Jet streams are bands of strong wind that generally blow from west to east all across the globe. They impact weather, air travel and many other things that take place in our atmosphere.
On the West coast of North America, the coast ranges and the coastal plain form the margin. Most of the land is made of terranes that have been accreted onto the margin. In the north, the insular belt is an accreted terrane, forming the margin. This belt extends from the Wrangellia Terrane in Alaska to the Chilliwack group of Canada.
A rupture in Rodinia 750 million years ago formed a passive margin in the eastern Pacific Northwest. The breakup of Pangea 200 million years ago began the westward movement of the North American plate, creating an active margin on the western continent. As the continent drifted West, terranes were accreted onto the west coast. The timing of the accretion of the insular belt is uncertain, although the closure did not occur until at least 115 million years ago.Other Mesozoic terranes that accreted onto the continent include the Klamath Mountains, the Sierra Nevada, and the Guerrero super-terrane of western Mexico.80 to 90 million years ago the subducting Farallon plate split and formed the Kula Plate to the North. This formed an area in what is now Northern California, where the plates converged forming a Mélange. North of this was the Columbia Embayment, where the continental margin was east of the surrounding areas.Many of the major batholiths date from the late Cretaceous. As the Laramide Orogeny ended around 48 million years ago, the accretion of the Siletzia terrane began in the Pacific Northwest. This began the volcanic activity in the Cascadia subduction zone, forming the modern Cascade Range, and lasted into the Miocene. Events here may relate to the ignimbrite flare-up of the southern Basin and Range. As extension in the Basin and Range Province slowed by a change in North American Plate movement circa 7 to 8 Million years ago, rifting began on the Gulf of California.
Answer:
Because of its rivers and topography containing Big rivers with hydroelectric potential
Explanation:
Summed up Hydroelectric power is obtained by the water flow moving turbines that generate electric power. This water is obtained from rivers with a high flow generally near mountainous regions, this kind of rivers is all over Europe because of its topography, the Alps and the Ural mountains are home of many hydroelectric plants taking advantage of the rivers flowing down. For example in Austria, the Danube River is used for obtaining Hydroelectric power.
Although the Hydroelectric plants are smaller compared to Asian or Canadian plants, hydroelectric power is still one of the main sources of energy for central Europe, countries like Spain, France, Netherlands, Sweden, Austria take advantage of their mountains and rivers running down them for building the hydroelectric plants.
