Washington (state)

Before Europeans arrived, the area of present-day Washington was home to Pacific Coast Indian peoples, among them the Chinook and the Nez Percé.⁠[1]

The Palouse Falls area in the southeast was home to the Palouse Native American culture, and the orca holds significance in Native American culture.⁠[2]

Between 1543 and 1792, Spanish, Russian, British and French explorers visited the region.⁠[1]

In 1805 the Lewis and Clark Expedition crossed the region, and its journals documented the Palouse Falls area.⁠[1][2]

In 1819 Spain ceded its claims north of California to the United States.⁠[1]

Until the 1840s, an agreement between the United States and Britain allowed citizens of both countries to settle and trade in the Oregon Country. In 1844 the Democratic candidate James K. Polk campaigned on a demand for the whole region under the slogan “Fifty-four forty or fight.” In 1846 the two countries agreed on the 49th parallel as the boundary between them, which now forms Washington’s border with Canada.⁠[3][1]

In 1848 Congress established the Oregon Territory, which covered present-day OregonOregonOregon (officially the State of Oregon) is a state on the Pacific coast of the western United States; its capital is Salem and its largest city is Portland. It was admitted to the Union on February 14, 1859, as the 33rd state. Its population in the 2020 census (April 1, 2020) was 4,237,256.Open the full entry, Washington and IdahoIdahoIdaho is a state in the northwestern United States, often classed as a Mountain state and also considered part of the Pacific Northwest; its capital and largest city is Boise. It was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state, and its population in the 2020 census (April 1, 2020) was 1,839,106.Open the full entry as well as parts of WyomingWyomingWyoming is a U.S. state, the ninth largest by area, with its capital at Cheyenne. Wyoming was admitted to the Union on July 10, 1890, as the 44th state, and the 2020 census (April 1, 2020) counted 576,851 residents.Open the full entry and MontanaMontanaMontana is a state in the northwestern United States, with the Rocky Mountains in the west and the Great Plains in the east; its capital is Helena and its largest city is Billings. Montana became the 41st U.S. state on November 8, 1889, and the 2020 census (April 1, 2020) counted 1,084,225 residents.Open the full entry.⁠[3]

In the 1850s, gold discoveries in the interior made Walla Walla for a time the center of eastern Washington.⁠[3]

In the same period, settlers renamed their settlement New York-Alki, using the word “Alki” in the sense of “bye and bye,” or “into the future.”⁠[4]

In 1853 Congress created Washington Territory, named for the first U.S. president, George Washington, and extended it east of the Columbia River to the Rocky Mountains.⁠[3]

A provision of the 1853 Territorial Act funded a library, and the resulting Washington State Library was the state’s first library.⁠[5]

In 1863 Washington Territory was reduced to its present size.⁠[1]

In the 1870s and 1880s, extensions of the telegraph and the railroads strengthened the region’s ties with the rest of the United States.⁠[3]

President Benjamin Harrison signed the proclamation admitting Washington, and a telegram carried the news to the first governor, Elisha P. Ferry. Montana had been admitted three days earlier, and North DakotaNorth DakotaNorth Dakota is a state in the north-central United States; its capital is Bismarck. It was admitted to the Union on November 2, 1889, as the 39th state, and its population in the 2020 census (April 1, 2020) was 779,094.Open the full entry and South DakotaSouth DakotaSouth Dakota is a U.S. state bordered by North Dakota to the north, Minnesota and Iowa to the east, Nebraska to the south, and Wyoming and Montana to the west. Its capital is Pierre and its largest city is Sioux Falls. It was admitted to the Union on November 2, 1889, as the 40th state, and the 2020 census (April 1, 2020) counted 886,667 residents.Open the full entry nine days earlier.⁠[6][7]

The 1890 census counted 357,232 people in Washington, about five times the 1880 figure; the largest cities were Seattle (42,837), Tacoma (36,006) and Spokane (19,922).⁠[6]

