Washington is one of the country's three Pacific Coast states. California and Oregon are the other two. The Pacific Ocean is west of Washington. Oregon lies to the south. Idaho is to the east. To the north is another country, Canada.
Washington covers 68,139 square miles. Its lowest points are along the Pacific Ocean. Other low, level land lies along Puget Sound and the state's rivers. The Columbia Plateau covers most of eastern Washington. Its high, level land is rich for farming. But most of the state is mountainous or hilly. The Olympic, Cascade, and Rocky mountains rise above Washington. The state's highest point is Mount Rainier, at 14,410 feet above sea level.
Washington also has about 600 islands. The largest is 60-mile-long Whidbey Island. There are 172 islands in the San Juan group.
COASTAL WATERS, LAKES, AND RIVERS
Washington has about 3,000 miles of shoreline. The Strait of Georgia forms part of the state's western border. A big arm of the Pacific Ocean cuts deep into northwest Washington. This is Puget Sound. It is linked to the Pacific by the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Harbors along the sound are important for shipping. Seattle, Tacoma, and Olympia grew around the harbors.
Washington has about 1000 natural lakes. Snake-shaped Lake Chelan is near the middle of the state. Lake Washington and Lake Sammamish are near Seattle. The damming of rivers created many artificially made lakes in Washington. Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake covers 130 square miles. It is the state's largest lake. The lake was made when Grand Coulee Dam was built on the Columbia River.
The Columbia River enters northeast Washington from Canada. It winds its way down through the state. Then it flows westward to the Pacific Ocean. Along its course, it forms most of the Washington-Oregon border. The Snake, Yakima, Spokane, and Okanogan are other important rivers.
CLIMATE
The Pacific Ocean warms western Washington in the winter and cools it in the summer. Seattle's temperatures are about 40 degrees Fahrenheit in winter. About 70 degrees Fahrenheit is common in summer. But the ocean has less effect farther inland. Spokane's temperatures are about 25 degrees Fahrenheit in winter. In summer, they are about 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
Coastal Washington receives rain on more than 182 days of the year. Wet air off the ocean causes this. The wet air falls as rain before crossing the mountains. That is why parts of eastern Washington receive little rain. Those areas are almost like deserts. Winter snowfall is only a few inches near the coast. But it can be 50 to 500 inches in the mountains. Washington also feels the chinook wind. This is a winter wind that causes the temperature to rise quickly.
WOODS AND WILDLIFE
Forests cover more than half the state. Some western Washington woodlands receive over 100 inches of rain a year. These areas are called rain forests. The rain helps the trees grow very large. Washington's Olympic National Park has a large rain forest. The country's four largest western hemlocks grow there. The western hemlock is the state tree. The country's two largest noble firs and western red cedars stand in the park. The largest Pacific yew also grows there.
Besides these evergreens, Washington's forest have maples, cottonwoods, aspens, and cherry trees. Ferns and mosses grow in the rain forests. Many pretty wildflowers also grow in Washington. They include dogwood, goldenrod, and brown-eyed Susans. The coast rhododendron is the state flower.
Many kinds of animals live in Washington. Gray whales sometimes approach the Pacific shore. Seals and Dall porpoises often visit Puget Sound. Some of the world's largest octopuses also live in the sound. Washington is famous for many kinds of salmon. The steelhead trout is the state fish. Tuna, flounder, clams, crabs, oysters, and shrimp also live in Washington waters. Pelicans, blue herons, and puffins fish in the state's waters. Washington's oystercatchers open oysters with their long bills. Peregrine falcons dive at 200 miles per hour from Washington skies. Night herons and northern spotted owls fly about after dark.
Thousands of deer roam Washington. Mountain lions and Canada lynxes prowl about the state. Mountain goats climb through the highlands. Northeast Washington's pine forests are home to the pygmy shrew. It looks like a mouse.
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