Washington is a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. It should not be confused with Washington, DC, the nation's capital. To avoid confusion, the state is often called Washington state. Although the state capital is Olympia, the largest city in Washington is Seattle. As of the 2000 census, the state population is approximately 5.9 million. Residents are called "Washingtonians."

Washington is the only state named after a president, George Washington.

The USS Washington was named in honor of this state.

Contents [showhide]
1 History

2 Geography

2.1 Geographical features

3 Demographics

4 Important cities and towns

5 Agriculture

6 Education

6.1 Colleges and universities
6.2 Community colleges

7 Professional sports teams

8 Arts and culture

9 Government and political activism

9.1 Elected officials
9.2 Political activism

10 Major highways

11 External links

[edit]
History
The first European record of a landing on the Washington coast is by Spanish Captain Don Bruno de Heceta in 1775 on board the Santiago, part of a two-ship flotilla with the Sonora. They claimed all the coastal lands up to the Russian possessions in the north for Spain.

In 1778, British explorer Captain James Cook sighted Cape Flattery, at the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, but the straits would not be explored until 1789 by Captain Charles W. Barkley. Further explorations of the straits were performed by Spanish explorers Manuel Quimper in 1790 and Francisco Eliza in 1791, then by British Captain George Vancouver in 1792.

The Spanish Nootka Concession of 1790 opened the northwest territory to explorers and trappers from other nations, most notably Britain and then the United States. In 1805, the Lewis and Clark expedition entered the state on October 10, 1805.

In 1819, Spain ceded their original claims to this territory to the United States. This began a period of joint-occupancy by Britain and the U.S. that lasted until June 15, 1846 when Britain ceded their claims to this land with the Treaty of Oregon.

In 1853, Washington Territory was formed from part of Oregon Territory.

Washington became the 42nd state in the United States on November 11, 1889.

[edit]
Geography

Olympic Coast National Marine SanctuarySee: List of Washington counties

Washington is bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west, Oregon to the south (the Columbia River forming most of this border), Idaho to the east, and British Columbia, Canada to the north. It is famous for scenery of breathtaking beauty and sharp contrasts. High mountains rise above evergreen forests and sparkling coastal waters. Its coastal location and Puget Sound harbors give it a leading role in trade with Alaska, Canada, and the Pacific Rim. Puget Sound's many islands are served by the largest state ferry fleet in the world. Washington is a land of contrasts. The deep forests of the Olympic Peninsula are among the rainiest places in the world, but the flat semi-desert that lies east of the Cascade Range stretches for long distances without a single tree. Snow-covered peaks tower above the foothills and lowlands around them. Mount Rainier, the highest mountain in the state, appears to "float" on the horizon southeast of Seattle and Tacoma on clear days. The eastern side of the state can be divided into two regions: the Okanogan Highlands, and the Columbia River Basin.

Washington is also notable for being home to four of the five longest floating bridges in the world: the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge, Lacey V. Murrow Memorial Bridge, and Third Lake Washington Bridge over Lake Washington, and the Hood Canal Bridge connecting the Olympic and Kitsap Peninsulas.

See also Central Washington, Columbia River Plateau, Eastern Washington, Inland Empire, Kitsap Peninsula, Palouse, Western Washington.

[edit]
Geographical features

The Dalles Dam on the Columbia River
Mount Rainier with Tacoma in foregroundPuget Sound
Bainbridge Island
Camano Island
San Juan Islands
Whidbey Island
Vashon Island
Columbia River
Snake River
Yakima River
A fuller list of Washington state's islands appears here.

Cascade Range
Mount Adams
Mount Baker
Glacier Peak
Mount Rainier
Mount St. Helens
Mount Stuart
Olympic Mountains
Mount Olympus
[edit]
Demographics
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2003, Washington's population was estimated at 6,131,445 people.

The racial makeup of the state is:

78.9% White
3.2% Black
7.5% Hispanic
5.5% Asian
1.6% American Indian
3.6% are mixed race
The 5 largest ancestry groups in Washington are German (18.7%), English (12%), Irish (11.4%), Norwegian (6.2%), Mexican (5.6%).

The 5 largest religious denominations in Washington are Roman Catholic (22%), "Christian" (12%), Lutheran (6%), Baptist (6%), Methodist (4%). 27% of the population is nonreligious.

6.7% of Washington's population were reported as under 5, 25.7% under 18, and 11.2% were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 50.2% of the population.

