Washington, named in honor of the nation's first president and popularly known as the Evergreen State because of its extensive forests, is located in the extreme northwestern corner of the continental United States. The Canadian province of British Columbia lies to the north, and the states of Idaho and Oregon form Washington's eastern and southern borders. Puget Sound and the Pacific Ocean lie to the west. Encompassing 176,477 sq km (68,138 sq mi), Washington ranks 20th among the states in land area and, with 4,866,692 inhabitants (1990 census), 18th in population. The population is increasing at a greater rate than the national average. Thousands of years of occupancy by American Indians were interrupted during the late 18th century by the arrival of European and American explorers and traders. The ensuing fur trade gave way to permanent white settlement during the 1840s. Washington, with its capital at \TOlympia\t, became a territory in 1853 and in 1889 became the 42d state. Long noted for its abundant natural resources of water, timber, and fish, today Washington is a leader in the aerospace industry, international trade, and tourism. LAND AND RESOURCES Washington is characterized by greatly varying relief and scenery. Although the rough outline of Washington's coast totals only 253 km (157 mi), the actual coastline is 4,870 km (3,026 mi) because of the many inlets and small islands in \TPuget Sound\t. The Strait of \TJuan de Fuca\t and the adjoining Puget Sound and Strait of Georgia separate the Olympic Mountains (highest peak, Mount Olympus, at 2,428 m/7,965 ft) on the Olympic Peninsula from British Columbia's Vancouver Island. To the east and southeast of the sound is a coastal plain, the Puget Sound lowland. To the east the lowland gives way to the \TCascade Range\t (highest peak, Mount Rainier, at 4,392 m/14,410 ft). Scarred and sculpted by glaciers and ice sheets, the Cascades are dominated by dormant volcanoes, in addition to Mount Rainier (including Adams, Baker, and Glacier). Another volcano in the Cascades, Mt. St. Helens--dormant since 1857--erupted in 1980, causing extensive damage mostly from volcanic ash. To the far east lie the lower slopes of the \TRocky Mountains\t. In the north are the Okanogan Highlands. Enclosed by the mountains (except in the southeast) lies the roughly triangular-shaped Columbia Basin, which incorporates incised coulees, lava plateaus, and undulating hills. The Columbia Basin and the Puget Sound lowland constitute Washington's only extensive level areas. Soils and Drainage Ranging from acidic, waterlogged peats to subhumid alkaline deposits, soils vary with both terrain and climate. The most fertile are loess soils of the Palouse River valley and alluvial soils of the Puget Sound lowland. The \TColumbia River\t and its tributaries, including the \Tsnake\t, Okanogan, and Yakima, drain all of eastern Washington. The system's volume of flow is second only to that of the Mississippi. Short rivers, including the Skagit, Snohomish, and Chehalis, drain the western portion of the state. Fjordlike Lake Chelan on the eastern side of the Cascade Range is the largest and deepest of Washington's hundreds of natural lakes; Lake Roosevelt, formed behind \TGrand Coulee Dam\t, is the largest artificial body of water in the state. Climate Under the influence of prevailing westerly winds and the rain-shadow effect of the Cascades, Washington is divided into two major climatic regions: a moist, temperate zone to the west with approximately 500 to 3,800 mm (20 to 150 in) of precipitation and an annual temperature fluctuation of 8 to 11 C degrees (14 to 20 F degrees), and a drier, somewhat continental eastern region with 200 to 635 mm (8 to 25 in) of precipitation and a temperature range of 25 deg to 28 deg C (45 deg to 50 deg F). Summer is the dry season throughout almost the entire state, and cyclonic storms from the west constitute the most frequent and regular meteorological disturbances. Vegetation and Animal Life The humid western portion of Washington is dominated by forests of Douglas fir and hemlock, mixed with western red cedar, Sitka spruce, and other conifers, as well as various deciduous trees including alder, birch, and maple. At higher elevations subalpine fir and other hardy species take over, while to the east beyond the crest of the Cascades ponderosa pine becomes common. Sagebrush and bunch grass prevail throughout much of the Columbia Basin, but ponderosa pine, Douglas fir, and other western species reappear in the east and in the Okanogan Highlands. Animal life abounds in Washington. Larger mammals include black bears, Roosevelt elks, deer, and cougars; smaller mammals include bobcats, marten, skunks, foxes, and coyotes. Major flyways bring many species of wildfowl through the state. Rivers and lakes are stocked with trout and