North American time zone
The
Pacific Time Zone
(
PT
) is a
time zone
encompassing parts of western Canada, the western United States, and western Mexico. Places in this zone observe
standard time
by subtracting eight hours from
Coordinated Universal Time
(
UTC?08:00
). During
daylight saving time
, a
time offset
of
UTC?07:00
is used.
In the United States and Canada, this time zone is generically called the Pacific Time Zone. Specifically, time in this zone is referred to as
Pacific Standard Time (PST)
when standard time is being observed (early November to mid-March), and
Pacific Daylight Time (PDT)
when daylight saving time (mid-March to early November) is being observed. In
Mexico
, the corresponding time zone is known as the
Zona Noroeste
(Northwest Zone) and observes the same daylight saving schedule as the United States and Canada. The largest city in the Pacific Time Zone is
Los Angeles
,
whose metropolitan area
is also the largest in the time zone.
The zone is two hours ahead of the
Hawaii?Aleutian Time Zone
, one hour ahead of the
Alaska Time Zone
, one hour behind the
Mountain Time Zone
,
[a]
two hours behind the
Central Time Zone
, three hours behind the
Eastern Time Zone
, and four hours behind the
Atlantic Time Zone
.
Canada
[
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]
One Canadian province is split between the Pacific Time Zone and the Mountain Time Zone:
The border between time zones in British Columbia was decided in a
1972 plebiscite
held in northeastern and southeastern electoral districts due to their ties to neighboring
Alberta
.
[1]
As of September 24, 2020,
Yukon
officially switched from the Pacific Time Zone to a time zone "to be reckoned as seven hours behind Coordinated Universal Time (UTC?7)" after deciding to stop observing daylight saving time.
[2]
Mexico
[
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]
In
Mexico
, the
Zona Noroeste
, which corresponds to Pacific Time in the United States and Canada, includes:
[
citation needed
]
United States
[
edit
]
Two states are fully contained in the Pacific Time Zone:
[3]
Three states are split between the Pacific Time Zone and the
Mountain Time Zone
:
[3]
One state is split between the Pacific Time Zone (unofficially), the
Alaska Time Zone
, and the
Hawaii?Aleutian Time Zone
:
Daylight time
[
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]
Through 2006, the local time (PST, UTC?08:00) changed to daylight time (PDT, UTC?07:00) at 02:00 LST (local standard time) to 03:00 LDT (local daylight time) on the first Sunday in April, and returned at 02:00 LDT to 01:00 LST on the last Sunday in October.
[11]
The
United States Congress
passed the
Energy Policy Act of 2005
, which moved the local time changes from PST to PDT to the second Sunday in March and the reversal from PDT to PST to the first Sunday in November.
[11]
Like other Canadian provinces that
observe daylight time
, British Columbia adopted the same dates in April 2006, to take effect in March 2007 alongside the U.S.
[12]
Several Mexican states, including Baja California, implemented the new dates for the daylight time changes in 2010, ending a three-year period where cities across the
Mexico?United States border
had a one-hour difference for two months a year.
[13]
Proposals to abolish the bi-annual time change and adopt year-round standard time or daylight time gained popularity among U.S. states in the 2010s. 59 percent of voters in California approved a
2018 ballot proposition
that authorizes the legislature to use year-round daylight time, pending Congressional approval.
[14]
The
Washington State Legislature
passed a bill in May 2019 that would move the state to permanent daylight time, subject to Congressional approval;
[15]
the
Oregon Legislative Assembly
passed a similar bill a month later, while California's attempt failed.
[16]
The provincial government of British Columbia announced in 2019 that they would follow the U.S. states in whether the time changes were kept or removed in order to maintain a unified time zone.
[17]
In 2020, Idaho passed legislation to allow for permanent daylight time for the Pacific Time Zone.
[18]
Congressional approval was sought through the
Sunshine Protection Act
, which was submitted several times and passed by the
U.S. Senate
in 2022, but its equivalent in the
House of Representatives
failed to pass.
