Washington (state)#Law and government

Washington was named after President George Washington by an act of the United States Congress during the creation of Washington Territory in 1853; the territory was originally to be named "Columbia", for the Columbia River and the Columbia District, but Kentucky representative Richard H. Stanton found the name too similar to the District of Columbia (the national capital, itself containing the city of Washington), and proposed naming the new territory after President Washington.{{Cite journal|last=Brier|first=Warren J.|date=January 1960|title=How Washington Territory Got Its Name|journal=Pacific Northwest Quarterly|volume=51|issue=1|pages=13–15|jstor=40487423}}{{Cite web |title=History |url=http://www.mylongview.com/index.aspx?page=52 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140306084157/http://www.mylongview.com/index.aspx?page=52 |archive-date=March 6, 2014 |access-date=April 17, 2014 |publisher=City of Longview, WA}} Thus, Washington is the only U.S. state named after a president.{{Cite web |date=February 15, 2016 |title=House Resolution No. 2016–4662 |url=http://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2015-16/Pdf/Bills/House%20Resolutions/4662-Presidents%27%20Day.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170215064731/http://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2015-16/Pdf/Bills/House%20Resolutions/4662-Presidents'%20Day.pdf |archive-date=February 15, 2017 |access-date=April 4, 2017 |publisher=Washington State Legislature}}

Confusion between the state of Washington and the city of Washington, D.C., led to renaming proposals during the statehood process for Washington in 1889, including David Dudley Field II's suggestion to name the new state "Tacoma"; these proposals failed to garner support.{{Cite magazine |last=Palmer |first=Brian |date=February 9, 2012 |title=How Did Washington State and Washington, D. C., Get the Same Name? |url=http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2012/02/how_did_washington_state_and_washington_d_c_get_the_same_name_.html |magazine=Slate |access-date=April 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170407235320/http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2012/02/how_did_washington_state_and_washington_d_c_get_the_same_name_.html |archive-date=April 7, 2017 |url-status=live}} Washington, D.C.'s, own statehood movement in the 21st century has included a proposal to use the name "State of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth", which would conflict with the current state of Washington.{{Cite news |last=Bush |first=Evan |date=October 19, 2016 |title=Dear D. C., you can't call yourself 'State of Washington'. That's our name. |newspaper=The Seattle Times |url=http://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/dear-dc-you-cant-call-yourself-state-of-washington-thats-our-name/ |url-status=live |url-access=limited |access-date=April 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170408000450/http://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/dear-dc-you-cant-call-yourself-state-of-washington-thats-our-name/ |archive-date=April 8, 2017}} Residents of Washington (known as "Washingtonians") and the Pacific Northwest simply refer to the state as "Washington", and the nation's capital "Washington, D.C.", "the other Washington",{{Cite news|last=Berger|first=Knute|author-link=Knute Berger|date=November 7, 2016|title=D. C. wants to steal our state's name. They can have it|url=http://crosscut.com/2016/11/d-c-wants-to-steal-our-states-name-we-should-let-them/|website=Crosscut.com|access-date=April 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170408000206/http://crosscut.com/2016/11/d-c-wants-to-steal-our-states-name-we-should-let-them/|archive-date=April 8, 2017|url-status=live}} or simply "D.C."

{{Main|History of Washington (state)}}

{{For timeline|Timeline of Washington (state) history}}

File:Outcropping near Riverside WA.jpg, in north-central Washington]]

The 9,300-year-old skeletal remains of Kennewick Man, one of the oldest and most complete human remains found in North America, were discovered in Washington in the 1990s.{{Cite news|date=April 26, 2006|title=Kennewick Man Skeletal Find May Revolutionalize Continent's History|url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/04/060425183740.htm|work=ScienceDaily|agency=Middle Tennessee State University|access-date=April 18, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306235357/https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/04/060425183740.htm|archive-date=March 6, 2019|url-status=live}} The region has been home to many established tribes of indigenous peoples for thousands of years. They are notable for their ornately carved welcome figures, canoes, long houses and masks. Prominent among their industries were salmon fishing and, notably among the Makah, whale hunting.{{Cite news|last=Eligon|first=John|date=November 14, 2019|title=A Native Tribe Wants to Resume Whaling. Whale Defenders Are Divided.|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/14/us/whale-hunting-native-americans.html|access-date=September 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902173824/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/14/us/whale-hunting-native-americans.html|archive-date=September 2, 2021}}{{Cite web|title=Makah Whaling & Whale Hunt – Makah Tribe (Neah Bay, Washington)|url=https://makah.com/makah-tribal-info/whaling/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902173925/https://makah.com/makah-tribal-info/whaling/|archive-date=September 2, 2021|access-date=September 2, 2021|website=Makah Tribe}} The peoples of the Interior had a 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 area has been known to host megathrust earthquakes in the past, the last being the Cascadia earthquake of 1700.{{Cite magazine|last=Meyer|first=Robinson|date=August 16, 2016|title=A Major Earthquake in the Pacific Northwest Looks Even Likelier|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/08/a-major-earthquake-in-the-pacific-northwest-just-got-more-likely/495407/|magazine=The Atlantic|access-date=September 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902173553/https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/08/a-major-earthquake-in-the-pacific-northwest-just-got-more-likely/495407/|archive-date=September 2, 2021}}

{{Main|Oregon Country|Columbia District}}

The first recorded European landing on the Washington coast was by Spanish Captain Don Bruno de Heceta in 1775,{{Cite encyclopedia|last=Walker|first=James|date=January 21, 2021|title=Bruno de Hezeta y Dudagoitia (1744–1807)|url=https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/hezeta_bruno/|encyclopedia=The Oregon Encyclopedia|access-date=September 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902174304/https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/hezeta_bruno/|archive-date=September 2, 2021|url-status=live}} on board the Santiago, part of a two-ship flotilla with the Sonora. He claimed the coastal lands up to Prince William Sound for Spain as part of their claimed rights under the Treaty of Tordesillas, which they maintained made the Pacific a "Spanish lake" and all its shores part of the Spanish Empire. Soon thereafter, the smallpox epidemic of the 1770s devastated the Native American population.{{Cite encyclopedia |last=Lange |first=Greg |date=January 23, 2003 |title=Smallpox epidemic ravages Native Americans on the northwest coast of North America in the 1770s. |url=http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=5100 |encyclopedia=HistoryLink |access-date=July 31, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080526181907/http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=5100 |archive-date=May 26, 2008 |url-status=live}}

In 1778, British explorer Captain James Cook sighted Cape Flattery, at the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, but Cook did not realize the strait existed.{{Cite web|title=Washington State Archives|url=https://www.sos.wa.gov/archives/timeline/detail.aspx|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902174723/https://www.sos.wa.gov/archives/timeline/detail.aspx?id=7|archive-date=September 2, 2021|access-date=September 2, 2021|website=Washington Secretary of State}} It was not discovered until Charles William Barkley, captain of the Imperial Eagle, sighted it in 1787.{{Cite web|title=Washington State Archives|url=https://www.sos.wa.gov/archives/timeline/detail.aspx|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902174852/https://www.sos.wa.gov/archives/timeline/detail.aspx?id=9|archive-date=September 2, 2021|access-date=September 2, 2021|website=Washington Secretary of State}} The straits were further explored by Spanish explorers Manuel Quimper in 1790 and Francisco de Eliza in 1791,{{Cite web|title=Cascades Volcano Observatory, History – Ensign Manuel Quimper – Map of the Northwest Coast of North America – Strait of Juan de Fuca|url=https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/observatories/cvo/Historical/volcanoes_quimper_1790.shtml|publisher=United States Geological Survey|access-date=September 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902175109/https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/observatories/cvo/Historical/volcanoes_quimper_1790.shtml|archive-date=September 2, 2021|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|date=October 12, 2017|title=Spanish Explorations of the Pacific Northwest and the First Nootka Sound Settlement, 1790–1791|url=https://text-message.blogs.archives.gov/2017/10/12/225-years-ago-spanish-explorations-of-the-pacific-northwest-and-the-first-spanish-settlement-in-washington-state-nunez-gaona-neah-bay-1792-part-ii-spanish-explorations-of-the-pacific-northwest-a/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902175513/https://text-message.blogs.archives.gov/2017/10/12/225-years-ago-spanish-explorations-of-the-pacific-northwest-and-the-first-spanish-settlement-in-washington-state-nunez-gaona-neah-bay-1792-part-ii-spanish-explorations-of-the-pacific-northwest-a/|archive-date=September 2, 2021|access-date=September 2, 2021|website=The National Archives and Records Administration}} and British explorer George Vancouver in 1792.{{Cite web|title=George Vancouver|url=https://www.nwcouncil.org/reports/columbia-river-history/vancouvergeorge|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902175708/https://www.nwcouncil.org/reports/columbia-river-history/vancouvergeorge|archive-date=September 2, 2021|access-date=September 2, 2021|website=Northwest Power and Conservation Council}}

{{Main|Oregon pioneer history}}

The British–Spanish Nootka Convention of 1790 ended Spanish claims of exclusivity and opened the Northwest Coast to explorers and traders from other nations, most notably Britain and Russia as well as the fledgling United States.{{Cite web|title=Center for the Study of the Pacific Northwest: Timeline of Events along the Northwest Coast|url=https://www.washington.edu/uwired/outreach/cspn/Website/Classroom%20Materials/Curriculum%20Packets/Indians%20&%20Europeans/III.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902175952/https://www.washington.edu/uwired/outreach/cspn/Website/Classroom%20Materials/Curriculum%20Packets/Indians%20&%20Europeans/III.html|archive-date=September 2, 2021|access-date=September 2, 2021|publisher=University of Washington}}{{Cite web|title=After Nootka|url=http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/edu/ViewLoitDa.do;jsessionid=F25737ABC0C1DA012D9D4CAEDAAD43D1?method=preview&lang=EN&id=19603|url-status=live|access-date=September 2, 2021|website=Maritime Museum of British Columbia|archive-date=September 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902180101/http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/edu/ViewLoitDa.do;jsessionid=F25737ABC0C1DA012D9D4CAEDAAD43D1?method=preview&lang=EN&id=19603}} American captain Robert Gray (for whom Grays Harbor County is named) then discovered the mouth of the Columbia River. He named the river after his ship, the Columbia.{{Cite encyclopedia|last=Lang|first=William L.|date=February 17, 2020|title=Robert Gray (1755–1806)|url=https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/gray_robert/|encyclopedia=The Oregon Encyclopedia|access-date=September 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902180417/https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/gray_robert/|archive-date=September 2, 2021|url-status=live}} Beginning in 1792, Gray established trade in sea otter pelts. The Lewis and Clark Expedition entered the state on October 10, 1805.{{Cite web|title=History of the journey through Washington|url=https://parks.state.wa.us/192/History-of-the-journey-through-Washingto|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902180606/https://parks.state.wa.us/192/History-of-the-journey-through-Washingto|archive-date=September 2, 2021|access-date=September 2, 2021|website=Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission}}

Explorer David Thompson, on his voyage down the Columbia River, camped at the confluence with the Snake River on July 9, 1811,{{Cite encyclopedia|last=Nisbet|first=Jack|author-link=Jack Nisbet (writer)|date=January 8, 2021|title=David Thompson (1770–1857)|url=https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/thompson_david/|encyclopedia=The Oregon Encyclopedia|access-date=September 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902181950/https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/thompson_david/|archive-date=September 2, 2021|url-status=live}} and erected a pole and a notice claiming the territory for Great Britain and stating the intention of the North West Company to build a trading post at the site.

File:Fort Nez Perces Trading 1841 (cropped).jpg in 1841|left]]

Britain and the United States agreed to what has since been described as "joint occupancy" of lands west of the Continental Divide to the Pacific Ocean as part of the Anglo-American Convention of 1818, which established the 49th parallel as the international boundary west from Lake of the Woods to the Rocky Mountains.{{Cite web|title=Milestones: 1801–1829 – Office of the Historian|url=https://history.state.gov/milestones/1801-1829/rush-bagot|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902182209/https://history.state.gov/milestones/1801-1829/rush-bagot|archive-date=September 2, 2021|access-date=September 2, 2021|website=Office of the Historian}} Resolution of the territorial and treaty issues west to the Pacific was deferred until a later time. In 1819, Spain ceded its rights north of the 42nd parallel to the United States.{{Cite web|title=A Question of Boundaries|url=https://www.loc.gov/collections/louisiana-european-explorations-and-the-louisiana-purchase/articles-and-essays/a-question-of-boundaries/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902182441/https://www.loc.gov/collections/louisiana-european-explorations-and-the-louisiana-purchase/articles-and-essays/a-question-of-boundaries/|archive-date=September 2, 2021|access-date=September 2, 2021|website=Library of Congress}}

Negotiations with Great Britain over the next few decades failed to settle upon a compromise boundary and the Oregon boundary dispute 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 Country, Hudson's Bay Company, 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 District.{{Cite web|last=Assmann|first=Cody|date=May 26, 2020|title=Hudson's Bay Company: Tycoon of the Fur Trade|url=https://www.frontierlife.net/blog/2020/5/26/hudsons-bay-company-tycoon-of-the-fur-trade|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902182713/https://www.frontierlife.net/blog/2020/5/26/hudsons-bay-company-tycoon-of-the-fur-trade|archive-date=September 2, 2021|access-date=September 2, 2021|website=Frontier Life}}

Fur trapper James Sinclair, on orders from Sir George Simpson, Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, led some 200 settlers from the Red River Colony west in 1841 to settle on Hudson Bay Company farms near Fort Vancouver.{{Cite book|last=Spry|first=Irene M.|author-link=Irene Spry|year=1985|chapter=Sinclair, James|chapter-url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/sinclair_james_8E.html|title=Dictionary of Canadian Biography|volume=VIII|publisher=University of Toronto/Université Laval|access-date=September 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131024053519/http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/sinclair_james_8E.html|archive-date=October 24, 2013|url-status=live}} The party crossed the Rockies into the Columbia Valley, near present-day Radium Hot Springs, British Columbia, then traveled south-west down the Kootenai River and Columbia River. Despite such efforts, Britain eventually ceded all claims to land south of the 49th parallel to the United States in the Oregon Treaty on June 15, 1846.{{Cite encyclopedia|last=Noakes|first=Taylor C.|date=February 7, 2006|title=Oregon Treaty|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/oregon-treaty|encyclopedia=The Canadian Encyclopedia|access-date=September 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902183140/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/oregon-treaty|archive-date=September 2, 2021|url-status=live}}

In 1836, a group of missionaries, including Marcus Whitman, established several missions and Whitman's own settlement Waiilatpu, in what is now southeastern Washington state, near present-day Walla Walla County, in the territory of both the Cayuse and the Nez Perce Indian tribes.{{Cite web|title=What's This Place – Whitman Mission National Historic Site|url=https://www.nps.gov/whmi/learn/historyculture/whats-this-place.htm|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902183330/https://www.nps.gov/whmi/learn/historyculture/whats-this-place.htm|archive-date=September 2, 2021|access-date=September 2, 2021|website=United States National Park Service}} Whitman's settlement would in 1843 help the Oregon Trail, the overland emigration route to the west, get established for thousands of emigrants in the following decades. Whitman 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 executed Whitman and twelve other white settlers. This was called the Whitman massacre in 1847.{{Cite journal|last1=Norton|first1=Melanie J.|last2=Booss|first2=John|date=January 2019|title=Missionaries, measles, and manuscripts: revisiting the Whitman tragedy|journal=Journal of the Medical Library Association|volume=107|issue=1|pages=108–113|doi=10.5195/jmla.2019.538|issn=1536-5050|pmc=6300234|pmid=30598656}} This event triggered the Cayuse War between settlers and Indians.

Fort Nisqually, a farm and trading post of the Hudson's Bay Company and the first European settlement in the Puget Sound area, was founded in 1833.{{Cite encyclopedia|last=Williams|first=David B.|author-link=David Williams (natural history writer)|date=March 19, 2020|title=Hudson's Bay Company builds Fort Nisqually in spring 1833|url=https://www.historylink.org/file/20999|encyclopedia=HistoryLink|access-date=September 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902183833/https://www.historylink.org/file/20999|archive-date=September 2, 2021|url-status=live}} Black pioneer George Washington Bush and his Caucasian wife, Isabella James Bush, from Missouri and Tennessee, respectively, led four white families into the territory and founded New Market, now Tumwater, in 1846.{{Cite web|title=History of the City of Tumwater, Washington|url=https://www.ci.tumwater.wa.us/about-tumwater/history|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902184051/https://www.ci.tumwater.wa.us/about-tumwater/history|archive-date=September 2, 2021|access-date=September 2, 2021|website=City of Tumwater, Washington Government}} They settled in Washington to avoid Oregon's black exclusion law, which prohibited African Americans from entering the territory while simultaneously prohibiting slavery.{{Cite web |title=Articles on George Washington Bush |url=http://www.ci.tumwater.wa.us/research%20bushTOC.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070714212032/http://www.ci.tumwater.wa.us/research%20bushTOC.htm |archive-date=July 14, 2007 |access-date=June 15, 2007 |publisher=City of Tumwater, WA}}{{Cite journal |last=McClintock |first=Thomas C. |date=Summer 1995 |title=James Saules, Peter Burnett, and the Oregon Black Exclusion Law of June 1844 |journal=Pacific Northwest Quarterly |volume=86 |issue=3 |page=122 |jstor=40491550}} After them, many more settlers, migrating overland along the Oregon Trail, wandered north to settle in the Puget Sound area.

Spanish and Russian claims to the region were ceded in the early 19th century through a series of treaties. The Spanish signed the Adams–Onís Treaty of 1819, and the Russians the Russo-American Treaty of 1824 and 1825.

The Oregon Question remained contested between the United Kingdom and the United States until the 1846 Oregon Treaty established the border between British North America and the United States along the 49th parallel until the Strait of Georgia. Vague wording in the treaty left the ownership of the San Juan Islands in doubt; during the so-called Pig War, both nations agreed to a joint military occupation of the islands.{{cite web | url=http://www.nps.gov/archive/sajh/Pig_War_new.htm | title=The Pig War | publisher=National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070110072744/http://www.nps.gov/archive/sajh/Pig_War_new.htm | archive-date=2007-01-10 | access-date=2012-09-07}} Kaiser Wilhelm I of the German Empire was selected as an arbitrator to end the dispute, with a three-man commission ruling in favor of the United States in 1872. The border established by the Oregon Treaty and finalized by the arbitration in 1872 remains the boundary between Washington and British Columbia.

