Washington is a
stateA U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
in the
Pacific NorthwestThe Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
region of the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
located north of
OregonOregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, west of
IdahoIdaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
and south of the
CanadianCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
province of
British ColumbiaBritish Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, on the coast of the
Pacific OceanThe Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
. Washington was carved out of the western part of
Washington TerritoryThe Territory of Washington was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 8, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington....
which had been ceded by Britain in 1846 by the
Oregon TreatyThe Oregon Treaty is a treaty between the United Kingdom and the United States that was signed on June 15, 1846, in Washington, D.C. The treaty brought an end to the Oregon boundary dispute by settling competing American and British claims to the Oregon Country, which had been jointly occupied by...
as settlement of the
Oregon Boundary DisputeThe Oregon boundary dispute, or the Oregon Question, arose as a result of competing British and American claims to the Pacific Northwest of North America in the first half of the 19th century. Both the United Kingdom and the United States had territorial and commercial aspirations in the region...
. It was admitted to the Union as the 42nd state in 1889.
The 2010 United States Census recorded the state's population at 6,724,540. Approximately 60 percent of Washington's residents live in the
Seattle metropolitan areaThe Seattle metropolitan area in the US state of Washington includes the city of Seattle, King County, Snohomish County, and Pierce County within the Puget Sound region. The U.S...
, the center of transportation, business, and industry along the
Puget SoundPuget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...
region of the
Salish SeaThe name Salish Sea was coined only in the late 20th century, and was officially recognized by the United States in 2009 and by Canada in 2010, to describe the coastal waterways surrounding southern Vancouver Island and Puget Sound between Canada and the United States of America...
, an inlet of the Pacific consisting of numerous islands, deep fjords, and bays carved out by glaciers. The remainder of the state consists of deep
rainforestRainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...
s in the west,
mountain rangeA mountain range is a single, large mass consisting of a succession of mountains or narrowly spaced mountain ridges, with or without peaks, closely related in position, direction, formation, and age; a component part of a mountain system or of a mountain chain...
s in the west, center, northeast and far southeast, and a semi-arid eastern basin given over to intensive agriculture. Washington is second most populous state on the
west coastWest 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. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
and in the
western United States.The Western United States, commonly referred to as the American West or simply "the West," traditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. Because the U.S. expanded westward after its founding, the meaning of the West has evolved over time...
after California.
Washington was named after
George WashingtonGeorge Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
, the first
President of the United StatesThe President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
, and is the only U.S. state named after a president. Washington is commonly called
Washington state or occasionally the
State of Washington to distinguish it from the U.S. capital. However, Washingtonians (residents of Washington) and many residents of neighboring states and Canadians from southern B.C. normally refer to the state simply as "Washington", while usually referring to the nation's capital as "
Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
" or simply "D.C." Ironically, the area was originally called "Columbia" after the
Columbia RiverThe Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
; however, to avoid confusion with the
District of ColumbiaWashington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, the area was renamed Washington.
Geography
Washington is the northwesternmost state of the contiguous United States. Its northern border lies mostly along the
49th parallelThe 49th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 49 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Europe, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean....
, and then via marine boundaries through the
Strait of GeorgiaThe Strait of Georgia or the Georgia Strait is a strait between Vancouver Island and the mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada. It is approximately long and varies in width from...
,
Haro StraitHaro Strait, often referred to as the Haro Straits because it is really a series of straits, is one of the main channels connecting the Strait of Georgia to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, separating Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands in British Columbia, Canada from the San Juan Islands of...
and
Strait of Juan de FucaThe Strait of Juan de Fuca is a large body of water about long that is the Salish Sea outlet to the Pacific Ocean...
, with the
CanadianCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
provinceA province is a territorial unit, almost always an administrative division, within a country or state.-Etymology:The English word "province" is attested since about 1330 and derives from the 13th-century Old French "province," which itself comes from the Latin word "provincia," which referred to...
of
British ColumbiaBritish Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
to the north. Washington borders
OregonOregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
to the south, with the
Columbia RiverThe Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
forming the western part and the 46th parallel forming the eastern part of the southern boundary.
To the east, Washington borders
IdahoIdaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
, bounded mostly by the meridian running north from the confluence of the
Snake RiverThe Snake is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest in the United States. At long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean...
and
Clearwater RiverThe Clearwater River is a river in north central Idaho, which flows westward from the Bitterroot Mountains along the Idaho-Montana border, and joins the Snake River at Lewiston. In October 1805, the Lewis and Clark Expedition descended the Clearwater River in dugout canoes, putting in at "Canoe...
(about 116°57' west), except for the southernmost section where the border follows the Snake River. To the west of Washington lies the
Pacific OceanThe Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
. Washington was a
UnionDuring the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
territory during the
American Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, although it never actually participated in the war.
Washington is part of a region known as the
Pacific NorthwestThe Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
, a term which always includes Washington and
OregonOregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
and may or may not include
IdahoIdaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
, western
MontanaMontana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
, northern
CaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, and part or all of
British ColumbiaBritish Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
,
AlaskaAlaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, and the Yukon Territory, depending on the user's intent.
The high mountains of the
Cascade RangeThe Cascade Range is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, and the notable volcanoes known as the High Cascades...
run north-south, bisecting the state.
Western WashingtonWestern Washington is a region of the United States defined as that part of Washington west of the Cascade Mountains.It is known as being far wetter in climate than the eastern portion of the state, which...
, from the Cascades westward, has a mostly
marine west coast climateAn oceanic climate, also called marine west coast climate, maritime climate, Cascadian climate and British climate for Köppen climate classification Cfb and subtropical highland for Köppen Cfb or Cwb, is a type of climate typically found along the west coasts at the middle latitudes of some of the...
with mild temperatures and wet winters, autumns, and springs, and relatively dry summers. Western Washington also supports dense forests of conifers and areas of
temperate rain forestTemperate rainforests are coniferous or broadleaf forests that occur in the temperate zone and receive high rainfall.-Definition:For temperate rain forests of North America, Alaback's definition is widely recognized:-Global distribution:...
.
In contrast,
Eastern WashingtonEastern Washington is the portion of the U.S. state of Washington east of the Cascade Range. The region contains the city of Spokane , the Tri-Cities, the Columbia River and the Grand Coulee Dam, the Hanford Nuclear Reservation and the fertile farmlands of the Yakima Valley and the...
, east of the Cascades, has a relatively dry climate with large areas of semiarid
steppeIn physical geography, steppe is an ecoregion, in the montane grasslands and shrublands and temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biomes, characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes...
and a few truly arid
desertA desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...
s lying in the rainshadow of the Cascades; the Hanford reservation receives an average annual precipitation of between six and seven inches (178 mm). Farther east, the climate becomes less arid, increasing as one goes east to 21.2 inches (538 mm) in Pullman. The
PalouseThe Palouse is a region of the northwestern United States, encompassing parts of southeastern Washington, north central Idaho and, in some definitions, extending south into northeast Oregon. It is a major agricultural area, primarily producing wheat and legumes...
southeast region of Washington was grassland that has been mostly converted into farmland. Other parts of eastern Washington are forested and mountainous.
The Cascade Range contains several
volcanoesThe Cascade Volcanoes are a number of volcanoes in a volcanic arc in western North America, extending from southwestern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California, a distance of well over 700 mi ...
, which reach altitudes significantly higher than the rest of the mountains. From the north to the south these volcanoes are
Mount BakerMount Baker , also known as Koma Kulshan or simply Kulshan, is an active glaciated andesitic stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc and the North Cascades of Washington State in the United States. It is the second-most active volcano in the range after Mount Saint Helens...
,
Glacier PeakGlacier Peak is the most isolated of the five major stratovolcanoes of the Cascade Volcanic Arc in Washington...
,
Mount St. HelensMount St. Helens is an active stratovolcano located in Skamania County, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is south of Seattle, Washington and northeast of Portland, Oregon. Mount St. Helens takes its English name from the British diplomat Lord St Helens, a...
, and
Mount AdamsMount Adams is a potentially activestratovolcano in the Cascade Range and the second-highest mountain in the U.S. state of Washington.Adams is a member of the Cascade Volcanic Arc, and is one of the arc's largest volcanoes,...
. Mount St. Helens is currently the only Washington volcano that is actively erupting; however, all of them are considered active volcanoes. The state is also home to Mt. Rainier, a volcano 50 miles (80.5 km) south of the city of Seattle, from which it is prominently visible. The 14411 feet (4,392.5 m)-tall Mt. Rainier is considered the most dangerous volcano in the continental U.S., due to its proximity to the
Seattle metropolitan areaThe Seattle metropolitan area in the US state of Washington includes the city of Seattle, King County, Snohomish County, and Pierce County within the Puget Sound region. The U.S...
. It is also listed as a
Decade VolcanoThe Decade Volcanoes are 16 volcanoes identified by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior as being worthy of particular study in light of their history of large, destructive eruptions and proximity to populated areas...
.
Washington's position on the Pacific Ocean and the harbors of
Puget SoundPuget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...
give the state a leading role in maritime trade with
AlaskaAlaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, Canada, and the
Pacific RimThe Pacific Rim refers to places around the edge of the Pacific Ocean. The term "Pacific Basin" includes the Pacific Rim and islands in the Pacific Ocean...
. Puget Sound's many islands are served by the largest
ferry fleetWashington State Ferries is a passenger and automobile ferry service owned and operated by the Washington State Department of Transportation that serves communities on Puget Sound and in the San Juan Islands. It is the most used ferry system in the world and the largest passenger and automobile...
in the United States.
Washington is a land of contrasts. The deep forests of the
Olympic PeninsulaThe Olympic Peninsula is the large arm of land in western Washington state of the USA, that lies across Puget Sound from Seattle. It is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the north by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the east by Puget Sound. Cape Alava, the westernmost point in the contiguous...
, such as the Hoh Rain Forest, are among the only temperate rainforests in the continental United States, but the semi-desert east of the Cascade Range has few trees.
Mount RainierMount Rainier is a massive stratovolcano located southeast of Seattle in the state of Washington, United States. It is the most topographically prominent mountain in the contiguous United States and the Cascade Volcanic Arc, with a summit elevation of . Mt. Rainier is considered one of the most...
, the highest mountain in the state, is covered with more
glacial iceA glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
than any other peak in the lower 48 states.
Federal land, reservations and international recognition
Olympic National ParkOlympic National Park is located in the U.S. state of Washington, in the Olympic Peninsula. The park can be divided into four basic regions: the Pacific coastline, alpine areas, the west side temperate rainforest and the forests of the drier east side. U.S...
is designated as a
UNESCOThe United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
World Heritage SiteA UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
as well as International Biosphere Reserve.
The following United States federal areas are in Washington.
National parks and monuments
There are three
National ParksThe National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
and two National Monuments in Washington:
- Mount Rainier National Park
Mount Rainier National Park is a United States National Park located in southeast Pierce County and northeast Lewis County in Washington state. It was one of the US's earliest National Parks, having been established on March 2, 1899 as the fifth national park in the United States. The park contains...
- North Cascades National Park
North Cascades National Park is a U.S. National Park located in the state of Washington. The park is the largest of the three National Park Service units that comprise the North Cascades National Park Service Complex. Several national wilderness areas and British Columbia parkland adjoin the...
- Olympic National Park
Olympic National Park is located in the U.S. state of Washington, in the Olympic Peninsula. The park can be divided into four basic regions: the Pacific coastline, alpine areas, the west side temperate rainforest and the forests of the drier east side. U.S...
- Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument is a U.S. National Monument that includes the area around Mount St. Helens in Washington. It was established on August 27, 1982 by U.S. President Ronald Reagan following the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. The 110,000 acre National Volcanic...
- Hanford Reach National Monument
The Hanford Reach National Monument is a national monument in the U.S. State of Washington. It was created in 2000, mostly from the former security buffer surrounding the Hanford Nuclear Reservation...
National forests
Nine
national forestsNational Forest is a classification of federal lands in the United States.National Forests are largely forest and woodland areas owned by the federal government and managed by the United States Forest Service, part of the United States Department of Agriculture. Land management of these areas...
are located (at least partly) in Washington:
- Colville National Forest
The Colville National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located in northeastern Washington state. It is bordered on the west by the Okanogan National Forest and the Kaniksu National Forest to the east...
- Gifford Pinchot National Forest
Gifford Pinchot National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located in southern Washington, USA. With an area of 1.37 million acres , it extends 116 km along the western slopes of Cascade Range from Mount Rainier National Park to the Columbia River. It includes the 110,000 acre Mount St....
- Idaho Panhandle National Forest
Idaho Panhandle National Forest is a national forest located in the U.S. state of Idaho. Approximately 22.4% of the forest extends into the states of Montana and Washington . The forest was combined in 2000 from three previous separate National Forests which continue to manage themselves somewhat...
- Kaniksu National Forest
The Kaniksu National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located in northeastern Washington, the Idaho panhandle, and northwestern Montana. The Idaho portion is one of three forests that are aggregated into the Idaho Panhandle National Forest, along with the Coeur d'Alene National Forest and St. Joe...
- Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest
The Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest in Washington extends more than along the western slopes of the Cascade Range from the Canadian border to the northern boundary of Mount Rainier National Park. Forest headquarters are located in the city of Everett....
- Okanogan National Forest
The Okanogan National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located in northern and western Okanogan County in north-central Washington State, United States...
- Olympic National Forest
Olympic National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located in Washington, USA. With an area of 633,677 acres , it nearly surrounds Olympic National Park and the Olympic Mountain range. Olympic National Forest contains parts of Clallam, Grays Harbor, Jefferson, and Mason counties...
- Umatilla National Forest
The Umatilla National Forest, in the Blue Mountains of northeast Oregon and southeast Washington, covers an area of 1.4 million acres . In descending order of land area the forest is located in parts of Umatilla, Grant, Columbia, Morrow, Wallowa, Union, Garfield, Asotin, Wheeler, and Walla Walla...
- Wenatchee National Forest
Wenatchee National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located in Washington. With an area of 1,735,394 acres , it extends about 137 miles along the eastern slopes of the Cascade Range of Washington, USA from Okanogan National Forest to Gifford Pinchot National Forest...
Federally protected wildernesses
31
wildernessesThe National Wilderness Preservation System of the United States protects federally managed land areas designated for preservation in their natural condition. It was established by the Wilderness Act upon the signature of President Lyndon B. Johnson on September 3, 1964...
are located (at least partly) in Washington, including:
- Alpine Lakes Wilderness
The Alpine Lakes Wilderness is a large wilderness area spanning the Cascade Range of Washington state in the United States. The wilderness is located in parts of Wenatchee National Forest and Snoqualmie National Forest, and is approximately bounded by Interstate 90 and Snoqualmie Pass to the south...
- Glacier Peak Wilderness
The Glacier Peak Wilderness, created by the US Forest Service in 1960 by efforts of the , four years before the 1964 wilderness legislation of the Congress, is located within portions of Chelan County, Snohomish County, and Skagit Counties in the North Cascades of Washington...
- Goat Rocks Wilderness
Goat Rocks Wilderness is a U.S. Wilderness Area in Washington, United States. Consisting of portions of Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest and Gifford Pinchot National Forest on the crest of the Cascade Range south of U.S...
- Henry M. Jackson Wilderness
The Henry M. Jackson Wilderness is a U.S. Wilderness Area in the state of Washington, United States.-History:The Henry M. Jackson Wilderness was created by the 1984 Washington Wilderness Act and named after former US Senator Henry M. Jackson of Washington...
- Juniper Dunes Wilderness
- Lake Chelan-Sawtooth Wilderness
Lake Chelan-Sawtooth Wilderness is a protected wilderness area located within the Okanogan and Wenatchee National Forests in Washington State. The Lake Chelan-Sawtooth Wilderness was designated with the passage of the Washington Wilderness Act of 1984, on lands occupied by the old Chelan Division...
- Mount Baker Wilderness
Mount Baker Wilderness in northern Washington, USA,contains . Its eastern border is shared with the boundary of the North Cascades National Park for a distance of 40 miles . The Wilderness extends from State Route 20 north to the Canadian border...
- Norse Peak Wilderness
Norse Peak Wilderness is located in central Washington in the United States. It protects the portion of the Cascade Range north of Chinook Pass , south of Naches Pass , and east of Mt. Rainier National Park. This 50,923 acre wilderness is named for a prominent peak which overlooks Crystal Mountain...
- Olympic Wilderness
Olympic Wilderness is a protected area comprising over 95% of Olympic National Park in Washington State. It includes of Pacific Ocean coastline. It is the largest wilderness area in Washington.- External links :* * *...
- Pasayten Wilderness
The Pasayten Wilderness is a 2145 km². protected area located within Okanogan National Forest and Mount Baker National Forest in Washington State, centered on the Three Forks of the Pasayten River, a tributary of the Similkameen River. The northern boundary of the wilderness is the Canadian...
- Wild Sky Wilderness
The Wild Sky Wilderness is a wilderness area in the western Cascade Range of Washington state. The wilderness is within the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest north of the U.S. Highway 2 towns of Index and Skykomish. The wilderness flanks, but does not include, the North Fork Skykomish River...
National wildlife refuges
23
National Wildlife RefugeNational Wildlife Refuge is a designation for certain protected areas of the United States managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The National Wildlife Refuge System is the world's premiere system of public lands and waters set aside to conserve America's fish, wildlife and plants...
s are located (at least partly) in Washington including:
- Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge
The Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge is located near the town of Sequim in Clallam County in the U.S. state of Washington, on the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The refuge is composed of which include Dungeness Spit, Graveyard Spit, and portions of Dungeness Bay and Harbor. Dungeness Spit is one of...
- Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge
The Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge is a wildlife preserve, one of the National Wildlife Refuges operated by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The refuge is located east of Colville, Washington along the west slope of the Selkirk Mountain Range. It lies mostly in eastern...
- Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge
The Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge is a wildlife preserve operated by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service on the Nisqually River Delta near Puget Sound in northeastern Thurston County, Washington and northwestern Pierce County, Washington...
- Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge
The Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge Complex is a wildlife preserve, one of the National Wildlife Refuges operated by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service...
- Saddle Mountain National Wildlife Refuge
- San Juan Islands National Wildlife Refuge
The San Juan Islands National Wildlife Refuge is located in the San Juan Islands of northern Puget Sound in the State of Washington. Originally created in 1976, it consists of 83 uninhabited small islands, with a combined area of approximately , scattered throughout the San Juans. The Refuge is...
- Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge
The Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1937 by an Executive Order of President Franklin D. Roosevelt is located six miles south of Cheney, Washington on the eastern edge of the Columbia Basin, in Spokane County in northeastern Washington. Turnbull NWR encompasses approximately ...
- Willapa National Wildlife Refuge
Willapa National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge located on the shores of Willapa Bay in Washington, USA. It comprises of sand dunes, sand beaches, mud flats, grasslands, saltwater and freshwater marshes, and coniferous forest...
Other federally protected lands
Other protected lands of note include:
- Columbia River Gorge
The Columbia River Gorge is a canyon of the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Up to deep, the canyon stretches for over as the river winds westward through the Cascade Range forming the boundary between the State of Washington to the north and Oregon to the south...
National Scenic Area
- Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve
Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve is a unit of the National Park Service near Coupeville, Washington.-Description:The Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve, a rural historic district, preserves and protects an unbroken historical record of Puget Sound exploration and settlement from...
- Fort Vancouver National Historic Site
Fort Vancouver National Historic Site is a United States National Historic Site located in the states of Washington and Oregon. The National Historic Site consists of two units, one located on the site of Fort Vancouver in modern-day Vancouver, Washington; the other being the former residence of...
- Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park
Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park commemorating the Klondike Gold Rush of the late 1890s. The gold rush was in the Yukon Territory, and this park comprises staging areas for the trek there, and routes leading in its direction...
- Lake Chelan National Recreation Area
Lake Chelan National Recreation Area is a U.S. National Recreation Area located about south of the Canadian border in Chelan County, Washington. It encompasses an area of approximately including the northern end of Lake Chelan and the surrounding area of the Stehekin Valley and the Stehekin...
- Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area
Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area is a U.S. National Recreation Area of the National Park Service that encompasses the long Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake between Grand Coulee Dam and Northport, Washington, in eastern Washington state. It is a popular boating, fishing, hunting, camping, and...
- Fort Worden State Park
- Ross Lake National Recreation Area
Ross Lake National Recreation Area is a US National Recreation Area located in north central Washington just south of the Canadian border. It is the most accessible part of the North Cascades National Park Service Complex which also includes North Cascades National Park and Lake Chelan National...
- San Juan Island National Historical Park
San Juan Island National Historical Park, also known as American and English Camps, San Juan Island, is a U.S. National Historical Park owned and operated by the National Park Service on San Juan Island in the state of Washington. The park is made up of the sites of the British and U.S. Armies'...
- Whitman Mission National Historic Site
Whitman Mission National Historic Site is a United States National Historic Site located just west of Walla Walla, Washington, at the site of the former Whitman Mission at Waiilatpu. On November 29, 1847, the family of Dr. Marcus Whitman and others were massacred by Native Americans of the Cayuse...
- 17 National Natural Landmarks
Military and related reservations
There are several large military-related reservations, including:
- Joint Base Lewis-McChord
Joint Base Lewis-McChord is a United States military facility located south-southwest of Tacoma, Washington. The facility is under the jurisdiction of the United States Army Joint Base Garrison, Joint Base Lewis-McChord....
- Fairchild Air Force Base
Fairchild Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately southwest of Spokane, Washington.The host unit at Fairchild is the 92d Air Refueling Wing assigned to the Air Mobility Command's 15th Expeditionary Mobility Task Force...
- Naval Base Kitsap
Naval Base Kitsap is a U.S. Navy base located on the Kitsap Peninsula in Washington state. It was created in 2004 by merging the former Naval Station Bremerton with Naval Submarine Base Bangor...
- Hanford Site
The Hanford Site is a mostly decommissioned nuclear production complex on the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, operated by the United States federal government. The site has been known by many names, including Hanford Works, Hanford Engineer Works or HEW, Hanford Nuclear Reservation...
- Yakima Training Center
The Yakima Training Center is a United States Army training center located in south central Washington state. It is bounded on the west by Interstate 82, on the south by the city of Yakima, on the north by the city of Ellensburg and Interstate 90, and on the east by the Columbia River...
- Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (Bremerton)
- Naval Air Station Whidbey Island
Naval Air Station Whidbey Island is a naval air station located in two sections around Oak Harbor, Washington, USA. It was commissioned as an active U.S. Navy installation on 21 September 1942....
- Naval Station Everett
Naval Station Everett is the United States Navy's most modern facility. It is located next to the marina area of the city of Everett, WA, 25 miles north of Seattle. The Navy Support Complex is located between Marysville and Arlington, 11 miles north of the naval station. Naval Station , Everett is...
Climate
Washington's climate varies greatly from west to east. An
oceanic climateAn oceanic climate, also called marine west coast climate, maritime climate, Cascadian climate and British climate for Köppen climate classification Cfb and subtropical highland for Köppen Cfb or Cwb, is a type of climate typically found along the west coasts at the middle latitudes of some of the...
(also called "west coast marine climate") predominates in western Washington, and a much drier semi-arid climate prevails east of the Cascade Range. Major factors determining Washington's climate include the large semi-permanent
high pressureA high-pressure area is a region where the atmospheric pressure at the surface of the planet is greater than its surrounding environment. Winds within high-pressure areas flow outward due to the higher density air near their center and friction with land...
and
low pressureA low-pressure area, or "low", is a region where the atmospheric pressure at sea level is below that of surrounding locations. Low-pressure systems form under areas of wind divergence which occur in upper levels of the troposphere. The formation process of a low-pressure area is known as...
systems of the north Pacific Ocean, the continental air masses of North America, and the Olympic and Cascade mountains. In the spring and summer, a high pressure
anticycloneAn anticyclone is a weather phenomenon defined by the United States' National Weather Service's glossary as "[a] large-scale circulation of winds around a central region of high atmospheric pressure, clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere, counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere"...
system dominates the north Pacific Ocean, causing air to spiral out in a clockwise fashion.
For Washington this means
prevailing windsPrevailing winds are winds that blow predominantly from a single general direction over a particular point on Earth's surface. The dominant winds are the trends in direction of wind with the highest speed over a particular point on the Earth's surface. A region's prevailing and dominant winds...
from the northwest bringing relatively cool air and a predictably
dry seasonThe dry season is a term commonly used when describing the weather in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which oscillates from the northern to the southern tropics over the course of the year...
. In the autumn and winter, a low pressure
cycloneIn meteorology, a cyclone is an area of closed, circular fluid motion rotating in the same direction as the Earth. This is usually characterized by inward spiraling winds that rotate anticlockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere of the Earth. Most large-scale...
system takes over in the north Pacific Ocean, with air spiraling inward in a counter-clockwise fashion. This causes Washington's prevailing winds to come from the southwest, bringing relatively warm and moist air masses and a predictably
wet seasonThe the wet season, or rainy season, is the time of year, covering one or more months, when most of the average annual rainfall in a region occurs. The term green season is also sometimes used as a euphemism by tourist authorities. Areas with wet seasons are dispersed across portions of the...
. The term
Pineapple ExpressPineapple Express is a non-technical term for a meteorological phenomenon characterized by a strong and persistent flow of atmospheric moisture and associated heavy rainfall from the waters adjacent to the Hawaiian Islands and extending to any location along the Pacific coast of North America...
is used to describe the extreme form of this wet season pattern.
Despite western Washington having a marine climate similar to those of many coastal cities of Europe, there are exceptions such as the "Big Snow" events of 1880, 1881, 1893 and 1916 and the "deep freeze" winters of 1883–84, 1915–16, 1949–50 and 1955–56, among others. During these events western Washington experienced up to 6 feet (1.8 m) of snow, sub-zero (−18°C) temperatures, three months with snow on the ground, and lakes and rivers frozen over for weeks.
Seattle's lowest officially recorded temperature is 0 °F (-17.8 °C) set on January 31, 1950, but low-altitude areas approximately three hours away from Seattle have recorded lows as cold as -48 F.
In 2006, the Climate Impacts Group at the
University of WashingtonUniversity of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
published
The Impacts of Climate change in WashingtonClimate change in the American state of Washington is a subject of study and projection today.-Expected outcomes:Economic Impacts of Climate Change in Washington State summarized impacts on forest fires, public health, agriculture, municipal water supply, sea level rise and fisheries...
’s Economy, a preliminary assessment on the risks and opportunities presented given the possibility of a rise in global temperatures and their effects on Washington state.
Rain shadow effects
The Olympic mountains and Cascades compound this climatic pattern by causing
orographic liftOrographic lift occurs when an air mass is forced from a low elevation to a higher elevation as it moves over rising terrain. As the air mass gains altitude it quickly cools down adiabatically, which can raise the relative humidity to 100% and create clouds and, under the right conditions,...
of the air masses blown inland from the Pacific Ocean, resulting in the windward side of the mountains receiving high levels of precipitation and the leeward side receiving low levels. This occurs most dramatically around the Olympic Mountains and the Cascade Range. In both cases the windward slopes facing southwest receive high precipitation and mild, cool temperatures. While the Puget Sound lowlands are known for clouds and rain in the winter, the western slopes of the Cascades receive larger amounts of precipitation, often falling as snow at higher elevations. (
Mount BakerMount Baker , also known as Koma Kulshan or simply Kulshan, is an active glaciated andesitic stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc and the North Cascades of Washington State in the United States. It is the second-most active volcano in the range after Mount Saint Helens...
, near the state's northern border, is one of the snowiest places in the world: in 1999, it set the world record for snowfall in a single season: 1,140 inches, or 95 feet (29 m).
East of the Cascades, a large region experiences strong
rain shadowA rain shadow is a dry area on the lee side of a mountainous area. The mountains block the passage of rain-producing weather systems, casting a "shadow" of dryness behind them. As shown by the diagram to the right, the warm moist air is "pulled" by the prevailing winds over a mountain...
effects.
Semi-aridA semi-arid climate or steppe climate describes climatic regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not extremely...
conditions occur in much of eastern Washington with the strongest rain shadow effects at the relatively low elevations of the central
Columbia PlateauThe Columbia Plateau is a geologic and geographic region that lies across parts of the U.S. states of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. It is a wide flood basalt plateau between the Cascade Range and the Rocky Mountains, cut through by the Columbia River...
—especially the region just east of the Columbia River from about the Snake River to the
Okanagan HighlandThe Okanagan Highland is a plateau-like hilly area in British Columbia, Canada, and the U.S. state of Washington . It lies between the Okanagan Valley on its west and the Kettle River on its east, and geologically is more or less an extension of the Thompson Plateau, which lies west of the Okanagan...
. Thus instead of rain forests much of eastern Washington is covered with
grasslandGrasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica...
and
shrub-steppeShrub-steppe is a type of low rainfall natural grassland. Shrub-steppes are distinguishable from deserts, which are too dry to support a noticeable cover of perennial grasses or other shrubs, while the shrub-steppe has sufficient moisture levels to support a cover of perennial grasses and/or...
.
Temperatures
The average annual temperature ranges from 51 °F (10.6 °C) on the Pacific coast to 40 °F (4.4 °C) in the northeast. The lowest temperature recorded in the state was -48 F in Winthrop and Mazama. The highest recorded temperature in the state was 118 °F (47.8 °C) at Ice Harbor Dam. Both records were set east of the Cascades. Western Washington is known for its mild climate, considerable fog, frequent cloud cover and long-lasting drizzles in the winter, and sunny and dry summers. The western region occasionally experiences extreme climate. Arctic cold fronts in the winter and heat waves in the summer are not uncommon. In the Western region, temperatures have reached as high as 112 °F (44.4 °C) in Marietta and as low as -20 F in
LongviewLongview is a city in Cowlitz County, Washington, United States. It is the principal city of the "Longview, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area", which encompasses all of Cowlitz County. Longview's population was 36,648 at the time of the 2010 census and is the largest city in Cowlitz County...
.
The western side of the Olympic Peninsula receives as much as 160 inches (406.4 cm) of precipitation annually, making it the wettest area of the 48 conterminous states. Weeks or even months may pass without a clear day. The western slopes of the Cascade Range receive some of the heaviest annual snowfall (in some places more than 200 inches (508 cm) water equivalent) in the country. In the rain shadow area east of the Cascades, the annual precipitation is only 6 inches (15.2 cm). Precipitation then increases again eastward toward the Rocky Mountains.
History
Prior to the arrival of explorers from
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, the region had many established tribes of
Native AmericansNative Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
, notable for their
totem poleTotem poles are monumental sculptures carved from large trees, mostly Western Red Cedar, by cultures of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America...
s and their ornately carved canoes and masks. Prominent among their industries were
salmonSalmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...
fishing and, notably among the Makah,
whaleWhale is the common name for various marine mammals of the order Cetacea. The term whale sometimes refers to all cetaceans, but more often it excludes dolphins and porpoises, which belong to suborder Odontoceti . This suborder also includes the sperm whale, killer whale, pilot whale, and beluga...
hunting. The peoples of the Interior had a very different subsistence-based culture based on hunting, food-gathering and some forms of agriculture, as well as a dependency on salmon from the Columbia and its tributaries. The
smallpoxSmallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
epidemic of the 1770s devastated the Amerindian population.
The first
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an record of a landing on the Washington coast was by
SpanishSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
Captain Don
Bruno de HecetaBruno de Heceta y Dudagoitia was a Spanish Basque explorer of the Pacific Northwest. Born in Bilbao of an old Basque family, he was sent by the Viceroy of New Spain, Antonio María Bucareli y Ursúa, to explore the area north of Alta California in response to information that there were colonial...
in 1775, on board the
Santiago, part of a two-ship
flotillaA flotilla , or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same class of warship, such as frigates, destroyers, torpedo boats, submarines, gunboats, or minesweepers...
with the
Sonora. They claimed all the coastal lands up to
Prince William SoundPrince William Sound is a sound off the Gulf of Alaska on the south coast of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is located on the east side of the Kenai Peninsula. Its largest port is Valdez, at the southern terminus of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System...
in the north for
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
as part of their claimed rights under the
Treaty of TordesillasThe Treaty of Tordesillas , signed at Tordesillas , , divided the newly discovered lands outside Europe between Spain and Portugal along a meridian 370 leagueswest of the Cape Verde islands...
, which they maintained made the Pacific a "Spanish lake" and all its shores part of the Spanish Empire.
In 1778,
BritishThe former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
explorer Captain
James CookCaptain James Cook, FRS, RN was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer who ultimately rose to the rank of captain in the Royal Navy...
sighted Cape Flattery, at the entrance to the
Strait of Juan de FucaThe Strait of Juan de Fuca is a large body of water about long that is the Salish Sea outlet to the Pacific Ocean...
, but Cook thought the strait did not exist. It was not discovered until
Charles William BarkleyCharles William Barkley was a ship captain and maritime fur trader. He was born in Hertford, England, son of Charles Barkley....
, captain of the
Imperial EagleThe Imperial Eagle was a 400 ton burthen British merchant ship that sailed on maritime fur trading ventures in the late 1780s. It was under the command of Captain Charles William Barkley until confiscated in India. The ship, Loudoun, was a decommissioned East Indiaman...
, sighted it in 1787. The straits were further explored by
Spanish explorersSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
Manuel QuimperManuel Quimper Benítez del Pino was a Spanish Peruvian explorer, cartographer, naval officer, and colonial official. He participated in charting the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Sandwich Islands in the late 18th century. He was later appointed a colonial governor in his native Peru at the...
in 1790 and Francisco de Eliza in 1791, and British explorer
George VancouverCaptain George Vancouver RN was an English officer of the British Royal Navy, best known for his 1791-95 expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern Pacific Coast regions, including the coasts of contemporary Alaska, British Columbia, Washington and Oregon...
in 1792.
The British-Spanish
Nootka ConventionThe Nootka Conventions were a series of three agreements between the Kingdom of Spain and the Kingdom of Great Britain, signed in the 1790s which averted a war between the two empires over overlapping claims to portions of the Pacific Northwest coast of North America.The claims of Spain dated back...
of 1790 ended Spanish claims of exclusivity and opened the Northwest Coast to explorers and traders from other nations, most notably
BritainThe former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
and
RussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
as well as the fledgling
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. American captain Robert Gray (for whom
Grays Harbor CountyGrays Harbor County is a county in the state of Washington, in the United States of America. As of 2010, the population was 72,797. The county seat is at Montesano, and its largest city is Aberdeen. The county is named after a large estuarine bay near its southwestern corner...
is named) then discovered the mouth of the
Columbia RiverThe Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
. He named the river after his ship, the
ColumbiaColumbia Rediviva was a privately owned ship under the command of John Kendrick, along with Captain Robert Gray, best known for going to the Pacific Northwest for the maritime fur trade. The "Rediviva" was added to her name upon a rebuilding in 1787...