In the late 1890s, Washington supplied gold seekers bound for the AlaskaAlaskaAlaska is the largest U.S. state by area and borders Canada to the east; its capital is Juneau and its largest city is Anchorage. Alaska was admitted to the Union on January 3, 1959, as the 49th state. Its population at the 2020 Census (April 1, 2020) was 733,391.Open the full entry and Yukon strikes.⁠[3]

In 1909 the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition was held in Seattle.⁠[3]

The second decade of the 20th century was marked by labor unrest in Washington, often violent.⁠[3]

Work on Bonneville Dam and Grand Coulee Dam began in 1933. Bonneville Dam was completed in 1937; the main structure of Grand Coulee Dam was finished in 1941, when it was the largest dam in the United States, and its generators were installed the following year. Grand Coulee was part of Depression-era hydroelectric dam construction along the Columbia River. Grand Coulee’s first two power plants were completed in 1951 and a third began operating in 1975. Hydroelectric power and the two dams drove Washington’s growth in the 20th century.⁠[3][2][1]

In 1962 the Seattle World’s Fair, the Century 21 Exposition, was held.⁠[3]

On May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens in the Cascade Range erupted violently, setting off a massive landslide and sending an ash plume about 16 miles (26 kilometers) high; its summit elevation fell from 9,677 feet to 8,363 feet.⁠[3][8]

In the 1990s western Washington became a leader in technology; King, Pierce and Snohomish counties grew rapidly, and by the end of the decade more than 2.5 million people lived there. Above-average precipitation in the same decade caused widespread floods and landslides.⁠[3]

From November 29 to December 3, 1999, the World Trade Organization ministerial meeting in Seattle drew about 50,000 protesters; police used tear gas, many people were arrested and the talks were temporarily disrupted.⁠[3]

In November 2009 voters passed Referendum 71, confirming a domestic partnership law the legislature had passed that spring. In February 2012 the legislature legalized same-sex marriage, making Washington the seventh U.S. state or territory (including the District of Columbia) to do so; in November that year voters approved it by popular vote, one of the first three states to do so, with MarylandMarylandMaryland is a Middle Atlantic state of the United States, deeply indented by Chesapeake Bay and bordered by Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, the District of Columbia and West Virginia; its capital is Annapolis and its largest city is Baltimore. One of the original 13 states, it ratified the U.S. Constitution on April 28, 1788, as the seventh state to do so, and had a population of 6,177,224 in the 2020 census (April 1, 2020).Open the full entry and MaineMaineMaine is a state in the northeastern United States, bordered by Canada and New Hampshire; its capital is Augusta and its largest city is Portland. It entered the Union on March 15, 1820, as the 23rd state, and had a population of 1,362,359 in the 2020 census (April 1, 2020).Open the full entry.⁠[3]

In 2012 Washington and ColoradoColoradoColorado is a U.S. state classified as one of the Mountain states, with Denver as its capital. It was admitted to the Union on August 1, 1876, as the 38th state, and its population in the 2020 census (April 1, 2020) was 5,773,714.Open the full entry became the first two states to legalize recreational marijuana; the first marijuana stores opened in July 2014, and the legal industry produced more than $70 million in state tax revenue in its first year.⁠[3]

On April 26, 2021, the Census Bureau delivered the 2020 census apportionment results to the President. Washington kept its 10 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, with an average of 771,595 people per seat; after the 2010 census the state had gained one seat to reach 10, at 675,337 per seat.⁠[9][10]

Based on the 2020 census, Washington has 12 electoral votes in the 2024 and 2028 presidential elections.⁠[11]

The current state constitution was adopted in 1889. The design of the state seal is governed by Article 18, Section 1 of the constitution.⁠[2][12]

The state legislature is the Washington State Legislature, a bicameral body elected from 49 legislative districts: the Senate has 49 members, one per district, serving staggered four-year terms, and the House of Representatives has 98 members, two per district, serving two-year terms. Districts are redrawn after each census. The legislature convenes each year on the second Monday in January, for a 105-day session in odd-numbered years and a 60-day session in even-numbered years.⁠[13][2][14]