{{Main|Oregon boundary dispute|Provisional Government of Oregon|Oregon Treaty|Oregon Territory|Organic act#List of organic acts|Washington Territory|Admission to the Union|List of U.S. states by date of admission to the Union|Mount Baker gold rush}}

File:Seattle - looking east on Yesler Way, 1887.jpg

The growing population of Oregon Territory north of the Columbia River formally requested a new territory. As a result of the Monticello Convention, held in present-day Cowlitz County, the U.S. Congress passed legislation to create Washington Territory. It was signed into law by President Millard Fillmore on March 2, 1853.{{Cite magazine |last=Weber |first=Dennis P. |date=Fall 2003 |title=The Creation of Washington: Securing Democracy North of the Columbia |url=http://www.washingtonhistory.org/files/library/fall-2003-weber.pdf |magazine=Columbia: The Magazine of Northwest History |volume=17 |issue=3 |access-date=September 9, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160629194552/http://www.washingtonhistory.org/files/library/fall-2003-weber.pdf |archive-date=June 29, 2016 |url-status=dead}}{{Cite web |title=Territorial Timeline |url=http://www.sos.wa.gov/history/Timeline/detail.aspx?id=205 |url-status= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130619123405/http://www.sos.wa.gov/history/Timeline/detail.aspx?id=205 |archive-date=June 19, 2013 |access-date=February 26, 2010 |website=Washington History |publisher=Washington Secretary of State}} The boundary of Washington Territory initially extended farther east than the present state, including what is now the Idaho panhandle and parts of western Montana, and picked up more land to the southeast that was left behind when Oregon was admitted as a state; the creation of Idaho Territory in 1863 established the final eastern border. A Washington state constitution was drafted and ratified in 1878, but it was never officially adopted.{{harvnb|Meany|Condon|p=4}} Although never approved by the United States Congress, the 1878 constitution is an important historical document that shows the political thinking of the time; it was used extensively during the drafting of Washington state's 1889 constitution, the one and only official Constitution of the State of Washington. Washington became the 42nd state of the United States on November 11, 1889.{{Cite encyclopedia |last=Lange |first=Greg |date=February 15, 2003 |title=Washington is admitted as the 42nd state to the United States of America on November 11, 1889. |url=http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?displaypage=output.cfm&file_id=5210 |encyclopedia=HistoryLink |access-date=November 10, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110622085624/http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?displaypage=output.cfm&file_id=5210 |archive-date=June 22, 2011 |url-status=live}}

Early prominent industries in the new state included agriculture and lumber. In Eastern Washington, the Yakima River Valley became known for its apple orchards,{{Cite news|last=Hoang|first=Mai|date=September 8, 2018|title=Red Delicious no longer king as Yakima Valley embraces apple diversity|url=https://www.yakimaherald.com/news/business/regional/red-delicious-no-longer-king-as-yakima-valley-embraces-apple-diversity/article_9642bed6-b3ee-11e8-bb6f-fb0cb2757052.html|newspaper=Yakima Herald-Republic|access-date=September 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902184927/https://www.yakimaherald.com/news/business/regional/red-delicious-no-longer-king-as-yakima-valley-embraces-apple/article_9642bed6-b3ee-11e8-bb6f-fb0cb2757052.html|archive-date=September 2, 2021|url-status=live}} while the growth of wheat using dry farming techniques became particularly productive. Heavy rainfall to the west of the Cascade Range produced dense forests, and the ports along Puget Sound prospered from the manufacturing and shipping of lumber products, particularly the Douglas fir. Other industries that developed in the state included fishing, salmon canning and mining.{{Cite web|title=Coal, Metallic and Mineral Resources|url=https://www.dnr.wa.gov/programs-and-services/geology/energy-mining-and-minerals/coal-metallic-and-mineral-resources|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902200112/https://www.dnr.wa.gov/programs-and-services/geology/energy-mining-and-minerals/coal-metallic-and-mineral-resources|archive-date=September 2, 2021|access-date=September 2, 2021|website=Washington State Department of Natural Resources}}

File:B-17Es at Boeing Plant, Seattle, Washington, 1943.jpg bombers under construction, circa{{nbsp}}1942]]

File:MSH80 early eruption st helens from NE 04-10-80.jpgFor a long period, Tacoma had large smelters where gold, silver, copper, and lead ores were treated.{{Cite web|last=Wigren|first=Erika L.|date=May 8, 2019|title=From the Tacoma Community History Project: A History of the Tacoma Smelter & Its Workers|url=https://sites.uw.edu/uwtacomalibrary/2019/05/08/tchp-tacoma-smelter/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902185130/https://sites.uw.edu/uwtacomalibrary/2019/05/08/tchp-tacoma-smelter/comment-page-1/|archive-date=September 2, 2021|access-date=September 2, 2021|website=UW Tacoma Library}} Seattle was the primary port for trade with Alaska 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 I and World War II, and the Boeing company became an established icon in the area.{{Cite encyclopedia|last=Kershner|first=Jim|date=September 8, 2015|title=Boeing and Washington|url=https://www.historylink.org/File/11111|encyclopedia=HistoryLink|access-date=September 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902185411/https://www.historylink.org/File/11111|archive-date=September 2, 2021|url-status=live}}

During the Great Depression, a series of hydroelectric dams were constructed along the Columbia River as part of a project to increase the production of electricity. This culminated in 1941 with the completion of the Grand Coulee Dam, the largest concrete structure in the United States and the largest dam in the world at its construction.{{Cite web|title=Grand Coulee Dam Construction and Legacy|url=https://depts.washington.edu/depress/grand_coulee.shtml|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902185634/https://depts.washington.edu/depress/grand_coulee.shtml|archive-date=September 2, 2021|access-date=September 2, 2021|publisher=University of Washington}}

During World War II, the state became a focus for war industries. While the Boeing Company produced many heavy bombers, ports in Seattle, Bremerton, Vancouver, and Tacoma were available for the manufacture of warships. Seattle was the point of departure for many soldiers in the Pacific, several of whom were quartered at Fort Lawton, which later became Discovery Park.{{Cite web|title=Discovery Park History|url=https://www.seattle.gov/parks/find/centers/discovery-park-environmental-learning-center/discovery-park-history|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902185853/https://www.seattle.gov/parks/find/centers/discovery-park-environmental-learning-center/discovery-park-history|archive-date=September 2, 2021|access-date=September 2, 2021|website=City of Seattle, Washington Government}} In Eastern Washington, the Hanford Works atomic energy plant was opened in 1943 and played a major role in the construction of atomic bombs.{{Cite web|title=Hanford History|url=https://www.hanford.gov/page.cfm/HanfordHistory|website=hanford.gov|access-date=September 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902190024/https://www.hanford.gov/page.cfm/HanfordHistory|archive-date=September 2, 2021|url-status=live}}

After the end of World War II, and with the beginning of the civil rights movement, the state's growing Black or African-American population's wages were 53% above the national average. The early diversification of Washington through the Great Migration led to successful efforts at reducing discrimination in the workplace.{{Cite web|title=Lesson Twenty-One: African Americans in the Modern Northwest|url=https://www.washington.edu/uwired/outreach/cspn/Website/Classroom%20Materials/Pacific%20Northwest%20History/Lessons/Lesson%2021/21.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902202550/https://www.washington.edu/uwired/outreach/cspn/Website/Classroom%20Materials/Pacific%20Northwest%20History/Lessons/Lesson%2021/21.html|archive-date=September 2, 2021|access-date=September 2, 2021|publisher=University of Washington}}{{Cite web|last=Gregory|first=James N.|year=2015|title=The Great Migration (African American)|url=https://depts.washington.edu/moving1/black_migration.shtml|website=America's Great Migrations|publisher=University of Washington|access-date=September 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902204019/https://depts.washington.edu/moving1/black_migration.shtml|archive-date=September 2, 2021|url-status=live}} In 1950, Seattle's first black representative for the state's legislature was elected. At the 1970 U.S. census, the black population grew to 7.13% of the total population.{{Cite encyclopedia|last=Caldbick|first=John|date=May 18, 2010|title=1970 Census: Women outnumber men in Washington state for first time; Seattle and Spokane lose population as Tacoma and Everett gain; early baby boomers approach adulthood.|url=https://historylink.org/File/9426|encyclopedia=HistoryLink|access-date=September 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902203624/https://historylink.org/File/9426|archive-date=September 2, 2021|url-status=live}}

In 1970, the state was one of only four U.S. states to have been providing legal abortions before the 1973 Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade which loosened abortion laws nationwide.{{Cite web|title=Washington's 1970 Abortion Reform Victory: The Referendum 20 Campaign – Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project|url=https://depts.washington.edu/civilr/referendum20.htm|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902210004/https://depts.washington.edu/civilr/referendum20.htm|archive-date=September 2, 2021|access-date=September 2, 2021|publisher=University of Washington}}

On May 18, 1980, following a period of heavy tremors and small eruptions, the north face of Mount St. Helens slid off in the largest landslide in recorded history before erupting violently, destroying a large part of the top of the volcano. The eruption flattened the forest 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, killed 57 people, flooded the Columbia River and its tributaries with ash and mud, and blanketed large parts of Washington eastward and other surrounding states in ash, making day look like night.{{Cite web |title=Mount St. Helens: Senator Murray Speaks on the 25th Anniversary of the May 18, 1980 Eruption |url=http://www.murray.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/newsreleases?ID=b7074254-a8dc-4b7a-9547-cb6dfcaacd28 |website=Senate.gov |access-date=January 8, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120821112002/http://www.murray.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/newsreleases?ID=b7074254-a8dc-4b7a-9547-cb6dfcaacd28 |archive-date=August 21, 2012 |url-status=live}}{{Cite web |title=Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument |url=http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/mountsthelens/home/?cid=stelprdb5199437 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111122072556/http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/mountsthelens/home/?cid=stelprdb5199437 |archive-date=November 22, 2011 |access-date=January 8, 2010 |publisher=USDA Forest Service}}

{{see also|Geography of Washington (state)|Geology of the Pacific Northwest}}

File:Beach at Westport, WA 01.jpg of Westport]]

Washington is the northwesternmost state of the contiguous United States. It borders Idaho to the east, bounded mostly by the meridian running north from the confluence of the Snake River and Clearwater River (about 117°02'23" west), except for the southernmost section where the border follows the Snake River. Oregon is to the south, with the Columbia River forming the western part and the 46th parallel forming the eastern part of the Oregon–Washington border. During Washington's partition from Oregon, the original plan for the border followed the Columbia River east until the confluence with the Snake, and then would have followed the Snake River east; this was changed to keep Walla Walla's fertile farmland in Washington.

To the west of Washington lies the Pacific Ocean.{{Cite web |title=Washington State Constitution—Article XXIV—Boundaries |url=http://www.leg.wa.gov/lawsandagencyrules/pages/constitution.aspx |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190724003631/http://leg.wa.gov/LawsAndAgencyRules/Pages/constitution.aspx |archive-date=July 24, 2019 |access-date=April 17, 2014 |publisher=Washington State Legislature}} Its northern border lies mostly along the 49th parallel, and then via marine boundaries through the Strait of Georgia, Haro Strait, and Strait of Juan de Fuca, with the Canadian province of British Columbia to the north.{{Cite encyclopedia |last=Kershner |first=Jim |date=July 31, 2013 |title=Britain and the United States agree on the 49th parallel as the main Pacific Northwest boundary in the Treaty of Oregon on June 15, 1846 |url=http://www.historylink.org/File/5247 |encyclopedia=HistoryLink |access-date=September 4, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913182911/http://www.historylink.org/File/5247 |archive-date=September 13, 2017 |url-status=live}}

Washington is part of a region known as the Pacific Northwest, a term which always refers to at least Washington and Oregon, and may or may not include some or all the following, depending on the user's intent: Idaho, western Montana, northern California, British Columbia, and Alaska.

The high mountains of the Cascade Range run north–south, bisecting the state. In addition to Western Washington and Eastern Washington, residents call the two parts of the state the "Westside" and the "Eastside", "Wet side" and "Dry side", or "Timberland" and "Wheatland", the latter pair more commonly in the names of region-specific businesses and institutions. These terms reflect the geography, climate, and industry of the land on both sides of the Cascades.

File:Noble Knob looking North.jpg]]

From the Cascade Mountains westward, Western Washington has a mostly Mediterranean climate, with mild temperatures and wet winters, autumns and springs, and relatively dry summers. The Cascade Range has several volcanoes, which reach altitudes significantly higher than the rest of the mountains. From north to south, these major volcanoes are Mount Baker, Glacier Peak, Mount Rainier, Mount St. Helens, and Mount Adams. All are active volcanoes.{{Cite web|title=Volcano Hazards including Lahars – Emergency Management|url=https://www.seattle.gov/emergency-management/hazards/volcano-hazards-including-lahars|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902210824/https://www.seattle.gov/emergency-management/hazards/volcano-hazards-including-lahars|archive-date=September 2, 2021|access-date=September 2, 2021|website=City of Seattle, Washington Government}}

Mount Rainier—the tallest mountain in the state{{Cite web |date=April 29, 2005 |title=Elevations and Distances in the United States—Highest and Lowest Elevations |url=http://egsc.usgs.gov/isb//pubs/booklets/elvadist/elvadist.html#Highest |publisher=United States Geological Survey |access-date=April 17, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131109183109/http://egsc.usgs.gov/isb//pubs/booklets/elvadist/elvadist.html |archive-date=November 9, 2013 |url-status=dead}}—is {{convert|50|mi|km}} south of the city of Seattle, from which it is prominently visible. The United States Geological Survey considers {{convert|14411|ft|m|adj=mid|-tall}} Mount Rainier the most dangerous volcano in the Cascade Range, due to its proximity to the Seattle metropolitan area, and most dangerous in the continental U.S. according to the Decade Volcanoes list.{{Cite web |date=December 17, 2012 |title=Volcano Hazards Program—Mount Rainier Hazards |url=http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/volcanoes/mount_rainier/mount_rainier_hazard_49.html |publisher=United States Geological Survey |access-date=April 17, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140419013715/http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/volcanoes/mount_rainier/mount_rainier_hazard_49.html |archive-date=April 19, 2014 |url-status=live}} It is also covered with more glacial ice than any other peak in the contiguous 48 states.{{Cite news |last=Blumenthal |first=Les |date=August 29, 2006 |title=Washington State's Glaciers are Melting, and That Has Scientists Concerned |work=McClatchy Newspapers |publisher=Common Dreams |url=http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0829-02.htm |url-status=dead |access-date=September 13, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725052647/http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0829-02.htm |archive-date=July 25, 2008}}

Western Washington also is home of the Olympic Mountains, far west on the Olympic Peninsula, which support dense forests of conifers and areas of temperate rainforest. These deep forests, such as the Hoh Rainforest, are among the only rainforests in the continental United States.{{Cite news |last=Mapes |first=Lynda V. |date=February 3, 2010 |title=Hoh Rain Forest revels in wet, 'wild ballet' |newspaper=The Seattle Times |url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2010963527_rain03m.html |url-status=live |access-date=February 4, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100204160228/http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2010963527_rain03m.html |archive-date=February 4, 2010}} While Western Washington does not always experience a high amount of rainfall as measured in total inches of rain per year, it does consistently have more rainy days per year than most other places in the country.{{Cite news |last=Lam |first=Linda |date=October 15, 2016 |title=Seattle's Rainy Reputation Is Well-Deserved |url=https://weather.com/science/weather-explainers/news/seattle-rainy-reputation#:~:text=Seattle%20experiences%20an%20average%20of%20152%20rainy%20days,is%20more%20than%20most%20cities%20across%20the%20U.S. |publisher=The Weather Channel |access-date=January 17, 2021 |archive-date=February 6, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210206051748/https://weather.com/science/weather-explainers/news/seattle-rainy-reputation#:~:text=Seattle%20experiences%20an%20average%20of%20152%20rainy%20days,is%20more%20than%20most%20cities%20across%20the%20U.S. |url-status=live}}

File:South Eastern Washington State.tif

Eastern Washington—the part of the state east of the Cascades—has a relatively dry climate, in distinct contrast to the west side. It includes large areas of semiarid steppe and a few truly arid deserts in the rain shadow of the Cascades; the Hanford reservation receives an average annual precipitation of {{convert|6|to|7|in}}. Despite the limited amount of rainfall, agriculture is an extremely important business throughout much of Eastern Washington, as the soil is highly productive and irrigation, aided by dams along the Columbia River, is fairly widespread.{{Cite web|title=Washington State Department of Agriculture|url=https://www.nasda.org/organizations/washington-state-department-of-agriculture|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902211306/https://www.nasda.org/organizations/washington-state-department-of-agriculture|archive-date=September 2, 2021|access-date=September 2, 2021|website=National Association of State Departments of Agriculture}} The spread of population in Eastern Washington is dominated by access to water, especially rivers. The main cities are all located alongside rivers or lakes; most of them are named after the river or lake they adjoin.

Farther east, the climate becomes less arid, with annual rainfall increasing as one goes east to {{convert|21.2|in}} in Pullman, near the Washington–Idaho border.{{Cite web |title=Pullman 2 NW, Washington Period of Record Climate summary |url=http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?wapull |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120113111136/http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?wapull |archive-date=January 13, 2012 |access-date=September 22, 2011 |publisher=Western Regional Climate Center}} The Okanogan Highlands and the rugged Kettle River Range and Selkirk Mountains cover much of the state's northeastern quadrant. The Palouse southeast region of Washington was grassland that has been mostly converted into farmland, and extends to the Blue Mountains.{{Cite book |last=Phillips |first=James W. |year=1971 |title=Washington State Place Names |url=https://archive.org/details/washingtonstatep00phil |url-access=registration |location=Seattle |publisher=University of Washington Press |isbn=978-0-295-95158-4}}{{page needed|date=December 2024}}

{{see also|Climate change in Washington}}

File:Köppen Climate Types Washington.png of Washington, using 1991–2020 climate normals.]]