. Beginning in 1792, Gray established trade in
sea otterThe sea otter is a marine mammal native to the coasts of the northern and eastern North Pacific Ocean. Adult sea otters typically weigh between 14 and 45 kg , making them the heaviest members of the weasel family, but among the smallest marine mammals...
pelts. The
Lewis and Clark ExpeditionThe Lewis and Clark Expedition, or ″Corps of Discovery Expedition" was the first transcontinental expedition to the Pacific Coast by the United States. Commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson and led by two Virginia-born veterans of Indian wars in the Ohio Valley, Meriwether Lewis and William...
entered the state on October 10, 1805.
Explorer
David ThompsonDavid Thompson was an English-Canadian fur trader, surveyor, and map-maker, known to some native peoples as "Koo-Koo-Sint" or "the Stargazer"...
, on his voyage down the Columbia River camped at the junction with the
Snake RiverThe Snake is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest in the United States. At long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean...
on July 9, 1811 and erected a pole and a notice claiming the country for Great Britain and stating the intention of the
North West CompanyThe North West Company was a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in what was to become Western Canada...
to build a trading post at the site.
The UK and the USA agreed to what has since been described as "joint occupancy" of lands west of the
Continental DivideThe Continental Divide of the Americas, or merely the Continental Gulf of Division or Great Divide, is the name given to the principal, and largely mountainous, hydrological divide of the Americas that separates the watersheds that drain into the Pacific Ocean from those river systems that drain...
to the
Pacific OceanThe Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
as part of the
Anglo-American Convention of 1818The Convention respecting fisheries, boundary and the restoration of slaves between the United States of America and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, also known as the London Convention, Anglo-American Convention of 1818, Convention of 1818, or simply the Treaty of 1818, was a...
, which established the
49th ParallelThe 49th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 49 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Europe, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean....
as the international boundary west from
Lake of the WoodsLake of the Woods is a lake occupying parts of the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba and the U.S. state of Minnesota. It separates a small land area of Minnesota from the rest of the United States. The Northwest Angle and the town of Angle Township can only be reached from the rest of...
to the
Rocky MountainsThe Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
. Resolution of the territorial and treaty issues, west to the Pacific, were deferred until a later time.
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, in 1819, ceded their rights north of the 42nd Parallel to the United States, although these rights did not include possession.
Negotiations with
Great BritainGreat Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
over the next few decades failed to settle upon a compromise boundary and the
Oregon boundary disputeThe Oregon boundary dispute, or the Oregon Question, arose as a result of competing British and American claims to the Pacific Northwest of North America in the first half of the 19th century. Both the United Kingdom and the United States had territorial and commercial aspirations in the region...
was highly contested between Britain and the United States. Disputed joint-occupancy by Britain and the U.S. lasted for several decades. With American settlers pouring into
Oregon CountryThe Oregon Country was a predominantly American term referring to a disputed ownership region of the Pacific Northwest of North America. The region was occupied by British and French Canadian fur traders from before 1810, and American settlers from the mid-1830s, with its coastal areas north from...
,
Hudson's Bay CompanyThe Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
, which had previously discouraged settlement because it conflicted with the fur trade, reversed its position in an attempt to maintain British control of the
Columbia DistrictThe Columbia District was a fur trading district in the Pacific Northwest region of British North America in the 19th century. It was explored by the North West Company between 1793 and 1811, and established as an operating fur district around 1810...
. Fur trapper James Sinclair, on orders from
Sir George SimpsonSir George Simpson was a Scots-Quebecer and employee of the Hudson's Bay Company . His title was Governor-in-Chief of Rupert's Land and administrator over the Northwest Territories and Columbia Department in British North America from 1821 to 1860.-Early years:George Simpson was born in Dingwall,...
, Governor of the
Hudson's Bay CompanyThe Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
, led some 200 settlers from the
Red River ColonyThe Red River Colony was a colonization project set up by Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk in 1811 on of land granted to him by the Hudson's Bay Company under what is referred to as the Selkirk Concession. The colony along the Red River of the North was never very successful...
west in 1841 to settle on Hudson Bay Company farms near
Fort VancouverFort Vancouver was a 19th century fur trading outpost along the Columbia River that served as the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company in the company's Columbia District...
. The party crossed the Rockies into the
Columbia ValleyThe Columbia Valley is the name used for a region in the Rocky Mountain Trench near the headwaters of the Columbia River between the town of Golden and the Canal Flats. The main hub of the valley is the town of Invermere. Other towns include Radium Hot Springs, Windermere and Fairmont Hot Springs...
, near present-day Radium Hot Springs,
British ColumbiaBritish Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, then traveled south-west down the Kootenai River and
Columbia RiverThe Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
. Despite such efforts, Britain eventually ceded all claims to land south of the 49th parallel to the United States in the
Oregon TreatyThe Oregon Treaty is a treaty between the United Kingdom and the United States that was signed on June 15, 1846, in Washington, D.C. The treaty brought an end to the Oregon boundary dispute by settling competing American and British claims to the Oregon Country, which had been jointly occupied by...
on June 15, 1846.
In 1836, a group of missionaries including
Marcus WhitmanMarcus Whitman was an American physician and Oregon missionary in the Oregon Country. Along with his wife Narcissa Whitman he started a mission in what is now southeastern Washington state in 1836, which would later become a stop along the Oregon Trail...
established several missions and Whitman’s own settlement Waiilatpu, in what is now southeastern Washington state, near present day
Walla Walla County, in territory of both the
CayuseThe Cayuse are a Native American tribe in the state of Oregon in the United States. The Cayuse tribe shares a reservation in northeastern Oregon with the Umatilla and the Walla Walla tribes as part of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation...
and the Nez Perce Indian tribes. Whitman’s settlement would in 1843 help the
Oregon TrailThe Oregon Trail is a historic east-west wagon route that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon and locations in between.After 1840 steam-powered riverboats and steamboats traversing up and down the Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri rivers sped settlement and development in the flat...
, the overland emigration route to the west, get established for thousands of emigrants in following decades. Marcus provided medical care for the Native Americans, but when Indian patients – lacking immunity to new, ‘European’ diseases – died in striking numbers, while at the same time many white patients recovered, they held ‘medicine man’ Marcus Whitman personally responsible, and murdered Whitman and twelve other white settlers in the
Whitman massacreThe Whitman massacre was the murder in the Oregon Country on November 29, 1847 of U.S. missionaries Dr. Marcus Whitman and his wife Narcissa Whitman, along with eleven others. They were killed by Cayuse and Umatilla Indians. The incident began the Cayuse War...
in 1847. This event triggered the
Cayuse WarThe Cayuse War was an armed conflict that took place in the Northwestern United States from 1847 to 1855 between the Cayuse people of the region and the United States Government and local Euro-American settlers...
between settlers and Indians.
Fort NisquallyFort Nisqually was an important fur trading and farming post of the Hudson's Bay Company in the Puget Sound area of what is now DuPont, Washington and was part of the Hudson's Bay Company's Columbia Department. Today it is a living history museum located in Tacoma, Washington, USA, within the...
, a farm and trading post of the
Hudson's Bay CompanyThe Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
and the first European settlement in the
Puget SoundPuget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...
area, was founded in 1833. Black pioneer
George Washington BushGeorge Washington Bush was one of the first American settlers and the first black settler in what would later become the U.S. state of Washington.-Early life:...
and his caucasian wife, Isabella James Bush, from
MissouriMissouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
and
TennesseeTennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, respectively, led four white families into the territory and founded New Market, now
TumwaterTumwater is a city in Thurston County, Washington, United States. It lies near where the Deschutes River enters Budd Inlet, the southernmost point of Puget Sound. The population was 17,371 at the 2010 census...
, in 1846. They settled in Washington to avoid Oregon's discriminatory settlement laws. After them, many more settlers, migrating overland along the
Oregon trailThe Oregon Trail is a historic east-west wagon route that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon and locations in between.After 1840 steam-powered riverboats and steamboats traversing up and down the Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri rivers sped settlement and development in the flat...
, wandered north to settle in the
Puget SoundPuget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...
area.
In 1852, people from all over what was to become Washington state gathered in Monticello (now
LongviewLongview is a city in Cowlitz County, Washington, United States. It is the principal city of the "Longview, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area", which encompasses all of Cowlitz County. Longview's population was 36,648 at the time of the 2010 census and is the largest city in Cowlitz County...
) to draft a memorandum to Congress. The memorandum expressed a desire to be granted statehood under the name of Columbia. This meeting came to be known as the Monticello Convention. The Convention's requests were met favorably in Congress, but it was decided that a state named Columbia might be confused with the preexisting District of Columbia. In a manner which strangely enough did not solve the problem of being confused with the nation's capital, the state was instead named Washington in honor of the first U.S. president. Washington became the
42nd state in the United States on November 11, 1889.
Early prominent industries in the state included agriculture and lumber. In eastern Washington, the
Yakima RiverThe Yakima River is a tributary of the Columbia River in south central and eastern Washington State, named for the indigenous Yakama people. The length of the river from headwaters to mouth is , with an average drop of .-Course:...
Valley became known for its
appleThe apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...
orchards, while the growth of wheat using
dry-farmingDryland farming is an agricultural technique for non-irrigated cultivation of drylands.-Locations:Dryland farming is used in the Great Plains, the Palouse plateau of Eastern Washington, and other arid regions of North America, the Middle East and in other grain growing regions such as the steppes...
techniques became particularly productive. Heavy rainfall to the west of the
Cascade RangeThe Cascade Range is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, and the notable volcanoes known as the High Cascades...
produced dense forests, and the ports along Puget Sound prospered from the manufacturing and shipping of lumber products, particularly the
Douglas-firDouglas-fir is one of the English common names for evergreen coniferous trees of the genus Pseudotsuga in the family Pinaceae. Other common names include Douglas tree, and Oregon pine. There are five species, two in western North America, one in Mexico, and two in eastern Asia...
. Other industries that developed in the state included fishing, salmon canning and mining.
For a long period,
TacomaTacoma is a mid-sized urban port city and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to...
was noted for its large smelters where gold, silver, copper and lead ores were treated. Seattle was the primary port for trade with
AlaskaAlaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
and the rest of the country, and for a time it possessed a large shipbuilding industry. The region around eastern Puget Sound developed heavy industry during the period including
World War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and the
BoeingThe Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
company became an established icon in the area.
During the
Great DepressionThe Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, a series of hydroelectric dams were constructed along the Columbia river as part of a project to increase the production of
electricityElectricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
. This culminated in 1941 with the completion of the
Grand Coulee DamGrand Coulee Dam is a gravity dam on the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington built to produce hydroelectric power and provide irrigation. It was constructed between 1933 and 1942, originally with two power plants. A third power station was completed in 1974 to increase its energy...
, the largest concrete structure in the United States.
During World War II, the state became a focus for war industries, with the
BoeingThe Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
Company producing many of the nation's
heavy bomberA heavy bomber is a bomber aircraft of the largest size and load carrying capacity, and usually the longest range.In New START, the term "heavy bomber" is used for two types of bombers:*one with a range greater than 8,000 kilometers...
s and ports in Seattle,
BremertonBremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. The population was 38,790 at the 2011 State Estimate, making it the largest city on the Olympic Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremerton Annex of Naval Base Kitsap...
,
VancouverVancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington. Incorporated in 1857, it is the fourth largest city in the state with a 2010 census population of 161,791 as of April 1, 2010...
, and
TacomaTacoma is a mid-sized urban port city and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to...
were available for the manufacture of warships. Seattle was the point of departure for many soldiers in the Pacific, a number of which were quartered at
Golden Gardens ParkGolden Gardens Park is a public park in Ballard, a neighborhood in Seattle, Washington. The park includes wetlands, beaches, hiking trails, and picnic and playground areas. The park is bisected by the BNSF Railway railway.- Recreation :...
. In
eastern WashingtonEastern Washington is the portion of the U.S. state of Washington east of the Cascade Range. The region contains the city of Spokane , the Tri-Cities, the Columbia River and the Grand Coulee Dam, the Hanford Nuclear Reservation and the fertile farmlands of the Yakima Valley and the...
, the
Hanford WorksThe Hanford Site is a mostly decommissioned nuclear production complex on the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, operated by the United States federal government. The site has been known by many names, including Hanford Works, Hanford Engineer Works or HEW, Hanford Nuclear Reservation...
atomic energyNuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
plant was opened in 1943 and played a major role in the construction of the nation's atomic bombs.
On May 18, 1980, following a period of heavy tremors and eruptions, the northeast face of
Mount St. HelensMount St. Helens is an active stratovolcano located in Skamania County, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is south of Seattle, Washington and northeast of Portland, Oregon. Mount St. Helens takes its English name from the British diplomat Lord St Helens, a...
exploded outward, destroying a large part of the top of the volcano. This eruption flattened the forests, killed 57 people, flooded the Columbia River and its tributaries with ash and mud, and blanketed large parts of Washington and other surrounding states in ash, making day look like night.
Demographics
According to the U.S. Census, as of 2010, Washington has a historical estimated population of 6,724,540 which is an increase of 830,419 or 14.1 percent, since the year 2000. This includes a natural increase of 380,400 people, and an increase from net migration of 450,019 people into the state. Washington ranks first in the Pacific Northwest region in terms of population, followed by Oregon, and Idaho. There has historically been a lot of
German AmericanGerman Americans are citizens of the United States of German ancestry and comprise about 51 million people, or 17% of the U.S. population, the country's largest self-reported ancestral group...
,
Irish AmericanIrish Americans are citizens of the United States who can trace their ancestry to Ireland. A total of 36,278,332 Americans—estimated at 11.9% of the total population—reported Irish ancestry in the 2008 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau...
and
English AmericanEnglish Americans are citizens or residents of the United States whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in England....
immigration to what is now the state of Washington.
The
center of populationIn demographics, the center of population of a region is a geographical point that describes a centerpoint of the region's population...
of Washington in the year 2000 was located in an unpopulated part of rural eastern
King CountyKing County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. The population in the 2010 census was 1,931,249. King is the most populous county in Washington, and the 14th most populous in the United States....
, southeast of
North BendNorth Bend is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The town was made famous by David Lynch's television series Twin Peaks Since the Weyerhaeuser sawmill closed, North Bend has become an upscale bedroom community for the Eastside of Seattle, Washington, with property values more than...
and northeast of
EnumclawEnumclaw is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 10,669 at the 2010 census.The Enumclaw Plateau, on which the city resides, was formed by a volcanic mudflow from Mount Rainier approximately 5,700 years ago....
.
As of the Census 2010, the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue Metropolitan Area's population was 3,439,809, approximately half the state's total population.
6.7 percent of Washington's population was reported as under five years of age, 25.7 percent under 18 years of age, and 11.2 percent were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 50.2 percent of the population.
The largest ancestry groups (which the Census defines as not including racial terms) in the state are:
- 20.7% German
- 12.6% Irish
- 12.3% English
- 8.2% Mexican
- 6.2% Norwegian
- 3.9% French
- 3.9% American
- 3.8% Swedish
- 3.6% Italian
- 3.3% Scottish
- 2.5% Scotch Irish
- 2.5% Dutch
- 1.9% Polish
Largest cities
The largest cities in Washington according to 2011 state estimate.
| Rank |
City |
Population |
| 1 |
Seattle |
612,100 |
| 2 |
SpokaneSpokane is a city located in the Northwestern United States in the state of Washington. It is the largest city of Spokane County of which it is also the county seat, and the metropolitan center of the Inland Northwest region...
|
209,100 |
| 3 |
TacomaTacoma is a mid-sized urban port city and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to...
|
198,900 |
| 4 |
VancouverVancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington. Incorporated in 1857, it is the fourth largest city in the state with a 2010 census population of 161,791 as of April 1, 2010...
|
162,300 |
| 5 |
Bellevue Bellevue is a city in the Eastside region of King County, Washington, United States, across Lake Washington from Seattle. Long known as a suburb or satellite city of Seattle, it is now categorized as an edge city or a boomburb. The population was 122,363 at the 2010 census.Downtown Bellevue is...
|
123,400 |
| 6 |
Kent Kent is a city located in King County, Washington, United States, and is the third largest city in King County and the sixth largest in the state. An outlying suburb of Seattle, Kent is also the corporate home for companies such as REI and Oberto Sausage...
|
118,200 |
| 7 |
EverettEverett is the county seat of and the largest city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. Named for Everett Colby, son of founder Charles L. Colby, it lies north of Seattle. The city had a total population of 103,019 at the 2010 census, making it the 6th largest in the state and...
|
103,100 |
| 8 |
RentonRenton is an Eastside edge city in King County, Washington, United States. Situated 11 miles southeast of Seattle, Washington, Renton straddles the southeast shore of Lake Washington. Founded in the 1860s, Renton became a supply town for the Newcastle coal fields...
|
92,590 |
| 9 |
YakimaYakima is an American city southeast of Mount Rainier National Park and the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, United States, and the eighth largest city by population in the state itself. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 91,196 and a metropolitan population of...
|
91,630 |
| 10 |
Spokane Valley Spokane Valley is an incorporated city in Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is located east of Spokane and west of Coeur d'Alene. It surrounds the town of Millwood on three sides...
|
90,110 |
| 11 |
Federal Way Federal Way is a city in King County, Washington, United States. Federal Way is located between Seattle and Tacoma. Its western boundary is Puget Sound. It is bordered by Des Moines on the north, Kent, unincorporated King County, and Milton on the east and Tacoma and Fife on the south...
|
89,370 |
| 12 |
BellinghamBellingham is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is the twelfth-largest city in the state. Situated on Bellingham Bay, Bellingham is protected by Lummi Island, Portage Island, and the Lummi Peninsula, and opens onto the Strait of Georgia...
|
81,070 |
| 13 |
KennewickKennewick is a city in Benton County in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Washington, near the Hanford nuclear site. It is the most populous of the three cities collectively referred to as the Tri-Cities...
|
74,665 |
| 14 |
Auburn -Parks:Auburn has an extensive system of parks, open space and urban trails comprising 29 developed parks, 5 undeveloped sites under planning, 2 skate parks, 2 water roatary parks, and over of trails , and almost of open space for passive and active recreation.-Environmental Park:The Auburn...
|
70,705 |
| 15 |
Pasco Pasco is a city in and the county seat of Franklin County, Washington, United States.Pasco is one of three cities that make up the Tri-Cities region of the state of Washington...
|
61,000 |
| 16 |
Marysville Marysville is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. The population was 60,020 at the 2010 census. Marysville is known as "The Strawberry City" due to the large number of strawberry farms that once surrounded the city in its earlier days. Over the past decade, and continuing...
|
60,660 |
| 17 |
Lakewood Lakewood is a city in Pierce County, Washington, United States. The population was 58,163 at the 2010 census.-History:Lakewood was officially incorporated on February 28, 1996. Historical names include Lakewood Center and Lakes District...
|
58,190 |
| 18 |
RedmondRedmond is a city in King County, Washington, United States, located east of Seattle. The population was 54,144 at the 2010 census,up from 45,256 in 2000....
|
55,150 |
| 19 |
Shoreline Shoreline is a city in King County, Washington, United States, north of Downtown Seattle bordering the northern Seattle city limits. As of the 2010 census, the population was 53,007, making it the 19th largest city in the state of Washington....
|
53,200 |
| 20 |
Kirkland Kirkland is a city in King County, Washington, United States. It is a suburb of Seattle on the Eastside . The population was 48,787 at the 2010 census makes it the 9th largest city in King County and the 20th largest city in the state...
|
49,020 |
Religion
Major religious affiliations of the people of Washington are:
- Protestant
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
: 49%
- Evangelical: 25%
- Mainline: 23%
- Other Protestant: 1%
- Unaffiliated: 25%
- Catholic: 16%
- Latter-day Saint: 4%
- Jewish: 1%
- Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
: 1%
- other religions 3%
The largest denominations by number of adherents in 2000 were the
Roman Catholic ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
with 716,133; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with 178,000 (253,166 year-end 2007); and the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in AmericaThe Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is a mainline Protestant denomination headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA officially came into existence on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three churches. As of December 31, 2009, it had 4,543,037 baptized members, with 2,527,941 of them...
with 127,854.