[19]
See also
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
While the state of
Arizona
lies entirely within the Mountain Time Zone,
daylight saving time
is only observed within the
Navajo Nation
; as a result, most of Arizona is aligned with the Pacific Time Zone from mid-March to early November.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Palmer, Vaughn (March 20, 2019).
"Pushing to make daylight time permanent without ticking off the masses"
.
Vancouver Sun
. Retrieved
June 28,
2023
.
- ^
Howells, Laura (September 29, 2020).
"How do you stop a time change? In Yukon, it's taken time"
.
CBC News
. Retrieved
October 2,
2021
.
- ^
a
b
"Official U.S. Time"
.
National Institute of Standards and Technology
. Retrieved
June 28,
2023
.
- ^
Idaho Official State Highway Map
(PDF)
(Map). 1:1,248,000. Boise:
Idaho Transportation Department
. 2021
. Retrieved
June 28,
2023
.
- ^
Russell, Betsy Z. (March 5, 2018).
"What if North Idaho switched time zones?"
.
The Spokesman-Review
. Retrieved
June 28,
2023
.
- ^
Suplee, Curt (October 12, 1986).
"Idaho: Giant paradox with a panhandle"
.
The Washington Post
. Retrieved
June 28,
2023
.
- ^
Goldberg, Delen (July 2, 2011).
"Nevada's tiny town with a different time zone"
.
Las Vegas Sun
. Retrieved
June 28,
2023
.
- ^
Phenix, Duncan (March 11, 2023).
"While most of Nevada is set to 'spring forward,' these areas are already an hour ahead"
. Las Vegas:
8 News Now
. Retrieved
June 28,
2023
.
- ^
a
b
Cockle, Richard (November 3, 2008).
"Ontario, Ore.: Idaho's spot to shop"
.
The Oregonian
. Retrieved
June 28,
2023
.
- ^
Levin, Dan (July 2, 2016).
"An Alaskan Village Where Grizzlies Roam and Canada Rules (if Anyone Does)"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
June 28,
2023
.
- ^
a
b
Sherwood, Courtney (March 7, 2007).
"Daylight-saving time's early arrival may vex computers"
.
The Columbian
. p. A1
. Retrieved
June 28,
2023
– via Newspapers.com.
- ^
"Daylight savings time changes next year"
.
The Province
. The Canadian Press. April 2, 2006. p. A2
. Retrieved
June 28,
2023
– via Newspapers.com.
- ^
"Sunday time change will put San Diego, Tijuana on same clock"
.
La Jolla Light
.
City News Service
. November 5, 2010
. Retrieved
June 28,
2023
.
- ^
Nixon, Nicole (March 11, 2022).
"New bill could have California voters weigh in on daylight saving time ? again"
. Sacramento:
CapRadio
. Retrieved
June 28,
2023
.
- ^
Clarridge, Christine (May 8, 2019).
"Inslee signs bill to make daylight saving time permanent in Washington; next step Congress"
.
The Seattle Times
. Retrieved
June 28,
2023
.
- ^
Cuthill, Meagan (November 4, 2022).
"Yes, we're still changing the clocks. Checking in on Oregon's quest for permanent daylight saving time"
.
Oregon Public Broadcasting
. Retrieved
June 28,
2023
.
- ^
Chan, Cheryl (March 10, 2021).
"Is this the last time B.C. 'springs forward' to daylight saving time?"
.
Vancouver Sun
. Retrieved
June 28,
2023
.
- ^
Heyward, Giulia (November 6, 2022).
"These are the states enacting legislation to help make daylight saving time permanent"
.
NPR
. Retrieved
June 28,
2023
.
- ^
Zhao, Christina (March 2, 2023).
"Permanent daylight saving time bill gets renewed push in Congress"
.
NBC News
. Retrieved
June 28,
2023
.
External links
[
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]