File:Large dust storm in parts of eastern Washington on October 4, 2009.jpg caused a large dust storm in arid parts of Eastern Washington on October 4, 2009. Courtesy: NASA/GSFC, MODIS Rapid Response.{{Cite web |date=October 6, 2009 |title=Dust Storm in Eastern Washington: Image of the Day |url=http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=40590 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091009035019/http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=40590 |archive-date=October 9, 2009 |access-date=October 10, 2009 |publisher=NASA Earth Observatory}}]]

The state of Washington has a temperate climate. The eastern half of Washington has a semi-arid to warm-summer mediterranean climate, while the western side of Washington as well as the coastal areas of the state have a cool oceanic climate or warm-summer mediterranean climate. Major factors determining Washington's climate include the large semi-permanent low pressure and high pressure 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 anticyclone system dominates the north Pacific Ocean, causing air to spiral out in a clockwise fashion. For Washington, this means prevailing winds from the northwest bring relatively cool air and a predictably dry season.{{Cite magazine|last=Gibbens|first=Sarah|date=June 29, 2021|title=What is a heat dome? Pacific Northwest swelters in record temperatures.|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/heat-dome-deadly-hot-weather-descends-on-pacific-northwest|magazine=National Geographic|access-date=September 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902212154/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/heat-dome-deadly-hot-weather-descends-on-pacific-northwest|archive-date=September 2, 2021|url-status=dead}}{{failed verification|date=September 2021}}

In the autumn and winter, a low-pressure cyclone system, the Aleutian Low, takes over in the north Pacific Ocean. The air spiraling inward in a counter-clockwise fashion causes Washington's prevailing winds to come from the southwest, and bring cool and overcast weather and a predictably wet season. The term "Pineapple Express" is used colloquially to describe atmospheric river events, where repeated storm systems are directed by this persistent cyclone from the tropical Pacific regions a great distance into the Pacific Northwest. Western Washington is very cloudy during much of fall, winter, and early spring. Seattle averages the least sunshine hours of any major city in the United States.{{Cite book |last=Kruckeberg |first=Arthur R. |year=1991 |title=The Natural History of Puget Sound Country |url=https://archive.org/details/naturalhistoryof0000kruc |url-access=registration |location=Seattle |publisher=University of Washington Press |pages=42–43 |isbn=978-0-295-97477-4}}

Despite Western Washington's marine climate similar to many coastal cities of Europe, there are exceptions such as the "Big Snow" events of 1880, 1881, 1893, and 1916,{{Cite web|last=Banel|first=Feliks|date=January 2, 2019|title=The 'Big Snow of 1880' is still the biggest Seattle has ever seen|url=https://mynorthwest.com/1231270/seattle-big-snow-1880/|website=MyNorthwest|access-date=September 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902212535/https://mynorthwest.com/1231270/seattle-big-snow-1880/|archive-date=September 2, 2021|url-status=live}}{{Cite encyclopedia|last=Dorpat|first=Paul|date=January 31, 2002|title=Snow and Other Weathers—Seattle and King County|url=https://www.historylink.org/file/3681|encyclopedia=HistoryLink|access-date=September 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902212729/https://www.historylink.org/file/3681|archive-date=September 2, 2021|url-status=live}} and the "deep freeze" winters of 1883–1884, 1915–1916, 1949–1950, and 1955–1956, among others.{{Cite encyclopedia|last=Dougherty|first=Phil|date=January 23, 2007|title=Record low temperatures and heavy snow plague Washington state for three weeks beginning on January 12, 1950.|url=https://www.historylink.org/File/8079|encyclopedia=HistoryLink|access-date=September 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902212951/https://www.historylink.org/File/8079|archive-date=September 2, 2021|url-status=live}} During these events, Western Washington experienced up to {{convert|6|ft}} 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 {{convert|0|F}} set on January 31, 1950, but low-altitude areas approximately three hours away from Seattle have recorded lows as cold as {{convert|-48|F}}.{{Cite web |year=2005 |title=United States Extreme Record Temperatures & Differences |url=http://ggweather.com/climate/extremes_us.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121001055459/http://ggweather.com/climate/extremes_us.htm |archive-date=October 1, 2012 |access-date=October 14, 2012 |publisher=Golden Gate Weather Services}}

The Southern Oscillation greatly influences weather during the cold season. During the El Niño phase, the jet stream enters the U.S. farther south through California, therefore late fall and winter are drier than normal with less snowpack. The La Niña phase reinforces the jet stream through the Pacific Northwest, causing Washington to have more rain and snow than average.{{Cite web|date=September 10, 2020|title=Washington could see La Niña winter with wetter, colder weather than normal|url=https://www.king5.com/article/weather/weather-blog/la-nina-winter-washington-pacific-northwest/281-3cb9d745-668b-46ac-bde5-cbecefbae7d7|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902213245/https://www.king5.com/article/weather/weather-blog/la-nina-winter-washington-pacific-northwest/281-3cb9d745-668b-46ac-bde5-cbecefbae7d7|archive-date=September 2, 2021|access-date=September 2, 2021|website=KING5}}

In 2006, the Climate Impacts Group at the University of Washington published The Impacts of Climate Change in Washington's Economy, a preliminary assessment of the risks and opportunities presented given the possibility of a rise in global temperatures and their effects on Washington state.{{Cite web|title=Climate Change—Economic Impacts|url=http://www.ecy.wa.gov/climatechange/economic_impacts.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100730040420/http://www.ecy.wa.gov/climatechange/economic_impacts.htm|archive-date=July 30, 2010|access-date=July 31, 2010|publisher=Washington State Department of Ecology}}

{{main|Rain shadow}}

File:Wa rain map.JPG

Rainfall in Washington varies dramatically going from east to west. The Olympic Peninsula's western side receives as much as {{convert|160|in}} of precipitation annually, making it the wettest area of the 48 conterminous states and a temperate rainforest. Weeks 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 {{convert|200|in|disp=or|sp=us}} water equivalent) in the country. In the rain shadow area east of the Cascades, the annual precipitation is only {{convert|6|in}}. Precipitation then increases again eastward toward the Rocky Mountains (about {{Convert|120|mi|km}} east of the Idaho border).

The Olympic mountains and Cascades compound this climatic pattern by causing orographic lift 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.{{Cite web|title=Climate of Washington|url=https://wrcc.dri.edu/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902221514/https://wrcc.dri.edu/Climate/narrative_wa.php|archive-date=September 2, 2021|access-date=September 2, 2021|publisher=Western Regional Climate Center}} Mount Baker, 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—{{convert|1140|in|ft m}}.{{Cite web|date=August 2, 1999|title=Mt. Baker Holds Snowfall Record|url=http://www.publicaffairs.noaa.gov/releases99/aug99/noaa99056.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130107015726/http://www.publicaffairs.noaa.gov/releases99/aug99/noaa99056.html|archive-date=January 7, 2013|access-date=April 17, 2014|publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration}}

East of the Cascades, a large region experiences strong rain shadow effects. Semi-arid conditions occur in much of Eastern Washington with the strongest rain shadow effects at the relatively low elevations of the central Columbia Plateau—especially the region just east of the Columbia River from about the Snake River to the Okanagan Highland. Thus, instead of rain forests, much of Eastern Washington is covered with dry grassland, shrub-steppe, and dunes.

The average annual temperature ranges from {{convert|51|F}} on the Pacific coast to {{convert|40|F}} in the northeast. The lowest temperature recorded in the state was {{convert|-48|F}} in Winthrop and Mazama. The highest recorded temperature in the state was {{convert|120|F}} at Hanford on June 29, 2021.{{Cite web|title=Washington State Records|url=https://climate.washington.edu/state-records/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902221852/https://climate.washington.edu/state-records/|archive-date=September 2, 2021|access-date=February 25, 2021|website=Office of the Washington State Climatologist}}{{cite news |last=Markell |first=Joanna |date=February 10, 2022 |title=Washington officially has a new all-time maximum temperature record: 120 degrees |url=https://www.yakimaherald.com/news/local/washington-officially-has-a-new-all-time-maximum-temperature-record-120-degrees/article_2254c6a5-b8cc-5d07-a484-d9c4af2aacaf.html |newspaper=Yakima Herald-Republic |access-date=February 10, 2022 |archive-date=February 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220211050756/https://www.yakimaherald.com/news/local/washington-officially-has-a-new-all-time-maximum-temperature-record-120-degrees/article_2254c6a5-b8cc-5d07-a484-d9c4af2aacaf.html |url-status=live}} Both records were set east of the Cascades. Western Washington is known for its mild climate, considerable fog, frequent cloud cover, long-lasting drizzles in the winter and warm, temperate summers. The eastern region, which does not benefit from the general moderating effect of the Pacific Ocean, 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 {{convert|118|F}} in Maple Valley{{Cite web|title=118?!?! Here is how hot it got around Western Washington during historic heat wave|url=https://www.q13fox.com/weather/118-here-is-how-hot-it-got-around-western-washington-during-historic-heat-wave|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140722082911/http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?wa1276|archive-date=July 22, 2014|access-date=September 28, 2021|website=Fox 13 Seattle|date=June 29, 2021}} during the June 2021 heat wave, and as low as {{convert|-6|F}} in Longview,{{Cite web |title=Western Regional Climate Data Center, Longview |url=http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?wa4769 |publisher=Western Regional Climate Center |access-date=July 31, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120518120218/http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?wa4769 |archive-date=May 18, 2012 |url-status=live}} and even {{convert|-8|F}} in Sammamish.{{Cite web |title=Seattle, WA Monthly Weather Forecast |url=https://weather.com/weather/monthly/l/Seattle+WA?canonicalCityId=0795df0bbf6ddfe58c10abd8ce5ed2a901e48b13b3ee35d10cb229baff15ed15 |publisher=The Weather Channel |access-date=2023-10-31}}

{{Weather box

| location = Washington state (1895–2015)

| single line = Y

| Jan record high F = 74

| Feb record high F = 83

| Mar record high F = 95

| Apr record high F = 103

| May record high F = 107

| Jun record high F = 120

| Jul record high F = 118

| Aug record high F = 118

| Sep record high F = 111

| Oct record high F = 99

| Nov record high F = 83

| Dec record high F = 74

| year record high F = 120

| Jan avg record high F = 60

| Feb avg record high F = 64

| Mar avg record high F = 73

| Apr avg record high F = 86

| May avg record high F = 94

| Jun avg record high F = 102

| Jul avg record high F = 109

| Aug avg record high F = 106

| Sep avg record high F = 98

| Oct avg record high F = 84

| Nov avg record high F = 67

| Dec avg record high F = 60

| year avg record high F = 112

| Jan high F = 34.8

| Feb high F = 40.6

| Mar high F = 47.7

| Apr high F = 55.9

| May high F = 63.6

| Jun high F = 69.9

| Jul high F = 78.0

| Aug high F = 77.3

| Sep high F = 69.4

| Oct high F = 57.2

| Nov high F = 43.2

| Dec high F = 36.2

| year high F =

| Jan low F = 23.0

| Feb low F = 26.0

| Mar low F = 29.6

| Apr low F = 34.2

| May low F = 40.1

| Jun low F = 45.7

| Jul low F = 50.5

| Aug low F = 50.0

| Sep low F = 44.7

| Oct low F = 37.2

| Nov low F = 29.9

| Dec low F = 25.3

| year low F =

| Jan avg record low F = −19

| Feb avg record low F = −8

| Mar avg record low F = −2

| Apr avg record low F = 14

| May avg record low F = 21

| Jun avg record low F = 26

| Jul avg record low F = 31

| Aug avg record low F = 31

| Sep avg record low F = 24

| Oct avg record low F = 16

| Nov avg record low F = 2

| Dec avg record low F = −8

| year avg record low F = −20

| Jan record low F = −42

| Feb record low F = −40

| Mar record low F = −25

| Apr record low F = −7

| May record low F = 11

| Jun record low F = 20

| Jul record low F = 22

| Aug record low F = 20

| Sep record low F = 11

| Oct record low F = −5

| Nov record low F = −29

| Dec record low F = −48

| year record low F = −48

| precipitation colour = green

| Jan precipitation inch = 6.08

| Feb precipitation inch = 4.61

| Mar precipitation inch = 4.23

| Apr precipitation inch = 2.87

| May precipitation inch = 2.31

| Jun precipitation inch = 1.89

| Jul precipitation inch = 0.85

| Aug precipitation inch = 1.02

| Sep precipitation inch = 1.93

| Oct precipitation inch = 3.67

| Nov precipitation inch = 6.22

| Dec precipitation inch = 6.52

| source 1 = {{Cite web |title=Office of the Washington State Climatologist |url=http://www.climate.washington.edu/climate.html |access-date=July 27, 2016 |publisher=OWSC}}

| source 2 = {{Cite web |title=Comparative Data for the Western States. |url=http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/wrccpub/climatedata/comparative/ |access-date=July 27, 2016 |publisher=WRCC |archive-date=July 29, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160729224102/http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/wrccpub/climatedata/comparative/ |url-status=dead }}

| date = July 2016

}}

{{see also|List of flora of Washington|List of federal lands in Washington}}

File:Washington National Forest Map.gif

File:Odocoileus hemionus 5432.JPG graze at Deer Park in Olympic National Park]]

Forests cover about half the state's land area, mostly west of the northern Cascades. Approximately two-thirds of Washington's forested area is publicly owned, including 64 percent of federal land.{{Cite web |title=The Diversity of Washington's Forests—Washington Forestland Ownership |url=http://www.wfpa.org/forest-policy/washington-forests/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140418102656/http://www.wfpa.org/forest-policy/washington-forests/ |archive-date=April 18, 2014 |access-date=July 14, 2013 |publisher=Washington Forest Protection Association}} Common trees and plants in the region are camassia, Douglas fir, hemlock, penstemon, ponderosa pine, western red cedar, and many species of ferns.{{Cite web|year=2010|title=Washington Flora Checklist|url=http://biology.burke.washington.edu/herbarium/waflora/checklist.php|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130820132700/http://biology.burke.washington.edu/herbarium/waflora/checklist.php|archive-date=August 20, 2013|access-date=July 15, 2013|publisher=University of Washington Herbarium}} The state's various areas of wilderness offer sanctuary, with substantially large populations of shorebirds and marine mammals. The Pacific shore surrounding the San Juan Islands is heavily inhabited by killer, gray, and humpback whales.

In Eastern Washington, the flora is vastly different. Tumbleweeds and sagebrush dominate the landscape throughout large parts of the countryside. Russian olives and other trees are common alongside riverbanks; however, apart from the riversides, large swaths of Eastern Washington have no naturally existing trees at all (though many trees have been planted and are irrigated by people, of course). A wider variety of flora can be found in both the Blue Mountains and the eastern sides of the Cascades.

Mammals native to the state include the bat, black bear, bobcat, cougar, coyote, deer, elk, gray wolf, hare, moose, mountain beaver, muskrat, opossum, pocket gopher, rabbit, raccoon, river otter, skunk, and tree squirrel.{{Cite web |title=Species Fact Sheets—Mammals |url=http://wdfw.wa.gov/living/mammals.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130708165055/http://wdfw.wa.gov/living/mammals.html |archive-date=July 8, 2013 |access-date=July 14, 2013 |publisher=Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife}} Because of the wide range of geography, the state of Washington is home to several different ecoregions, which allow for a varied range of bird species. This range includes raptors, shorebirds, woodland birds, grassland birds, ducks, and others.{{Cite web |title=BirdWeb—Browse Birds |url=http://birdweb.org/birdweb/birds |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140422231809/http://www.birdweb.org/birdweb/birds |archive-date=April 22, 2014 |access-date=April 17, 2014 |publisher=Seattle Audubon Society}} There have also been a large number of species introduced to Washington, dating back to the early 18th century, including horses and burros.{{Cite web |date=April 27, 2001 |title=Introduced Wildlife of Oregon and Washington |url=http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1652&context=icwdm_usdanwrc |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213091342/http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1652&context=icwdm_usdanwrc |archive-date=December 13, 2013 |access-date=July 14, 2013 |publisher=University of Nebraska–Lincoln}} The channel catfish, lamprey, and sturgeon are among the 400 known freshwater fishes.{{Cite web |title=Plants and Animals in Washington |url=http://www.landscope.org/washington/plants-animals/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130624214626/http://www.landscope.org/washington/plants-animals/ |archive-date=June 24, 2013 |access-date=July 14, 2013 |publisher=Landscope}}{{Cite book |last1=Wydoski |first1=Richard S. |last2=Whitney |first2=Richard R. |year=2003 |title=Inland Fishes of Washington |url=https://archive.org/details/inlandfishesofwa0000wydo |url-access=registration |edition=2nd revised and expanded |location=Singapore |publisher=University of Washington Press |isbn=0-295-98338-8}}{{page needed|date=December 2024}} Along with the Cascades frog, there are several forms of snakes that define the most prominent reptiles and amphibians.{{Cite web |title=Species Fact Sheets—Reptiles and Amphibians |url=http://wdfw.wa.gov/living/reptiles.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130727011502/http://wdfw.wa.gov/living/reptiles.html |archive-date=July 27, 2013 |access-date=July 15, 2013 |publisher=Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife}}{{Cite web |date=June 1, 2009 |title=Washington Herp Atlas |url=http://www1.dnr.wa.gov/nhp/refdesk/herp/speciesmain.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120409000425/http://www1.dnr.wa.gov/nhp/refdesk/herp/speciesmain.html |archive-date=April 9, 2012 |access-date=July 15, 2013 |publisher=Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife}} Coastal bays and islands are often inhabited by plentiful amounts of shellfish and whales. There are five species of salmon that ascend the Western Washington area, from streams to spawn.{{Cite encyclopedia |last=Clark |first=Eugene |title=Washington (state, United States) : Plant and animal life |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/636305/Washington/79326/Plant-and-animal-life |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=July 15, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130716024212/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/636305/Washington/79326/Plant-and-animal-life |archive-date=July 16, 2013 |url-status=live}}

Washington has a variety of National Park Service units. Among these are the Alta Lake State Park, Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area, San Juan Islands National Wildlife Refuge, as well as three national parks—the Olympic National Park, North Cascades National Park, and Mount Rainier National Park.{{Cite web|year=2013|title=Washington|url=http://www.nps.gov/state/WA/index.htm?program=all|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130922011128/http://www.nps.gov/state/wa/index.htm?program=all|archive-date=September 22, 2013|access-date=July 15, 2013|website=United States National Park Service}} The three national parks were established between 1899 and 1968. Almost 95 percent (876,517 acres, 354,714 hectares, 3,547.14 square kilometers) of Olympic National Park's area has been designated as wilderness under the National Wilderness Preservation System.{{Cite web|title=Listing of National Park System Areas by State|url=http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/nps/nps/part2.htm#olym|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203030603/http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/nps/nps/part2.htm#olym|archive-date=December 3, 2013|access-date=July 15, 2013|website=United States National Park Service}} Additionally, there are 143 state parks and{{nbsp}}9 national forests, run by the Washington State Park System and the United States Forest Service.{{Cite web |title=Alphabetic list of Washington State Parks |url=http://www.parks.wa.gov/281/Parks |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140921073527/http://www.parks.wa.gov/281/Parks |archive-date=September 21, 2014 |access-date=July 15, 2013 |publisher=Washington State Park System}} The Okanogan National Forest is the largest national forest on the West Coast, encompassing {{convert|1499023|acre}}. It is managed together as the Okanogan–Wenatchee National Forest, encompassing a considerably larger area of around {{convert|3239404|acre}}.{{Cite web|date=January 1, 2013 |title=Land Areas of the National Forest System |url=http://www.fs.fed.us/land/staff/lar/index.html |url-status=dead |publisher=United States Forest Service |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130701034911/http://www.fs.fed.us/land/staff/lar/LAR2012/LAR_Book_FY2012_A4.pdf |archive-date=July 1, 2013 |access-date=July 15, 2013}}

{{Main|List of counties in Washington|List of municipalities in Washington}}

There are 39 counties within the state, and 281 incorporated municipalities which are divided into cities and towns.{{Cite web|title=Washington County Profiles|url=https://mrsc.org/home/research-tools/washington-county-profiles.aspx|url-status=live|access-date=September 3, 2021|website=Municipal Research and Services Center|archive-date=September 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210903002807/https://mrsc.org/home/research-tools/washington-county-profiles.aspx}} The majority of the state's population lives within Western Washington, in the Seattle metropolitan area; the city of Seattle is the principal city of the metropolitan area, and Western Washington, with a 2020 census population of 737,015.{{Cite web|title=U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Seattle city, Washington|url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/seattlecitywashington/PST045219|url-status=live|access-date=September 3, 2021|website=United States Census Bureau|archive-date=October 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211026122643/https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/seattlecitywashington/PST045219}}