As with many other Western states, the percentage of Washington's population identifying themselves as "non-religious" is higher than the national average. The percentage of non-religious people in Washington is the highest of any state other than
ColoradoColorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
.
Racial demographics
According to the 2010
United States censusThe United States Census is a decennial census mandated by the United States Constitution. The population is enumerated every 10 years and the results are used to allocate Congressional seats , electoral votes, and government program funding. The United States Census Bureau The United States Census...
, the racial and ethnic composition of Washington was the following:
- White
White Americans are people of the United States who are considered or consider themselves White. The United States Census Bureau defines White people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa...
: 77.3% (Non-Hispanic WhitesNon-Hispanic Whites or White, Not Hispanic or Latino are people in the United States, as defined by the Census Bureau, who are of the White race and are not of Hispanic or Latino origin/ethnicity. Hence the designation is exclusive in the sense that it defines who is not included as opposed to who is...
: 72.5%)
- Black or African American: 3.6%
- Native American
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
: 1.5%
- Asian
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...
: 7.2% (2.04% Filipino, 1.4% Chinese, 1.0% Vietnamese, 0.9% Korean, 0.9% Indian, 0.5% Japanese, 0.3% Cambodian, 0.1% Laotian, 0.1% Thai)
- Pacific Islander
Pacific Islander Americans, also known as Oceanian Americans, are residents of the United States with original ancestry from Oceania. They represent the smallest racial group counted in the United States census of 2000. They numbered 874,000 people or 0.3 percent of the United States population...
: 0.6% (0.2% Samoan, 0.1% Guamanian, 0.09% Hawaiian)
- Two or more races
Multiracial Americans, US residents who identify themselves as of "two or more races", were numbered at around 9 million, or 2.9% of the population, in the census of 2010. However there is considerable evidence that the real number is far higher. Prior to the mid-20th century many people hid their...
: 4.7%
- Hispanic or Latino
Hispanic or Latino Americans are Americans with origins in the Hispanic countries of Latin America or in Spain, and in general all persons in the United States who self-identify as Hispanic or Latino.1990 Census of Population and Housing: A self-designated classification for people whose origins...
(of any race): 11.2%
African-Americans concentrate in southern Seattle and inner Tacoma, in one of the country's lowest black populated states. The Black community of Seattle developed after World War II when wartime industries and the US Armed Forces employeed/recruited tens of thousands of African-Americans from the Southeastern US. They left a high influence in west coast rock (Rock & Roll) and R&B/Soul in the 1960s, including Seattle native
Jimi HendrixJames Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
(half-Black/Cherokee Indian), a pioneer in hard rock.
American IndiansThe indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
lived on Indian reservations or jurisdictory lands such as the
Colville Indian ReservationThe Colville Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation in the north-central part of the U.S. state of Washington, inhabited and managed by the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, which is recognized by the United States of America as an American Indian Tribe...
,
MakahMakah Reservation is an Indian reservation for the Makah located on the most northwestern tip of the Olympic Peninsula in Clallam County, Washington, USA. The northern boundary of the reservation is the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The western boundary is the Pacific Ocean. It has a land area of and a...
, Muckleshoot Indian Reservation,
Quinault (tribe)The Quinault are a group of Native American peoples from western Washington in the United States.-Lands:The Quinault Indian Reservation, at , is located on the Pacific coast of Washington, primarily in northwestern Grays Harbor County, with small parts extending north into southwestern Jefferson...
, Salish people, Spokane Indian Reservation and Yakima Indian Reservation. The westernmost and Pacific coasts have primarily American Indian communities, such as the
Chinook-Main uses:*The Chinook people of Native Americans.**Chinookan languages, in specific, Coastal Chinook and Upper Chinook*Chinook Jargon, a hybrid of Chinookan, Nootka, Chehalis, French, English and other languages*Chinook salmon...
,
LummiThe Lummi , governed by the Lummi Nation, are a Native American tribe of the Coast Salish ethnolinguistic group in western Washington state in the United States...
and Salish. But
Urban IndianUrban Indians are Native Americans in the United States who live in urban areas. Urban Indians represent a growing proportion of the Native population in the United States...
communities formed by the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs relocation programs in Seattle since the end of World War II brought a variety of Native American cultures to this diverse metropolis. The city was actually named for
Chief SeattleChief Seattle , was a Dkhw’Duw’Absh chief, also known as Sealth, Seathle, Seathl, or See-ahth. A prominent figure among his people, he pursued a path of accommodation to white settlers, forming a personal relationship with David Swinson "Doc" Maynard. Seattle, Washington was named after him...
when white Americans settled the isthmus in the 1880s.
Asian AmericanAsian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...
s and
Pacific IslanderPacific Islander , is a geographic term to describe the indigenous inhabitants of any of the three major sub-regions of Oceania: Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia.According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, these three regions, together with their islands consist of:Polynesia:...
s such as
ChineseChinese Americans represent Americans of Chinese descent. Chinese Americans constitute one group of overseas Chinese and also a subgroup of East Asian Americans, which is further a subgroup of Asian Americans...
and
Taiwanese,
HmongA Hmong American is a resident of the United States who is of ethnic Hmong descent. Hmong Americans are one group of Asian Americans. Many Lao Hmong war refugees resettled in the U.S. following the communist takeover of Laos in 1975...
and
LaotianA Laotian American is a resident of the United States who was originally from Laos, a person of Laotian descent residing in America, or a citizen born in the United States whose parents were originally from Laos. Laotian Americans are included in the larger category of Asian Americans...
,
IndianIndian Americans are Americans whose ancestral roots lie in India. The U.S. Census Bureau popularized the term Asian Indian to avoid confusion with Indigenous peoples of the Americas who are commonly referred to as American Indians.-The term: Indian:...
,
Japaneseare American people of Japanese heritage. Japanese Americans have historically been among the three largest Asian American communities, but in recent decades have become the sixth largest group at roughly 1,204,205, including those of mixed-race or mixed-ethnicity...
,
KoreanKorean Americans are Americans of Korean descent, mostly from South Korea, with a small minority from North Korea...
,
FilipinoFilipino Americans are Americans of Filipino ancestry. Filipino Americans, often shortened to "Fil-Ams", or "Pinoy",Filipinos in what is now the United States were first documented in the 16th century, with small settlements beginning in the 18th century...
,
ThaiA Thai American is an American of whose parents or grandparents came from Thailand. Many of them may in fact be of Thai Chinese or at least part Chinese ancestry, but they are still considered to be Thais.-History in U.S.:...
and
VietnameseA Vietnamese American is an American of Vietnamese descent. They make up about half of all overseas Vietnamese and are the fourth-largest Asian American group....
whom established communities and neighborhoods in the
Seattle Metropolitan AreaThe Seattle metropolitan area in the US state of Washington includes the city of Seattle, King County, Snohomish County, and Pierce County within the Puget Sound region. The U.S...
from
Mount VernonMount Vernon is a city in Skagit County, Washington, United States. The population was 31,743 at the 2010 census. It is one of two principal cities of and included in the Mount Vernon-Anacortes, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is the county seat of Skagit County...
on the Canadian border down to
Vancouver, WashingtonVancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington. Incorporated in 1857, it is the fourth largest city in the state with a 2010 census population of 161,791 as of April 1, 2010...
across from
Portland, OregonPortland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, and about 10% of residents in
SpokaneSpokane is a city located in the Northwestern United States in the state of Washington. It is the largest city of Spokane County of which it is also the county seat, and the metropolitan center of the Inland Northwest region...
are Asian.
FilipinosFilipino Americans are Americans of Filipino ancestry. Filipino Americans, often shortened to "Fil-Ams", or "Pinoy",Filipinos in what is now the United States were first documented in the 16th century, with small settlements beginning in the 18th century...
make up the largest Asian American group in the state with a population of 137,083 as of the 2010 Census.
The most numerous (ethnic not racial group) are
LatinoThe demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...
s at 11%, as
Mexican AmericanMexican Americans are Americans of Mexican descent. As of July 2009, Mexican Americans make up 10.3% of the United States' population with over 31,689,000 Americans listed as of Mexican ancestry. Mexican Americans comprise 66% of all Hispanics and Latinos in the United States...
s formed a large ethnic group in the
Chehalis ValleyChehalis is a city in Lewis County, Washington, United States. The population was 7,259 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Lewis County.-History:...
, farming areas of
Yakima ValleyYakima Valley may refer to:*Yakima River Valley in southeastern Washington*Yakima Valley AVA...
and
Eastern WashingtonEastern Washington is the portion of the U.S. state of Washington east of the Cascade Range. The region contains the city of Spokane , the Tri-Cities, the Columbia River and the Grand Coulee Dam, the Hanford Nuclear Reservation and the fertile farmlands of the Yakima Valley and the...
. In the late 20th century, large-scale Mexican immigration and other Latinos settled in the southern suburbs of Seattle with limited concentrations in
KingKing County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. The population in the 2010 census was 1,931,249. King is the most populous county in Washington, and the 14th most populous in the United States....
,
Pierceright|thumb|[[Tacoma, Washington|Tacoma]] - Seat of Pierce CountyPierce County is the second most populous county in the U.S. state of Washington. Formed out of Thurston County on December 22, 1852, by the legislature of Oregon Territory...
and
Snohomish CountiesSnohomish County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. It is named after the Snohomish tribe. Since 2000, the county's population has grown from 606,024 to 713,335 residents , making it one of the fastest-growing in the state, ranking third in overall population after King and...
during the region's real estate construction booms in the 1980s and 1990s.
Economy
The 2010 total gross state product for Washington was $351.5 billion, placing it 14th in the nation. The per capita personal income in 2009 was $52,403, 10th in the nation. Significant business within the state include the design and manufacture of aircraft (
BoeingThe Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
), automotive (
PaccarPACCAR Inc is the third largest manufacturer of heavy-duty trucks in the world , and has substantial manufacture in light and medium vehicles through its various subsidiaries.-History:...
), computer software development (
MicrosoftMicrosoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
,
BungieBungie, Inc is an American video game developer currently located in Bellevue, Washington, USA. The company was established in May 1991 by University of Chicago undergraduate student Alex Seropian, who later brought in programmer Jason Jones after publishing Jones' game Minotaur: The Labyrinths of...
,
Amazon.comAmazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
,
Nintendo of Americais a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
,
Valve CorporationValve Corporation is an American video game development and digital distribution company based in Bellevue, Washington, United States...
), Arena Net,
telecomA telecommunications service provider or TSP is a type of communications service provider that has traditionally provided telephone and similar services...
(
T-Mobile USAT-Mobile USA, Inc. is an American mobile-network operator, headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, that provides wireless voice, messaging and data services in the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The company is the fourth-largest wireless carrier in the U.S. market with 33.73...
),
electronicsElectronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
,
biotechnologyBiotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology also utilizes these products for manufacturing purpose...
,
aluminumAluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
production, lumber and wood products (
WeyerhaeuserWeyerhaeuser is one of the largest pulp and paper companies in the world. It is the world's largest private sector owner of softwood timberland; and the second largest owner of United States timberland, behind Plum Creek Timber...
),
miningMining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
, beverages (
StarbucksStarbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, over 700 in the United Kingdom, and...
,
Jones SodaJones Soda Co. is a beverage company based in Pioneer Square, Seattle, Washington. It bottles and distributes soft drinks, non-carbonated beverages, energy drinks, and candy. Jones Soda is a carbonated soft drink that has many unusual flavors that are not offered by other soft drink makers.Founded...
), real estate (
John L. ScottJohn L. Scott Real Estate is a Seattle-based real estate brokerage. It currently has over 3,200 sales associates and over 120 offices in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho .- Current :...
), retail (
NordstromNordstrom, Inc. is an upscale department store chain in the United States, founded by John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin. Initially a shoe retailer, the company today also sells clothing, accessories, handbags, jewelry, cosmetics, fragrances, and in some locations, home furnishings...
,
Eddie BauerEddie Bauer Holdings Inc. is a holding company that operates the Eddie Bauer clothing store chain, headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, United States. EBH was formed after Eddie Bauer's former parent company, Spiegel, Inc., went bankrupt in 2003...
,
Car ToysCarToys, Inc. is a medium-sized chain of stores, founded and headquartered in Seattle. There are currently 49 stores, distributed throughout Washington, Oregon, Colorado, and Texas. CarToys currently has over 1,200 employees, some of whom work in both the corporate headquarters and a distribution...
,
CostcoCostco Wholesale Corporation is the largest membership warehouse club chain in the United States. it is the third largest retailer in the United States, where it originated, and the ninth largest in the world...
,
R.E.I.REI is a privately held American retail corporation organized as a consumers' cooperative, selling outdoor recreation gear, sporting goods, and clothes via some 110 retail stores in about 30 states, catalogs, and the Internet. The company opens four to six new stores each year...
, Gene Juarez), and tourism (
Alaska AirlinesAlaska Airlines is an airline based in the Seattle suburb of SeaTac, Washington in the United States. The airline originated in 1932 as McGee Airways. After many mergers with and acquisitions of other airlines, including Star Air Service, it became known as Alaska Airlines in 1944...
,
Expedia, Inc.Expedia, Inc. is an American company headquartered in Bellevue, Washington that operates several travel brands including Expedia.com, Hotels.com, Hotwire.com, Egencia , TripAdvisor, Expedia Local Expert, Classic Vacations and eLong. Expedia, Inc.’s companies operate more than 90 branded points of...
). The state has significant amounts of hydroelectric power generation.
Significant amounts of trade with
AsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
pass through the ports of the
Puget SoundPuget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...
. (
See list of United States companies by state.) A
FortuneFortune is a global business magazine published by Time Inc. Founded by Henry Luce in 1930, the publishing business, consisting of Time, Life, Fortune, and Sports Illustrated, grew to become Time Warner. In turn, AOL grew as it acquired Time Warner in 2000 when Time Warner was the world's largest...
magazine survey of the top 20 Most Admired Companies in the US has 4 Washington based companies in it,
StarbucksStarbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, over 700 in the United Kingdom, and...
,
MicrosoftMicrosoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
,
CostcoCostco Wholesale Corporation is the largest membership warehouse club chain in the United States. it is the third largest retailer in the United States, where it originated, and the ninth largest in the world...
and
NordstromNordstrom, Inc. is an upscale department store chain in the United States, founded by John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin. Initially a shoe retailer, the company today also sells clothing, accessories, handbags, jewelry, cosmetics, fragrances, and in some locations, home furnishings...
.
Washington is one of eighteen states which has a
government monopolyIn economics, a government monopoly is a form of coercive monopoly in which a government agency or government corporation is the sole provider of a particular good or service and competition is prohibited by law...
on sales of alcoholic beverages, although
beerBeer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
and
wineWine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
with less than 20% alcohol by volume can be purchased in
convenience storeA convenience store, corner store, corner shop, commonly called a bodega in Spanish-speaking areas of the United States, is a small store or shop in a built up area that stocks a range of everyday items such as groceries, toiletries, alcoholic and soft drinks, and may also offer money order and...
s and
supermarketA supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
s.