sturgeon, and coastal waters abound with salmon, dogfish, Dungeness crab, and other shellfish. Resources The most valuable of Washington's varied and widely distributed natural resources are its Pacific salmon and shellfish; its Douglas fir and other softwoods found in the Olympics, Cascades, Blue Mountains (in the southeastern corner of the state), and Okanogan Highlands; its water resources in the Columbia Basin and many western rivers; and its loess soils of the Palouse River valley. Principal mineral resources include clay, sand, gravel, and stone. PEOPLE Washington's population density is unevenly distributed because of variations in terrain, resources, and economic opportunity. Density is greatest in the area around Seattle and Tacoma and lowest in the sparsely inhabited northeast corner of the state. The great majority of Washingtonians live in a narrow, 17-km-wide (10-mi) corridor running north-south from the Canadian border at Blaine to the Columbia River at Vancouver (an outlier of the Portland, Oreg., metropolitan area). Eastern Washington claims the state's second largest city, \TSpokane\t; smaller urban centers along the Columbia and its tributaries include YAKIMA, WALLA WALLA, and the tri-cities of Pasco-Richland-Kennewick, which have gained prominence in the decades since World War II. The Olympic Peninsula is thinly populated except in the vicinities of Aberdeen-Hoquiam and Port Angeles. Between 1970 and 1980, Washington's population increased at an average annual rate of more than 2.0% compared to the national average of 1.14%, and this trend continued in the decade from 1980 to 1990, when the state's yearly population increase was nearly 2%, as against an annual growth rate of about 1% for the population of the United States as a whole. Whites make up the great majority of the population, while blacks, Asians, and Hispanics constitute small minority groups within the state. Washington has an American Indian population as well, many of whom live on or near reservations. Roman Catholics are the largest religious group; other large groups are the Mormons, Methodists, and Lutherans. Education Since early territorial days Washington has had statewide primary and secondary education, with both expenditures and years of schooling completed, well above the national averages. Washington's public school system is run by a state superintendent of public instruction and a state board of education. Five state universities, all founded before 1900, are part of the public system of higher education (see \TWashington, state universities and college of\t), complementing private colleges and universities. The latter include the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Whitman College in Walla Walla, and Gonzaga University in Spokane. Culture and Historic Sites In addition to the extensive cultural activities of Washington's universities and college, the state has symphony orchestras in Seattle, Spokane, Bellevue, and other communities; the Cornish School of Music is at Seattle. The two state historical societies are in Tacoma and Spokane; the State Capitol Museum is in Olympia; and art galleries are located in Seattle, Spokane, Tacoma, and other cities. The Museum of History and Industry and the Pacific Science Center are both located in Seattle; the Museum of Native American Cultures is in Spokane. Regional museums include the Whatcom Museum of History and Art at Bellingham. The Whitman Mission National Historic Site near Walla Walla commemorates the Indian mission established in 1836 by Marcus Whitman. The Hudson's Bay Company had its headquarters at Fort Vancouver from 1825 to 1849. In recent years every part of the state has begun to encourage interest in its heritage by establishing pioneer museums and historic districts, and by restoring fur-trading stations such as those at Fort Okanogan and Spokane House and such army posts as Forts Spokane and Simcoe. Communications Washington has numerous commercial radio and television broadcasting facilities, as well as public television broadcasts from Seattle, Spokane, and Tacoma. Major newspapers having wide regional coverage include the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and Times, the Tacoma News-Tribune, and the Spokane Spokesman-Review and Chronicle. ECONOMIC ACTIVITY Historically, Washington has depended heavily on abundant primary resources for its economic well-being, but in recent decades manufacturing and services, especially tourism and finance, have provided increasingly larger proportions of the state's income. Manufacturing makes up the single most important economic activity in the state and accounts for about 20% of the gross state product. Agriculture Although providing less than 2% of personal income in the state, agriculture remains of major importance in the Columbia Basin where