West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. More specifically, the term refers to an area defined on the east by the Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada and Mojave Desert and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in the West Coast. The U.S. Census groups the three states of California, Oregon, and Washington together as the Pacific region. Nevada and Arizona are sometimes considered part of the West Coast due to large cultural influences from the West Coast states, particularly from California, but does not geographically form a part of the region since it does not border the Pacific Ocean.