LiqueurA liqueur is an alcoholic beverage that has been flavored with fruit, herbs, nuts, spices, flowers, or cream and bottled with added sugar. Liqueurs are typically quite sweet; they are usually not aged for long but may have resting periods during their production to allow flavors to marry.The...
s (even if under 20 percent alcohol by volume) and spirits can only be purchased in state-run or privately-owned-state-contracted
liquor storeIn the United States, Australia and Canada, a liquor store is a type of store that specializes in the sale of alcoholic beverages. In South Africa and Namibia these stores are generally called bottle stores....
s.. This will change on June 1, 2012, due to passage of Initiative 1183 in the November 2011 elections. As a result, the state will close all state-run liquor stores and liquor sales will shift from the state to grocery and warehouse stores.
Among its resident billionaires, Washington boasts
Bill GatesWilliam Henry "Bill" Gates III is an American business magnate, investor, philanthropist, and author. Gates is the former CEO and current chairman of Microsoft, the software company he founded with Paul Allen...
, former chairman of
MicrosoftMicrosoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
, who, with a
net worthIn business, net worth is the total assets minus total outside liabilities of an individual or a company. For a company, this is called shareholders' preference and may be referred to as book value. Net worth is stated as at a particular year in time...
of $40 billion, was ranked the second wealthiest man in the world as of February 2011, according to
ForbesForbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
magazine. Other Washington state billionaires include
Paul AllenPaul Gardner Allen is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. Allen co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates...
(
MicrosoftMicrosoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
),
Steve BallmerSteven Anthony "Steve" Ballmer is an American business magnate. He is the chief executive officer of Microsoft, having held that post since January 2000. , his personal wealth is estimated at US$13.9 billion, ranking number 19 on the Forbes 400.-Early life:Ballmer was born in Detroit, Michigan to...
(
MicrosoftMicrosoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
),
Jeff BezosJeffrey Preston "Jeff" Bezos is the founder, president, chief executive officer , and chairman of the board of Amazon.com.-Early life and background:...
(
AmazonAmazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
),
Craig McCawCraig McCaw is a Seattle-area businessman and entrepreneur who achieved success as a pioneer in the cellular phone industry. He is the founder of McCaw Cellular and Clearwire Corporation.-Early life and cable TV beginnings:Craig is the second of four sons of Marion and John Elroy McCaw...
(McCaw Cellular Communications),
James JannardJames "Jim" Jannard is an American designer and businessman, and founder of eyewear and apparel company Oakley, Inc. and RED Digital Cinema.He sold Oakley in mid 2007 for over $2 billion and placed 376th in Forbes Magazine ranking of World's Billionaires in 2010, with a net worth of $3.0 billion.He...
(
OakleyOakley, Inc., based in Foothill Ranch, California, makes sport equipment including sunglasses, sports visors, and ski goggles, as well as watches, clothing, bags, backpacks, shoes, prescription glasses, football and hockey eyewear, Golf gear and other accessories...
),
Howard SchultzHoward Schultz is an American business magnate. He is the best known as the chairman and CEO of Starbucks and a former owner of the Seattle SuperSonics...
(
StarbucksStarbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, over 700 in the United Kingdom, and...
), and
Charles SimonyiCharles Simonyi is a Hungarian-American computer software executive who, as head of Microsoft's application software group, oversaw the creation of Microsoft's flagship Office suite of applications. He now heads his own company, Intentional Software, with the aim of developing and marketing his...
(
MicrosoftMicrosoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
).
As of January 2010, the state's unemployment rate is 9.0 percent.
Taxes
The state of Washington is one of only seven states that does not levy a personal
income taxAn income tax is a tax levied on the income of individuals or businesses . Various income tax systems exist, with varying degrees of tax incidence. Income taxation can be progressive, proportional, or regressive. When the tax is levied on the income of companies, it is often called a corporate...
. The state also does not collect a corporate income tax or
franchise taxFranchise tax is a tax charged by some US states to corporations with a nexus with those states. The common feature of a state's franchise tax is that it is not based on income...
. However, Washington businesses are responsible for various other state levies, including the
business and occupation taxThe business and occupation tax is a type of tax levied by the U.S. states of Washington and West Virginia, and by municipal governments in West Virginia...
(B & O), a
gross receipts taxA gross receipts tax or gross excise tax is a tax on the total gross revenues of a company, regardless of their source. A gross receipts tax is similar to a sales tax, but it is levied on the seller of goods or service consumers...
which charges varying rates for different types of businesses.
Washington's state base
sales taxA sales tax is a tax, usually paid by the consumer at the point of purchase, itemized separately from the base price, for certain goods and services. The tax amount is usually calculated by applying a percentage rate to the taxable price of a sale....
is 6.5 percent which is combined with a local rate. As of April 2010, the rate is 9.5 percent in Seattle and other cities. These taxes apply to services as well as products. Most foods are exempt from sales tax; however, prepared foods,
dietary supplementA dietary supplement, also known as food supplement or nutritional supplement, is a preparation intended to supplement the diet and provide nutrients, such as vitamins, minerals, fiber, fatty acids, or amino acids, that may be missing or may not be consumed in sufficient quantities in a person's diet...
s and
soft drinkA soft drink is a non-alcoholic beverage that typically contains water , a sweetener, and a flavoring agent...
s remain taxable. The combined state and local retail sales tax rates increase the taxes paid by consumers, depending on the variable local sales tax rates, generally between 8 and 9 percent.
An excise tax applies to certain select products such as
gasolineGasoline , or petrol , is a toxic, translucent, petroleum-derived liquid that is primarily used as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a variety of additives. Some gasolines also contain...
,
cigaretteA cigarette is a small roll of finely cut tobacco leaves wrapped in a cylinder of thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end and allowed to smoulder; its smoke is inhaled from the other end, which is held in or to the mouth and in some cases a cigarette holder may be used as well...
s, and
alcoholic beverageAn alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol, commonly known as alcohol. Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits. They are legally consumed in most countries, and over 100 countries have laws regulating their production, sale, and consumption...
s.
Property taxA property tax is an ad valorem levy on the value of property that the owner is required to pay. The tax is levied by the governing authority of the jurisdiction in which the property is located; it may be paid to a national government, a federated state or a municipality...
was the first tax levied in the state of Washington and its collection accounts for about 30 percent of Washington's total state and local revenue. It continues to be the most important revenue source for public schools, fire protection,
librariesIn a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
,
parkA park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state, or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas. Many parks are legally protected by...
s and recreation, and other special purpose districts.
All
real propertyIn English Common Law, real property, real estate, realty, or immovable property is any subset of land that has been legally defined and the improvements to it made by human efforts: any buildings, machinery, wells, dams, ponds, mines, canals, roads, various property rights, and so forth...
and
personal propertyPersonal property, roughly speaking, is private property that is moveable, as opposed to real property or real estate. In the common law systems personal property may also be called chattels or personalty. In the civil law systems personal property is often called movable property or movables - any...
is subject to tax unless specifically exempted by law. Personal property also is taxed, although most personal property owned by individuals is exempt. Personal property tax applies to personal property used when conducting business or to other personal property not exempt by law. All property taxes are paid to the county treasurer's office where the property is located. Washington does not impose a tax on intangible assets such as
bank accountA Bank account is a financial account recording the financial transactions between the customer and the bank and the resulting financial position of the customer with the bank .-Account types:...
s,
stockThe capital stock of a business entity represents the original capital paid into or invested in the business by its founders. It serves as a security for the creditors of a business since it cannot be withdrawn to the detriment of the creditors...
s or
bondsIn finance, a bond is a debt security, in which the authorized issuer owes the holders a debt and, depending on the terms of the bond, is obliged to pay interest to use and/or to repay the principal at a later date, termed maturity...
. Neither does the state assess any tax on retirement income earned and received from another state. Washington does not collect
inheritance taxAn inheritance tax or estate tax is a levy paid by a person who inherits money or property or a tax on the estate of a person who has died...
es; however, the estate tax is decoupled from the federal estate tax laws, and therefore the state imposes its own estate tax.
Agriculture
Washington is a leading
agriculturalAgriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
state. (The following figures are from the
Washington State Office of Financial Management and the USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service, Washington Field Office.) For 2003, the total value of Washington's agricultural products was $5.79 billion, the 11th highest in the country. The total value of its crops was $3.8 billion, the 7th highest. The total value of its livestock and specialty products was $1.5 billion, the 26th highest.
In 2004, Washington ranked first in the nation in production of red
raspberriesThe raspberry or hindberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the genus Rubus, most of which are in the subgenus Idaeobatus; the name also applies to these plants themselves...
(90.0 percent of total
U.S.The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
production), wrinkled seed
peaA pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the pod fruit Pisum sativum. Each pod contains several peas. Peapods are botanically a fruit, since they contain seeds developed from the ovary of a flower. However, peas are considered to be a vegetable in cooking...
s (80.6 percent),
hopsHumulus, Hop, is a small genus of flowering plants native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The female flowers of H. lupulus are known as hops, and are used as a culinary flavoring and stabilizer, especially in the brewing of beer...
(75.0 percent),
spearmintMentha spicata syn. M. cordifolia is a species of mint native to much of Europe and southwest Asia, though its exact natural range is uncertain due to extensive early cultivation. It grows in wet soils...
oil (73.6 percent),
appleThe apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...
s (58.1 percent), sweet
cherriesThe cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus Prunus, and is a fleshy stone fruit. The cherry fruits of commerce are usually obtained from a limited number of species, including especially cultivars of the wild cherry, Prunus avium....
(47.3 percent),
pearThe pear is any of several tree species of genus Pyrus and also the name of the pomaceous fruit of these trees. Several species of pear are valued by humans for their edible fruit, but the fruit of other species is small, hard, and astringent....
s (42.6 percent),
peppermintPeppermint is a hybrid mint, a cross between the watermint and spearmint . The plant, indigenous to Europe, is now widespread in cultivation throughout all regions of the world...
oil (40.3 percent),
Concord grapeConcord grapes are a cultivar derived from the grape species Vitis labrusca which are used as table grapes, wine grapes and juice grapes....
s (39.3 percent),
carrotThe carrot is a root vegetable, usually orange in colour, though purple, red, white, and yellow varieties exist. It has a crisp texture when fresh...
s for processing (36.8 percent), and
Niagara grapeNiagara grapes are a variety of the North American grape species Vitis labrusca and are used as table grapes and for wines, as well as jams and juice. Niagara is the leading green grape grown in the United States. The Niagara grape was created in Niagara County, New York, in 1868 when C. L. Hoag...
s (31.6 percent). Washington also ranked second in the nation in production of
lentilThe lentil is an edible pulse. It is a bushy annual plant of the legume family, grown for its lens-shaped seeds...
s, fall
potatoThe potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...
es, dry edible peas,
apricotThe apricot, Prunus armeniaca, is a species of Prunus, classified with the plum in the subgenus Prunus. The native range is somewhat uncertain due to its extensive prehistoric cultivation.- Description :...
s,
grapeA grape is a non-climacteric fruit, specifically a berry, that grows on the perennial and deciduous woody vines of the genus Vitis. Grapes can be eaten raw or they can be used for making jam, juice, jelly, vinegar, wine, grape seed extracts, raisins, molasses and grape seed oil. Grapes are also...
s (all varieties taken together),
asparagusAsparagus officinalis is a spring vegetable, a flowering perennialplant species in the genus Asparagus. It was once classified in the lily family, like its Allium cousins, onions and garlic, but the Liliaceae have been split and the onion-like plants are now in the family Amaryllidaceae and...
(over a third of the nation's production), sweet corn for processing, and green peas for processing; third in tart
cherriesThe cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus Prunus, and is a fleshy stone fruit. The cherry fruits of commerce are usually obtained from a limited number of species, including especially cultivars of the wild cherry, Prunus avium....
,
pruneA prune is any of various plum cultivars, mostly Prunus domestica or European Plum, sold as fresh or dried fruit. The dried fruit is also referred to as a dried plum...
s and
plumA plum or gage is a stone fruit tree in the genus Prunus, subgenus Prunus. The subgenus is distinguished from other subgenera in the shoots having a terminal bud and solitary side buds , the flowers in groups of one to five together on short stems, and the fruit having a groove running down one...
s, and dry summer
onionThe onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...
s; fourth in
barleyBarley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...
and
troutTrout is the name for a number of species of freshwater and saltwater fish belonging to the Salmoninae subfamily of the family Salmonidae. Salmon belong to the same family as trout. Most salmon species spend almost all their lives in salt water...
; and fifth in
wheatWheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
,
cranberriesCranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the subgenus Oxycoccus of the genus Vaccinium. In some methods of classification, Oxycoccus is regarded as a genus in its own right...
, and
strawberriesFragaria is a genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, commonly known as strawberries for their edible fruits. Although it is commonly thought that strawberries get their name from straw being used as a mulch in cultivating the plants, the etymology of the word is uncertain. There...
.
The apple industry is of particular importance to Washington. Because of the favorable climate of dry, warm summers and cold winters of central Washington, the state has led the U.S. in apple production since the 1920s. Two areas account for the vast majority of the state's apple crop: the Wenatchee–Okanogan region (comprising
Chelan,
Okanogan,
Douglas, and
Grant counties), and the Yakima region (
YakimaYakima County is the second largest county by area in the U.S. state of Washington. It is named after the Yakama tribe of Native Americans. In the 2010 census, its population was 243,231...
,
BentonBenton County is a county located in the south-central portion of the U.S. state of Washington. The Columbia River makes up the north, south, and east boundaries of the county. In 2010, its population was 175,177. The county seat is Prosser, and its largest city is Kennewick...
and
Kittitas counties).
Transportation
Washington was rated the top BEST state (amongst fifty U.S. states) in the 2011 American State Litter Scorecard, for overall effectiveness and quality of its public space cleanliness from state and related litter/debris removal efforts, unseating
VermontVermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
, the previous topmost winner.
Washington has a system of
state highwayState highway, state road or state route can refer to one of three related concepts, two of them related to a state or provincial government in a country that is divided into states or provinces :#A...
s, called
State Routes, as well as an extensive
ferryWashington State Ferries is a passenger and automobile ferry service owned and operated by the Washington State Department of Transportation that serves communities on Puget Sound and in the San Juan Islands. It is the most used ferry system in the world and the largest passenger and automobile...
system which is the largest in the nation and the third largest in the world. There are 140
public airfields in Washington, including 16
state airports owned by the
Washington State Department of TransportationThe Washington State Department of Transportation , was established in 1905. The agency, led by a Secretary and overseen by the Governor, is a Washington governmental agency that constructs, maintains, and regulates the use of the state's transportation infrastructure...
.
Boeing FieldBoeing Field, officially King County International Airport , is a two-runway airport owned and run by King County, Washington, USA. In promotional literature, the airport is frequently referred to as KCIA, but this is not the airport identifier. The airport has some passenger service, but is mostly...
in Seattle is one of the busiest primary non-hub airports in the US.
Seattle-Tacoma International AirportThe Seattle–Tacoma International Airport , also known as Sea–Tac Airport or Sea–Tac , is an American airport located in SeaTac, Washington, at the intersections of State Routes 99 and 509 and 518, about west of Interstate 5...
(SeaTac) is the other major airport of greater Seattle. The unique geography of Washington presents exceptional transportation needs.
There are extensive waterways in the midst of Washington's largest cites, including Seattle,
BellevueBellevue is a city in the Eastside region of King County, Washington, United States, across Lake Washington from Seattle. Long known as a suburb or satellite city of Seattle, it is now categorized as an edge city or a boomburb. The population was 122,363 at the 2010 census.Downtown Bellevue is...
, Tacoma and
OlympiaOlympia is the capital city of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat of Thurston County. It was incorporated on January 28, 1859. The population was 46,478 at the 2010 census...
. The state highways incorporate an extensive network of bridges and the largest ferry system in the United States to serve transportation needs in the Puget Sound area. Washington's marine highway constitutes a fleet of twenty-eight ferries that navigate
Puget SoundPuget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...
and its inland waterways to 20 different ports of call, completing close to 147,000 sailings each year. Washington is home to four of the five longest
floating bridgesA pontoon bridge or floating bridge is a bridge that floats on water and in which barge- or boat-like pontoons support the bridge deck and its dynamic loads. While pontoon bridges are usually temporary structures, some are used for long periods of time...
in the world: the
Evergreen Point Floating BridgeThe Governor Albert D. Rosellini Bridge—Evergreen Point is the longest floating bridge on Earth at and carries State Route 520 across Lake Washington from Seattle to Medina.The Evergreen Point of the bridge's original name is the westernmost of the three small Eastside...
,
Lacey V. Murrow Memorial BridgeThe Lacey V. Murrow Memorial Bridge is a floating bridge that carries the eastbound lanes of Interstate 90 across Lake Washington from Seattle to Mercer Island, Washington. It is the second longest floating bridge on Earth at , whereas the longest is the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge just a few...
and
Homer M. Hadley Memorial BridgeThe Third Lake Washington Bridge, officially the Homer M. Hadley Memorial Bridge, is the fifth-longest floating bridge in the world, at 5,811 feet...
over
Lake WashingtonLake Washington is a large freshwater lake adjacent to the city of Seattle. It is the largest lake in King County and the second largest in the state of Washington, after Lake Chelan. It is bordered by the cities of Seattle on the west, Bellevue and Kirkland on the east, Renton on the south and...