{{Largest cities

| country = Washington

| stat_ref = Source:{{cite web |title=QuickFacts |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/POP010220 |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=November 2, 2021 |archive-date=October 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211012202721/https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/POP010220 |url-status=live }}

| list_by_pop =

| div_name =

| div_link = Counties of Washington{{!}}County

| city_1 = Seattle

| div_1 = King County, Washington{{!}}King

| pop_1 = 737,015

| img_1 = Seattle 4.jpg

| city_2 = Spokane, Washington{{!}}Spokane

| div_2 = Spokane County, Washington{{!}}Spokane

| pop_2 = 228,989

| img_2 = Spokane skyline from Edwidge Woldson Park (Aug 2019).jpg

| city_3 = Tacoma, Washington{{!}}Tacoma

| div_3 = Pierce County, Washington{{!}}Pierce

| pop_3 = 219,346

| img_3 = Tacoma skyline from McKinley Way (2015).jpg

| city_4 = Vancouver, Washington{{!}}Vancouver

| div_4 = Clark County, Washington{{!}}Clark

| pop_4 = 190,915

| img_4 = Vancouverwaskyline_004.jpg

| city_5 = Bellevue, Washington{{!}}Bellevue

| div_5 = King County, Washington{{!}}King

| pop_5 = 151,854

| img_5 =

| city_6 = Kent, Washington{{!}}Kent

| div_6 = King County, Washington{{!}}King

| pop_6 = 136,588

| img_6 =

| city_7 = Everett, Washington{{!}}Everett

| div_7 = Snohomish County, Washington{{!}}Snohomish

| pop_7 = 110,629

| img_7 =

| city_8 = Renton, Washington{{!}}Renton

| div_8 = King County, Washington{{!}}King

| pop_8 = 106,785

| img_8 =

| city_9 = Spokane Valley, Washington{{!}}Spokane Valley

| div_9 = Spokane County, Washington{{!}}Spokane

| pop_9 = 102,976

| img_9 =

| city_10 = Federal Way, Washington{{!}}Federal Way

| div_10 = King County, Washington{{!}}King

| pop_10 = 101,030

| img_10 =

}}

{{US Census population

| 1850 = 1201

| 1860 = 11594

| 1870 = 23955

| 1880 = 75116

| 1890 = 357232

| 1900 = 518103

| 1910 = 1141990

| 1920 = 1356621

| 1930 = 1563396

| 1940 = 1736191

| 1950 = 2378963

| 1960 = 2853214

| 1970 = 3409169

| 1980 = 4132156

| 1990 = 4866692

| 2000 = 5894121

| 2010 = 6724540

| 2020 = 7705281

| estimate = 7958180

| estyear = 2024

| estref = {{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/washington |title=Quickfacts: Washington |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=January 13, 2025}}

| footnote = Source: 1910–2020{{Cite web |title=Washington

|url=http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/53000.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080916023806/http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/53000.html |archive-date=September 16, 2008 |access-date=May 11, 2012 |website=State & County QuickFacts |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau}}

}}

Washington's population was 7,705,281 in the 2020 census,{{Cite web |date=April 26, 2021 |title=Table 2. Resident Population for the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico: 2020 Census |url=https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial/2020/data/apportionment/apportionment-2020-table02.pdf |access-date=April 26, 2021 |publisher=United States Census Bureau |archive-date=April 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210426194205/https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial/2020/data/apportionment/apportionment-2020-table02.pdf |url-status=live }} a 14.6% increase since the 2010 census.{{Cite web |date=March 19, 2020 |title=QuickFacts Washington; UNITED STATES |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/WA,US/PST045219 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190202042127/https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/WA,US/PST045219 |archive-date=February 2, 2019 |access-date=March 19, 2020 |website=2019 Population Estimates |publisher=United States Census Bureau, Population Division}} In 2020, the state ranked 13th overall in population, and was the third most populous, after California and Texas, west of the Mississippi River.{{Cite web |title=National Totals: Vintage 2019 |url=https://www.census.gov/popest/data/national/totals/2019/index.html |access-date=March 19, 2020 |publisher=United States Census Bureau}}{{dead link|date=July 2019|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} Washington has the largest population among states in the Pacific Northwest, followed by Oregon and Idaho. The Washington State Office of Financial Management estimated the state population to be 7,951,150 as of April 1, 2023.{{Cite web |title=April 1, 2023 Population of Cities, Towns and Counties Used for Allocation of Selected State Revenues State of Washington

|url=https://ofm.wa.gov/sites/default/files/public/dataresearch/pop/april1/ofm_april1_population_final.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230727201824/https://ofm.wa.gov/sites/default/files/public/dataresearch/pop/april1/ofm_april1_population_final.pdf |archive-date=July 27, 2023 |access-date=July 27, 2023 |website=Office of Financial Management}}

The Seattle–Tacoma–Bellevue metropolitan area's population was 4,018,762 in the 2020 census, more than half the state total.{{Cite web |title=2020 Population and Housing State Data |url=https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/interactive/2020-population-and-housing-state-data.html |access-date=July 27, 2023 |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau}} The center of population of Washington in 2010 was at {{coord|47.33|N|121.62|W}}, in an unpopulated part of the Cascade Mountains in rural eastern King County, southeast of North Bend, northeast of Enumclaw, and west of Snoqualmie Pass.{{Cite web |title=Centers of Population |url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/centers-population.html |access-date=October 30, 2020 |website=The United States Census Bureau |archive-date=October 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028063852/https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/centers-population.html |url-status=live }}

In 2020, Washington's proportion of residents under the age of five was 5.7%, 21.8% under 18, and 16.3% 65 or older.

Four-fifths of the state's population identifies as White or European American. Washington has some of the largest Native American and Asian populations among states in the U.S.; the state also has a small proportion of African Americans. Washington's Hispanic community began growing rapidly in the late 20th century. In 2018, the top countries of origin for Washington's immigrants were Mexico, India, China, the Philippines and Vietnam.{{cite web |year=2020 |title=Immigrants in Washington |url=https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/sites/default/files/research/immigrants_in_washington.pdf |publisher=American Immigration Council |access-date=December 5, 2024}} There are 29 federally recognized Native American tribes in the state, mostly in Western Washington, and other unrecognized groups.{{cite news |date=October 16, 2016 |title=Washington's Native American Nations |page=2 |url=https://nie.seattletimes.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2016/10/WIGA_10-16-16_8PageTab_final.pdf |newspaper=The Seattle Times |department=Newspapers in Education |access-date=March 10, 2024}}

According to HUD's 2022 Annual Homeless Assessment Report, there were an estimated 25,211 homeless people in Washington.{{Cite web |title=2007-2022 PIT Counts by State |url=https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.huduser.gov%2Fportal%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fxls%2F2007-2022-PIT-Counts-by-State.xlsx&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK |website=huduser.gov |access-date=December 5, 2024 |via=Microsoft 365}}{{Cite report |date=December 2022 |title=The 2022 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress |url=https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/2022-AHAR-Part-1.pdf |publisher=United States Department of Housing and Urban Development |access-date=December 5, 2024}} Data from a 2023 study was released by the Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) which recorded 42,436 students in the state as meeting a variety of definitions to be described as homeless, affecting 3.8% of the student population.{{cite news |last1=Sheppard |first1=Cameron |title=Washington state schools see record number of homeless students in recent years |url=https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/article304545526.html |access-date=April 22, 2025 |work=Tacoma News Tribune |date=April 20, 2025}}

The racial composition of Washington's population as of the 2020 census was:

File:Washington race and ethnic origin by county.png

File:Washington Hispanic origin and race by county.png

According to the 2016 American Community Survey, 12.1% of Washington's population were of Hispanic or Latino origin (of any race): Mexican (9.7%), Puerto Rican (0.4%), Cuban (0.1%), and other Hispanic or Latino origin (1.8%).{{Cite web |title=2016 American Community Survey—Demographic and Housing Estimates |url=https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/16_5YR/DP05/0400000US53 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213005805/https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/16_5YR/DP05/0400000US53 |archive-date=February 13, 2020 |access-date=November 21, 2018 |publisher=United States Census Bureau}} The five largest ancestry groups were: German (17.8%),

Irish (10.8%), English (10.4%), Norwegian (5.4%), and American (4.6%).{{Cite web |title=2016 American Community Survey—Selected Social Characteristics |url=https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/16_5YR/DP02/0400000US53 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213005450/https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/16_5YR/DP02/0400000US53 |archive-date=February 13, 2020 |access-date=November 21, 2018 |publisher=United States Census Bureau}}

; Birth data

In 2011, 44.3 percent of Washington's population younger than age{{nbsp}}1 were minorities.{{Cite news |last=Exner |first=Rich |date=June 3, 2012 |title=Americans under age 1 now mostly minorities, but not in Ohio: Statistical Snapshot |newspaper=The Plain Dealer |location=Cleveland |url=http://www.cleveland.com/datacentral/index.ssf/2012/06/americas_under_age_1_populatio.html |url-status=live |access-date=August 4, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160714084214/http://www.cleveland.com/datacentral/index.ssf/2012/06/americas_under_age_1_populatio.html |archive-date=July 14, 2016}}

Note: Births in table do not add up because Hispanics are counted both by their ethnicity and by their race, giving a higher overall number.

• Since 2016, data for births of White Hispanic origin are not collected, but included in one Hispanic group; persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.

File:Washington population density 2020.png

While the population of African Americans in the Pacific Northwest is relatively scarce overall, they are mostly concentrated in the South End and Central District areas of Seattle, and in inner Tacoma.{{cite encyclopedia |last=Tate |first=Cassandra |date=August 7, 2002 |title=Mandatory Busing in Seattle: Memories of a Bumpy Ride |url=http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=3915 |encyclopedia=HistoryLink |access-date=October 2, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071031072055/http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=3915 |archive-date=October 31, 2007}} The black community of Seattle consisted of one individual in 1858, Manuel Lopes, and grew to a population of 406 by 1900.{{Cite book |last=Schwantes |first=Carlos |title=The Pacific Northwest: An Interpretive History |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-8032-9228-4 |edition=Revised and enlarged |page=155}} It developed substantially during and after World War II when wartime industries and the U.S. Armed Forces employed and recruited tens of thousands of African Americans from the Southeastern United States. They moved west in the second wave of the Great Migration, leaving a high influence on West Coast rock music and R&B and soul in the 1960s, including Seattle native Jimi Hendrix, a pioneer in hard rock, who was of African-American and alleged Cherokee descent.

Native Americans lived on Indian reservations or jurisdiction lands such as the Colville Indian Reservation, Makah, Muckleshoot Indian Reservation, Quinault, Salish people, Spokane Indian Reservation, and Yakama Indian Reservation. The westernmost and Pacific coasts have primarily American Indian communities, such as the Chinook, Lummi, and Salish. Urban Indian 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 peoples to this diverse metropolis. The city was named for Chief Seattle in the very early 1850s when European Americans settled the sound.

File:Seattle - Chinese New Year 2011 - 85.jpg, Seattle (2011)]]

Asian Americans are mostly concentrated in the Seattle−Tacoma metropolitan area of the state. Seattle, Bellevue, and Redmond, which are all within King County, have sizable Chinese communities (including Taiwanese), as well as significant Indian and Japanese communities. The Chinatown–International District in Seattle has a historical Chinese population dating back to the 1860s, who mainly emigrated from Guangdong Province in southern China, and is home to a diverse East and Southeast Asian community. Koreans are heavily concentrated in the suburban cities of Federal Way and Auburn to the south, and in Lynnwood to the north. Tacoma is home to thousands of Cambodians, and has one of the largest Cambodian-American communities in the United States, along with Long Beach, California, and Lowell, Massachusetts.{{Cite news |last=Turnbull |first=Lornet |date=September 17, 2004 |title=1,500 Cambodian refugees face deportation for crimes |newspaper=The Seattle Times |access-date=April 26, 2012 |url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002038140_cambodia17m.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110223053025/http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002038140_cambodia17m.html |archive-date=February 23, 2011 |url-status=dead}} The Vietnamese and Filipino populations of Washington are mostly concentrated within the Seattle metropolitan area.{{Cite web |title=Seattle Population and Demographics |url=http://seattle.areaconnect.com/statistics.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130522114545/http://seattle.areaconnect.com/statistics.htm |archive-date=May 22, 2013 |access-date=May 10, 2013 |website=Seattle City, Washington Statistics and Demographics (2000 U.S. Census) |publisher=areaConnect}}

Washington state has the second highest percentage of Pacific Islander people in the mainland U.S. (behind Utah); the Seattle–Tacoma area is home to more than 15,000 people of Samoan ancestry, who mainly reside in southeast Seattle, Tacoma, Federal Way, and in SeaTac.{{Cite news |last=Brown |first=Charles E. |date=September 30, 2009 |title=Puget Sound's Samoan community awaits news |newspaper=The Seattle Times |url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009969267_samoaside30m.html |url-status=live |access-date=April 26, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116083050/http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2009969267_samoaside30m.html |archive-date=January 16, 2013}}{{cite web |year=2010 |title=Race, Hispanic or Latino, Age, and Housing Occupancy: 2010 more information 2010 Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File |url=http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml |website=Factfinder2census.gov |access-date=December 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20151023151502/http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml |archive-date=October 23, 2015 |url-status=dead}}

The most numerous (ethnic, not racial, group) are Latinos at 11%, as Mexican Americans formed a large ethnic group in the Chehalis Valley, Skagit Valley, farming areas of Yakima Valley, and Eastern Washington. They were reported to at least date as far back as the 1800s.{{Cite journal |last1=García |first1=Jerry |last2=Treviño |first2=Dora Sánchez |year=1998 |title=A Chicana in Northern Aztlán: An Oral History of Dora Sánchez Treviño |journal=Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies |volume=19 |issue=2 |pages=16–52 |doi=10.2307/3347156 |jstor=3347156}} But it was in the late 20th century, that large-scale Mexican immigration and other Latinos settled in the southern suburbs of Seattle, with limited concentrations in King, Pierce, and Snohomish Counties during the region's real estate construction booms in the 1980s and 1990s.

Additionally, Washington has a large Ethiopian community, with many Eritrean residents as well.{{Cite book |editor-last1=Levinson |editor-first1=David |editor-last2=Ember |editor-first2=Melvin |editor-link2=Melvin Ember |year=1997 |title=American Immigrant Cultures: Builders of a Nation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cYgYAAAAIAAJ |volume=1 |location=New York |publisher=Simon & Schuster Macmillan |page=264 |isbn=978-0-02-897214-5 |access-date=October 17, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150319070033/http://books.google.com/books?id=cYgYAAAAIAAJ |archive-date=March 19, 2015 |url-status=live}} Both emerged in the late 1960s, and developed since 1980.{{Cite encyclopedia |last=Hinchliff |first=Catherine |date=November 16, 2010 |title=Ethiopian and Eritrean Communities in Seattle |url=http://www.historylink.org/File/9615 |encyclopedia=HistoryLink |access-date=June 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904153230/http://www.historylink.org/File/9615 |archive-date=September 4, 2017 |url-status=live}} An estimated 30,000 Somali immigrants reside in the Seattle area.{{Cite encyclopedia |last=Ott |first=Jennifer |date=November 19, 2010 |title=Somali Community in Seattle |url=http://www.historylink.org/File/9634 |encyclopedia=HistoryLink |access-date=June 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170409005208/http://www.historylink.org/File/9634 |archive-date=April 9, 2017 |url-status=live}}

In 2010, 82.51% (5,060,313) of Washington residents age{{nbsp}}5 and older spoke English at home as a primary language, while 7.79% (477,566) spoke Spanish, 1.19% (72,552) Chinese (which includes Cantonese and Standard Chinese), 0.94% (57,895) Vietnamese, 0.84% (51,301) Tagalog, 0.83% (50,757) Korean, 0.80% (49,282) Russian, and 0.55% (33,744) German. In total, 17.49% (1,073,002) of Washington's population age{{nbsp}}5 and older spoke a mother language other than English.{{Cite web |title=Washington |url=http://www.mla.org/map_data |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071201170638/http://www.mla.org/map_data |archive-date=December 1, 2007 |access-date=August 19, 2013 |publisher=Modern Language Association}}

{{Pie chart|thumb=right|caption=Religious self-identification in Washington, per the Public Religion Research Institute's American Values Atlas in 2022.{{cite web |title=Religious Tradition {{!}} Washington |url=https://ava.prri.org/#religious/2022/States/religion/m/US-WA |website=The American Values Atlas |publisher=Public Religion Research Institute |access-date=December 5, 2024}}|label1=Unaffiliated|value1=43|color1=White|label2=Protestantism|value2=33|color2=DarkBlue|label3=Catholicism|value3=13|color3=Purple|label4=Mormonism|value4=3|color4=Teal|label5=Jehovah's Witness|value5=1|color5=Green|label6=New Age|value6=3|color6=Brown|label7=Buddhism|value7=2|color7=Orange|label8=Hinduism|value8=1|color8=Yellow|value9=1|color9=Pink|label9=Judaism}}{{Further|Pacific Northwest#Spirituality and religion}}

Major religious affiliations of the people of Washington are:{{Cite report |date=May 12, 2015 |chapter=Religious Composition of Washington |chapter-url=http://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/state/washington/ |title=America's Changing Religious Landscape |publisher=Pew Research Center |access-date=September 12, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910060500/http://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/state/washington/ |archive-date=September 10, 2015 |url-status=live}}

• Christian: 50%
• Protestantism: 33%
• Catholicism: 17%
• Latter-day Saint: 3%
• Jehovah's Witness: 1%
• Unaffiliated/Other: 42%
• New Age: 3%
• Buddhism: 2%
• Judaism: 1%
• Hinduism: 1%

The largest denominations by number of adherents in 2010 were the Roman Catholic Church, with 784,332; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with 282,356;{{Cite web |title=Washington - Statistics and Church Facts {{!}} Total Church Membership |url=https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/facts-and-statistics/country/united-states/state/washington |website=Church Newsroom |publisher=The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints |access-date=April 14, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191227171119/https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/facts-and-statistics/country/united-states/state/washington |archive-date=December 27, 2019 |url-status=live}} and the Assemblies of God, with 125,005.{{Cite web |title=State Membership Report |url=http://www.thearda.com/rcms2010/r/s/53/rcms2010_53_state_adh_2010.asp |publisher=Association of Religion Data Archives |access-date=December 12, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130930080313/http://www.thearda.com/rcms2010/r/s/53/rcms2010_53_state_adh_2010.asp |archive-date=September 30, 2013 |url-status=live}}

Aquarian Tabernacle Church is the largest Wiccan church in the country.{{Cite web |last=Duval |first=Cyndi |date=November 2007 |title=Wicca more prevalent in the Pacific Northwest than most realize |url=http://www.christianexaminer.com/Articles/Articles%20Nov07/Art_Nov07_ST2.html |website=Christian Examiner |access-date=October 16, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117082233/http://www.christianexaminer.com/Articles/Articles%20Nov07/Art_Nov07_ST2.html |archive-date=January 17, 2013 |url-status=dead}}

Like other West Coast states, the percentage of Washington's population identifying themselves as "non-religious" is higher than the national average.