The governor is elected to a four-year term and heads the executive branch; the lieutenant governor serves as President of the Senate. The Supreme Court heads the judicial branch, and its justices are elected by the people.⁠[2]

As of November 2026 the governor is Bob Ferguson, who took the oath of office at the State Capitol on January 15, 2025, as Washington’s 24th governor, succeeding Jay Inslee. He previously served on the King County Council from 2004 to 2013 and as the 18th Attorney General of Washington from 2013 to 2025.⁠[15][16][17]

The governor’s office describes Ferguson as a fourth-generation Washingtonian whose family homesteaded on the Skagit River in the 19th century; he began his legal career in Spokane.⁠[18]

Washington lies at the northwestern corner of the 48 conterminous states, bordered by the Canadian province of British Columbia to the north, Idaho to the east, Oregon to the south and the Pacific Ocean to the west.⁠[8]

In the Census Bureau’s state area measurements (boundaries as of January 1, 2010), Washington has a total area of 71,298 square miles (184,661 square kilometers): 66,456 square miles (172,119 square kilometers) of land and 4,842 square miles (12,542 square kilometers) of water, of which 1,715 square miles is inland water, 2,468 square miles coastal water and 660 square miles territorial water.⁠[19]

The Cascade Range is a chain of volcanic peaks with the state’s highest elevations and permanent glaciers on its highest summits. The highest point, Mount Rainier, rises to 14,410 feet (4,392 meters), the fifth-highest peak in the conterminous United States. The Olympic Mountains reach 7,965 feet (2,428 meters) at Mount Olympus, and dense rainforests cover their western slopes.⁠[8]

The Columbia River and its main tributary, the Snake, drain the Columbia basin; other rivers in the west include the Chehalis and the Cowlitz.⁠[8]

The climate is dominated by prevailing westerly winds and the Pacific Ocean. The Cascade Range divides the state into a rainy western third and a drier eastern two-thirds; the west is milder than any other part of the United States at the same latitudes, with most precipitation in the cooler months, while east of the Cascades seasonal temperature swings are larger and summer highs exceed 100 °F (38 °C) on a few days each year.⁠[8]

In the 2020 census the resident population of the 50 states and the District of Columbia totaled 331,449,281, of which Washington accounted for about 2.3%.⁠[20]

The Census Bureau estimates that Washington’s population rose from 7,927,958 on July 1, 2024, to 8,001,020 on July 1, 2025, an increase of 73,062 or 0.9%; the state ranked sixth in numeric growth and seventh in percentage growth.⁠[21]

Most residents live in the urbanized Puget Sound area. The six most populous cities in 2020 were Seattle (737,015), Spokane (228,989), Tacoma (219,346), Vancouver (190,915), Bellevue (151,854) and Everett (110,629).⁠[8][22]

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis data put Washington’s nominal gross domestic product at $892,254.8 million in 2025, up from $846,353.5 million in 2024.⁠[23]

By industry in 2025, information contributed $159,965.9 million, government and government enterprises $99,905.6 million and manufacturing $65,331.8 million (nominal values, Bureau of Economic Analysis data).⁠[24][25][26]

The economy of the west relies on agriculture, forests, fisheries and imported raw materials, while the east is mainly agricultural, producing wheat, irrigated crops and livestock. Major manufacturing includes aircraft and shipbuilding, and trade with Pacific Rim countries, high technology and tourism are also important; the state’s harbors give it a leading role in trade with Alaska, Canada and Pacific Rim countries.⁠[8][1]

Five Washington universities compete at the NCAA Division I level, among them the University of Washington, Washington State University and Gonzaga University. The University of Washington’s eight-man rowing crew won a gold medal at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, and its football team won a national championship in 1991.⁠[5]

Major cultural institutions include the Seattle Art Museum, noted for its Asian art; the Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State Museum on the University of Washington campus, with an important collection on Pacific Northwest Indians; Seattle’s Museum of History and Industry and Pacific Science Center; and the Washington State Historical Society museum in Tacoma. The Seattle Symphony, Seattle Opera and Seattle Repertory Theatre draw national attention.⁠[5]

