Western United States

===Climate and agriculture===
Most of the public land held by the [[United States Forest Service|U.S. National Forest Service]] and Bureau of Land Management is in the Western states. Public lands account for 25 to 75 percent of the total land area in these states.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wildlandfire.com/docs/2007/western-states-data-public-land.htm|title=Western States Data Public Land Acreage|website=www.wildlandfire.com|access-date=March 7, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727120656/http://www.wildlandfire.com/docs/2007/western-states-data-public-land.htm|archive-date=July 27, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The climate of the West is [[Semi-arid climate|semi-arid]], yet parts of the region get high amounts of rain or snow. Other parts are true desert which receive less than {{convert|5|in}} of rain per year. The climate is increasingly unstable, and subject to periods of severe drought.<ref name="U.S. Government">{{cite book | title=Climate Change on Wildfire Activity: Hearing Before the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, One Hundred Tenth Congress, First Session, to Consider Scientific Assessments of the Impacts of Global Climate Change on Wildfire Activity in the United States, September 24, 2007 | publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office | issue=v. 4 | year=2007 | isbn=978-0-16-080173-0 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0I5UccaKwYcC&pg=PA13 | access-date=June 3, 2023 | page=13}}</ref>

The seasonal temperatures vary greatly throughout the West. Low elevations on the [[West Coast of the United States|West Coast]] have warm summers and mild winters with little to no snow. The [[Southwestern United States|desert southwest]] has very hot summers and mild winters. While the mountains in the southwest receive generally large amounts of snow. The [[Inland Northwest (United States)|Inland Northwest]] has a [[continental climate]] of warm to hot summers and cold to bitterly cold winters.

Annual rainfall is greater in the eastern portions, gradually tapering off until reaching the Pacific Coast where it increases again. In fact, the greatest annual rainfall in the United States falls in the coastal regions of the [[Pacific Northwest]]. Drought is much more common in the West than the rest of the United States. The driest place recorded in the U.S. is [[Death Valley]], California.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://spothopping.com/death-valley/|title=Death Valley: Hottest, Driest, Lowest (SpotHopping.com)|website=spothopping.com}}</ref> In Western states, drought is closely associated with fire risk, and there have been a number of notable wildfires causing extensive property damage and wildlife [[habitat destruction]]. The Western United States is predicted to experience drought-like conditions for much of the 21st century.<ref name="U.S. Government" />

Violent thunderstorms occur east of the [[Rocky Mountains|Rockies]]. [[Tornado]]es occur every spring on the southern plains, with the most common and most destructive centered on [[Tornado Alley]], which covers eastern portions of the West, ([[Texas]] to [[North Dakota]]), and all states in between and to the east.

Agriculture varies depending on rainfall, irrigation, soil, elevation, and temperature extremes. The arid regions generally support only livestock grazing, chiefly beef cattle. The ''[[Corn Belt|wheat belt]]'' extends from [[Texas]] through [[The Dakotas]], producing most of the wheat and soybeans in the U.S. and exporting more to the rest of the world. Irrigation in the [[Southwestern United States|Southwest]] allows the growth of great quantities of fruits, nuts, and vegetables as well as grain, hay, and flowers. [[Texas]] is a major cattle and sheep raising area, as well as the nation's largest producer of cotton. [[Washington (state)|Washington]] is famous for its apples, and [[Idaho]] for its potatoes. [[California]] and [[Arizona]] are major producers of [[citrus]] crops, however, declining supplies of water, as well as urban sprawl have contributed to a sharp decline in citrus production in Arizona.<ref>{{cite web | last=Henne | first=Sarabeth | title=Arizona citrus squeeze: Pushed by development, costs, citrus shrinks | website=azcentral.com and The Arizona Republic | date=May 25, 2019 | url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/money/business/economy/2019/05/25/arizona-citrus-squeeze-pushed-development-costs-citrus-shrinks/1222155001/ | access-date=June 3, 2023}}</ref> Many varieties of [[New Mexico chile|chile peppers]] are grown in the valleys of [[New Mexico]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cpi.nmsu.edu/|title=Chile Pepper Institute &#124; New Mexico State University|website=cpi.nmsu.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newmexico.org/chile/|title=New Mexico: Chile Capital of the World|website=www.newmexico.org}}</ref>

Starting in 1902, Congress passed a series of acts authorizing the establishment of the [[United States Bureau of Reclamation]] to oversee water development projects in seventeen western states.

During the first half of the 20th century, dams and irrigation projects provided water for rapid agricultural growth throughout the West and brought prosperity for several states, where agriculture had previously only been subsistence level. Following [[World War II]], the West's cities experienced an economic and population boom. The population growth, mostly in the [[Southwestern United States|Southwest]] states of [[New Mexico]], [[Utah]], [[Colorado]], [[Arizona]], and [[Nevada]], has strained water and power resources, with water diverted from agricultural uses to major population centers, such as the [[Las Vegas Valley]] and [[Los Angeles]].