{{Main|Economy of Washington (state)}}

{{See also|List of Washington locations by per capita income|List of Washington companies}}

File:Building92microsoft.jpg Corporation headquarters in Redmond, an Eastside suburb of Seattle]]

Washington has a relatively strong economy, with a total gross state product of $801.5 billion in 2023, placing it eleventh in the nation and growing by 8.6 percent per year—among the fastest rates in the United States.{{cite web |date=March 29, 2024 |title=Gross Domestic Product by State and Personal Income by State, 4th Quarter 2023 and Preliminary 2023 |page=9 |url=https://www.bea.gov/sites/default/files/2024-03/stgdppi4q23-a2023.pdf |publisher=Bureau of Economic Analysis |access-date=June 25, 2024}} In the late 2010s, the state had the fastest-growing economy in the United States and was tenth-largest in the nation.{{Cite news |last=Van Dam |first=Andrew |date=May 2, 2019 |title=Fast-growing Washington state knocks Massachusetts out of the top 10 largest state economies |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2019/05/02/fast-growing-washington-state-knocks-massachusetts-out-top-largest-state-economies/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=May 2, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502184759/https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2019/05/02/fast-growing-washington-state-knocks-massachusetts-out-top-largest-state-economies/ |archive-date=May 2, 2019 |url-status=live}} The minimum wage was set at $11 in 2017 and has increased annually based on a cost-of-living index; since January 1, 2024, it has been $16.28 an hour, the highest of any state.{{cite web |title=History of Washington State's Minimum Wage |url=https://lni.wa.gov/workers-rights/wages/minimum-wage/history-of-washington-states-minimum-wage |publisher=Washington State Department of Labor and Industries |access-date=November 3, 2023}} Several cities have higher minimum wages {{as of|2024|lc=y}}, such as Seattle at $19.97 for large employers and Tukwila at $20.29 for large employers.{{cite news |last=Girgis |first=Lauren |date=January 4, 2024 |title=Seattle's minimum wage, raised again, among highest in nation |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/seattles-minimum-wage-raised-again-among-highest-in-nation/ |newspaper=The Seattle Times |access-date=June 25, 2024}}{{cite news |last=Malinsky |first=Gili |date=April 14, 2023 |title=The state with the highest minimum wage isn't California or New York—and it pays more than $15/hour |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/14/states-with-the-highest-minimum-wage.html |publisher=CNBC |access-date=November 3, 2023}} {{As of|2023|September}}, the state's unemployment rate was 3.6 percent, ranked 36th among states.{{cite web |date=October 20, 2023 |title=Unemployment Rates for States |url=https://www.bls.gov/web/laus/laumstrk.htm |publisher=U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics |access-date=August 20, 2022}}

Significant business within the state include the design and manufacture of aircraft (Boeing), automotive (Paccar), computer software development (Microsoft, Bungie, Amazon, Nintendo of America, Valve, ArenaNet, Cyan Worlds), telecom (T-Mobile US), electronics, biotechnology, aluminum production, lumber and wood products (Weyerhaeuser), mining, beverages (Starbucks, Jones Soda), real estate (John L. Scott, Colliers International, Windermere Real Estate, Kidder Mathews), retail (Nordstrom, Eddie Bauer, Car Toys, Costco, R.E.I.), and tourism (Alaska Airlines, Expedia, Inc.). A Fortune magazine survey of the top 20 Most Admired Companies in the U.S. has four Washington-based companies: Amazon, Starbucks, Microsoft, and Costco.{{Cite magazine |title=Top 20 Most Admired Companies |url=https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/most-admired/2012/full_list/ |url-status=live |magazine=Fortune |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120315011511/http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/most-admired/2012/full_list/ |archive-date=March 15, 2012 |access-date=March 21, 2012 |via=CNN Money}} At over 80 percent the state has significant amounts of hydroelectric power generation. Also, significant amounts of trade with Asia pass through the ports of the Puget Sound, leading to a number six ranking of U.S. ports (ranking combines twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) moved and infrastructure index).{{Cite news |date=April 2, 2016 |title=Ports on East Coast, Gulf Coast Outgain West Coast Peers in Second-Annual CBRE Seaports Index |publisher=CBRE Group |url=http://www.cbre.com/about/media-center/CBRE-Seaports-Index-2016 |url-status=live |access-date=August 9, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160729093416/http://www.cbre.com/about/media-center/cbre-seaports-index-2016 |archive-date=July 29, 2016}}

With the passage of Initiative 1183, the Washington State Liquor Control Board (WSLCB) ended its monopoly of all-state liquor store and liquor distribution operations on June 1, 2012. The board transitioned into licensing and regulating the sale of alcohol, tobacco, and later cannabis after the passage of Initiative 502.{{cite news |last=Saldanha |first=Alison |date=February 4, 2023 |title=Why some say WA efforts to diversify pot industry are not enough |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/marijuana/why-some-say-wa-efforts-to-diversify-pot-industry-are-not-enough/ |newspaper=The Seattle Times |access-date=November 3, 2023}}{{cite news |last=González |first=Ángel |date=June 30, 2014 |title=In aftermath of liquor privatization, spirits everywhere, not cheap |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/business/in-aftermath-of-liquor-privatization-spirits-everywhere-not-cheap/ |newspaper=The Seattle Times |access-date=November 3, 2023}}

The state is home to several of the wealthiest people in the United States and the world by net worth. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos both held the title of world's richest person, as determined by Forbes, while living in Washington.{{cite news |last=Geraldo |first=Renata |date=November 3, 2023 |title=With Bezos headed to Miami, a look at WA's richest people |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/business/with-bezos-headed-to-miami-a-look-at-was-richest-people/ |newspaper=The Seattle Times |access-date=November 3, 2023}}

File:Starbucks Headquarters Seattle.jpg headquarters, Seattle]]

The state of Washington is one of seven states that do not levy a personal income tax. The state does not collect a corporate income tax or franchise tax either. Washington businesses are responsible for various other state levies, including the business and occupation tax (B & O), a gross receipts tax which charges varying rates for different types of businesses.

Washington's state base sales tax is 6.5%, which is combined with a local sales tax that varies by locality. 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 7.5% and 10%.{{Cite web |title=Local Sales and Use Tax Rates by City/County |url=https://dor.wa.gov/sites/default/files/legacy/Docs/forms/ExcsTx/LocSalUseTx/LocalSlsUseFlyer_18_Q1_alpha.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171231104032/https://dor.wa.gov/sites/default/files/legacy/Docs/forms/ExcsTx/LocSalUseTx/LocalSlsUseFlyer_18_Q1_alpha.pdf |archive-date=December 31, 2017 |access-date=December 30, 2017 |publisher=Washington State Department of Revenue}} {{as of|2024}}, the combined sales tax rate in Seattle was 10.25%. The Snohomish County cities of Lynnwood, Mill Creek, Mukilteo are tied for the highest sales tax rate in the state at 10.6%.{{cite news |last=Baumbach |first=Jenelle |date=December 27, 2023 |title=3 Snohomish County cities have highest sales tax rate in state |url=https://www.heraldnet.com/news/3-snohomish-county-cities-have-highest-sales-tax-rate-in-state/ |newspaper=The Everett Herald |access-date=February 22, 2024}} These taxes apply to services as well as products, but not most foods due to a 1977 ballot measure.{{Cite web |title=Retail sales tax |url=http://dor.wa.gov/content/FindTaxesAndRates/RetailSalesTax/Default.aspx |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140420011401/http://dor.wa.gov/content/FindTaxesAndRates/RetailSalesTax/Default.aspx |archive-date=April 20, 2014 |access-date=April 19, 2014 |publisher=Washington State Department of Revenue}}{{cite web |title=Washington's Tax History |page=20 |url=https://dor.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2022-02/06taxhistory.pdf |publisher=Washington State Department of Revenue |access-date=February 22, 2024}} However, prepared foods, dietary supplements, and soft drinks remain taxable.{{cite web |title=Collecting retail sales tax from customers |url=https://dor.wa.gov/education/industry-guides/convenience-stores/collecting-retail-sales-tax-customers |publisher=Washington State Department of Revenue |access-date=February 22, 2024}}

An excise tax applies to certain products such as gasoline, cigarettes, and alcoholic beverages. Property tax was the first tax levied in the state of Washington, and its collection accounts for about 30% of Washington's total state and local revenue. It continues to be the most important revenue source for public schools, fire protection, libraries, parks and recreation, and other special-purpose districts.

All real property and personal property are subject to tax unless specifically exempted by law. Most personal property owned by individuals is exempt from tax. 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. Neither does the state assess any tax on retirement income earned and received from another state. Washington does not collect inheritance taxes. However, the estate tax is de-coupled from the federal estate tax laws, and therefore, the state imposes its estate tax.

Washington state has the 18th highest per capita effective tax rate in the United States, as of 2017.{{citation needed|date=November 2018}} {{as of|June 2023}}, Washington has the highest gasoline prices in the United States, at an average of $4.97, in part due to the third-highest gasoline tax in the country.{{cite news |last=Gendron |first=Jared |date=June 24, 2023 |title=Why is WA gas so expensive? Experts explain reasons Evergreen State has highest prices |url=https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/state/washington/article276709611.html |newspaper=The News Tribune |access-date=June 24, 2023}} Their tax policy differs from neighboring Oregon's, which levies no sales tax, but does levy a personal income tax. This leads to border economic anomalies in the Portland–Vancouver metropolitan area.{{Cite news |last=Uchikura |first=Azusa |date=April 25, 2012 |title=Border-hopping shoppers cost state millions in lost revenue |newspaper=The Seattle Times |url=http://blogs.seattletimes.com/uwelectioneye/2012/04/25/border-hopping-shoppers/ |url-status=live |access-date=November 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181113030250/http://blogs.seattletimes.com/uwelectioneye/2012/04/25/border-hopping-shoppers/ |archive-date=November 13, 2018}} Additional border economies with tax disparities exist with neighboring Idaho, which has a lower sales tax rate;{{cite web |date=May 2014 |title=2014 Cross Border Study |page=1 |url=https://dor.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2022-02/Cross_Border_Study_2014.pdf |publisher=Washington State Department of Revenue |access-date=November 3, 2023}} and British Columbia, which has higher costs for goods and has residents who commute into Washington for shopping.{{cite news |last=Chiang |first=Chuck |date=June 11, 2023 |title=U.S. border towns still wait for buyers from B.C., as Vancouver shopping buses vanish |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/us-cross-border-shopping-downturn-1.6872995 |publisher=CBC News |agency=The Canadian Press |access-date=November 3, 2023}} These include remote mailbox and courier services for American online retailers, which became ubiquitous in border communities in the 21st century.{{cite news |last=González |first=Ángel |date=June 25, 2015 |title=Border towns enjoy bonanza: packages, tax revenue pile up |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/business/retail/border-towns-enjoy-bonanza-packages-tax-revenue-pile-up/ |newspaper=The Seattle Times |access-date=November 3, 2023}}

File:Wells Dam from Azwell WA.jpg, a small community of pickers' cabins and apple orchards]]

Washington is a leading agricultural state. For 2018, the total value of Washington's agricultural products was $10.6 billion.{{Cite web |title=Agriculture: A Cornerstone of Washington's Economy |url=https://agr.wa.gov/washington-agriculture |publisher=Washington State Department of Agriculture |access-date=March 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902164747/https://agr.wa.gov/washington-agriculture |archive-date=September 2, 2021 |url-status=live}} In 2014, Washington ranked first in the nation in production of red raspberries (90.5 percent of total U.S. production), hops (79.3 percent), spearmint oil (75 percent), wrinkled seed peas (70.4 percent), apples (71.1 percent), sweet cherries (62.3 percent), pears (45.6 percent), Concord grapes (55.1 percent), carrots for processing (30.6 percent), and green peas for processing (32.4 percent).{{Cite web |last=Stroo |first= Hans D. |date=September 25, 2014 |title=What's Growing in Washington State? |url=http://planwashington.org/blog/archive/whats-growing-in-washington-state/ |website=PLAN Washington |access-date=March 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417110559/http://planwashington.org/blog/archive/whats-growing-in-washington-state/ |archive-date=April 17, 2021 |url-status=live}}

Washington also ranked second in the nation in the production of fall potatoes (a quarter of the nation's production), nectarines, apricots, asparagus, all raspberries, grapes (all varieties taken together), sweet corn for processing (a quarter of the nation's production), and summer onions (a fifth of the nation's production). Washington also ranked third in the nation in the production of dried peas, lentils, onions, and peppermint oil.

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.{{cite report |last1=Schotzko |first1=Thomas R. |last2=Granatstein |first2=David |year=2005 |title=A Brief Look at the Washington Apple Industry: Past and Present |url=http://www.agribusiness-mgmt.wsu.edu/agbusresearch/docs/SES04-05_BRIEF_LOOK_WAFTA.pdf |location=Pullman, WA |publisher=Washington State University |page=1 |access-date=May 9, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080527203857/http://www.agribusiness-mgmt.wsu.edu/agbusresearch/docs/SES04-05_BRIEF_LOOK_WAFTA.pdf |archive-date=May 27, 2008 |url-status=live}} 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 (comprising Yakima, Benton, and Kittitas counties).{{Cite journal |last1=Lemons |first1=Hoyt |last2=Rayburn, D. Tousley |date=July 1945 |title=The Washington Apple Industry. I. Its Geographic Basis |journal=Economic Geography |volume=21 |issue=3 |pages=161–162, 166 |doi=10.2307/141294 |jstor=141294}} Washington produces seven principal varieties of apples which are exported to more than sixty countries.{{Cite news |title=Fun facts about Washington Apples |work=Washington Apple Commission |url=https://bestapples.com/resources-teachers-corner/fun-facts/ |url-status=live |access-date=September 8, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180908092742/https://bestapples.com/resources-teachers-corner/fun-facts/ |archive-date=September 8, 2018}}

{{Clear}}

{{Main|Washington wine}}

File:Rattlesnake-Hills-AVA.jpg, one of nineteen American Viticultural Areas in the state]]

Washington ranks second in the United States in the production of wine, behind only California.{{cite book |editor-last=Dominé |editor-first=André |year=2008 |title=Wine |publisher=Ullmann Publishing |pages=798–800 |isbn=978-3-8331-4611-4}}{{Clarify|date=December 2024|reason=The book has an English-language edition, but this ISBN is for its German-language edition.}} By 2006, the state had over {{convert|31000|acre|km2|-1}} of vineyards, a harvest of {{convert|120000|ST|MT|-3}} of grapes, and exports going to more than forty countries around the world from the state's 600 wineries. By 2021, that number had grown to 1,050 wineries. While there are some viticultural activities in the cooler, wetter western half of the state, almost all (99%) of wine grape production takes place in the desert-like eastern half.{{cite book |editor-last=Robinson |editor-first=Jancis |editor-link=Jancis Robinson |year=2006 |title=The Oxford Companion to Wine |edition=3rd |location=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press |pages=761–762 |isbn=0-19-860990-6}} The rain shadow of the Cascade Range leaves the Columbia River Basin with around {{convert|8|in|mm|-1}} of annual rain fall, making irrigation and water rights of paramount interest to the Washington wine industry. Viticulture in the state is also influenced by long sunlight hours (on average, two more hours a day than in California during the growing season) and consistent temperatures.{{cite book |editor-last=Fallis |editor-first=Catherine |year=2006 |title=The Encyclopedic Atlas of Wine |location=Lane Cove, NSW |publisher=Global Book Publishing |page=50 |isbn=1-74048-050-3}}

{{As of|2022}}, Washington has 108,542 total U.S. Department of Defense personnel, including active duty members of the military and civilian workers at United States Armed Forces bases.{{cite report |author1=Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation |author2=Federal Research Division |date=October 2023 |title=Defense Spending by State, Fiscal Year 2022 |pages=112–113, 126 |url=https://oldcc.gov/sites/default/files/defense-spending-rpts/OLDCC_DSBS_FY2022_FINAL_WEB_October2023.pdf |publisher=United States Department of Defense |access-date=January 28, 2024}} It ranks seventh among states for most active duty personnel, at over 60,000, and seventeenth for reserve members.{{cite report |date=November 2023 |title=2022 Demographics Profile of the Military Community |pages=36, 85 |url=https://download.militaryonesource.mil/12038/MOS/Reports/2022-demographics-report.pdf |publisher=United States Department of Defense |access-date=January 28, 2024}} The U.S. Navy and Marines comprise the largest branch in Washington with 45 percent of personnel, followed by the Army at 40 percent and the Air Force at 11 percent. The state is also home to the 11th-largest population of retirees and veterans at over 560,000 {{as of|2019|lc=y}}.{{cite web |year=2020 |title=State Summaries: Washington |url=https://www.va.gov/vetdata/docs/SpecialReports/State_Summaries_Washington.pdf |publisher=United States Department of Veterans Affairs |access-date=January 28, 2024}}

The state's largest military installations are centered around the Puget Sound region and include Joint Base Lewis–McChord in Pierce County, the largest military base on the West Coast with over 25,000 active duty soldiers;{{cite news |last=Ashton |first=Adam |date=July 16, 2015 |title=JBLM retains combat brigades, but loses 4 smaller units |url=https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/military/article26888839.html |newspaper=The News Tribune |access-date=January 26, 2024}} Naval Station Everett in Snohomish County; and Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in Island County.{{cite news |last=Talton |first=Jon |date=September 26, 2014 |title=Military is big business in state, but at what cost? |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/business/military-is-big-business-in-state-but-at-what-cost/ |newspaper=The Seattle Times |access-date=January 28, 2024}} The Kitsap Peninsula is home to Naval Base Kitsap, which includes the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton and Naval Submarine Base Bangor, site of the third-largest arsenal of nuclear weapons in the world with more than 1,100 warheads for submarines.{{cite news |last=Malone |first=Patrick |date=March 12, 2022 |title=What Russia's nuclear escalation means for Washington, with world's third-largest atomic arsenal |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/times-watchdog/what-russias-nuclear-escalation-means-for-washington-state-home-to-the-globes-third-largest-atomic-arsenal/ |newspaper=The Seattle Times |access-date=January 28, 2024}} Fairchild Air Force Base is a major air force installation near Spokane that has the largest aerial refueling fleet in the world.{{cite news |last=Cabeza |first=Garrett |date=May 12, 2022 |title='My office in the sky:' Fairchild welcomes, refuels Thunderbirds ahead of Skyfest this weekend |url=https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2022/may/12/my-office-in-the-sky-fairchild-welcomes-refuels-th/ |newspaper=The Spokesman-Review |access-date=January 28, 2024}} Washington also has several major companies that serve as defense contractors for the U.S. military who were awarded $6.9 billion in fiscal year 2022. The largest contractors in the state include Boeing, PacMed, and Microsoft.{{cite news |last=Rivera |first=Ray |date=September 30, 2001 |title=State's huge military presence gains visibility with mobilization |url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=20010930&slug=nwmilitary30m |newspaper=The Seattle Times |access-date=January 28, 2024}}

{{Expand section|date=December 2017}}

From 2009 to 2014, the Washington State Broadband Project was awarded $7.3 million in federal grants, but the program was discontinued in 2014.{{Cite web |title=Washington State Broadband Office |url=http://www.commerce.wa.gov/programs/infrastructure/broadband/Pages/default.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150607175017/http://www.commerce.wa.gov/Programs/Infrastructure/Broadband/Pages/default.aspx |archive-date=June 7, 2015 |access-date=June 3, 2015 |publisher=Washington State Broadband Office}} For infrastructure, another $166 million has been awarded since 2011 for broadband infrastructure projects in Washington state.{{Cite web |title=List of Broadband Grants in Washington |url=http://www2.ntia.doc.gov/washington |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150512011026/http://www2.ntia.doc.gov/washington |archive-date=May 12, 2015 |access-date=June 3, 2015 |website=2.ntia.doc.gov}}

U.S. News & World Report ranked Washington second nationally for household internet access, and sixth for online download speed, based on data from 2014 and 2015.{{Citation |title=Best States for Internet Access |url=https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/rankings/infrastructure/internet-access |work=U.S. News & World Report |year=2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171209191630/https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/rankings/infrastructure/internet-access |access-date=December 18, 2017 |archive-date=December 9, 2017 |url-status=live}}

In 2019, Washington State Legislature established the Washington State Broadband Office with two key mandates: high-speed internet access for 100% of WA residents by 2024 and an increase to 150/150 Mbit/s by 2028.{{citation needed|date=October 2023}}

In March 2021, the Washington State Department of Commerce issued their first biennial report on the progress of these key mandates throughout 2020.{{Citation |title=Washington State Broadband Office 2020 Report |url=https://www.commerce.wa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/032921-2020-WA-State-Broadband-Report-FINAL.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221025185437/https://www.commerce.wa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/032921-2020-WA-State-Broadband-Report-FINAL.pdf |year=2021 |access-date=April 25, 2023 |archive-date=October 25, 2022 |url-status=live}}

The report includes five sections: public survey results, digital adoption disparities as they relate to federal census data, a Partner-Plan-Fund-Build-Adopt model for continued progress, success stories, and a policy discussion conclusion.

