About

The foreign settlement of the American West has, over the last two-and-a-half centuries, advanced exponentially. The plentiful resources of the Pacific Coast—sea otter furs, hardwood lumber, minerals, and much else—are responsible for the rise of post-colonial civilization in this region. While the continent’s edge became an epicenter of industry, the inland states—Nevada, Arizona, and Utah—were largely left untouched, bearing little to be desired by settlers. This formidable expanse was sparsely populated until after WWII, when the affordability of air-conditioning allowed Americans to …