Washington State

INTRODUCTION TO WASHINGTON STATE

The Olympic Peninsula

To the west of Puget Sound, lies the Olympic Peninsula.This peninsula is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the West and Hood Canal to the East. 

Here, we find Olympic National Park, which covers close to one million acres of wilderness. Old-growth forests, rushing waterfalls, sparkling lakes, a temperate rainforest  and coastal beaches filled with sea stacks call this area home. 

Olympic National Park has more than 3,000 miles of rivers and streams. Laid end to end, this would be like walking from San Diego, CA, across the Southern United States and ending up in Washington, D.C.!

The Kitsap Peninsula

Between the Olympic Peninsula and the metropolitan  area of Seattle, lies the Kitsap Peninsula. The Kitsap Peninsula is home to nearly 300,000 people and has more than 250 miles of coastal shoreline. This makes it an excellent home for the United States Navy, which has two bases on the Kitsap Peninsula. Many aircraft carriers have made their home in Bremerton, Washington throughout the years. Naval Base Kitsap is home to the only Trident Missile Submarines west of the Mississippi River. 

Washington State Ferries 

From the Kitsap Peninsula, visitors and residents can take a Washington State Ferry to the city of Seattle.  Known as a "marine highway," the Washington State Ferries operate  28 ferries going to more than 20 different ports throughout the Puget Sound region, including the San Juan Islands. Ferry rides can be as short as 20 minutes or as long as an hour, depending on the ferry's route. 

Ferry service around Puget Sound began more than 100 years ago, in the early 1900's. Today, the ferries carry 24.2 million passengers annually.  

The City of Seattle

Seattle is the largest city in Washington state. It sits on the shores of Puget Sound to the West and is bordered by a large lake, Lake Washington, to the East. 

Today, the population of the metropolitan  area of Seattle is close to 4 million people. This makes Seattle the 15th largest city in the United States. 

Seattle is named after Chief Sealth (1786-1866) a chief of the Duwamish and Suquamish Native American tribes.

You may have heard of some of our professional sports teams: the Seattle Seahawks of the NFL and the Seattle Storm of the WNBA.

Industries in Seattle

Seattle is also home to several other large industries, several of which have revolutionized  their industries. Amazon, the online retail giant, has their headquarters in downtown Seattle. Microsoft, the software company is headquarted just across Lake Washington from Seattle. Boeing is known for building nearly half of all commerical airline planes, as well as military aircrafts. 

Amazon, Microsoft and Boeing employ nearly 200,000  people in the Seattle metropolitan region.

Combined with the smaller city of Tacoma, lies less than 30 miles South along Puget Sound, Seattle and Tacoma are home to the fifth busiest cargo shipping port in the United States. 

The Space Needle

Standing 605 feet tall, the Space Needle stands to the north of the Seattle city skyline. The Space Needle looks like it might fall over easily, but it was built to withstand  winds up to 200 miles per hour! 

Built in 1962 for the World's Fair, it was the tallest structure west of the Mississippi River when it was completed.

If you wanted to climb to the observation deck at the top, instead of riding the glass elevator,  you would climb 848 stairs!

San Juan Islands 

North of Seattle, we will find the archipelago (many islands in one area in a body of water) of the San Juan Islands. Nestled between North Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan De Fuca, the San Juan Islands are made up of six main islands and more than 150 smaller islands. There are no fast food restaurants or major grocery store chains, like Kroger, on the islands.

The San Juan Islands are known as a spot for whale watching. Lime Kiln State Park is known as the best spot to view Orca Whales. 

Each October, hundreds of Trumpeter Swans migrate from Alaska to the San Juan Islands. They migrate back to Alaska in March.  

Seattle is the largest city in Washington state, but the capitol of Washington is in the small city of Olympia, tucked into South Puget Sound. 

The Governor of the state lives here, and the state House of Representatives and State Senate meet here each year to discuss and vote on legislation  affecting the people of Washington state.  

To the west of Puget Sound, lies the Olympic Peninsula.This peninsula is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the West and Hood Canal to the East. 

Here, we find Olympic National Park, which covers close to one million acres of wilderness. Old-growth forests, rushing waterfalls, sparkling lakes, a temperate rainforest and coastal beaches filled with sea stacks call this area home. 

Mount Rainier

From many places in Western Washington, residents can see the 14,410 foot tall Mount Rainier. Named after a Navy Admiral, Peter Rainier, the mountain is an active volcano.

Visitors to the mountain can drive more than 5,000 feet up the mountain to a spot called: Paradise. Here, visitors can hike a variety of trails, view mountain wildlife and learn more about the mountain environment. There is even a lodge where visitors to the mountain can stay overnight!

Mount Saint Helens

Following the Cascade Mountain Range south, we find Mount Saint Helens. Like Mt. Rainier, Mt. Saint Helens is part of the Pacific "Ring of Fire," which includes volcanoes surrounding the Pacific Ocean. 

On the early morning of May  18, 1980, Mt. St. Helens erupted, sending 540 million tons of ash spewing through the air. The ash turned daylight into darkness for many people in Washington state that day. 

Wind carried the ash to places as far away as Denver, Colorado! 

Washington Apples 

East of the Cascade Mountain Range lies fertile soil, perfect for apple orchards.

With nearly 175,000 acres of apple orchards, Washington state grows more than 60% of all the apples you see in the grocery store each year!  Washington apples are picked by hand and are exported to more than 60 countries around the world. 

Cherries

Cherries are another major export from Washington state. The sweetest type of cherry is known as the "Rainier cherry." 

In 2019, Washington state produced more than 23 million boxes of cherries! Each box of cherries weighed 20 lbs  each.

It takes an average of three days for the cherries to be picked from the tree and make it all the way to your grocery shelf nearly anywhere in the United States!  

The Palouse

The Palouse is a large region in Eastern Washington with rolling hills and fertile soil. It  is home to hundreds of ranches and farms, streching more than 15 million acres across the Eastern part of the state. Many of these ranches are used for raising livestock .

Nearly 9,000 cattle call Washington state home and many live in this region of the state. As of 2014, Washington state was the 10th largest producer of dairy out of all 50 United States!

The Grand Coulee Dam

The Grand Coulee Dam is one of the largest concrete structures in the world. It took almost 9 years to build, with construction starting in 1933 and ending in 1941. The dam is 550 feet high.

Using the hydro-electric power  it generates, The Grand Coulee Dam produces enough electricity to provide more than 4.2 million people with electricity each year. The dam is able to provide electricity to more than 11 different states in the Western United States.

Hydro-electric power is one of the cleanest energy sources in the United States. 

Conclusion

This concludes our grand tour of the state of Washington! I couldn't include everything I love about my home state, but I hope I included enough information to spark your curiosity and make you want to come visit!  

Don't forget to bring a rain jacket when you visit!

1. How tall is the Space Needle?

2. What bird migrates every year to the San Juan Islands?

3. Who is Seattle named after?

4. In what region are Washington apples grown? 

Books

Washington Parker, Bridget, 2017 Capstone Press, Minnesota

Websites  

Easy Science for Kids

easyscienceforkids.com/space-needle-facts

National Park Service

www.nps.gov/mora

The San Juan Islands

thesanjuans.com

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation

usbr.gov/grandcoulee 

U.S. Forest Service

 fs.usda.gov/wps/sthelens

 Seven Wonders of Washington State

sevenwondersofwashingtonstate/thepalouse

Washington State Ferries

wadot.wa.gov

Washington State Fruit Commission

wastatefruit.com