Interesting facts about Washington (state)

washington flag

Washington a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States.

It is bordered by by the Canadian province of British Columbia to the north, Idaho to the east and Oregon to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west.

As of February 2019, the population of Washington was estimated to be about 7.5 million people. It is the 13th most populous state in the United States.

Washington is the 18th largest state in the United States in terms of total area with 184,827 square kilometers (71,362 square miles).

Olympia is the capital of Washington. European settlers claimed the area in 1846, with the Treaty of Medicine Creek initiated in 1854, and the Treaty of Olympia initiated in January 1856. Olympia was incorporated as a town on January 28, 1859, and as a City in 1882.

olympia

Seattle is the largest city of Washington state. Approximately 60 percent of Washington’s residents live in the Seattle metropolitan area.

The state’s geography is diverse and spectacular at almost every turn.

The state can be divided into six geographic land areas; the Olympic Mountains, the Coast Range, the Puget Sound Lowlands, the Cascade Mountains, the Columbia Plateau, and the Rocky Mountains.

Mount Rainier, also known as Tahoma or Tacoma, is the highest mountain of the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest, and the highest mountain in the US state of Washington. It is a large active stratovolcano located 95 kilometers (59 miles) south-southeast of Seattle.

mount rainier

The Coast Range area is in Washington’s southwest corner, and it includes forested hills and beaches along the coastline. It was established on March 2, 1899 as the fifth national park in the United States.

Washington has about 253 kilometers (157 miles) of coastline.

The state has 15 national parks and 154 state parks.

From ocean beaches to mountaintops, Olympic National Park overflows with incomparable scenery. The park encompasses 373,383 hectares (922,650 acres) of land. It was designated a national park by President Franklin Roosevelt on June 29, 1938. In 1976, the park became an International Biosphere Reserve, and in 1981 it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

olympic national park

Mount Rainier National Park is located in west-central Washington state. It was established on March 2, 1899 as the fifth national park in the United States. The park covers an area of 956 square kilometers (369 square miles) or 95,600 hectares (236,381 acres acres). Mount Rainier stands as an icon in the Washington landscape and is the centerpiece of the national park.

mount rainier national park

The Space Needle is an observation tower and an icon of Seattle. It was built in the Seattle Center for the 1962 World’s Fair, which drew over 2.3 million visitors. The Space Needle is 184 meters (605 feet) high, 42 meters (138 feet) wide, and weighs 8,660 tonnes (9,550 US tons). It is built to withstand winds of up to 90 meters per second (200 miles per hour) and earthquakes of up to 9.1 magnitude.

space needle

Chihuly Garden and Glass is an exhibit in the Seattle Center showcasing the studio glass of Dale Chihuly. It opened in May 2012 at the former site of the Fun Forest. The project features three primary components: the Garden, the Glasshouse, and the Interior Exhibits. The 30-meter (100-foot) long installation inside of the Glasshouse is one of Chihuly’s largest suspended sculptures.

chihuly garden and glass

The Boeing Everett Factory, in Everett, Washington, is an airplane assembly building owned by Boeing. Located on the northeast corner of Paine Field, it is the largest building in the world by volume at 13,385,378 cubic meters (472,370,319 cu ft) and covers 399,480 square meters (100 acres).

boeing everett factory

The history of Washington includes thousands of years of Native American history before Europeans and Americans arrived and began to establish territorial claims.

Archaeological evidence shows that the Pacific Northwest was one of the first populated areas in North America.

The first European record of a landing on the Washington coast was in 1774 by Spaniard Juan Pérez.

Named for George Washington, the first president of the United States, the state was made out of the western part of the Washington Territory, which was ceded by Britain in 1846 in accordance with the Oregon Treaty in the settlement of the Oregon boundary dispute.

washington map

It was admitted to the Union as the 42nd state in 1889.

Washington is the northwestern-most state of the contiguous United States.

It is the only state named after a president.

Washington is sometimes referred to as Washington State, to distinguish it from Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, which is often shortened to Washington or just D.C.

Washington produces more sweet cherries, apples, pears, and red raspberries than any other state.

The state is also a leading lumber producer.

Washington state has more glaciers than the other 47 contiguous states combined.