According to the report, "...over 42,000 survey responses from nearly 32,000 unique locations, showing that 6.4 percent of respondents reported having no broadband service, and 57 percent reported service at download speeds under 25 Mbps..."

{{more citations needed section|date=November 2016}}

File:MV Tacoma.jpg owns the largest ferry system in the United States.]]

File:I-90 floating bridges looking east.JPG on Lake Washington. These are among the largest of their kind in the world.]]

Washington's state transportation system comprises several modes that are maintained by various government entities. The state highway system, called State Routes, includes over {{convert|7000|mi|km}} of roads and the Washington State Ferries system, the largest of its kind in the nation{{Cite web |title=WSDOT Washington State Ferries Our Fleet |url=http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Ferries/yourwsf/ourfleet/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140420020723/http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Ferries/yourwsf/ourfleet/ |archive-date=April 20, 2014 |access-date=April 19, 2014 |website=Wsdot.wa.gov}} and the third largest in the world. There are also {{convert|57200|mi|km}} of local roads maintained by cities and counties, as well as several ferries operated by local governments.{{cite web |date=September 9, 2020 |title=Transportation 101: Moving People and Goods |url=https://wstc.wa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/2020-0915-Transportation-101.pdf |publisher=Washington State Transportation Commission |access-date=December 14, 2021 |archive-date=November 23, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211123001222/https://wstc.wa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/2020-0915-Transportation-101.pdf |url-status=live }} There are 140 public airfields in Washington, including 16 state airports owned by the Washington State Department of Transportation. Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (Sea–Tac) is the major commercial airport of greater Seattle.{{Cite web |title=Seattle-Tacoma International Airport |url=http://www.portseattle.org/Newsroom/Fast-Facts/Pages/Airport-Basics.aspx |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140712145509/http://www.portseattle.org/Newsroom/Fast-Facts/Pages/Airport-Basics.aspx |archive-date=July 12, 2014 |access-date=April 19, 2014 |website=Portseattle.org}} Boeing Field in Seattle is one of the busiest primary non-hub airports in the U.S.{{Cite web |title=King County International Airport/Boeing Field |url=http://www.kingcounty.gov/transportation/kcdot/Airport.aspx |website=KingCounty.gov |access-date=April 19, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140504072213/http://www.kingcounty.gov/transportation/kcdot/Airport.aspx |archive-date=May 4, 2014 |url-status=live}}

There are extensive waterways around Washington's largest cities, including Seattle, Bellevue, Tacoma, and Olympia. 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 Sound 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 bridges in the world: the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge, Lacey V. Murrow Memorial Bridge and Homer M. Hadley Memorial Bridge over Lake Washington, and the Hood Canal Bridge which connects the Olympic Peninsula and Kitsap Peninsula. Among its most famous bridges is the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, which collapsed in 1940 and was rebuilt. Washington has 75 port districts, including several major seaports on the Pacific Ocean. Among these are ports in Seattle, Tacoma, Kalama, Anacortes, Vancouver, Everett, Longview, Grays Harbor, Olympia, and Port Angeles.{{citation needed|date=December 2021}} The Columbia and Snake rivers also provide {{convert|465|mi|km}} of inland waterways that are navigable by barges as far east as Lewiston, Idaho.{{cite news |last=Blumenthal |first=Ralph |author-link=Ralph Blumenthal |date=April 13, 1975 |title=Idaho Gets a Seaport, Capping a Costly 10-Year Effort |page=57 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/04/13/archives/idaho-gets-a-seaport-capping-a-costly-10year-effort.html |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=December 14, 2021 |archive-date=December 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211215051936/https://www.nytimes.com/1975/04/13/archives/idaho-gets-a-seaport-capping-a-costly-10year-effort.html |url-status=live}}

The Cascade Mountain Range also impedes transportation. Washington operates and maintains roads over seven{{Vague|date=June 2017}} major mountain passes and eight minor passes. During the winter months, some of these passes are plowed, sanded, and kept safe with avalanche control. Not all stay open through the winter. The North Cascades Highway, State Route 20, closes every year due to snowfall and avalanches in the area of Washington Pass. The Cayuse and Chinook passes east of Mount Rainier also close in winter.{{cite web |title=Chinook and Cayuse Passes |url=https://wsdot.wa.gov/travel/highways-bridges/passes/chinook-and-cayuse/home |website=Washington State Department of Transportation |access-date=October 3, 2021 |ref=wsdot-chinook-and-cayuse |archive-date=June 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210617164303/https://wsdot.wa.gov/travel/highways-bridges/passes/chinook-and-cayuse/home |url-status=live }}

{{Washington (state) rail network}}

Washington is crossed by several freight railroads, and Amtrak's passenger Cascade route between Eugene, Oregon, and Vancouver, BC is the eighth busiest Amtrak service in the U.S. Seattle's King Street Station, the busiest station in Washington, and the 15th busiest in the U.S.,{{Cite web |title=Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2017 - State of Washington |url=https://www.amtrak.com/content/dam/projects/dotcom/english/public/documents/corporate/statefactsheets/WASHINGTON17.pdf |publisher=Amtrak |access-date=January 21, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171214015155/https://www.amtrak.com/content/dam/projects/dotcom/english/public/documents/corporate/statefactsheets/WASHINGTON17.pdf |archive-date=December 14, 2017 |url-status=live}} serves as the terminus for the two long-distance Amtrak routes in Washington, the Empire Builder to Chicago and the Coast Starlight to Los Angeles. The Sounder commuter rail service operates in Seattle and its surrounding cities, between Everett and Lakewood. The intercity network includes the Cascade Tunnel, the longest railroad tunnel in the United States, which is part of the Stevens Pass route on the BNSF Northern Transcom.{{Cite web |last=Banel |first=Feliks |date=January 17, 2018 |title=Cascade Tunnel still going strong in 90th year |url=https://mynorthwest.com/869619/cascade-tunnel-still-going-strong/? |website=MyNorthwest |access-date=August 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210812152347/https://mynorthwest.com/869619/cascade-tunnel-still-going-strong/ |archive-date=August 12, 2021 |url-status=live}}

Sound Transit Link light rail currently operates in the Seattle area at a length of {{convert|24|mi|km}}, and in Tacoma at a length of {{convert|4|mi|km}}. The entire system has a funded expansion plan that will expand light rail to a total of 116 miles by 2041. Seattle also has a {{convert|3.8|mi|km|adj=mid}} streetcar network with two lines and plans to expand further by 2025. 32 local bus transit systems exist across the state, the busiest being King County Metro, located in Seattle and King County, with just above 122 million riders in 2017.{{Cite web |title=Ridership Annual Measures—Accountability Center—King County Metro Transit—King County |url=https://kingcounty.gov/depts/transportation/metro/about/accountability-center/performance/ridership/annual.aspx#Metro-Ridership |website=KingCounty.gov |access-date=January 20, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190121232415/https://kingcounty.gov/depts/transportation/metro/about/accountability-center/performance/ridership/annual.aspx#Metro-Ridership |archive-date=January 21, 2019 |url-status=live}} Clark County has historically resisted proposals to extend Portland's MAX Light Rail into Vancouver, including the rejection of two ballot measures, but light rail is slated to be included in a future replacement of the Interstate Bridge.{{cite news |last=Campbell |first=Will |date=April 21, 2022 |title=I-5 Bridge project lands on light rail for replacement bridge |url=https://www.columbian.com/news/2022/apr/21/i-5-bridge-project-lands-on-light-rail-for-replacement-bridge/ |newspaper=The Columbian |access-date=June 24, 2023}}

Some tribal governments offer free bus service on their respective reservations, including on the Muckleshoot,{{cite web |title=About |url=https://tribaltransit.com/about/ |publisher=Muckleshoot Tribal Transit |access-date=December 5, 2024}} Spokane,{{cite web |title=Transit Services |url=https://www.spokanetribe.com/resources/dnr/transit-services/ |publisher=Spokane Tribe of Indians |access-date=December 5, 2024}} and Yakama Indian Reservations.{{cite web |title=Yakama Indian Nation |url=https://www.npaihb.org/member-tribes/yakama-indian-nation/ |publisher=Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board |access-date=February 9, 2016}}

Hanford Nuclear Reservation is currently the most contaminated nuclear site in the United States{{Cite news |last1=Farrow |first1=Ronan |author-link1=Ronan Farrow |last2=McHugh |first2=Rich |date=November 29, 2016 |title=Welcome to 'the Most Toxic Place in America' |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/welcome-most-toxic-place-america-n689141 |publisher=NBC News |access-date=November 16, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404124357/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/welcome-most-toxic-place-america-n689141 |archive-date=April 4, 2019 |url-status=live}} and is the focus of the nation's largest environmental cleanup.{{Cite news |last=Vartabedian |first=Ralph |date=June 4, 2019 |title=Nation's most ambitious project to clean up nuclear weapons waste has stalled at Hanford |url=https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-hanford-nuclear-cleanup-20190604-story.html |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |access-date=November 16, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191107005253/https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-hanford-nuclear-cleanup-20190604-story.html |archive-date=November 7, 2019 |url-status=live}} The radioactive materials are known to be leaking from Hanford into the environment.{{Cite web |last=Pasley |first=James |date=September 23, 2019 |title=Inside America's most toxic nuclear waste dump, where 56 million gallons of buried radioactive sludge are leaking into the earth |website=Business Insider |access-date=November 16, 2019 |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/hanford-nuclear-site-photos-toxic-waste-2019-9 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191116072847/https://www.businessinsider.com/hanford-nuclear-site-photos-toxic-waste-2019-9 |archive-date=November 16, 2019 |url-status=live}} Another major cleanup site is the Duwamish River basin in Seattle, among the most contaminated bodies of water in the United States due to industrial runoff.{{cite news |last=Ramadan |first=Lulu |date=September 24, 2023 |title=The secret dispute behind cleaning Seattle's only river |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/times-watchdog/toxic-legacy-of-duwamish-river-could-cost-boeing-taxpayers-1-billion/ |newspaper=The Seattle Times |access-date=March 4, 2024}}

In 2007, Washington became the first state in the nation to target all forms of highly toxic brominated flame retardants known as PBDEs for elimination from the many common household products in which they are being used. A 2004 study of 40 mothers from Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, and Montana found PBDEs in the breast milk of every woman tested.

Three recent studies by the Washington State Department of Ecology showed toxic chemicals banned decades ago 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 from 45 sites. The toxic substances included PCBs, dioxins, two chlorinated pesticides, DDE, dieldrin 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 State Department of Health advises the public not to eat mountain whitefish from the Wenatchee River from Leavenworth downstream to where the river joins the Columbia, due to unhealthy levels of PCBs. Study results also showed 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.{{Cite web |date=June 25, 2007 |title=Toxics Persist in Washington Rivers, Lakes and Fish |url=http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/jun2007/2007-06-25-01.asp |publisher=Environment News Service |access-date=July 31, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604005919/http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/jun2007/2007-06-25-01.asp |archive-date=June 4, 2011 |url-status=live}}

On March 27, 2006, Governor Christine Gregoire signed into law the recently approved House Bill 2322. This bill would limit phosphorus 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 County, Spokane County, and Clark County in 2008.{{Cite news |date=Spring 2006 |title=Phosphate Ban Signed into Law in Washington State |publisher=The Lands Council |url=http://www.landscouncil.org/documents/Newsletters/3%20Spring%2006.pdf |url-status=dead |access-date=April 19, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131102061725/http://www.landscouncil.org/documents/Newsletters/3%20Spring%2006.pdf |archive-date=November 2, 2013 }} A recent discovery had linked high contents of phosphorus in water to a boom in algae population. An invasive amount of algae in bodies of water would lead to a variety of excess ecological and technological issues.{{Cite web |date=February 1994 |title=Historical {{sic|Perspecitve|nolink=y}} Of The Phosphate Detergent Conflict |url=http://www.colorado.edu/conflict/full_text_search/AllCRCDocs/94-54.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100528155811/http://www.colorado.edu/conflict/full_text_search/AllCRCDocs/94-54.htm |archive-date=May 28, 2010 |access-date=July 31, 2010 |publisher=University of Colorado Boulder }}

In 2020, the electricity sold by public and private suppliers for use in Washington was primarily sourced from hydroelectric dams (55%), followed by natural gas (12%), coal (8.5%), wind (6%), and nuclear (4%). A total of 86.7 million Megawatt-hours of electricity was generated statewide in 2020.{{cite report |date=August 2023 |title=Washington Electric Utility 2021 Fuel Mix Disclosure Report |pages=5–6 |url=https://www.commerce.wa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/2021-FMD-Report-Update.pdf |publisher=Washington State Department of Commerce |access-date=March 4, 2024}} Washington has the second-highest rate of renewable energy generation among U.S. states, behind Texas, and accounted for 31 percent of national hydroelectric generation.{{cite web |date=March 16, 2023 |title=Profile Analysis: Washington |url=https://www.eia.gov/state/analysis.php?sid=WA |publisher=Energy Information Administration |access-date=March 4, 2024}}

{{Main|Government of Washington (state)}}

File:WACapitolLegislativeBldg.jpg building in Olympia]]

Washington's executive branch is headed by a governor elected for a four-year term. The current statewide elected officials are:

• Bob Ferguson, Governor (D)
• Denny Heck, Lieutenant Governor (D)
• Steve Hobbs, Secretary of State (D)
• Mike Pellicciotti, State Treasurer (D)
• Patrice McCarthy, State Auditor (D)
• Nick Brown, Attorney General (D)
• Chris Reykdal, Superintendent of Public Instruction (NP/D){{efn|The Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction is officially nonpartisan, but Superintendent Reykdal identifies with the Democratic Party.}}
• Dave Upthegrove, Commissioner of Public Lands (D)
• Patty Kuderer, Insurance Commissioner (D)

The bicameral Washington State Legislature is the state's legislative branch. The state legislature is composed of a lower House of Representatives and an upper State Senate. 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, while senators serve for four years. There are no term limits. The Democratic Party has a majority in the House and Senate.

The Washington Supreme Court is the highest court in the state and meets in Olympia. Nine justices serve on the bench and are elected statewide or appointed by the governor to fill vacancies.{{cite news |last=Kamb |first=Lewis |date=October 16, 2020 |title=Newly appointed justices draw challengers in Washington state Supreme Court election |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/newly-appointed-justices-draw-challengers-in-washington-supreme-court-races/ |newspaper=The Seattle Times |access-date=November 3, 2023}} There are 30 judicial districts, each with a superior court; these districts roughly correspond to counties, with some districts that combine rural or closely-related counties.{{cite web |title=Superior Courts |url=https://www.courts.wa.gov/newsinfo/resources/?fa=newsinfo_jury.display&altMenu=Citi&folderID=jury_guide&fileID=superior |publisher=Washington State Administrative Office of the Courts |access-date=November 3, 2023}}

{{See also|United States congressional delegations from Washington}}

File:Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell with Gen. Arthur Lichte at Fairchild.jpg and Maria Cantwell visit Fairchild Air Force Base.|alt=Two adult women talk with an older white-haired man in camouflage inside a dark room.]]

The two current United States senators from Washington are Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, both Democrats. Murray has represented the state since 1993, while Cantwell assumed office in 2001. The state is one of four with two female senators.{{Cite news |last=Tully-McManus |first=Katherine |date=December 18, 2018 |title=Six States Will Boast All-Women Senate Delegations in 2019 |url=https://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/six-states-will-boast-women-senate-delegations-2019 |newspaper=Roll Call |access-date=March 28, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328143440/https://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/six-states-will-boast-women-senate-delegations-2019 |archive-date=March 28, 2019 |url-status=live}}

Washington's ten representatives in the United States House of Representatives (see map of districts) as of the 2022 election are Suzan DelBene (D-1), Rick Larsen (D-2), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-3), Dan Newhouse (R-4), Michael Baumgartner (R-5), Emily Randall (D-6), Pramila Jayapal (D-7), Kim Schrier (D-8), Adam Smith (D-9), and Marilyn Strickland (D-10).

Due to Congressional redistricting as a result of the 2010 census, Washington gained one seat in the United States House of Representatives. With the extra seat, Washington also gained one electoral vote, raising its total to 12.

