Washington (state)

Washington (state)

Washington is the 18th largest state, with an area of 71,362 square miles. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean, Oregon to the south, Idaho to the east, and the Canadian province of British Columbia to the north. Mount Rainier, an active stratovolcano, is the state’s highest elevation, at almost 14,411 feet. The state is one of the wealthiest and most socially liberal states in the country.

About Washington (state) in brief

Summary Washington (state)Washington is the 18th largest state, with an area of 71,362 square miles. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean, Oregon to the south, Idaho to the east, and the Canadian province of British Columbia to the north. Mount Rainier, an active stratovolcano, is the state’s highest elevation, at almost 14,411 feet. Washington is a leading lumber producer; its rugged surface is rich in stands of Douglas fir, hemlock, ponderosa pine, white pine, spruce, larch, and cedar. It ranks second only to California in wine production. Washington was named after President George Washington by an act of the United States Congress during the creation of Washington Territory in 1853. The state is one of the wealthiest and most socially liberal states in the country. It consistently ranks among the best for life expectancy and low unemployment. It was among the first thirty-six states to legalize same-sex marriage, doing so in 2012. In 2008, Washington voters approved a 2008 referendum on legalization of physician-assisted suicide, and is currently one of nine states, along with the District of Columbia to have legalized the practice. Washington has more than a thousand dams, including the Grand Coulee Dam, built for a variety of purposes including irrigation, power, flood control, and water storage. Residents of Washington and the Pacific Northwest simply refer to the state as ‘Washington’ and the nation’s capital as’Washington C.

C. Washington, D.C. is the only U.S. state named after a president. Confusion over the name Washington led to renaming proposals during the statehood process in 1889, including David Dudley Field II’s suggestion to name the new state ‘Tacoma C.’s, or ‘Washington C’ Washington, or simply ‘Washington D. C.’ Washington, C.’s own statehood movement in the 21st century includes a proposal to use the name Douglass Commonwealth, which would conflict with the current state of Washington, Douglass C. The current state capital is Olympia, the state capital, and Washington is the second most populous state on the West Coast and in the Western United States, after California. Washington is also the largest producer of apples, hops, pears, red raspberries, spearmint oil, and sweet cherries, and ranks high in the production of apricots, asparagus, dry edible peas, grapes, lentils, peppermintoil, and potatoes. Washington ranks second in the nation for fishing of salmon, halibut, and bottomfish, and makes a significant contribution to thestate’s economy. The state consistently ranksamong the best in life expectancy, low unemployment, and high school graduation rates. It was one of eight states to have criminalized the sale, possession and transfer of bump stocks, with California, Florida, New Jersey, New York, Vermont, Maryland, and Massachusetts also having banned these devices.