One thing I love about the West is that so many people know their elevations.  I doubt that many citizens of Atlanta take pride in their thousand-foot-high city.  But everyone knows that Denver is a mile high, and most of us are well aware of the elevation of whatever high pass we have to cross in the wintertime.  This knowledge of our place in the topography ties us to the land in a profound way, and soon, it will open our eyes to the progress of climate change. My house sits at about 2,300 feet in the foothills of Oregon's Siskiyou Mountains. Over the 15 years I've lived here, I've learned that this is an elevation where things change.   Most winters, there are days when the snow piles up on our street, though just 100 feet down slope, the roads are clear.  Below us, the natural vegetation is oak