{{see also|Political party strength in Washington (state)}}

{{PresHead|place=Washington|source={{cite web|url=https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/compare.php?year=2008&fips=53&f=1&off=0&elect=0&type=state|title=Presidential General Election Results Comparison – Washington|publisher=US Election Atlas|access-date=October 25, 2022|author=Leip, David}}}}

{{PresRow|2024|Democratic|1,530,923|2,245,849|147,471|Washington (state)}}

{{PresRow|2020|Democratic|1,584,651|2,369,612|133,368|Washington (state)}}

{{PresRow|2016|Democratic|1,221,747|1,742,718|352,531|Washington (state)}}

{{PresRow|2012|Democratic|1,290,670|1,755,396|99,892|Washington (state)}}

{{PresRow|2008|Democratic|1,229,216|1,750,848|73,197|Washington (state)}}

{{PresRow|2004|Democratic|1,304,894|1,510,201|46,618|Washington (state)}}

{{PresRow|2000|Democratic|1,108,864|1,247,652|132,229|Washington (state)}}

{{PresRow|1996|Democratic|840,712|1,123,323|289,802|Washington (state)}}

{{PresRow|1992|Democratic|731,234|993,037|563,959|Washington (state)}}

{{PresRow|1988|Democratic|903,835|933,516|27,902|Washington (state)}}

{{PresRow|1984|Republican|1,051,670|807,352|24,888|Washington (state)}}

{{PresRow|1980|Republican|865,244|650,193|226,957|Washington (state)}}

{{PresRow|1976|Republican|777,732|717,323|60,479|Washington (state)}}

{{PresRow|1972|Republican|837,135|568,334|65,378|Washington (state)}}

{{PresRow|1968|Democratic|588,510|616,037|99,734|Washington (state)}}

{{PresRow|1964|Democratic|470,366|779,881|8,309|Washington (state)}}

{{PresRow|1960|Republican|629,273|599,298|13,001|Washington (state)}}

{{PresRow|1956|Republican|620,430|523,002|7,457|Washington (state)}}

{{PresRow|1952|Republican|599,107|492,845|10,756|Washington (state)}}

{{PresRow|1948|Democratic|386,315|476,165|42,579|Washington (state)}}

{{PresRow|1944|Democratic|361,689|486,774|7,865|Washington (state)}}

{{PresRow|1940|Democratic|322,123|462,145|9,565|Washington (state)}}

{{PresRow|1936|Democratic|206,892|459,579|25,867|Washington (state)}}

{{PresRow|1932|Democratic|208,645|353,260|52,909|Washington (state)}}

{{PresRow|1928|Republican|335,844|156,772|8,224|Washington (state)}}

{{PresRow|1924|Republican|220,224|42,842|158,483|Washington (state)}}

{{PresRow|1920|Republican|223,137|84,298|91,280|Washington (state)}}

{{PresRow|1916|Democratic|167,208|183,388|30,398|Washington (state)}}

{{PresRow|1912|Progressive|70,445|86,840|165,514|Washington (state)}}

{{PresRow|1908|Republican|106,062|58,691|19,126|Washington (state)}}

{{PresRow|1904|Republican|101,540|28,098|15,513|Washington (state)}}

{{PresRow|1900|Republican|57,456|44,833|5,235|Washington (state)}}

{{PresRow|1896|Democratic|39,153|53,314|1,116|Washington (state)}}

{{PresFoot|1892|Republican|36,460|29,802|21,707|Washington (state)}}

File:United States presidential election in Washington, 2016.svg of the popular vote by county, 2016 presidential election]]

The state is typically thought of as politically divided by the Cascade Mountains, with Western Washington being liberal (particularly the {{nowrap|I-5 Corridor}}) and Eastern Washington being conservative.

Although the eastern half of the state votes heavily Republican, the overwhelming Democratic dominance in the Seattle metropolitan area has turned Washington into a reliably blue state. It is considered part of the Blue wall of states that have voted Democratic in every presidential election since 1992. This voting streak began with Democrat Michael Dukakis narrowly capturing Washington in 1988. The state has since turned much more solidly blue, beginning with Obama's landslide victory in 2008, and Democrats winning the state by double digits in every subsequent presidential election.

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 Humphrey over his Republican opponent Richard Nixon. Washington was considered a part of the 1994 Republican Revolution, and had the biggest pick-up in the house for Republicans, who picked up seven of Washington's nine House seats.{{Cite web |title=November 1994 General |url=http://www.secstate.wa.gov/elections/results_report.aspx?e=15&c=&c2=&t=&t2=1&p=&p2=&y= |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081127124243/http://www.secstate.wa.gov/elections/results_report.aspx?e=15&c=&c2=&t=&t2=1&p=&p2=&y= |archive-date=November 27, 2008 |access-date=July 31, 2010 |publisher=Washington Secretary of State—Elections Division}} However, this dominance did not last for long, as Democrats picked up one seat in the 1996 election,{{Cite web |title=November 1996 General |url=http://www.secstate.wa.gov/elections/results_report.aspx?e=17&c=&c2=&t=&t2=1&p=&p2=&y= |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081127124212/http://www.secstate.wa.gov/elections/results_report.aspx?e=17&c=&c2=&t=&t2=1&p=&p2=&y= |archive-date=November 27, 2008 |access-date=July 31, 2010 |publisher=Washington Secretary of State—Elections Division}} and two more in 1998, giving the Democrats a 5–4 majority.{{Cite web |title=November 1998 General |url=http://www.secstate.wa.gov/elections/results_report.aspx?e=10&c=&c2=&t=&t2=1&p=&p2=&y= |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081127124229/http://www.secstate.wa.gov/elections/results_report.aspx?e=10&c=&c2=&t=&t2=1&p=&p2=&y= |archive-date=November 27, 2008 |access-date=July 31, 2010 |publisher=Washington Secretary of State—Elections Division}}

In 2013 and 2014, both houses of the Washington State Legislature (the Washington Senate and the Washington House of Representatives) were controlled by Democrats. The state senate was under Republican control, due to two Democrats' joining Republicans to form the Majority Coalition Caucus. After the 2014 elections, the Democrats retained control of the House, while Republicans took a majority in the Senate without the need for a coalition. In November 2017, a special election gave Democrats a one-seat majority in the Senate and complete control over state government. Since then, in the 2018 election, the Democrats have only expanded their majorities.

The governorship is currently held by Democrat Bob Ferguson. No state has gone longer without a Republican governor than Washington. Democrats have controlled the Washington Governor's Mansion for {{Age|1985|01|16}} years; the last Republican governor was John Spellman, who left office in 1985. Washington has not voted for a Republican senator, governor, or presidential candidate since 1994, tying with Delaware for the longest streak in the country.{{Cite news |last=Cohn |first=Nate |author-link=Nate Cohn |date=June 19, 2017 |title=The 15 Best-Educated Districts in the U.S., and Why It Matters in the Georgia Race |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/19/upshot/this-list-of-well-educated-districts-explains-why-georgias-election-is-close.html |url-status=live |access-date=June 19, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170619131743/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/19/upshot/this-list-of-well-educated-districts-explains-why-georgias-election-is-close.html |archive-date=June 19, 2017}}

Washington uses the non-partisan blanket primary system after the approval of Initiative 872 in 2004.{{Cite web |title=Washington Top Two Primaries, Initiative 872 (2004) |url=https://ballotpedia.org/Washington_Top_Two_Primaries,_Initiative_872_(2004) |access-date=December 23, 2020 |website=Ballotpedia |archive-date=December 31, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201231233446/https://ballotpedia.org/Washington_Top_Two_Primaries,_Initiative_872_(2004) |url-status=live }} All candidates run on the same ballot during primary elections and the top two candidates advance to the general election in November, regardless of party affiliation. This has resulted in several same-party general election match-ups. In a 2020 study, Washington was ranked as the second easiest state for citizens to vote in.{{cite journal |last1=Schraufnagel |first1=Scot |last2=Pomante |first2=Michael J. II |last3=Li |first3=Quan |date=December 2020 |title=Cost of Voting in the American States: 2020 |journal=Election Law Journal |volume=19 |issue=4 |pages=503–509 |doi=10.1089/elj.2020.0666 |doi-access=free |s2cid=225139517}}

The 2023 American Values Atlas by the Public Religion Research Institute found that same-sex marriage is supported near-universally in Washington.{{Cite web |title=Same-Sex Marriage {{!}} Washington |url=https://ava.prri.org/#lgbt/2022/States/lgbt_ssm/m/US-WA |website=The American Values Atlas |publisher=Public Religion Research Institute |access-date=April 12, 2023}}

File:Trove cannabis and coffee in Bellingham.jpg. Since Initiative 502 in 2012, it is legal to sell or possess cannabis for recreational or medical use.]]

Washington is one of the ten states to have legalized assisted suicide. In 2008, the Washington Death with Dignity Act ballot initiative passed and became law.

In November 2009, Washington voters approved full domestic partnerships via Referendum 71, marking the first time voters in any state expanded recognition of same-sex relationships at the ballot box. Three years later, in November 2012, same-sex marriage was affirmed via Referendum 74, making Washington one of only three states to have approved same-sex marriage by popular vote.

Also in November 2012, Washington was one of the first two states to approve the legal sale and possession of cannabis for both recreational and medical use with Initiative 502. Although marijuana is still illegal under U.S. federal law, persons 21 and older in Washington state can possess up to one ounce of marijuana, 16 ounces of marijuana-infused product in solid form, 72 ounces of marijuana-infused product in liquid form, or any combination of all three, and can legally consume marijuana and marijuana-infused products.{{Cite news |last=Bly |first=Laura S. |date=November 7, 2012 |title=Colorado, Washington OK Recreational Marijuana Use |newspaper=USA Today |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/dispatches/2012/11/07/colorado-washington-legalize-recreational-marijuana-tourism/1689269/ |url-status=live |access-date=November 7, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121108004909/http://www.usatoday.com/story/dispatches/2012/11/07/colorado-washington-legalize-recreational-marijuana-tourism/1689269// |archive-date=November 8, 2012}}

In November 2016, voters approved Initiative 1433, which among other things requires employers to guarantee paid sick leave to most workers. On January 1, 2018, the law went into effect, with Washington becoming the seventh state with paid sick leave requirements.{{Cite web |title=Paid Sick Leave—Labor & Industries (L&I), Washington State |url=https://lni.wa.gov/WorkplaceRights/LeaveBenefits/VacaySick/PaidSickLeave.asp |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181201093829/https://lni.wa.gov/WorkplaceRights/LeaveBenefits/VacaySick/PaidSickLeave.asp |archive-date=December 1, 2018 |access-date=November 30, 2018 |website=Washington State Department of Labor & Industries}}

With the passage of Initiative 1639 in the 2018 elections, Washington adopted stricter gun laws.

Washington enacted a measure in May 2019 in favor of sanctuary cities, similar to California and Oregon laws which are among the strongest statewide mandates in the nation.{{Cite web |last=James |first=Tom |date=May 23, 2019 |title=Washington joins West Coast bloc of sanctuary states |url=https://apnews.com/92bba0d74e05499fb5397fbb431069fa |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190817010001/https://www.apnews.com/92bba0d74e05499fb5397fbb431069fa |archive-date=August 17, 2019 |access-date=September 4, 2019 |work=Associated Press News}}

In 2019, the legislature passed the Clean Energy Transformation Act, which requires all electricity sales to be from zero-carbon sources by 2045 and net-zero by 2030.{{Cite web |title=Clean Energy Transformation Act (CETA) |url=http://www.commerce.wa.gov/growing-the-economy/energy/ceta/ |access-date=December 24, 2020 |website=Washington State Department of Commerce |archive-date=December 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230143638/https://www.commerce.wa.gov/growing-the-economy/energy/ceta/ |url-status=live }}

{{See also|Template:WAEd|List of school districts in Washington|List of high schools in Washington}}

As of the 2020–2021 school year, 1,094,330 students were enrolled in elementary and secondary schools in Washington, with 67,841 teachers employed to educate them.{{Cite web |title=Washington State Report Card 2020 – 21 |url=https://washingtonstatereportcard.ospi.k12.wa.us/ReportCard/ViewSchoolOrDistrict/103300 |url-status=live |access-date=December 12, 2021 |publisher=Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction |archive-date=November 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211120022819/https://washingtonstatereportcard.ospi.k12.wa.us/ReportCard/ViewSchoolOrDistrict/103300 }} As of August 2009, there were 295 school districts in the state, serviced by nine Educational Service Districts.{{Cite web |title=School District Web sites |url=http://www.k12.wa.us/maps/sdmainmap.aspx |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090605092856/http://www.k12.wa.us/maps/SDmainmap.aspx |archive-date=June 5, 2009 |access-date=June 10, 2009 |publisher=Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction}} Washington School Information Processing Cooperative (a non-profit opt-in state agency) provides information management systems for fiscal and human resources and student data. Elementary and secondary schools are under the jurisdiction of the Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI).{{Cite web |title=About OSPI |url=http://www.k12.wa.us/AboutUs/default.aspx |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090604062031/http://www.k12.wa.us/AboutUs/default.aspx |archive-date=June 4, 2009 |access-date=June 10, 2009 |publisher=Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction}}

High school juniors and seniors in Washington have the option of using the state's Running Start program. Begun by the state legislature in 1990, it allows students to attend institutions of higher education at public expense, simultaneously earning high school and college credit.{{Cite web |title=Secondary Education—Running Start |url=http://www.k12.wa.us/SecondaryEducation/CareerCollegeReadiness/RunningStart.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110620172951/http://www.k12.wa.us/SecondaryEducation/CareerCollegeReadiness/RunningStart.aspx |archive-date=June 20, 2011 |access-date=June 10, 2009 |publisher=Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction}} The state has 141 schools that offer dual language programs in 14 languages, primarily Spanish, beginning in kindergarten.{{cite news |last=de Lapparent Alvarez |first=Aina |date=March 6, 2024 |title='¡Una erupción!': Dual language programs expanding to 10 local schools |url=https://www.heraldnet.com/news/una-erupcin-dual-language-programs-expanding-to-10-local-schools/ |newspaper=The Everett Herald |access-date=March 7, 2024}}

The state also has several public arts-focused high schools including Tacoma School of the Arts, the Vancouver School of Arts and Academics, and The Center School. There are also four Science and Math based high schools: one in the Tri-Cities known as Delta, one in Tacoma known as SAMI, another in Seattle known as Raisbeck Aviation High School, and one in Redmond known as Tesla STEM High School.

{{Excessive examples|section|date=September 2022}}

There are more than 40 institutions of higher education in Washington. The state has major research universities, technical schools, religious schools, and private career colleges. Colleges and universities include the University of Washington, Seattle University, Washington State University, Western Washington University, Eastern Washington University, Central Washington University, Seattle Pacific University, Saint Martin's University, Pacific Lutheran University, Gonzaga University, University of Puget Sound, Evergreen State College, Whitman College, and Walla Walla University.

{{see also|List of newspapers in Washington (state)|List of television stations in Washington (state)|List of radio stations in Washington (state)}}

File:Seattle - P-I Building 02.jpg, a major daily newspaper]]

{{As of|2022}}, Washington has 20 daily newspapers and 96 weekly newspapers that serve local and hyperlocal markets.{{cite web |title=Washington Newspapers in 2004 and 2022 |url=https://www.lwvwa.org/resources/Documents/Council2022/Handouts/NEWS.Washington%20Newspapers%20in%202004%20and%202022%20.pdf |publisher=League of Women Voters of Washington |access-date=January 13, 2024}} The most-circulated newspaper in the state is The Seattle Times, which is also among the most-circulated newspapers in the United States.{{cite magazine |last=Majid |first=Aisha |date=June 26, 2023 |title=Top 25 US newspaper circulations: Largest print titles fall 14% in year to March 2023 |url=https://pressgazette.co.uk/media-audience-and-business-data/media_metrics/top-25-us-newspaper-circulations-down-march-2023/ |magazine=Press Gazette |access-date=January 13, 2024}} Other major daily newspapers include The Spokesman-Review in Spokane, The News Tribune in Tacoma, The Columbian in Vancouver, The Daily Herald in Everett, the Tri-City Herald in Kennewick, and the Kitsap Sun in Bremerton. Several national and regional chains own and operate a number of local weekly newspapers, including the Adams Publishing Group,{{cite news |date=October 10, 2017 |title=Seattle-based Pioneer News selling media division to Adams Publishing |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/business/seattle-based-pioneer-news-selling-media-division-to-adams-publishing/ |newspaper=The Seattle Times |agency=Associated Press |access-date=January 13, 2024}} Sound Publishing, The Seattle Times Company, and the McClatchy Company.{{cite book |last1=Bagwell |first1=Steve |last2=Stapilus |first2=Randy |year=2013 |title=New Editions: The Northwest's Newspapers as They Were, Are, and Will Be |url=https://archive.org/details/neweditionsnorth0000bagw |url-access=registration |location=Carlton, OR |publisher=Ridenbaugh Press |pages=27, 30, 33–34 |isbn=978-0-945648-10-9 |oclc=861618089}} Free weekly newspapers include The Stranger, Seattle Weekly, and the Inlander.{{rp|18}} The Seattle area also has a number of publications in English and other languages for ethnic communities, including the Seattle Chinese Post, International Examiner, and Northwest Asian Weekly.{{cite news |last=Beekman |first=Daniel |date=January 19, 2023 |title=Seattle Chinese Post shuts down, NW Asian Weekly goes online only |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/seattle-chinese-post-shuts-down-nw-asian-weekly-goes-online-only/ |newspaper=The Seattle Times |access-date=January 13, 2024}} Since 2004, Washington has lost 37 local newspapers and seen the consolidation of smaller papers, including neighborhood and suburban papers in the Seattle metropolitan area.{{cite news |last=Westneat |first=Danny |date=April 24, 2021 |title=Stopping the presses, again: The story ends for 2 more century-old Seattle newspapers |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/stopping-the-presses-again-the-story-ends-for-two-more-century-old-seattle-newspapers/ |newspaper=The Seattle Times |access-date=January 13, 2024}} Several newspapers have also switched to online-only publication, including Seattle's morning daily Post-Intelligencer in 2009.{{cite encyclopedia |last=Tate |first=Cassandra |date=March 16, 2009 |title=Seattle Post-Intelligencer (1863-2009) |url=https://www.historylink.org/file/8956 |encyclopedia=HistoryLink |access-date=January 13, 2024}}

The state is divided into four Designated Market Areas by Nielsen Media Research: Seattle–Tacoma, which also extends east to Wenatchee; Portland, which includes most of Southwestern Washington; Spokane, which also includes northern Idaho; and Yakima–Pasco–Richland–Kennewick.{{cite map |year=2018 |title=Nielsen DMA—Designated Market Area Regions, 2018–2019 |publisher=Nielsen Media Research |url=https://thevab.com/storage/app/media/Toolkit/DMA_Map_2019.pdf |via=Video Advertising Bureau |access-date=January 13, 2024}} The Seattle–Tacoma market is the largest in the Pacific Northwest and has been the 13th largest in the United States since 2009.{{cite news |last=Hinman |first=Michael |date=August 28, 2009 |title=Seattle moves up to No. 13 U.S. TV market |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2009/08/24/daily56.html |newspaper=Puget Sound Business Journal |url-access=subscription |access-date=January 13, 2024}} {{as of|2009}}, Washington had 39 full-power television stations and an additional 11 from Portland, Oregon; most are affiliated with a national or regional broadcasting network.{{cite web |date=February 20, 2009 |title=All Full-Power Television Stations by DMA, Indicating Those Terminating Analog Service Before or on February 17, 2009 |pages=31, 36–38, 43 |url=https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-288530A2.pdf |publisher=Federal Communications Commission |access-date=January 13, 2024}} The state is home to 383 stations licensed with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).{{cite encyclopedia |last=Rousso |first=Nick |date=June 24, 2022 |title=Radio in Washington |url=https://www.historylink.org/file/22494 |encyclopedia=HistoryLink |access-date=January 13, 2024}}{{cite web |title=AM Query Broadcast Station Search |url=https://www.fcc.gov/media/radio/am-query |at=Query for WA – Washington |publisher=Federal Communications Commission |access-date=January 13, 2024}} These radio stations broadcast to local markets as well as online, where Seattle-based music station KEXP-FM has found a worldwide following.{{cite news |last=Kiley |first=Brendan |date=April 29, 2022 |title=The many lives of KEXP, now a more diverse, online global phenomenon |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/pacific-nw-magazine/the-many-lives-of-kexp-now-a-more-diverse-online-global-phenomenon/ |newspaper=The Seattle Times |access-date=January 13, 2024}}