, and the
Hood Canal BridgeThe Hood Canal Bridge is a floating bridge located in the U.S. state of Washington that carries Washington State Route 104 across Hood Canal and connects the Olympic and Kitsap Peninsulas. At long, The Hood Canal Bridge (officially William A. Bugge Bridge) is a floating bridge located in the U.S....
which connects the
Olympic PeninsulaThe Olympic Peninsula is the large arm of land in western Washington state of the USA, that lies across Puget Sound from Seattle. It is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the north by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the east by Puget Sound. Cape Alava, the westernmost point in the contiguous...
and
Kitsap PeninsulaThe Kitsap Peninsula is an arm of land that is part of the larger Olympic Peninsula in Washington state that lies west of Seattle across Puget Sound. Hood Canal separates Kitsap Peninsula from the rest of the Olympic Peninsula...
.
The Cascade Mountain Range also provides unique transportation challenges. Washington operates and maintains roads over seven major
mountain passA mountain pass is a route through a mountain range or over a ridge. If following the lowest possible route, a pass is locally the highest point on that route...
es and eight minor passes. During winter months some of these passes are plowed, sanded, and kept safe with avalanche control. Not all are able to stay open through the winter. The North Cascades Highway, State Route 20, closes every year. This is because the extraordinary amount of snowfall and frequency of avalanches in the area of
Washington PassWashington Pass and Rainy Pass are two mountain passes on State Route 20 in the North Cascades mountains of Washington State. Rainy Pass is about 4 miles to the west of Washington Pass...
make it unsafe in the winter months.
Toxic chemicals
In 2007, Washington became the first state in the nation to target all forms of highly toxic
brominatedBromine ") is a chemical element with the symbol Br, an atomic number of 35, and an atomic mass of 79.904. It is in the halogen element group. The element was isolated independently by two chemists, Carl Jacob Löwig and Antoine Jerome Balard, in 1825–1826...
flame retardantFlame retardants are chemicals used in thermoplastics, thermosets, textiles and coatings that inhibit or resist the spread of fire. These can be separated into several different classes of chemicals:...
s known as
PBDEPolybrominated diphenyl ethers or PBDE, are organobromine compounds that are used as flame retardants. Like other brominated flame retardants, PBDEs have been used in a wide array of products, including building materials, electronics, furnishings, motor vehicles, airplanes, plastics,...
s for elimination from the many common household products in which they are used. A 2004 study of 40 mothers from
OregonOregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, Washington,
British ColumbiaBritish Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, and
MontanaMontana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
found PBDEs in the breast milk of every woman tested.
Three recent studies by the
Washington Department of EcologyThe Washington Department of Ecology, or simply, Ecology, is an environmental regulatory agency for the State of Washington. The department administers laws and regulations pertaining to the areas of water quality, water rights and water resources, shoreline management, toxics clean-up, nuclear...
showed that toxic chemicals banned decades ago continue to linger in the environment and concentrate in the food chain. In one of the studies, state government scientists found unacceptable levels of toxic substances in 93 samples of freshwater fish collected from 45 sites. The toxic substances included
PCBsPolychlorinated biphenyls are a class of organic compounds with 2 to 10 chlorine atoms attached to biphenyl, which is a molecule composed of two benzene rings. The chemical formula for PCBs is C12H10-xClx...
; dioxins, two chlorinated pesticides,
DDEDichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene is a chemical compound formed by the loss of hydrogen chloride from DDT, of which it is one of the more common breakdown products. DDE is fat soluble which tends to build up in the fat of animals. Due to its stability in fat, DDE is rarely excreted from the body,...
and
dieldrinDieldrin is a chlorinated hydrocarbon originally produced in 1948 by J. Hyman & Co, Denver, as an insecticide. Dieldrin is closely related to aldrin, which reacts further to form dieldrin. Aldrin is not toxic to insects; it is oxidized in the insect to form dieldrin which is the active compound...
, and PBDEs. As a result of the study, the department will investigate the sources of PCBs in the Wenatchee River, where unhealthy levels of PCBs were found in mountain whitefish. Based on the 2007 information and a previous 2004 Ecology study, the Washington Department of Health is advising the public not to eat
mountain whitefishThe mountain whitefish is one of the most widely distributed salmonid fish of western North America. It is found from the Mackenzie River drainage in Northwest Territory, Canada south through western Canada and the northwestern USA in the Pacific, Hudson Bay and upper Missouri River basins to the...
from the
Wenatchee RiverThe Wenatchee River is a river in the U.S. state of Washington, originating at Lake Wenatchee and flowing southeast for , emptying into the Columbia River immediately north of Wenatchee, Washington...
from
LeavenworthLeavenworth is a city in Chelan County, Washington, United States. It is part of the Wenatchee–East Wenatchee Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,965 at the 2010 census. The entire town center is modelled on a Bavarian village.-History:...
downstream to where the river joins the
ColumbiaThe Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
, due to unhealthy levels of PCBs. Study results also indicated high levels of contaminants in fish tissue that scientists collected from Lake Washington and the Spokane River, where fish consumption advisories are already in effect.
On March 27, 2006 Governor
Christine GregoireChristine O'Grady "Chris" Gregoire is the 22nd and current Governor of the state of Washington, and a member of the Democratic Party. Gregoire defeated Republican candidate Dino Rossi in 2004, and again in 2008. She is the second female governor of Washington...
signed into law the recently approved House Bill 2322. This bill would limit
phosphorusPhosphorus is the chemical element that has the symbol P and atomic number 15. A multivalent nonmetal of the nitrogen group, phosphorus as a mineral is almost always present in its maximally oxidized state, as inorganic phosphate rocks...
content in dishwashing detergents statewide to 0.5 percent over the next six years. Though the ban would be effective statewide in 2010, it would take place in
Whatcom CountyWhatcom County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. Its name ultimately derives from the Lummi word Xwotʼqom, meaning "noisy water." As of 2010, the population was 201,140. The county seat is at Bellingham, which is also the county's largest city...
,
Spokane CountySpokane County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington, named after the Spokane tribe. As of the 2010 census the population was 471,221, making it the fourth most populous county in Washington state. The largest city and county seat is Spokane, the second largest city in the state,...
, and
Clark CountyClark County is a county located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Washington, across the Columbia River from Portland, Oregon.Clark County was the first county of Washington, named after William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition...
in 2008. A recent discovery had linked high contents of
phosphorusPhosphorus is the chemical element that has the symbol P and atomic number 15. A multivalent nonmetal of the nitrogen group, phosphorus as a mineral is almost always present in its maximally oxidized state, as inorganic phosphate rocks...
in water to a boom in
algaeAlgae are a large and diverse group of simple, typically autotrophic organisms, ranging from unicellular to multicellular forms, such as the giant kelps that grow to 65 meters in length. They are photosynthetic like plants, and "simple" because their tissues are not organized into the many...
population. An invasive amount of
algaeAlgae are a large and diverse group of simple, typically autotrophic organisms, ranging from unicellular to multicellular forms, such as the giant kelps that grow to 65 meters in length. They are photosynthetic like plants, and "simple" because their tissues are not organized into the many...
in bodies of water would eventually lead to a variety of excess ecological and technological issues.
Governance
The bicameral
Washington State LegislatureThe Washington State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a bipartisan, bicameral body, composed of the lower Washington House of Representatives, composed of 98 Representatives, and the upper Washington State Senate, with 49 Senators.The State Legislature...
is the state's legislative branch. The state legislature is composed of a
lowerA lower house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house.Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide the lower house has come to wield more power...
House of RepresentativesThe Washington House of Representatives is the lower house of the Washington State Legislature, the legislature of the U.S. State of Washington. It is composed of 98 Representatives from 49 districts, each of which elects two members. All members of the House are elected to a two-year term without...
and an
upperAn upper house, often called a senate, is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house; a legislature composed of only one house is described as unicameral.- Possible specific characteristics :...
State SenateThe Washington State Senate is the upper house of the Washington State Legislature. The body consists of 49 senators, each representing a district with a population of nearly 120,000. The State Senate meets at the Legislative Building in Olympia....
. The state is divided into 49 legislative districts of equal population, each of which elects two representatives and one senator. Representatives serve two-year terms, whilst senators serve for four years. There are no
term limitA term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms a person may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method to curb the potential for monopoly, where a leader effectively becomes "president for...
s. Currently, the Democratic Party holds majorities in both chambers.
Washington's executive branch is headed by a governor elected for a four-year term. The current governor is
Christine GregoireChristine O'Grady "Chris" Gregoire is the 22nd and current Governor of the state of Washington, and a member of the Democratic Party. Gregoire defeated Republican candidate Dino Rossi in 2004, and again in 2008. She is the second female governor of Washington...
, a Democrat who has been in office since 2005.
The
Washington Supreme CourtThe Washington Supreme Court is the highest court in the judiciary of the U.S. state of Washington. The Court is composed of a Chief Justice and eight Justices. of the Court are elected to six-year terms...
is the highest court in the state. Nine justices serve on the bench and are elected statewide.
U.S. Congress
The two
U.S. SenatorsThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
from Washington are
Patty MurrayPatricia Lynn "Patty" Murray is the senior United States Senator from Washington and a member of the Democratic Party. Murray was first elected to the Senate in 1992, becoming Washington's first female senator...
(D) and
Maria CantwellMaria E. Cantwell is the junior United States Senator from the state of Washington and a member of the Democratic Party....
(D).
Washington representatives in the United States House of Representatives (
see map of districts) are
Jay InsleeJay Robert Inslee is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1999. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district includes many of Seattle's northern suburbs in King, Snohomish, and Kitsap counties...
(D-1),
Richard Ray (Rick) LarsenRichard Ray "Rick" Larsen is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2001. He is a member of the Democratic Party.-Early life, education and career:...
(D-2),
Jaime HerreraJaime Herrera Beutler is the U.S. Representative for . She is a member of the Republican Party, and is the youngest female U. S. Representative. She is a former Senior Legislative Aide for U.S...
(R-3),
Doc HastingsRichard Norman "Doc" Hastings is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1995. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district includes most of the central part of the state, including Yakima, Wenatchee, and the Tri-Cities....
(R-4), Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-5),
Norm DicksNorman DeValois "Norm" Dicks is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1977. He is a member of the Democratic Party...
(D-6),
Jim McDermottJames Adelbert "Jim" McDermott is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1989. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The 7th District includes most of Seattle and Vashon Island, and portions of Shoreline, Lake Forest Park, Tukwila, SeaTac, and Burien.He serves on the House Ways and Means...
(D-7),
Dave ReichertDavid George Reichert is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2005. He is a member of the Republican Party. He previously served as Sheriff of King County, Washington.-Early life, education and career:...
(R-8), and
Adam SmithDavid Adam Smith , American politician, has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1997, representing Washington's 9th congressional district.-Biography:...
(D-9).
Executive
- Christine Gregoire
Christine O'Grady "Chris" Gregoire is the 22nd and current Governor of the state of Washington, and a member of the Democratic Party. Gregoire defeated Republican candidate Dino Rossi in 2004, and again in 2008. She is the second female governor of Washington...
, Governor (D)
- Brad Owen
Bradley Owen is an American politician. He is a member of the Democratic Party and currently serves as the 15th Lieutenant Governor of Washington. Owen is the longest currently serving Lieutenant Governor...
, Lieutenant GovernorThe Lieutenant Governor of Washington is an elected office in the U.S. state of Washington. The current incumbent is Brad Owen, a Democrat who has served since 1997...
(D)
- Sam Reed
Sam Reed is the Secretary of State of Washington and a Republican. Reed is Washington's fourteenth Secretary of State.Reed received his bachelor's and master's degrees in political science from Washington State University...
, Secretary of StateThe Secretary of State of Washington is one of the elected constitutional officers of the U.S. state of Washington. The duties of the office are specified in Article III, Section 17 of the Washington State Constitution and Chapter 43.07 of the Revised Code of Washington...
(R)
- Rob McKenna
Robert Marion "Rob" McKenna is the Republican Attorney General of Washington and was elected in November 2004 for a term beginning in January 2005. He won re-election in November 2008 with over 59 percent statewide...
, Attorney General (R)
- Jim McIntire, State Treasurer (D)
- Brian Sonntag
Brian Sonntag is the State Auditor for Washington and a Democrat.Sonntag was first elected to public office in 1978 as Pierce County Clerk, working as the administrative officer for the Superior Courts. On November 4, 1986, he was elected to the office of Pierce County Auditor, an office his...
, State Auditor (D)
- Randy Dorn, Superintendent of Public Instruction
The Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, or OSPI is the state education agency for the State of Washington. The agency is bound by the Washington State Legislature to implement state laws regarding education, including the 1993 education reform act which mandated the...
(non-partisan office)
- Peter J. Goldmark
Peter James Goldmark is the Washington State Commissioner of Public Lands and heads the Washington Department of Natural Resources. He is a Democrat from a rural part of Okanogan County, Washington, outside of the town of Okanogan....
, Commissioner of Public Lands (D)
- Mike Kreidler
Myron Bradford "Mike" Kreidler is an American politician who currently serves as the Washington Insurance Commissioner. He is a Democrat....
, Insurance Commissioner (D)
Politics
Presidential elections results
| Year |
RepublicanThe Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
|
Democratic The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
|
2008The United States presidential election of 2008 was the 56th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on November 4, 2008. Democrat Barack Obama, then the junior United States Senator from Illinois, defeated Republican John McCain, the senior U.S. Senator from Arizona. Obama received 365...
|
40.48% 1,229,216 |
57.65% 1,750,848 |
| 2004 The United States presidential election of 2004 was the United States' 55th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2004. Republican Party candidate and incumbent President George W. Bush defeated Democratic Party candidate John Kerry, the then-junior U.S. Senator...
|
45.59% 1,304,893 |
52.82% 1,510,201 |
2000The United States presidential election of 2000 was a contest between Republican candidate George W. Bush, then-governor of Texas and son of former president George H. W. Bush , and Democratic candidate Al Gore, then-Vice President....
|
44.59% 1,108,864 |
50.21% 1,247,652 |
1996The United States presidential election of 1996 was a contest between the Democratic national ticket of President Bill Clinton of Arkansas and Vice President Al Gore of Tennessee and the Republican national ticket of former Senator Bob Dole of Kansas for President and former Housing Secretary Jack...
|
37.32% 840,712 |
49.81% 1,123,323 |
1992The United States presidential election of 1992 had three major candidates: Incumbent Republican President George Bush; Democratic Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton, and independent Texas businessman Ross Perot....
|
31.99% 731,234 |
43.41% 993,037 |
1988The United States presidential election of 1988 featured no incumbent president, as President Ronald Reagan was unable to seek re-election after serving the maximum two terms allowed by the Twenty-second Amendment. Reagan's Vice President, George H. W. Bush, won the Republican nomination, while the...
|
47.97% 903,835 |
50.03% 933,516 |
1984The United States presidential election of 1984 was a contest between the incumbent President Ronald Reagan, the Republican candidate, and former Vice President Walter Mondale, the Democratic candidate. Reagan was helped by a strong economic recovery from the deep recession of 1981–1982...
|
55.82% 1,051,670 |
42.86% 807,352 |
1980The United States presidential election of 1980 featured a contest between incumbent Democrat Jimmy Carter and his Republican opponent, Ronald Reagan, as well as Republican Congressman John B. Anderson, who ran as an independent...
|
49.66% 865,244 |
37.32% 650,193 |
1976The United States presidential election of 1976 followed the resignation of President Richard Nixon in the wake of the Watergate scandal. It pitted incumbent President Gerald Ford, the Republican candidate, against the relatively unknown former governor of Georgia, Jimmy Carter, the Democratic...
|
50.00% 777,732 |
46.11% 717,323 |
1972The United States presidential election of 1972 was the 47th quadrennial United States presidential election. It was held on November 7, 1972. The Democratic Party's nomination was eventually won by Senator George McGovern, who ran an anti-war campaign against incumbent Republican President Richard...
|
56.92% 837,135 |
38.64% 568,334 |
1968The United States presidential election of 1968 was the 46th quadrennial United States presidential election. Coming four years after Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson won in a historic landslide, it saw Johnson forced out of the race and Republican Richard Nixon elected...
|
45.12% 616,037 |
47.23% 558,510 |
1964The United States presidential election of 1964 was held on November 3, 1964. Incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson had come to office less than a year earlier following the assassination of his predecessor, John F. Kennedy. Johnson, who had successfully associated himself with Kennedy's...
|
37.37% 470,366 |
61.97% 779,881 |
1960The United States presidential election of 1960 was the 44th American presidential election, held on November 8, 1960, for the term beginning January 20, 1961, and ending January 20, 1965. The incumbent president, Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower, was not eligible to run again. The Republican Party...
|
50.68% 629,273 |
48.27% 599,298 |
The state is typically thought of as politically divided by the
Cascade MountainsThe Cascade Range is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, and the notable volcanoes known as the High Cascades...
, with
Western WashingtonWestern Washington is a region of the United States defined as that part of Washington west of the Cascade Mountains.It is known as being far wetter in climate than the eastern portion of the state, which...
being liberal (particularly the
I-5Interstate 5 in Washington is a highway in the U.S. state of Washington that extends from its border with Oregon to its border with Canada...
Corridor) and
Eastern WashingtonEastern Washington is the portion of the U.S. state of Washington east of the Cascade Range. The region contains the city of Spokane , the Tri-Cities, the Columbia River and the Grand Coulee Dam, the Hanford Nuclear Reservation and the fertile farmlands of the Yakima Valley and the...
being conservative. Washington has voted for the
DemocraticThe Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
presidential nominee in every election since
1988The United States presidential election of 1988 featured no incumbent president, as President Ronald Reagan was unable to seek re-election after serving the maximum two terms allowed by the Twenty-second Amendment. Reagan's Vice President, George H. W. Bush, won the Republican nomination, while the...
.
