Washington is in the Pacific NW of the United States. It is bordered by Idaho (E); Oregon, with the Columbia River marking much of the boundary (S); the Pacific Ocean (W); and the Canadian province of British Columbia (N).

Area, 68,192 sq mi (176,617 sq km), incl. 1,483 sq mi (3,841 sq km) of inland water surface

Population (2000) 5,894,121, a 21.1% increase since the 1990 census

Capital, Olympia

Largest city, Seattle

Statehood, Nov. 11, 1889 (42d state)

Highest pt., Mt. Rainier, 14,410 ft (4,395 m)

Lowest pt., Sea Level

Nickname, Evergreen State

Motto, Alki [By and By]

State bird, Willow Goldfinch

State flower, Western Rhododendron

State tree, Western Hemlock

    The state comprises three major geographic zones. In the east, most of interior Washington is made up of the Columbia Plateau and the valleys of the Columbia River and its tributaries. Central Washington is dominated, and the state is divided, by the north-south Cascade Range. To the west of the Cascades lie coastal lowlands.

   Washington's interior is a region of hard volcanic substructure, in many places scoured by glacial and river action, that is left largely dry by the shield the Cascades form against the Pacific winds; in some areas, as in the southeastern Palouse Hills, less deposits provide a basis for irrigated agriculture. The Blue Mts., an offshoot of the Rockies in the state's southeast corner, are one of the interior's few forested sections. The Columbia River enters the state from British Columbia in the northeast. After receiving the Spokane River from the east, it turns westward across the state and swings south at the foot of the Cascades, enclosing the Big Bend country. Near Washington's southern border, it receives the Yakima (from the west) and Snake (from the east), then bends westward again, forming the boundary with Oregon as it cuts through the Cascades on its way to the sea. 

      Olympia is the capital; Seattle, Spokane, and Tacoma are the largest cities.

      Washington's water resources provide both irrigation and enormous hydroelectric power. The dams on the Columbia's lower course were designed as power, flood-control, and navigation projects, whereas the dams on the upper course are integral to the Columbia basin project (with the Grand Coulee as the key unit), providing not only power and flood control but extensive irrigation to the Columbia Plateau. The Snake River in the east and the Yakima River in S central Washington also have important irrigation projects.
  
    Washington's huge food processing industry is based on the state's diversified irrigated farming and dairying as well as on its abundant fishing resources.

   
    Much of the land in Eastern Washington is used for dry farming. Irrigation, however, has converted many of the river valleys east of the Cascades (especially the Yakima and Wenatchee) into garden areas. This region contains most of Washington's vineyards; from the 1980s the state has developed an important wine industry. Washington leads the country in the production of apples, sweet cherries, and pears and is a major wheat producer, chiefly in the hilly southeastern Palouse area. Washington is also a major producer of corn, onions, potatoes, apricots, grapes (including those made into wine), and other fruits, nuts, and vegetables. Cattle, dairy goods, sheep, and poultry are also economically important. Spokane is the commercial and transportation hub of the entire "Inland Empire" region between the Cascades and the Rockies, which extends into British Columbia, Idaho, Montana, and Oregon.

       Other important manufacturers in the state are chemicals and primary metals, especially aluminum. Abundant water power and the rich aluminum and magnesium ores found in the Okanogan Highlands in the northeast part of the state have made Washington the nation's leading aluminum producer. Washington's chief minerals are sand and gravel, cement, stone, and diatomite. Tourism is an increasingly important industry.

      The Lewis and Clark expedition, which reached the area in 1805 helped to further the American claim.

     American missionaries, were the first real settlers in the area north of the Columbia. Marcus Whitman established (1836) a mission at Waiilatpu (near present-day Walla Walla), which for a decade not only served Native Americans as a medical and religious center but also provided an indispensable rest stop for immigrants on the Oregon Trail .

    After word of the needs of California gold-seekers for lumber and food spread northward, settlers recognized the commercial potential.  Stevens, who served as superintendent of Indian affairs, set about persuading the Native Americans to sell much of their lands and settle on reservations. The inland tribes revolted, and hostilities with the Cayuse, the Yakima, and the Nez Perc tribes continued for many years. Over the years, Native Americans remained a small but significant presence in the state; in the early 1990s their population was over 81,000. *

*Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, Copyright 2003