[edit]
Important cities and towns

The Space Needle and the Downtown Seattle skylineSeattle
Olympia
Spokane
Tacoma
Bellevue
Redmond
Vancouver
Everett
Tri-Cities
Walla Walla
Wenatchee
Yakima
Bremerton
See also List of cities in Washington State, List of towns in Washington State, Washington city government

[edit]
Agriculture

A Whitman County farmWashington is a leading agricultural state. (The following figures are from the Washington State Office of Financial Management (http://www.ofm.wa.gov/databook/pdf/nt14.pdf) and the Washington Agricultural Statistics Service (http://www.nass.usda.gov/wa/ssoinfo.htm).)

For 2001, the total value of Washington's agricultural products was $5.4 billion, the 12th highest in the country. The total value of its crops was $3.2 billion, the 8th highest.

In 2002, Washington ranked first in the nation in production of raspberries (87.8% of total U.S. production), hops (74.4%), spearmint oil (also 74.4%), wrinkled seed peas (65.6%), apples (60.2%), Concord grapes (51.8%), sweet cherries (48%), pears (44.9%), lentils (41.9%), peppermint oil (35.2%), carrots for processing (34.5%), tart cherries (32.8%), Niagara grapes (32.4%), and sweet corn for processing (29.2%). Washington also ranked second in the nation in grapes (all varieties taken together), apricots, asparagus (over a third of the country's production), and green peas for processing; third in the nation for wheat, prunes and plums, summer dry onions, trout, and butter; fourth in barley and peaches; and fifth in cranberries and strawberries.

[edit]
Education
[edit]
Colleges and universities

Bryan clock tower at Washington State UniversityAntioch University Seattle
Argosy University/Seattle
Art Institute of Seattle
Bastyr University
Central Washington University
City University
Cornish College of the Arts
DeVry University
Eastern Washington University
The Evergreen State College
Gonzaga University
Henry Cogswell College
Heritage College
Northwest University
Pacific Lutheran University
St. Martin's College
School of Visual Concepts
Seattle Bible College
Seattle Pacific University
Seattle University
Trinity Lutheran College
University of Puget Sound
University of Washington
Walla Walla College
Washington State University
Western Washington University
Whitman College
Whitworth College

[edit]
Community colleges
Bates Technical College
Bellevue Community College
Bellingham Technical College
Big Bend Community College
Cascadia Community College
Centralia College
Clark College
Clover Park Technical College
Columbia Basin College
Edmonds Community College
Everett Community College
Grays Harbor College
Green River Community College
Highline Community College
Lake Washington Technical College
Lower Columbia College
Olympic College
Peninsula College
Pierce College
Renton Technical College
Seattle Community College District
Shoreline Community College
Skagit Valley College
South Puget Sound Community College
Spokane Community College
Spokane Falls Community College
Tacoma Community College
Walla Walla Community College
Wenatchee Valley College
Whatcom Community College
Yakima Valley Community College

[edit]
Professional sports teams
Seattle Seahawks, National Football League
Seattle Mariners, Major League Baseball
Seattle SuperSonics, National Basketball Association
Seattle Storm, Women's National Basketball Association
Seattle Thunderbirds, Western Hockey League
Seattle Sounders, A-League Soccer League
Everett Silvertips, Western Hockey League
Spokane Chiefs, Western Hockey League
Minor League Baseball Teams
Tacoma Rainiers
Everett AquaSox
Bellingham Bells
Yakima Bears
Spokane Indians
Tri-City Dust Devils

[edit]
Arts and culture
List of Washington state parks
Music of Washington
[edit]
Government and political activism
[edit]
Elected officials
Gary Locke, governor
Christine Gregoire, attorney general
Brad Owen, lieutenant governor
Sam Reed, secretary of state
Michael J. Murphy, treasurer
Brian Sonntag, auditor
Terry Bergeson, superintendent of public education
Doug Sutherland, commissioner of public lands
Mike Kreidler, insurance commissioner

See also Washington state congressional delegates.

[edit]
Political activism
See also List of Washington initiatives.

[edit]
Major highways
Interstate 5
Interstate 82
Interstate 90
Interstate 405
U.S. Highway 2
U.S. Highway 12
U.S. Highway 97
U.S. Highway 101
[edit]
External links
State of Washington website (http://access.wa.gov/)
Revised Code of Washington (State Law) (http://www.leg.wa.gov/rcw/index.cfm)
Washington Administrative Code (State Administrative Rules) (http://www.leg.wa.gov/wac/)
State Code Search Tool (http://search.leg.wa.gov/pub/textsearch/default.asp)
Over 11,000 websites categorized and profiled on Zeal (http://zeal.com/category/preview.jhtml?cid=1154760)
U.S. Census Bureau (http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/53000.html)

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Washington".

The world is a book and those who do not travel read only a page - St Augustine

: Home ::