Due to Western Washington's large population, Democrats usually fare better statewide. The
Seattle metropolitanThe Seattle metropolitan area in the US state of Washington includes the city of Seattle, King County, Snohomish County, and Pierce County within the Puget Sound region. The U.S...
combined statistical areaThe United States Office of Management and Budget defines micropolitan and metropolitan statistical areas. Metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas consist of one or more counties...
, home to almost two-thirds of Washington's population, generally delivers stronger Democratic margins than most other parts of Western Washington. This is especially true of King County, home to Seattle itself and almost a third of the state's population.
Washington was considered a key swing state in 1968, and it was the only western state to give its electoral votes to Democratic nominee
Hubert HumphreyHubert Horatio Humphrey, Jr. , served under President Lyndon B. Johnson as the 38th Vice President of the United States. Humphrey twice served as a United States Senator from Minnesota, and served as Democratic Majority Whip. He was a founder of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and...
over his Republican opponent
Richard NixonRichard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
. Washington was considered a part of the 1994
Republican RevolutionThe Republican Revolution or Revolution of '94 is what the media dubbed Republican Party success in the 1994 U.S. midterm elections, which resulted in a net gain of 54 seats in the House of Representatives, and a pickup of eight seats in the Senate...
, and had the biggest pickup in the house for Republicans, who picked up seven of Washington's nine House seats. However, this dominance did not last for long as Democrats picked up one seat in the 1996 election and two more in 1998, giving the Democrats a 5–4 majority.
The two current
United States Senators from Washington are
Patty MurrayPatricia Lynn "Patty" Murray is the senior United States Senator from Washington and a member of the Democratic Party. Murray was first elected to the Senate in 1992, becoming Washington's first female senator...
and
Maria CantwellMaria E. Cantwell is the junior United States Senator from the state of Washington and a member of the Democratic Party....
, both Democrats. The governorship is currently held by Democrat
Christine GregoireChristine O'Grady "Chris" Gregoire is the 22nd and current Governor of the state of Washington, and a member of the Democratic Party. Gregoire defeated Republican candidate Dino Rossi in 2004, and again in 2008. She is the second female governor of Washington...
, who was re-elected to her second term in the
2008 gubernatorial electionThe gubernatorial election in Washington, 2008 elected the Governor of Washington on November 4, 2008. With the emergence from the August 19 primary of Republican Dino Rossi and incumbent Democratic Governor Christine Gregoire, the 2008 election was a rematch between the candidates from the 2004...
. Washington is the first and only state in the country to have elected women to both of its
United States SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
seats and the office of Governor. Both houses of the
Washington State LegislatureThe Washington State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a bipartisan, bicameral body, composed of the lower Washington House of Representatives, composed of 98 Representatives, and the upper Washington State Senate, with 49 Senators.The State Legislature...
(the
Washington SenateThe Washington State Senate is the upper house of the Washington State Legislature. The body consists of 49 senators, each representing a district with a population of nearly 120,000. The State Senate meets at the Legislative Building in Olympia....
and the
Washington House of RepresentativesThe Washington House of Representatives is the lower house of the Washington State Legislature, the legislature of the U.S. State of Washington. It is composed of 98 Representatives from 49 districts, each of which elects two members. All members of the House are elected to a two-year term without...
) are also controlled by the Democratic Party.
Elementary and secondary
See also List of school districts in Washington
As of the 2008–2009 school year, 1,040,750 students were enrolled in
elementaryAn elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...
and
secondary schoolSecondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
s in Washington, with 59,562 teachers employed to educate them. As of August 2009, there were 295
school districtSchool districts are a form of special-purpose district which serves to operate the local public primary and secondary schools.-United States:...
s in the state, serviced by nine
educational service districtAn educational service district or education service district is a type of collective government district in the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon. Organizationally different than a school district, a single ESD may serve dozens of school districts...
s. Washington School Information Processing Cooperative (a non-profit, opt-in, State agency) provides information management systems for fiscal & human resources and student data. Elementary and secondary schools are under the jurisdiction of the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), led by State School Superintendent Randy Dorn.
High school
juniorsEleventh Grade is the eleventh, and for some countries final, grade of secondary schools. Students are typically 16 or 17 years of age, depending on the country and the students' birthdays.-Brazil:...
and
seniorsSenior is a term used in the United States to describe a student in the 4th year of study .-High school:...
in Washington have the option of utilizing the state's
Running StartThe Running Start program in Washington state allows high school juniors and seniors to attend college courses numbered 100 or above, tuition-free, while completing high school. It is similar to dual enrollment programs common at public and private colleges and universities in other states...
program. Initiated by the
state legislatureThe Washington State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a bipartisan, bicameral body, composed of the lower Washington House of Representatives, composed of 98 Representatives, and the upper Washington State Senate, with 49 Senators.The State Legislature...
in 1990, the program allows students attend institutions of higher education at public expense, simultaneously earning high school and college credit.
The state also has several public arts focused high schools including Tacoma School of the Arts, Vancouver school of Arts and Academics, and The Center School. There area also three Science and Math based high schools one in the
Tri-Cities, WashingtonThe Tri-Cities is a mid-sized metropolitan area in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Washington, consisting of three neighboring cities: Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland. The cities are located at the confluence of the Yakima, Snake, and Columbia rivers in the semi-arid region of...
known as Delta, one in
Tacoma, WashingtonTacoma is a mid-sized urban port city and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to...
known as SAMI, and another in Des Moines known as Aviation High School.
Colleges and universities
State universitiesA state university system in the United States is a group of public universities supported by an individual state, or a similar entity such as the District of Columbia. These systems constitute the majority of public-funded universities in the country...
- Central Washington University
Central Washington University, often abbreviated CWU, is a public university in Ellensburg, Washington in the United States.This location was selected by the state legislature as a consolation prize after Ellensburg lost its bid to be state capital...
- Eastern Washington University
Eastern Washington University is an American public, coeducational university located in Cheney, Washington.Founded in 1882, the university is academically divided into four colleges: Arts and Letters; Business and Public Administration; Science, Health and Engineering; and Social & Behavioral...
- The Evergreen State College
The Evergreen State College is an accredited public liberal arts college and a member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges. It is located in Olympia, Washington, USA. Founded in 1967, Evergreen was formed to be an experimental and non-traditional college...
- University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
- Washington State University
Washington State University is a public research university based in Pullman, Washington, in the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 1890, WSU is the state's original and largest land-grant university...
- Western Washington University
Western Washington University is one of six state-funded, four-year universities of higher education in the U.S. state of Washington. It is located in Bellingham and offers bachelor's and master's degrees.-History:...
Private universitiesPrivate universities are universities not operated by governments, although many receive public subsidies, especially in the form of tax breaks and public student loans and grants. Depending on their location, private universities may be subject to government regulation. Private universities are...
- Antioch University Seattle
Antioch University is an American university with five campuses located in four states. Campuses are located in Los Angeles, California; Santa Barbara, California; Keene, New Hampshire; Yellow Springs, Ohio; and Seattle, Washington. Additionally, Antioch University houses two institution-wide...
- Argosy University/Seattle
Argosy University, Seattle is one of 19 nationwide campuses of Argosy University, which was formed in 2001 through the merger of the American Schools of Professional Psychology, the Medical Institute of Minnesota, and the University of Sarasota. The Seattle campus was founded in 1995 as the...
- Art Institute of Seattle
The Art Institute of Seattle in Seattle, Washington is one of The Art Institutes, a system of more than 40 educational institutions located throughout North America, providing education in design, media arts, fashion and culinary arts...
- Bastyr University
Bastyr University was established as the John Bastyr College of Naturopathic Medicine in 1978 in Seattle, Washington by Sheila Quinn, Joseph Pizzorno, ND, LM; William Mitchell, ND; and Les Griffith, ND, LM...
- City University of Seattle
- Cornish College of the Arts
-Library:The library at Cornish College specializes in art, dance, design, music, performance production, and theatre. As of 2011 it holds 4700 CDs, 40,000 books, has 2,200 videos, and subscribes to 154 periodicals...
- DeVry University
DeVry University and DeVry Institute of Technology are divisions of DeVry Inc , a proprietary, for-profit higher education organization that is also the parent organization for Keller Graduate School of Management, Ross University, American University of the Caribbean, Apollo College, Western...
- DigiPen Institute of Technology
DigiPen Institute of Technology is a college located in Redmond, Washington which has a focus on computer science, computer engineering, and art with emphasis in creating video games.- History :...
- Gonzaga University
Gonzaga University is a private Roman Catholic university located in Spokane, Washington, United States. Founded in 1887 by the Society of Jesus, it is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities and is named after the young Jesuit saint, Aloysius Gonzaga...
- Henry Cogswell College
Henry Cogswell College was an institution of higher learning located in Kirkland and Everett, Washington between 1979 and 2006. The college offered bachelor's and master's degrees in business administration|leadership, computer science, digital arts, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering,...
- Heritage University
Heritage University, located in Toppenish, Washington on the Yakama Indian Reservation, offers associate's, bachelor's, and master's degrees in a number of academic disciplines, including:*English*business administration*mathematics*computer science...
- Mars Hill Graduate School
The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology is an accredited Christian graduate school offering master level degrees in Counseling Psychology, Divinity, and Christian Studies. They are located in the Belltown neighborhood of Seattle, Washington...
- Moody Bible Institute
Moody Bible Institute is a Christian institution of higher education and related ministries that was founded by evangelist and businessman Dwight Lyman Moody in 1886. Since its founding, MBI's main campus has been located in the Near North Side of Chicago. MBI's primary ministries are education,...
– Spokane |
Northwest University
Pacific Lutheran UniversityPacific Lutheran University is located in Parkland, a suburb of Tacoma, Washington. In September 2009, PLU had a student population of 3,582 and approximately 280 full-time faculty...
St. Martin's University
School of Visual ConceptsThe School of Visual Concepts in Seattle, Washington, is a vocational school training students and working professionals in the fields of graphic design, advertising art direction, advertising copywriting, web design, and marketing communications....
Seattle Bible College
Seattle Institute of Oriental MedicineThe Seattle Institute of Oriental Medicine is a single-purpose graduate college located in Seattle, Washington's Roosevelt neighborhood. It is accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine and authorized by the Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board to...
Seattle Pacific UniversitySeattle Pacific University is a Christian university of the liberal arts, sciences and professions, located on the north slope of Queen Anne Hill in Seattle, Washington, USA. It was founded in 1891 by the Oregon and Washington Conference of the Free Methodist Church as the Seattle Seminary...
Seattle UniversitySeattle University is a Jesuit Catholic university located in the First Hill neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, USA.SU is the largest independent university in the Northwest US, with over 7,500 students enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs within eight schools, and is one of 28 member...
Trinity Lutheran College
University of Puget SoundThe University of Puget Sound is a private liberal arts college located in the North End of Tacoma, Washington, in the United States...
University of Phoenix – Spokane CampusThe University of Phoenix is a for-profit institution of higher learning. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Apollo Group Inc. which is publicly traded , an S&P 500 corporation based in Phoenix, Arizona...
Walla Walla UniversityWalla Walla University is a University offering liberal arts, professional, and technical programs located in College Place, Washington, just a few miles from Walla Walla. The current President is John McVay. It was founded in 1892 and is affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church.The...
Whitman CollegeWhitman College is a private, co-educational, non-sectarian, residential undergraduate liberal arts college located in Walla Walla, Washington. Initially founded as a seminary by a territorial legislative charter in 1859, the school became a four year degree granting institution in 1883...
Whitworth UniversityWhitworth University is a private Christian liberal arts college located in Spokane, Washington, United States, that offers Bachelor's and Master's degrees in a variety of academic disciplines. It is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church...
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Community collegesIn the United States, community colleges are primarily two-year public institutions of higher education and were once commonly called junior colleges....
- Bates Technical College
Bates Technical College, located in Tacoma, Washington, is the state’s largest public technical college. Accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, it offers two-year Associate of Technology degrees, academic certificates, and industry certifications, and maintains...
- Bellevue College
- Bellingham Technical College
Bellingham Technical College is located in the Pacific Northwest town of Bellingham in Washington State. Just a mile northwest of downtown Bellingham, the campus resides about north of Seattle and south of Vancouver, British Columbia...
- Big Bend Community College
Big Bend Community College is a two-year college in Moses Lake, Washington. It offers several associate's degrees in academic and vocational fields.- History :...
- Cascadia Community College
Cascadia Community College is an American community college located in Bothell, Washington on a shared campus with the University of Washington, Bothell...
- Centralia College
Centralia College is a two-year institution of higher learning located in Centralia, Washington. Founded in 1925, Centralia is the oldest continuously operating community college in the state of Washington. As shown below, the college sits on in the middle of the town of Centralia...
- Clark College
Clark College is a community college located in Vancouver, Washington.The college, which celebrated its 75th anniversary on October 1, 2008, was founded as a private, two-year, junior college in 1933...
- Clover Park Technical College
Clover Park Technical College is located in Lakewood, Washington, in the United States, south of Seattle. It has an enrollment of 3,500 full-time and 18,000 part-time students...
- Columbia Basin College
Columbia Basin College is a community college based in Pasco, Washington. The College offers many associate degrees and one baccalaureate business degree in applied management....
- Edmonds Community College
Edmonds Community College is a college in the metropolitan area of Seattle. More than 20,000 students annually take courses for credit toward a certificate or degree at the college in Snohomish County, Washington.-History and governance:...
- Everett Community College
Everett Community College is a community college located in Everett, Washington. EvCC educates more than 20,000 students every year at seven learning centers throughout Snohomish County, with most students and faculty at the main campus in north Everett....
- Grays Harbor College
Grays Harbor College is a community college located in Aberdeen, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1930. The college sits on an campus in Aberdeen with "learning centers" in Raymond, Ilwaco, North Aberdeen and Southside Aberdeen...
- Green River Community College
Green River Community College is a community college located in Auburn, Washington, USA. It has a student body of approximately 10,000.-History:...
- Highline Community College
Highline Community College is a junior college located in Des Moines, Washington, south of Seattle, Washington. Highline was founded in 1961 as the first community college in King County. The main campus is located on of hilltop land that overlook Puget Sound and Olympic Mountains to the west...
- Lake Washington Technical College
Lake Washington Institute of Technology , formerly Lake Washington Technical College, located in Kirkland, Washington near the Totem Lake neighborhood, is a workforce college offering professional and technical training for today’s ever-changing job market...
- Lower Columbia College
Lower Columbia College is a community college located in Longview, Washington. Established in 1934, it serves the Cowlitz and Wahkiakum counties. The current campus was established in 1962 and is made of 27 buildings on...
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Olympic College Olympic College is an urban-based, but rural- and urban-serving, 2-year public institution in the state of Washington.Olympic College opened its doors as Olympic Junior College on September 5, 1946. The main building was located in Bremerton...
Peninsula CollegePeninsula College is a community college located in Port Angeles, Washington with satellite operations in Forks and Port Townsend. Founded in 1961, it serves the Olympic Peninsula. Peninsula College has approximately 10,000 students, two-thirds of whom attend part-time.-External...
Pierce CollegePierce College is a community college district operating in and serving Pierce County in the U.S. state of Washington. The district consists of two main colleges, Pierce College Fort Steilacoom in Lakewood and Pierce College Puyallup in Puyallup, and auxiliary campuses at Fort Lewis, McChord Air...
Renton Technical CollegeRenton Technical College , also known as Renton Tech, is a public two-year institution located in the Renton Highlands of Renton, Washington within the Seattle metropolitan area...
Seattle Community College DistrictThe Seattle Community College District is a group of community colleges located in Seattle, Washington. It consists of three colleges— North Seattle Community College, Seattle Central Community College , South Seattle Community College —and the Seattle Vocational Institute...
Shoreline Community CollegeShoreline Community College is a community college in Shoreline, north of Seattle, Washington. It is located in a residential area east of Shoreview Park. The college contains 83 acres and continuously serves 12,000 full and part-time students....
Skagit Valley CollegeSkagit Valley College is a two-year community college serving Skagit, Island, and San Juan counties in northwest Washington state. Established in 1926, SVC grants academic transfer degrees, technical degrees, and certificates. The academic transfer degree and several professional/technical degrees...
South Puget Sound Community CollegeSouth Puget Sound Community College is a community college located in southwest Olympia, Washington, USA. It is located in a residential area just off the junction between US Route 101 and Interstate 5...
Spokane Community CollegeEstablished in 1963, Spokane Community College is part of Community Colleges of Spokane.It is a comprehensive educational institution, offering liberal arts-transfer degrees and a wide array of career-technical degree and certificate options in the fields of manufacturing, transportation,...
Spokane Falls Community CollegeSpokane Falls Community College is part of the Community Colleges of Spokane.The college, also known as The Falls, opened in 1967 in west Spokane, south of Riverside State Park, on a campus....
Tacoma Community CollegeTacoma Community College is a community college located in Tacoma, Washington, with satellite operations in Gig Harbor and the Tacoma Mall. It serves the city of Tacoma and the Pierce County portion of the Kitsap Peninsula....
Walla Walla Community CollegeWalla Walla Community College is a multi-campus community college located in southeastern Washington.WWCC's main branch was established in Walla Walla in 1967 with a first class of 850 students and has grown to an average annual enrollment of over 13,000 students...
Wenatchee Valley CollegeWenatchee Valley College, or WVC, is a two-year Community College located in Wenatchee, Washington. The college provides students with adult education classes, certifications, and 2-year Associates Degree. WVC's primary service district is one of the largest in the state, serving an area larger...