federal irrigation projects have brought extensive acreage under cultivation and have greatly enhanced productivity. Washington's leading agricultural commodities are wheat, dairy products, cattle, and apples, of which Washington is the nation's leading producer. Pears, hops, grapes, plums, and cherries are also leading products in various parts of the state; berries, poultry, and dairy farming are significant west of the Cascades. Forestry and Fishing The forest industries, which serve both national and international markets, are highly developed in western Washington and parts of the northeast and southeast of the state. Commercial fishing is concentrated along the Pacific Coast and around Puget Sound, with numerous small ports maintaining inshore and deep-sea fleets for salmon, halibut, and shellfish. Sport fishing is also popular; major species caught include salmon and trout. Mining Mining is of far less importance to the state today than it was a half-century ago. Coal is one of the state's valuable minerals and is its only major fossil-fuel resource. Smelting facilities located in Tacoma and Ferndale depend on ores from outside the state; nonetheless, Washington leads the nation in aluminum smelting. Nonmetalliferous minerals, including sand, gravel, clay, and stone, help maintain a variety of industries, including those producing cement and other construction materials. Other minerals found in the state are gold, silver, copper, and uranium. Manufacturing and Energy Washington's leading manufacturing products are transportation equipment, particularly aircraft and space equipment; food products; and lumber and wood products. Boeing, a leading producer of commercial aircraft, is the state's largest employer, with plants in Seattle, Everett, Auburn, Kent, and Renton. The primary-metals industry is also important in the state, as is the manufacture of nonelectrical machinery, printing and publishing, and paper products. Industrial centers are heavily concentrated in the Puget sound lowland from Olympia to the vicinity of the Canadian border. Smaller industrial regions have also grown up along the lower Columbia and in the tri-cities area and Spokane. In addition, Washington is a shipbuilding center, with shipyards in Bremerton, Seattle, and Tacoma. Hydroelectric installations, primarily along the Columbia River or its tributaries, provide most of the electrical power in the state. The Hanford nuclear reactors, begun in 1943, were the first in the nation. Washington Public Power Supply System's plans for five more nuclear plants were halted when the company defaulted in 1983 on bonds to construct two of the plants; the default was the largest in municipal bond history. Only one of the five plants became operational. Tourism With much of its total area available for recreational purposes, Washington has become a major tourist state in recent decades. Three national parks (Olympic, Mount Rainier, North Cascades), several national forests (including Mount Baker-Snoqualmie, Gifford Pinchot, and Olympic), and various wilderness and national recreational areas, together with more than 150 state and county parks, provide opportunities in every part of the state for year-round recreation, including winter sports, mountaineering, backpacking, and water sports. Private resort areas, especially in the mountains and close to rivers and lakes, supplement the public lands. They include ski resorts, marinas, beach resorts, dude ranches, hunting lodges, and fishing camps. Transportation and Trade Major interstate highways in Washington include I-90, connecting Spokane and Seattle, and I-5, traveling in a north-south direction from Vancouver, British Columbia, through Washington to Portland, Oreg. State-owned ferry systems operate on Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The Seattle-Tacoma International airport is the state's busiest. The port of Seattle shares the traffic of Puget Sound with harbors at Tacoma, Everett, and Bellingham; there are also Columbia River ports at Longview, Kalama, and Vancouver. Leading exports include airplanes, machinery, aluminum, processed foods, petrochemicals, and wood products; crude oil constitutes the chief import. GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS The state constitution, approved in 1889 and since amended, provides for a bicameral legislature, a governor who serves a 4-year term and may run for reelection, no-deficit budgets, and the power of legislation by public referenda. The house of representatives consists of 98 members, serving 2-year terms, and the 49 members of the senate serve 4-year terms. Since 1972 each equally populated legislative district elects 1 senator and 2 representatives. The judicial branch is headed by a supreme court of 9 justices, elected for 6-year terms. Despite numerous attempts