The top two health insurers as of 2017 were Premera Blue Cross, with 24 percent market share, followed by Kaiser Permanente at 21 percent.{{Cite web |title=Competition in health insurance research |url=https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/patient-support-advocacy/competition-health-insurance-research |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190618001323/https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/patient-support-advocacy/competition-health-insurance-research |archive-date=June 18, 2019 |access-date=June 15, 2019 |publisher=American Medical Association}} For the individual market, Molina Healthcare had the top share at 23%.{{Cite magazine |last=Haefner |first=Morgan |date=March 25, 2019 |title=The health insurer with largest individual market share in each state |url=https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/payer-issues/the-health-insurer-with-largest-individual-market-share-in-each-state.html |magazine=Becker's Hospital Review |access-date=June 15, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190326113218/https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/payer-issues/the-health-insurer-with-largest-individual-market-share-in-each-state.html |archive-date=March 26, 2019 |url-status=live}}

The state adopted the Washington Healthplanfinder system in 2014 after the passage of the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (also known as "ObamaCare").{{cite news |last=Gordon Blankinship |first=Donna |date=August 30, 2019 |title='Locally Grown' Insurance Companies Help Fortify Washington State Market |url=https://kffhealthnews.org/news/locally-grown-insurance-companies-help-fortify-washington-state-market/ |work=KFF Health News |access-date=January 13, 2024}} The system is used by approximately 90 percent of Washington residents who purchase or acquire their health insurance directly rather than through an employer.{{cite news |last=Saldanha |first=Alison |date=September 15, 2023 |title=Health insurance rates are about to jump for thousands of WA residents |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/business/health-insurance-rates-are-about-to-jump-for-thousands-of-wa-residents/ |newspaper=The Seattle Times |access-date=January 13, 2024}} The state's Medicaid program, named Washington Apple Health, provides healthcare coverage to people with disabilities or low incomes.{{cite news |last=Aleccia |first=JoNel |date=October 26, 2016 |title=Health-insurance premiums rise in Washington, but not as much as elsewhere |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/health-insurance-premiums-rise-here-in-state-but-not-as-high-as-elsewhere/ |newspaper=The Seattle Times |access-date=January 13, 2024}}

The state of Washington reformed its health care system in 1993 through the Washington Health Services Act. The legislation required individuals to obtain health insurance or face penalties, and required employers to provide insurance to employees. In addition, health insurance companies were required to sell policies to all individuals, regardless of pre-existing conditions, and cover basic benefits.{{Cite news |last=Gutman |first=David |date=January 12, 2017 |title=Dismantling of state's health reforms in 1993 may offer lessons for Obamacare repeal |newspaper=The Seattle Times |url=http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/dismantling-of-states-health-reforms-in-1993-may-offer-lesson-for-obamacare-repeal/ |url-status=live |access-date=January 12, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170113152808/http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/dismantling-of-states-health-reforms-in-1993-may-offer-lesson-for-obamacare-repeal/ |archive-date=January 13, 2017}} The act was mostly repealed in 1995 before it could go into full effect.

{{See also|List of hospitals in Washington (state)}}

Hospitals exist across the state, but many of Washington's best-known medical facilities are located in and around Seattle. The Seattle–Tacoma area has six major hospitals: Harborview Medical Center, University of Washington Medical Center, Seattle Children's, Swedish Medical Center, MultiCare Tacoma General Hospital, and St. Joseph Medical Center.{{Cite news |last=Aleccia |first=JoNel |date=July 29, 2015 |title=Consumer Reports: Seattle-area hospitals get low marks for stopping infections |newspaper=The Seattle Times |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/seattle-area-hospitals-get-low-marks-for-stopping-infections/ |url-status=live |access-date=August 30, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190830195108/https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/seattle-area-hospitals-get-low-marks-for-stopping-infections/ |archive-date=August 30, 2019}} The Seattle-area hospitals are concentrated on First Hill, which is home to Virginia Mason Medical Center (the neighborhood has received the nickname "Pill Hill" owing to the high concentration of healthcare facilities).{{Cite news |date=March 29, 2016 |title=First Hill bustling with hospitals, culture |newspaper=The Seattle Times |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/business/real-estate/first-hill-bustling-with-hospitals-culture/ |url-status=live |access-date=August 30, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190830195109/https://www.seattletimes.com/business/real-estate/first-hill-bustling-with-hospitals-culture/ |archive-date=August 30, 2019}} {{As of|2023}}, the state has over 14,000 total hospital beds that are licensed for acute care in 93 facilities. Several religious healthcare providers, primarily Catholic organizations, control 49 percent of the state's hospital beds and have acquired and consolidated major systems in Washington.{{cite news |last=Shapiro |first=Nina |date=February 6, 2023 |title=Catholic health care restrictions lead WA Legislature to eye changes |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/religious-health-care-restrictions-prompt-call-for-wa-merger-oversight/ |newspaper=The Seattle Times |access-date=July 1, 2024}}

{{Infobox region symbols|country=United States

|state = Washington

|image_flag = Flag of Washington.svg

|image_flag_size = 100px

|image_seal = Seal of Washington.svg

|image_seal_size = 100px

|amphibian = Pacific chorus frog

|bird = American goldfinch

|butterfly =

|crustacean =

|fish = Steelhead trout

|flower = Rhododendron

|grass = Bluebunch wheatgrass

|insect = Green darner

|mammal = Endermic: Olympic marmot
Aquatic: Orca

|reptile =

|tree = Western Hemlock

|beverage =

|colors =

|dance = Square dance

|dinosaur = Suciasaurus rex

|food = Apple

|fossil = Columbian mammoth

|gemstone = Petrified wood

|mineral =

|instrument =

|poem =

|rock =

|shell =

|ship = Lady Washington

|slogan =

|soil = Tokul

|sport = Pickleball

|tartan = Washington state tartan

|toy =

|vegetable = Sweet onion

|image_route = WA-20.svg

|image_quarter =2007 WA Proof.png

|quarter_release_date = 2007

}}

Pickleball, a racquet sport invented on Bainbridge Island in 1965, was designated as Washington's official state sport in 2022.{{cite news |last=James |first=Albert |date=March 28, 2022 |title='Life, liberty and pursuit of pickleball': Inslee signs bill designating Washington's official state sport |url=https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2022/mar/28/life-liberty-and-pursuit-of-pickleball-inslee-sign/ |newspaper=The Spokesman-Review |access-date=March 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220329085544/https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2022/mar/28/life-liberty-and-pursuit-of-pickleball-inslee-sign/ |archive-date=March 29, 2022 |url-status=live}} For three years in a row, 2021, 2022 and 2023, the sport was named the fastest growing sport in the United States by the Sports and Fitness Industry Association (SFIA).{{cite magazine |last=Porterfield |first=Carlie |date=July 26, 2022 |title=Here's Why Pickleball—The Fastest-Growing Sport in America—Is Bill Gates' Favorite Game |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2022/07/26/heres-why-pickleball-the-fastest-growing-sport-in-america-is-bill-gates-favorite-game/ |magazine=Forbes |access-date=August 9, 2022}}

; NCAA Division I

• Washington Huskies (Big Ten Conference; Football Bowl Subdivision)
• Washington State Cougars (Pac-12 Conference; Football Bowl Subdivision)
• Gonzaga Bulldogs (West Coast Conference)
• Seattle Redhawks (Western Athletic Conference)
• Eastern Washington Eagles (Big Sky Conference; Football Championship Subdivision)

; NCAA Division II

• Central Washington Wildcats
• Saint Martin's Saints
• Seattle Pacific Falcons
• Western Washington Vikings

; NCAA Division III

• Pacific Lutheran Lutes
• Puget Sound Loggers
• Whitman Blues
• Whitworth Pirates

The Seattle Open Invitational golf tournament was part of the PGA Tour from the 1930s to the 1960s. The GTE Northwest Classic was part of the Senior PGA Tour from 1986 to 1995, and the Boeing Classic since 2005. In addition, the 2015 U.S. Open was held at Chambers Bay, and several major tournaments were held at Sahalee Country Club.

Pacific Raceways is a motorsports venue that has hosted the Northwest Nationals of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series and a round of the Trans-Am Series.

The WTA Seattle tennis tournament was part of the WTA Tour from 1977 to 1982.

Four ships of the United States Navy, including two battleships, have been named USS Washington in honor of the state. Previous ships had held that name in honor of George Washington.{{Citation needed|date=May 2022}}

The state's nickname, "The Evergreen State",{{Cite web |date=April 29, 2014 |title=The Evergreen State: Washington State Nickname |url=https://statesymbolsusa.org/symbol/washington/state-nickname-state-quarter/evergreen-state |website=State Symbols USA |access-date=December 13, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171213121546/https://statesymbolsusa.org/symbol/washington/state-nickname-state-quarter/evergreen-state |archive-date=December 13, 2017 |url-status=live}} was proposed in 1890 by Charles T. Conover of Seattle. 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.{{Cite book |last=Jollota |first=Pat |title=Naming Clark County |date=2002 |publisher=Fort Vancouver Historical Society of Clark County |location=Clark County, Washington |page=17}} Although the nickname is widely used by the state, appearing on vehicle license plates for instance, it has not been officially adopted. A 2023 bill in the state legislature to formally recognize it as the state nickname was passed by the senate but was returned to committee.{{cite news |last=Dallas |first=Julia |date=February 20, 2023 |title=100 years later, progress for 'Evergreen State' to become Washington's official nickname |url=https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/100-years-later-progress-evergreen-state-become-washingtons-official-nickname/TEB5W54L3NEVZIBGNCKWGWNQPU/ |publisher=KIRO 7 News |access-date=December 2, 2023}}{{cite web |title=SB 5595 – 2023–24: Adopting the evergreen state as the state nickname. |url=https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=5595&Initiative=false&Year=2023 |publisher=Washington State Legislature |access-date=December 2, 2023}} The Evergreen State College, a state-funded institution in Olympia, also takes its name from this nickname.

{{Main |List of Washington state symbols}}

The state song is "Washington, My Home", the state bird is the American goldfinch, the state fruit is the apple, and the state vegetable is the Walla Walla sweet onion.{{Cite news |date=April 5, 2007 |title=Senate passes measure designating Walla Walla onion state veggie |url=http://komonews.com/news/local/senate-passes-measure-designating-walla-walla-onion-state-veggie-11-20-2015 |publisher=KOMO News |agency=Associated Press |access-date=July 19, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817054846/http://komonews.com/news/local/senate-passes-measure-designating-walla-walla-onion-state-veggie-11-20-2015 |archive-date=August 17, 2016 |url-status=live}} The state dance, adopted in 1979, is the square dance. The state tree is the western hemlock. The state flower is the coast rhododendron. The state fish is the steelhead. The state folk song is "Roll On, Columbia, Roll On" by Woody Guthrie. The unofficial, but popularly accepted, state rock song is "Louie Louie".{{Cite web |title=WSDOT—Highway Map—Washington State Facts |url=http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/publications/highwaymap/other.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120701211242/http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Publications/HighwayMap/Other.htm |archive-date=July 1, 2012 |access-date=November 30, 2010 |publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation}} The state grass is bluebunch wheatgrass. The state insect is the green darner dragonfly. The state gem is petrified wood. The state fossil is the Columbian mammoth. The state marine mammal is the orca. The state soil is Tokul soil.{{cite web |url=https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb1237005.pdf |title=Tokul – Washington State Soil |publisher=National Resources Conservation Service – United States Department of Agriculture |access-date=June 7, 2022 |archive-date=May 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220523074625/https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb1237005.pdf |url-status=dead }} The state land mammal is the Olympic marmot. The state seal (featured in the state flag as well) was inspired by the unfinished portrait of President George Washington by Gilbert Stuart.{{Cite web |title=History of the State Seal |url=http://www.secstate.wa.gov/seal/history.aspx |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130914040010/http://www.sos.wa.gov/seal/history.aspx |archive-date=September 14, 2013 |access-date=April 5, 2007 |publisher=Secretary of State of Washington}} The state sport is pickleball.

Washington has relationships with many provinces, states, and other entities worldwide.

• {{flagicon|Mexico}} Jalisco, Mexico (1996){{cite web |url=https://www.ltgov.wa.gov/washington-sister-cities |title=State of Jalisco, Mexico |website=Washington Sister States |access-date=September 5, 2021 |archive-date=September 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200904081758/https://www.ltgov.wa.gov/washington-sister-cities |url-status=live }}
• {{Flagicon|Japan}} Hyogo Prefecture, Japan
• {{Flagicon|South Korea}} Jeollabuk-do, South Korea

• {{Flagicon|China}} Sichuan, China
• {{Flagicon|Philippines}} Pangasinan, Philippines

{{Portal|Pacific Northwest|United States|Washington (state)}}

• Index of Washington (state)-related articles
• Outline of Washington (state)

{{Notelist}}

{{reflist|refs=

{{Cite web |title=State Symbols |url=http://www.leg.wa.gov/Symbols/Pages/default.aspx |publisher=Washington State Legislature |access-date=July 11, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140710052831/http://www.leg.wa.gov/Symbols/Pages/default.aspx |archive-date=July 10, 2014 |url-status=live}}

{{Cite web |title=Table 62. Washington—Race and Hispanic Origin: 1850 to 1990 |url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0056/tab62.pdf |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=October 13, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121016091727/http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0056/tab62.pdf |archive-date=October 16, 2012 |url-status=dead}}

Washington was not yet a legally recognized territory in 1850. This figure is derived from areas that later became Washington Territory. {{Cite web |year=2010 |title=Washington |url=https://www.census.gov/geo/www/guidestloc/st53_wa.html |website=Guide to State and Local Census Geography |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=October 13, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121017090813/http://www.census.gov/geo/www/guidestloc/st53_wa.html |archive-date=October 17, 2012 |url-status=dead}}

{{Citation |date=September 13, 2016 |title=Table H-8. Median Household Income by State: 1984 to 2015 |url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/income-poverty/historical-income-households.html |format=Microsoft Excel |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=July 20, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170713092443/https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/income-poverty/historical-income-households.html |archive-date=July 13, 2017 |url-status=live}}

}}

{{Further|History of Washington (state)#Further reading}}

• {{Cite book |last=Hardina |first=Nicole |year=2020 |title=Little Washington: A Nostalgic Look at the Evergreen State's Smallest Towns |location=Cambridge, MN |publisher=Adventure Publications |isbn=978-1-59193-845-3}}
• {{Cite book |last1=Johnson |first1=Anna Maria |last2=Otfinoski |first2=Steven |last3=Benduhn |first3=Tea |year=2019 |title=Washington: The Evergreen State |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=da3XDwAAQBAJ |edition=4th |location=New York |publisher=Cavendish Square Publishing |isbn=978-1-5026-4297-4}}
• {{Cite book |last=Ritter |first=Harry |year=2018 |title=Washington's History: The People, Land, and Events of the Far Northwest |edition=Revised |location=Berkeley, CA |publisher=WestWinds Press |isbn=978-1-5132-6169-0}}
• {{Cite book |last=Sell |first=T. M. |year=2001 |title=Wings of Power: Boeing and the Politics of Growth in the Northwest |url=https://archive.org/details/wingsofpowerboei0000sell |url-access=registration |location=Seattle |publisher=University of Washington Press |isbn=978-0-295-98049-2}}

• {{Cite book |last1=Evans |first1=Elwood |author-link1=Elwood Evans |last2=Meany |first2=Edmond S. |author-link2=Edmond S. Meany |year=1893 |title=The State of Washington: A Brief History of the Discovery, Settlement, and Organization of Washington, the "Evergreen State", as Well as a Compilation of Official Statistics Showing the Material Development of the State Up to Date |url=https://archive.org/details/stateofwashingto00washuoft |location=Tacoma, WA |publisher=World's Fair Commission of the State of Washington}}
• {{Cite book |last1=Hawthorne |first1=Julian |author-link1=Julian Hawthorne |last2=Brewerton |first2=George Douglas |year=1893 |title=History of Washington: The Evergreen State, from Early Dawn to Daylight: With Portraits and Biographies |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofwashing01hawt |volume=1 |location=New York |publisher=American Historical Publishing}} | [https://archive.org/details/historyofwashing02hawt Vol. 2].
• {{Cite book |last=Meany |first=Edmond S. |author-link=Edmond S. Meany |year=1909 |title=History of the State of Washington |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofstateof00meanuoft |location=New York |publisher=Macmillan}}

• {{Cite book |editor-last1=Meany |editor-first1=Edmond S. |editor-link1=Edmond S. Meany |editor-last2=Condon |editor-first2=John T. |title=Washington's First Constitution, 1878 and Proceedings of the Convention |url=http://lib.law.washington.edu/waconst/sources/Wash1stConst.pdf |publisher=University of Washington |access-date=March 15, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150113053535/http://lib.law.washington.edu/waconst/sources/Wash1stConst.pdf |archive-date=January 13, 2015 |url-status=dead}} Reprinted from the Washington Historical Quarterly, 1918–1919.

{{Sister project links|voy=Washington (state)}}

• {{Official website}}
• [https://stateofwatourism.com/ The official tourism site of the State of Washington]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080916104630/http://wikis.ala.org/godort/index.php/Washington Washington State Databases]
• [http://www.secstate.wa.gov/history/ Secretary of State's Washington History website]
• [http://www.courts.wa.gov/education/constitution/index.cfm Constitution of the State of Washington]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20030207220912/http://www.leg.wa.gov/wac/ Washington Administrative Code (State Administrative Rules)]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20021202211313/http://search.leg.wa.gov/pub/textsearch/default.asp State Code Search Tool]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080919170212/http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/state/state_energy_profiles.cfm?sid=WA Energy Profile for Washington]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20061230094502/http://www.usgs.gov/state/state.asp?State=WA USGS real-time, geographic, and other scientific resources of Washington]
• [http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/state-fact-sheets/state-data.aspx?StateFIPS=53&StateName=Washington Washington State Facts from USDA]
• [https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/WA U.S. Census Bureau Quick Facts: Washington]
• [http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20050731224536/http://www.historylink.org/this_week/index.cfm Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20141009222838/http://policescanner.info/states/washington Police Scanner Information for Washington state]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20130117082233/http://digital.lib.cwu.edu/cgi-bin/library.cgi?site=localhost&a=p&p=about&c=edwardwn&l=en&w=utf-8 CWU Brooks Library Edward W. Nolan Photograph Collection]
• {{OSM relation|165479}}

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{{s-ttl|title=List of U.S. states by date of admission to the Union|years=Admitted on November 11, 1889 (42nd)}}

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{{Geographic location

| Northwest = {{flag|British Columbia}}, {{flag|Canada}}

| North = {{flagu|British Columbia}}, {{flagu|Canada}}

| Northeast =

| West = Pacific Ocean

| Centre = {{flag|Washington}}: Outline • Index

| East = {{flag|Idaho}}

| Southwest = Pacific Ocean
{{flag|Hawaii}}

| South = {{flag|Oregon}}

| Southeast =

}}

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{{Indigenous peoples in Washington}}

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