- Whatcom Community College
Whatcom Community College , known as Whatcom, is a community college located in Bellingham, Washington, the county seat of Whatcom County. Whatcom, a public associate degree-granting college, has course and program offers in the liberal arts, professional/technical, basic education and...
- Yakima Valley Community College
Yakima Valley Community College is one of the oldest community colleges in Washington, having been founded in 1928.-Overview:YVCC serves over 10,000 students a year through two campuses located in Yakima and Grandview, as well as learning centers located in Ellensburg, Toppenish, and Goldendale...
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Professional sports
| Club |
Sport |
League |
City & Stadium |
Seattle SeahawksThe Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
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FootballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
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National Football LeagueThe National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
; NFCThe National Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the American Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL.-Current teams:Since 2002, the NFC has comprised 16 teams,...
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Seattle, CenturyLink Field |
Seattle MarinersThe Seattle Mariners are a professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington. Enfranchised in , the Mariners are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Safeco Field has been the Mariners' home ballpark since July...
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BaseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
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Major League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
; ALThe American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
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Seattle, Safeco Field Safeco Field is a retractable roof baseball stadium located in Seattle, Washington. The stadium, owned and operated by the Washington-King County Stadium Authority, is the home stadium of the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball and has a seating capacity of 47,878 for baseball...
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Seattle Sounders FCSeattle Sounders FC is an American professional soccer club based in Seattle, Washington. The club competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. Sounders FC was established in November 2007 as a MLS expansion team, making it the 15th team in...
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Soccer |
Major League Soccer Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
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Seattle, CenturyLink Field |
| Spokane Shock The Spokane Shock is a professional arena football team of the Arena Football League from Spokane, Washington, USA. They play their home games at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena...
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Arena FootballArena football is a variety of gridiron football played by the Arena Football League . It is a proprietary game, the rights to which are owned by Gridiron Enterprises, and is played indoors on a smaller field than American or Canadian outdoor football, resulting in a faster and higher-scoring game....
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Arena Football League |
Spokane Spokane is a city in the U.S. state of Washington.Spokane may also refer to:*Spokane *Spokane River*Spokane, Missouri*Spokane Valley, Washington*Spokane County, Washington*Spokane-Coeur d'Alene-Paloos War*Spokane * USS Spokane...
, Spokane ArenaSpokane Veterans Memorial Arena a multi-purpose arena, located in Spokane, Washington, USA.It is home to the Spokane Chiefs, of the WHL and the Spokane Shock, of the AFL.-Construction:...
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| Wenatchee Valley Venom |
Indoor Football |
American Indoor Football Association |
Wenatchee, Town Toyota Center |
Seattle StormThe Seattle Storm is a professional basketball team based in Seattle, Washington, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the 2000 season began...
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BasketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
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Women's National Basketball AssociationThe Women's National Basketball Association is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. It currently is composed of twelve teams. The league was founded on April 24, 1996 as the women's counterpart to the National Basketball Association...
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Seattle, KeyArenaKeyArena at Seattle Center , is a multipurpose arena, in Seattle, Washington. It is located north of downtown in the entertainment complex known as Seattle Center, the site of the 1962 World's Fair, the Century 21 Exposition...
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Spokane SpidersSpokane Spiders was an American soccer team based in Spokane, Washington, United States. Founded in 2006, the team played in the USL Premier Development League , the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference...
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Soccer |
Premier Development League (Northwest Division) |
Spokane, Joe Albi StadiumJoe Albi Stadium is an outdoor athletic stadium in Spokane, Washington. Primarily used for football, it is located in the northwest part of the city, just east of the Spokane River. It opened in 1950 as "Memorial Stadium," with a natural grass field, cinder running track, and a seating capacity of...
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Seattle Sounders WomenThe Seattle Sounders Women is an American women’s soccer team, founded in 2003. The team is a member of the United Soccer Leagues W-League, the second tier of women’s soccer in the United States, and as a club in the Western Division, they play against Colorado Force, Colorado Rush, LA Strikers, ...
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Soccer |
United Soccer Leagues The United Soccer Leagues is the organizer of several soccer leagues with teams in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. It includes men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Leagues currently organized are the USL Pro, the USL Premier Development League, the W-League, and...
; W-LeagueThe USL W-League is a national women's soccer league in the United States on the 2nd level of women's soccer in the United States soccer pyramid, alongside the Women's Premier Soccer League and below Women's Professional Soccer....
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TukwilaTukwila is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The northern edge of Tukwila borders the city of Seattle. The population was 19,107 at the 2010 census.-History:...
, Starfire Sports ComplexStarfire Sports Complex is a sporting facility in Tukwila, Washington, on the banks of the Green River, near Seattle. It is operated by the non-profit corporation Starfire Sports. At the time of its opening, CEO Chris Slatt believed it to be "the largest synthetic-turf soccer complex in the...
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| Bellingham Slam The Bellingham Slam is a professional basketball team that plays in the International Basketball League. In the past they played in the American Basketball Association. They were originally expected to play in Everett, Washington, but were relocated to Bellingham, Washington under the ownership of...
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Basketball |
American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association, often abbreviated as ABA, is a semi-professional men's basketball league that was founded in 1999. The current ABA has no affiliation with the original American Basketball Association that merged with the National Basketball Association in 1976...
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Bellingham, Whatcom Community College Whatcom Community College , known as Whatcom, is a community college located in Bellingham, Washington, the county seat of Whatcom County. Whatcom, a public associate degree-granting college, has course and program offers in the liberal arts, professional/technical, basic education and...
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| Everett Silvertips The Everett Silvertips are a major junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League that plays in Everett, Washington. They joined the league as an expansion team for the 2003–04 WHL season. The team name comes from the silvertip bear...
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Ice Hockey |
Western Hockey League |
EverettEverett is the county seat of and the largest city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. Named for Everett Colby, son of founder Charles L. Colby, it lies north of Seattle. The city had a total population of 103,019 at the 2010 census, making it the 6th largest in the state and...
, Comcast ArenaComcast Arena at Everett is a $83.3 million dollar muti-purpose complex, in Everett, Washington, designed and developed by the City of Everett Public Facilities District. The arena opened in September 2003....
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| Spokane Chiefs The Spokane Chiefs are a major junior ice hockey team that plays in the Western Hockey League based out of Spokane, Washington. The team plays its home games at the Spokane Arena. Their uniforms are similar to those of the NHL's Montreal Canadiens. Spokane consistently ranks in the top 10 in the...
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Ice Hockey |
Western Hockey League |
Spokane, Spokane Arena Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena a multi-purpose arena, located in Spokane, Washington, USA.It is home to the Spokane Chiefs, of the WHL and the Spokane Shock, of the AFL.-Construction:...
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| Seattle Thunderbirds The Seattle Thunderbirds are a junior ice hockey team based in Kent, a suburb of Seattle, Washington. They are part of the U.S. Division of the Western Hockey League, and play in the ShoWare Center...
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Ice HockeyIce hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
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Western Hockey LeagueThe Western Hockey League is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League as the highest level of junior hockey in Canada...
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KentKent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, ShoWare Center |
| Tri-City Americans The Tri-City Americans are a major junior ice hockey team of the Western Hockey League, based in Kennewick, Washington. The team plays its home games at the Toyota Center...
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Ice Hockey |
Western Hockey League |
KennewickKennewick is a city in Benton County in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Washington, near the Hanford nuclear site. It is the most populous of the three cities collectively referred to as the Tri-Cities...
, Toyota CenterThe Toyota Center is an multi-purpose arena in Kennewick, Washington, USA.The arena opened in 1988 as the Tri-Cities Coliseum...
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Tri-Cities FeverThe Tri-Cities Fever are a professional indoor football team in the Indoor Football League. Their first season was in 2005 as an expansion member of the National Indoor Football League. Though they represent the entire Tri-Cities region, they play their home games exclusively at the Toyota Center...
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Indoor Football |
Indoor Football League The Indoor Football League began in 1999 as an offshoot of the troubled Professional Indoor Football League. Keary Ecklund, the owner of the Green Bay Bombers and Madison Mad Dogs, left the PIFL after its first, financially-troubled, season to start his own league. Unlike the PIFL, the IFL was an...
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Kennewick, Toyota Center |
| Kent Predators The Everett Raptors are a professional indoor football team that plays in the Indoor Football League . They play their home games at the Comcast Arena at Everett in Everett, Washington...
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Indoor Football |
Indoor Football League |
Kent, ShoWare Center |
| Tri-City Dust Devils The Tri-City Dust Devils are a minor league baseball team in Pasco, Washington, United States. The Dust Devils are a Short-Season A classification team in the Northwest League and have been a farm team of the Colorado Rockies since their inception in 2001. The Devils play home games at Gesa...
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Baseball |
Northwest League The Northwest League of Professional Baseball is a Class A-Short Season minor baseball league. The league is the descendant of the Western International League which ran as a class B league from 1937-1951 and class A from 1952-1954...
; A |
Pasco Pasco is a city in and the county seat of Franklin County, Washington, United States.Pasco is one of three cities that make up the Tri-Cities region of the state of Washington...
, Gesa Stadium |
Tacoma RainiersThe Tacoma Rainiers are a minor league baseball team that plays in the Pacific Coast League , and are the Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners...
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Baseball |
Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League is a minor-league baseball league operating in the Western, Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Along with the International League and the Mexican League, it is one of three leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball.The...
; AAA |
Tacoma, Cheney Stadium Cheney Stadium, in Tacoma, Washington, is the home field for the Tacoma Rainiers minor-league baseball team of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League. The stadium opened in 1960, and has a capacity of 9,600...
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| Spokane Indians The Spokane Indians are a minor league baseball team located in Spokane, Washington, United States. They are a Short-Season A classification team in the Northwest League and have been a farm team of the Texas Rangers since 2003. The Indians play home games at Avista Stadium...
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Baseball |
Northwest League The Northwest League of Professional Baseball is a Class A-Short Season minor baseball league. The league is the descendant of the Western International League which ran as a class B league from 1937-1951 and class A from 1952-1954...
; A |
Spokane, Avista Stadium Avista Stadium is a ballpark located in Spokane Valley, Washington, United States. It is primarily used for baseball, and is the home field of the Spokane Indians minor league baseball team, a Class A short-season affiliate of the Texas Rangers...
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| Everett AquaSox The Everett AquaSox are a minor league baseball team in Everett, Washington, USA. They are a Short-Season A classification team in the Northwest League, of which they are the current defending champions...
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Baseball |
Northwest League The Northwest League of Professional Baseball is a Class A-Short Season minor baseball league. The league is the descendant of the Western International League which ran as a class B league from 1937-1951 and class A from 1952-1954...
; A |
Everett, Everett Memorial Stadium Everett Memorial Stadium is a stadium in Everett, Washington, USA. It is primarily used for baseball, and is the home field of the Everett AquaSox minor league baseball team. It opened in 1984 and was remodeled in 1998, and it currently holds 3,682 people. It is also home to the Puget Sound...
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| Yakima Bears The Yakima Bears are a minor league baseball team in Yakima, Washington. They are a Short-Season A classification team in the Northwest League and have been a farm team of the Arizona Diamondbacks since 2001, formerly with the Los Angeles Dodgers from the team's creation in 1990 when the Salem...
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Baseball |
Northwest League The Northwest League of Professional Baseball is a Class A-Short Season minor baseball league. The league is the descendant of the Western International League which ran as a class B league from 1937-1951 and class A from 1952-1954...
; A |
Yakima, Yakima County Stadium Yakima County Stadium is a stadium in Yakima, Washington located in the Central Washington State Fairgrounds. It is primarily used for baseball, and is the home field of the Yakima Bears minor league baseball team. Bob Dylan played the venue during the 2010 Never Ending Tour on September 3, 2010....
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| Old Puget Sound Beach RFC A charter member of the USA Super League, OPSB is a rugby club based in Seattle, in the Pacific Northwest USA Rugby territory. The club travels extensively throughout the USA and into Canada...
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Rugby |
Rugby Super League |
Seattle, various venues |
| Washington Stealth The Washington Stealth are a member of the National Lacrosse League, the professional box lacrosse league of North America. Based in Everett , the Stealth began play in the 2010 NLL season, with home games played at the 8,513-seat Comcast Arena at Everett.The team was previously known as the...
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Lacrosse |
National Lacrosse League The National Lacrosse League is a men's professional indoor lacrosse league in North America. It currently has nine teams; three in Canada and six in the United States. Unlike other lacrosse leagues which play in the summer, the NLL plays its games in the winter and spring. Each year, the playoff...
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Everett, Comcast Arena |
| Seattle Mist This Seattle Mist are a team in the Lingerie Football League, part of the Lingerie Bowl's expansion into a full-fledged league in 2009. They play their home games at the ShoWare Center in Kent, Washington.-2009-2010 season:...
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Lingerie Football |
Lingerie Football League The Lingerie Football League is a women's 7-on-7 tackle American football league, created in 2009, with games played in the fall and winter at NBA, NFL, NHL and MLS arenas and stadiums. The league was founded by Mitch Mortaza...
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Kent, ShoWare Center |
Symbols, honors, and names
Four ships of the
United States NavyThe United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
, including two Battleships, have been named
USS WashingtonTen ships of the United States Navy have been named Washington, the first six in honor of George Washington, the seventh in honor of Department of the Treasury official and assistant Postmaster General Peter G...
in honor of the state. Previous ships had held that name in honor of George Washington.
The Evergreen State
The state's nickname "
Evergreen" was proposed in 1890 by Charles T. Conover of Seattle, Washington. The name proved popular as the forests were full of evergreen trees and the abundance of rain keeps the shrubbery and grasses green throughout the year.
State symbols
The
state song is "
Washington, My HomeWashington, My Home is the state song of Washington, in the United States. Written by Helen Davis and arranged by Stuart Churchill, it was adopted on March 19, 1959....
," the
state bird is the
American GoldfinchThe American Goldfinch , also known as the Eastern Goldfinch and Wild Canary, is a small North American bird in the finch family...
, the state fruit is the
appleThe apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...
, and the state vegetable is the
Walla Walla sweet onionThe onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...
. The state dance, adopted in 1979, is the
square danceSquare dance is a folk dance with four couples arranged in a square, with one couple on each side, beginning with Couple 1 facing away from the music and going counter-clockwise until getting to Couple 4. Couples 1 and 3 are known as the head couples, while Couples 2 and 4 are the side couples...
. The
state tree is the Western Hemlock. The
state flower is the
CoastRhododendron macrophyllum, the Pacific Rhododendron, Coast Rhododendron or Big Leaf Rhododendron, is a broadleaf evergreen rhododendron species native to western North America.-Distribution:...
RhododendronRhododendron is a genus of over 1 000 species of woody plants in the heath family, most with showy flowers...
. The
state fish is the
steelhead troutThe rainbow trout is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is a sea run rainbow trout usually returning to freshwater to spawn after 2 to 3 years at sea. In other words, rainbow trout and steelhead trout are the same species....
. The
state folk song is "Roll On, Columbia, Roll On" by
Woody GuthrieWoodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his...
. The unofficial, but popularly accepted, state rock song is
Louie Louie"Louie Louie" is an American rock 'n' roll song written by Richard Berry in 1955. It has become a standard in pop and rock, with hundreds of versions recorded by different artists...
. The State Grass is
bluebunch wheatgrassPseudoroegneria spicata is a species of grass known by the common name Bluebunch Wheatgrass. This native western North American perennial bunchgrass is known by the scientific synonyms Elymus spicatus and Agropyron spicatum. The grass can be found from Alaska to Texas. It occurs in many types of...
. The
state insect is the
Green DarnerThe Green Darner or Common Green Darner , after its resemblance to a darning-needle, is a species of dragonfly in the family Aeshnidae. One of the most common and abundant species throughout North America and its range south to Panama. It is well known for its great migration distance from the...
DragonflyA dragonfly is a winged insect belonging to the order Odonata, the suborder Epiprocta or, in the strict sense, the infraorder Anisoptera . It is characterized by large multifaceted eyes, two pairs of strong transparent wings, and an elongated body...
. The
state gem is
petrified woodPetrified wood is the name given to a special type of fossilized remains of terrestrial vegetation. It is the result of a tree having turned completely into stone by the process of permineralization...
. The state fossil is the
Columbian MammothThe Columbian Mammoth is an extinct species of elephant of the Quaternary period that appeared in North America during the late Pleistocene. It is believed by some authorities to be the same species as its slightly larger cousin, M...
. The
state marine mammal is the orca. The
state land mammal is the
Olympic MarmotThe Olympic marmot, Marmota olympus, is a marmot . They are found in alpine and subalpine meadows and talus slopes on the Olympic Peninsula in the U.S. state of Washington, and are close relatives of the hoary marmot.Like most marmots, they are gregarious burrowing animals...
. The
state sealThe Seal of the State of Washington contains a portrait of George Washington, as painted by Gilbert Stuart. The outer ring contains the text "The Seal of the State of Washington" and "1889", the year Washington state was admitted to the Union...
(featured in the state flag as well) was inspired by the unfinished portrait by
Gilbert StuartGilbert Charles Stuart was an American painter from Rhode Island.Gilbert Stuart is widely considered to be one of America's foremost portraitists...
.
See also
- Benson raft
The Benson raft was a huge sea-going log raft designed to reliably transport millions of board feet of timber at one time through the open ocean. This practical transportation method was first used on the Pacific coast in 1906 by Simon Benson, a lumber baron of Portland, Oregon, in the United...
, a huge sea-going log raft of the early 1900s designed to reliably transport millions of board feet of timber from Washington/Oregon area.
- List of ghost towns in Washington
- List of National Register of Historic Places in Washington
- List of people from Washington
- U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
External links