Washington (state)

"Washington state" redirects here. For the proposed statehood of Washington, D.C., see District of Columbia statehood movement. For other uses, see Washington (disambiguation) and Washington State (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Wa State.

Washington
State
Green flag with the circular Seal of Washington centered on it.
Flag
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.
Seal
Nickname: 
"The Evergreen State" (unofficial)[1]
Motto(s): 
Alki (Chinook jargon for 'By and By')
Anthem: "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.
Map of the United States with Washington highlighted
CountryUnited States
Before statehoodWashington Territory
Admitted to the UnionNovember 11, 1889 (42nd)
CapitalOlympia
Largest citySeattle
Largest county or equivalentKing
Largest metro and urban areasSeattle
Government
 • GovernorJay Inslee (D)
 • Lieutenant governorDenny Heck (D)
LegislatureState Legislature
 • Upper houseState Senate
 • Lower houseHouse of Representatives
JudiciaryWashington Supreme Court
U.S. senatorsPatty Murray (D)
Maria Cantwell (D)
U.S. House delegation8 Democrats
2 Republicans (list)
Area
 • Total
71,362 sq mi (184,827 km2)
 • Land66,544 sq mi (172,587 km2)
 • Water4,757 sq mi (12,237 km2)  6.6%
 • Rank18th
Dimensions
 • Length240 mi (400 km)
 • Width360 mi (580 km)
Elevation
1,700 ft (520 m)
Highest elevation
(Mount Rainier)
14,411 ft (4,392 m)
Lowest elevation
(Pacific Ocean)
0 ft (0 m)
Population
 (2023)
 • Total
7,812,880
 • Rank13th
 • Density103/sq mi (39.6/km2)
  • Rank25th
 • Median household income
$70,979 (2,017)[2]
 • Income rank
7th[2]
DemonymWashingtonian
Language
 • Official languageNone (de jure)
English (de facto)
Time zoneUTC−08:00 (Pacific)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−07:00 (PDT)
USPS abbreviation
WA
ISO 3166 codeUS-WA
Traditional abbreviationWash.
Latitude45°33′ N to 49° N
Longitude116°55′ W to 124°46′ W
Websitewa.gov
ASN

Washington, officially the State of Washington,[3] is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington state[a] to distinguish it from the national capital,[4] both named after George Washington (the first U.S. president). Washington borders the Pacific Ocean to the west, Oregon to the south, Idaho to the east, and shares an international border with the Canadian province of British Columbia to the north. Olympia is the state capital, and the most populous city is Seattle.

Washington is the 18th-largest state, with an area of 71,362 square miles (184,830 km2), and the 13th-most populous state, with more than 7.8 million people.[5] The majority of Washington's residents live in the Seattle metropolitan area, the center of transportation, business, and industry on Puget Sound,[6][7] 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, center, northeast, and far southeast; and a semi-arid basin region in the east, center, 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 14,411 feet (4,392 meters), and is the most topographically prominent mountain in the contiguous U.S.

Washington is a leading lumber producer, the largest producer of apples, hops, pears, blueberries, spearmint oil, and sweet cherries in the U.S., and ranks high in the production of apricots, asparagus, dry edible peas, grapes, lentils, peppermint oil, and potatoes.[8][9] Livestock, livestock products, and commercial fishing—particularly of salmon, halibut, and bottomfish—are also significant contributors to the state's economy.[10] Washington ranks second only to California in wine production. Manufacturing industries in Washington include aircraft, missiles, shipbuilding, and other transportation equipment, food processing, metals, and metal products, chemicals, and machinery.[11]

The state was formed from the western part of the Washington Territory, which was ceded by the British Empire in the Oregon Treaty of 1846. It was admitted to the Union as the 42nd state in 1889. One of the wealthiest and most socially liberal states in the country,[12] Washington consistently ranks among the top states for highest life expectancy and employment rates.[13] It was one of the first states (alongside Colorado) to legalize medicinal and recreational cannabis,[14] was among the first states to introduce same-sex marriage,[15] and was one of only four states to have provided legal abortions on request before Roe v. Wade in 1973.[16] Washington voters also approved a 2008 referendum on the legalization of physician-assisted suicide,[17] making it one of 10 states to have legalized the practice.[18]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference [email protected] was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference 2015CensusH8 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Word list and common terms". University of Washington. Archived from the original on September 2, 2021. Retrieved September 2, 2021. Lowercase state: state of Washington or Washington state. Note that Washington State refers to the university in Pullman, Washington.
  5. ^ "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Washington". United States Census Bureau. January 7, 2024. Archived from the original on November 21, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
  6. ^ Augustyn, Adam; Critchfield, Howard J. (August 12, 2021). "Washington state, United States". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on September 2, 2021. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  7. ^ "Puget Sound". Washington State Department of Ecology. Archived from the original on September 2, 2021. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  8. ^ Cargill, Chris (March 23, 2016). "Agriculture: The cornerstone of Washington's economy". Washington Policy Center. Archived from the original on September 2, 2021. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  9. ^ "Washington Agriculture". Washington State Department of Agriculture. Archived from the original on September 2, 2021. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  10. ^ Smith, Rob (September 11, 2019). "Shining the Light on Washington's Robust Commercial Fishing Industry During National Seafood Month". Seattle Business Magazine. Archived from the original on September 2, 2021. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  11. ^ "Key Industries in Washington State". Washington State Department of Commerce. Archived from the original on September 1, 2021. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  12. ^ Balk, Gene (February 27, 2018). "Liberals outnumber conservatives for first time in Washington state, Gallup poll shows". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on September 2, 2021. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  13. ^ "America's best states to live in, ranked". USA Today. Archived from the original on November 7, 2018. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
  14. ^ Walsh, John (May 21, 2013). "Q&A: Legal Marijuana in Colorado and Washington". The Brookings Institution. Archived from the original on September 2, 2021. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  15. ^ Casey, Heather. "Guides: A Brief History of Civil Rights in the United States: A Timeline of the Legalization of Same-Sex Marriage in the U.S." Georgetown Law Library. Archived from the original on September 2, 2021. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  16. ^ Connelly, Joel (May 15, 2019). "Connelly: When Washington legalized abortion, before Roe v. Wade". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Archived from the original on September 2, 2021. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  17. ^ "Death with Dignity Act". Washington State Department of Health. Archived from the original on September 2, 2021. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  18. ^ "Physician-Assisted Suicide Fast Facts". CNN. November 26, 2014. Archived from the original on September 2, 2021. Retrieved September 2, 2021.


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