In professional sports, the NFLNFLThe NFL (National Football League) is a U.S. professional American football league of 32 clubs. Founded in 1920 as the APFA and renamed in 1922, it is organized into the AFC and NFC, with the season culminating in the Super Bowl.Open the full entry’s Seattle SeahawksSeattle SeahawksThe Seattle Seahawks are an NFL professional American football team in the NFC West, based at Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington. Awarded a franchise in 1974, they began play in 1976 and won Super Bowls XLVIII and LX under Pete Carroll and Mike Macdonald respectively. The Khosla family became the controlling owner when its acquisition closed in September 2026.Open the full entry were founded in 1976 and won the Super Bowl in 2014; the NBANBAThe National Basketball Association (NBA) is a North American professional basketball league with 30 teams.Open the full entry’s Seattle SuperSonicsOklahoma City ThunderThe Oklahoma City Thunder are an American NBA basketball team based at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.Open the full entry began play in 1968, won a league championship in 1979 and moved to Oklahoma City in 2008; the state is also home to MLBMLBMajor League Baseball (MLB) is a baseball league comprising 30 clubs in the United States and Canada.Open the full entry’s Seattle MarinersSeattle MarinersThe Seattle Mariners are a professional baseball club in Seattle, competing in Major League Baseball’s American League West since 1977.Open the full entry, the WNBA’s Seattle Storm and MLSMLSMajor League Soccer (MLS) is a top-flight professional soccer league comprising clubs in the United States and Canada. Play began in 1996, and the league has 30 clubs divided between Eastern and Western Conferences in 2026.Open the full entry’s Seattle SoundersSeattle Sounders FCSeattle Sounders FC is an MLS professional soccer club in Seattle, Washington, with Lumen Field as its regular home venue.Open the full entry.⁠[5]

Washington’s nickname is “The Evergreen State,” after its abundant evergreen forests; it was coined by C.T. Conover, a pioneer Seattle realtor and historian, and the Legislature states that it has never been officially adopted.⁠[27]

The unofficial territorial motto is “Al-ki” or “Alki.” It first appeared on the territorial seal designed by Lt. J.K. Duncan of Governor Isaac Stevens’ surveying expedition; one side of the seal showed a log cabin, an immigrant wagon and a fir forest, and the other a steamer, a sailing vessel and a city, with the Goddess of Hope holding an anchor at the center.⁠[4]

The state seal was designed in 1889 by Olympia jeweler Charles Talcott, who drew its rings with an ink bottle and a silver dollar and pasted a postage stamp bearing George Washington’s portrait in the center; his brothers L. Grant Talcott and G. N. Talcott lettered the words and cut the printing die. RCW 1.20.080 specifies the words “The Seal of the State of Washington” around a vignette of George Washington, with “1889” beneath it.⁠[28][12]

Washington did not adopt an official flag until 1923, more than 30 years after statehood; the law, now RCW 1.20.010, specifies a flag of dark green silk or bunting with the state seal at its center and, if fringed, a gold or yellow fringe. Under WAC 434-04-017 the Secretary of State requires identical seals on both sides and a height-to-width ratio of 1:1.6, and manufacturers must submit a sample for approval before selling the flag.⁠[28][12]

Symbols designated by state law include the state tree, the western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla, 1947); the state flower, the coast rhododendron (Rhododendron macrophyllum, 1959); the state bird, the willow goldfinch; the state fish, the steelhead trout; the state fruit, the apple; and the state song, “Washington My Home” by Helen Davis. The flower was chosen in 1892 by Washington women before they had the right to vote. The Legislature lists 27 state symbols in all, including the orca as state marine mammal and pickleball as state sport.⁠[12][2][29]

Washington State: Official website: https://wa.gov/ (opens in a new window).⁠[30]

Office of the Governor of Washington State: Official website: https://governor.wa.gov/ (opens in a new window).⁠[15]

Washington State Legislature: Official website: https://leg.wa.gov/ (opens in a new window).⁠[14]