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Washington State (state)

State of Washington
Green flag with the circular Seal of Washington centered on it. A circular seal with the words "The Seal of the State of Washington, 1889" centered around it from top to bottom. In the center, a man with gray hair poses.
Flag Seal
Nickname(s): "The Evergreen State" (unofficial)
Motto(s): Al-ki or Alki, "bye and bye" in Chinook Jargon (unofficial)
State song(s): "Washington, My Home"
Washington is located on the West Coast along the line that divides the United States from neighboring Canada. It runs entirely from west to east. It includes a small peninsula across a bay which is discontinuous with the rest of the state, along with a geographical oddity under British Columbia, Canada.
Official language None (de jure)
English (de facto)
Demonym Washingtonian
Capital Olympia
Largest city Seattle
Largest metro Metro Seattle
Area Ranked 18th
 • Total 71,362 sq mi
(184,827 km2)
 • Width 360 miles (580 km)
 • Length 240 miles (400 km)
 • % water 6.6
 • Latitude 45°  33′ N to 49° N
 • Longitude 116°  55′ W to 124°  46′ W
Population Ranked 13th
 • Total 7,288,000 (2016 est.)
 • Density 103/sq mi  (39.6/km2)
Ranked 25th
 • Median household income $67,243 (2015) (9th)
Elevation
 • Highest point Mount Rainier
14,411 ft (4,392 m)
 • Mean 1,700 ft  (520 m)
 • Lowest point Pacific Ocean
sea level
Before statehood Washington Territory
Admission to Union November 11, 1889 (42nd)
Governor Jay Inslee (D)
Lieutenant Governor Cyrus Habib (D)
Legislature Washington State Legislature
 • Upper house State Senate
 • Lower house House of Representatives
U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D)
Maria Cantwell (D)
U.S. House delegation 6 Democrats,
4 Republicans (list)
Time zone Pacific: UTC −8/−7
ISO 3166 US-WA
Abbreviations WA, Wash.
Website access.wa.gov
Washington state symbols
Flag of Washington.svg
Seal of Washington.svg
Living insignia
Amphibian Pacific chorus frog
Bird American goldfinch
Fish Steelhead trout
Flower Rhododendron
Grass Bluebunch wheatgrass
Insect Green Darner
Mammal Olympic marmot/Orca
Tree Western Hemlock
Inanimate insignia
Dance Square dance
Food Apple
Gemstone Petrified wood
Ship Lady Washington
Soil Tokul
Song "Washington, My Home"
Tartan Washington state tartan
Other Vegetable: Sweet onion
State route marker
Washington state route marker
State quarter
Washington quarter dollar coin
Released in 2007
Lists of United States state symbols

Washington (/ˈwɒʃɪŋtən/ (About this sound listen)), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Named after George Washington, the first President of the United States, the state was made out of the western part of the Washington Territory, which had been ceded by Britain in 1846 in accordance with the Oregon Treaty in the settlement of the Oregon boundary dispute. It was admitted to the Union as the 42nd state in 1889. Olympia is the state capital. Washington is sometimes referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from Washington, D.C., the capital of the U.S., which is often shortened to Washington.

Washington is the 18th largest state with an area of 71,362 square miles (184,827 sq km), and the 13th most populous state with over 7 million people. Approximately 60 percent of Washington's residents live in the Seattle metropolitan area, the center of transportation, business, and industry along Puget Sound, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean consisting of numerous islands, deep fjords, and bays carved out by glaciers. The remainder of the state consists of deep temperate rainforests in the west, mountain ranges in the west, central, northeast and far southeast, and a semi-arid basin region in the east, central, and south, given over to intensive agriculture. Washington is the second most populous state on the West Coast and in the Western United States, after California. Mount Rainier, an active stratovolcano, is the state's highest elevation at almost 14,411 feet (4,392 m) and is the most topographically prominent mountain in the contiguous United States.


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