The state of Washington is located in the Western United States and belongs to the Pacific States of the United States. The territory of the state of Washington is 184,827 km2 (18th place among the US states). The capital is Olympia, the largest city is Seattle. Washington is the most northwestern of the US continental states. It borders Canada to the north, Idaho to the east, and Oregon to the south. In the west, the coast of the state is washed by the waters of the Pacific Ocean.
The state of Washington is called the “land of contrasts”. On its territory you can see high mountains and river valleys, rainforests and semi-deserts.
STATE NAME
The state of Washington was named after George Washington, the first President of the United States, and is the only state in the United States to bear the name of a President of the United States. The state is simply called “Washington” by its inhabitants, in contrast to the US capital city of Washington, to the name of which the abbreviation DC (“DC”, District of Columbia, District of Columbia) is usually added.
GEOGRAPHY
Three main physiographic regions are distinguished on the territory of the state: valleys and plateaus in the east, mountain ranges in central Washington, and ocean coasts in the west.
The eastern part of the state is formed by the Columbia Plateau, a vast plateau located between the Rocky and Cascade Mountains, part of the US Intermountain Plateau. The Cascade Mountains prevent moisture-saturated air masses from the Pacific Ocean from reaching the eastern regions of the state, so the climate here is rather arid. Through the hilly steppes flows from north to south, forming a large arc, the Columbia River, the largest in the northwest of the United States. At the confluence of the Snake River, Columbia turns west, forming the state’s southern border.
In central Washington state, the Cascade Mountains stretch from north to south. There are several volcanoes that are part of the “Pacific Ring of Fire”:
In the western part of the state, on the Olympic Peninsula, there are the Olympic Mountains of the same name, reaching a height of 2427 meters above sea level. Between the Olympic and Cascade Mountains along the Puget Sound indented with numerous bays and fjords, coastal lowlands stretch.
HYDROGRAPHY
Through the hilly steppes flows from north to south, forming a large arc, the Columbia River, the largest in the northwest of the United States. At the confluence of the Snake River, Columbia turns west, forming the state’s southern border.
CLIMATE
The features of the relief of the state also determine the features of the climate. The areas to the west of the Cascades are characterized by very high rainfall and a rather mild climate with warm winters and relatively small seasonal temperature differences. The average January temperature in the state’s largest city, Seattle, located on the Puget Sound, ranges from 3°C to 8°C, while in July the temperature usually ranges from 13°C to 24°C. In the east of the state, the climate is much drier and the seasons are more pronounced. The average winter temperature in the second most populous city in Washington state, Spokane, is from -6°C to 0°C, and in summer – from 13°C to 28°C. Precipitation here falls two times less than in Seattle.
ECONOMY
The state of Washington is one of the most economically developed in the Western United States. Well-developed industry and agriculture, a major transport hub, many high-tech companies – all this is inherent in the economy of Washington.
During the period of development of the northwest of the United States, the forest lands of present-day Washington state were a practically inexhaustible source of timber for the construction of ships, new cities and settlements. Logging and lumber production remain an important part of the state’s economy today.
The state of Washington is one of the first places in the United States in the production of electricity from hydroelectric power plants. The cascade of dams built on the Columbia River includes the largest in the United States (and one of the largest in the world) Grand Coulee Dam. In total, there are more than a thousand dams in the state used for energy production and irrigation of agricultural land.
Several of the world’s largest IT companies are headquartered in Washington State. The most famous among them is, of course, the famous Microsoft, whose head office is located in Redmond, not far from Seattle. In addition, the world’s largest online store Amazon is based in Washington, offering a variety of services via the Internet for tourists and travelers Expedia, the popular developer of computer games (including the famous Half-Life series) Valve, the American division of the video game manufacturer Nintendo and many others.. Among the well-known telecommunications companies of the state is one of the main mobile operators in the US T-Mobile.
TOURISM
Washington State is home to a number of nature reserves, including Olympic, Mount Rainier, North Cascades National Parks; Colville, Olympic, Gifford Pinchot National Forests and many other protected areas.
Top Nursing Schools in Washington
If you intend to purse a nursing degree in Washington, you should aim at the top nursing schools in Washington. Let’s show below, which schools have a standard curriculum for nursing education and are recognized by the market. See the…
Read more
