecuador, Zambia, Cambodia, or the Netherlands.