Washington (state)

WASHINGTON is a state located in the Pacific Northwest area of the Western United States, formally known as the State of Washington. It was named for George Washington, the first president of the United States, and was formed from the western portion of the Washington Territory, which was ceded by Britain in 1846 as part of the settlement of the Oregon boundary dispute, in accordance with the Oregon Treaty and the Oregon Territory Act. Washington was added to the Union as the 42nd state in 1889, and it is surrounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered on the south and east by Oregon and the north and east by British Columbia, which is a Canadian province. Although Olympia serves as the state capital, the city of Seattle is the state's most populous municipality. To differentiate it from the nation's capital, Washington, D.C Washington is often referred to as "Washington State."

Washington is the 18th-largest state in the union, with an area of 71,362 square miles (184,830 km2) and the 13th-most populated state, with a population of more than 7.7 million. It is estimated that the majority of Washington's inhabitants live in the Seattle metropolitan region, which serves as the state's transportation, economic, and industrial hub on Puget Sound, a Pacific Ocean inlet composed of many islands, deep fjords, and bays carved out by glaciers. Rest of the state is of deep temperate rainforests in the western part, mountain ranges in the central and northeastern parts and extreme southeasterly parts, and a semi-arid basin area in the east and centre of the state, which is heavily populated by farmers. In the Western United States, Washington is the second most populous state after California, and it is also the second most populated state on the West Coast. Mount Rainier, an active stratovolcano, rises to 14,411 feet (4,392 metres) above sea level and is the most conspicuous peak in the contiguous United States due to its topographic prominence.

As the world's top timber producer, Washington's mountainous terrain is abundant with forests of Douglas fir, hemlock, ponderosa pine, white pine, spruce, larch, and cedar, as well as other hardwoods. The state ranks first in the production of apricots, asparagus, dry edible peas, grapes, lentils, peppermint oil, and potatoes, and second in the production of hops, pears, blueberries, spearmint oil, and sweet cherries in the United States. It also ranks first in the production of apricots, hops, pears, blueberries, spearmint oil, and sweet cherries. A major contribution to the state's economy is the production of cattle and animal products, as well as commercial fishing (especially for salmon, halibut, and bottomfish). When it comes to wine production, Washington is second only to California.