to institute one, Washington does not have a state income tax, adoption of which would require approval in a public referendum. Washington voters have generally chosen Republican candidates in presidential elections the did not vote for a Democrat until 1932, when the state first helped elect Franklin D. Roosevelt. Democrats, however, often have managed to win other election contests. Henry M. \TJackson\t, a Democrat, held his Senate seat from 1953 until his death in 1983. Between 1964 and 1976, Republicans controlled the governor's office, with Daniel J. Evans serving three consecutive terms. Democrat Dixy Lee Ray was governor from 1976 to 1980. The office since has been held by a Republican and a Democrat. HISTORY American Indians have inhabited Washington for more than 10,000 years and developed life-styles that remained little changed until the arrival of European explorers 2 centuries ago. Archaeological evidence found at Marmes Cave, North Bonneville, and elsewhere have provided significant archaeological evidence. The settled Coast Salish bands of western Washington--including the \TChinook\t, \TNisqually\t, and \TPuyallup\t--lived in cedar lodges, had salmon and shellfish as their staples, and developed elaborate \Tpotlatch\t ceremonies. The plateau Indians of the interior--including the \TNez Perce\t, \TOkanogan\t, \TSpokan\t, and \TYakima\t--were nomadic hunters who eventually lived in skin tepees and depended on the horse for their peripatetic life-style. Exploration and Confrontation Early contacts between Indians and Europeans were abrupt and often brutal, and the consequences for the Indians were serious. Smallpox, cholera, and measles severely reduced the tribes' population, and subsequent white settlement led to loss of Indian lands and the establishment of reservations. Coastal exploration by the Spanish began during the 16th century. The first landing was made in 1775, by Bruno Heceta and Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra, near Point Grenville, to forestall Russian expansion southward from Alaska. The English captain James Cook sailed along the coast in 1778, and the American captain Robert \TGray\t discovered the Columbia River in 1792. The same year, Capt. George \TVancouver\t completed the first mapping of the entire coastline. Overland exploration, initiated by the \TLewis and Clark Expedition\t in 1805-06, was completed within a decade by David \TThompson\t and various fur traders. The Fur Trade and White Settlement The fur trade constituted Washington's first major industry. A sea-otter trade begun in 1790 was superseded by a land-based fur trade in 1811. Two companies, John Jacob Astor's (see \TAstor\t family) Pacific Fur Company--a subsidiary of his \TAmerican Fur Company\t--and the Montreal-based \TNorth West Company\t, competed for the furs. Economic success came only with the \THudson's Bay Company\t's takeover in 1821. Under the direction of Dr. John \TMcLoughlin\t, Fort Vancouver became the headquarters of operations that ranged from California to Alaska. A subsidiary, the Puget Sound Agricultural Company, provided food for subsistence. In addition to furs, some agricultural products, dried salmon, and sawed timber were exported. An influx of American missionaries, led by Marcus \TWhitman\t and Jason Lee, into the Oregon country during the 1830s was followed in the next decade by the first rush--5,000 strong--of American settlers, and the competing British and U.S. claims quickly came to a climax. British preference for the Columbia River and America's political slogan of "Fifty-four forty or fight!" (referring to the latitude 54 deg 40') gave way to compromise, however, when, in 1846, the 49th parallel was chosen as the boundary between Canada and the United States (see \TOregon Question\t). Through the 1850s, Oregon's Willamette River valley drew most of the Northwest's new settlers. In eastern Washington, the Whitman massacre at Waiilatpu in 1847 was followed by protracted Indian wars that lasted throughout the next decade and delayed occupation of the Columbia Basin. Meanwhile, settlements were established around Puget Sound--Olympia in 1846, Seattle and Port Townsend in 1851, and Whatcom (later Bellingham) in 1852. Economic Growth and Statehood A proposal for a Columbia Territory was passed by Congress in March 1853, with the name Washington being substituted by amendment. Isaac I. Stevens became the first territorial governor, and during the next few years treaties were signed between the United States and the Indian tribes, notably the Treaty of Point Eliot (1856). The Donation Act enabled settlers to file claims up to 320 acres (130 ha) for a single person or 640 acres (260 ha) for a married couple. By the early 1860s most accessible land was owned and occupied. Development was slow during the 1850s, but by 1860 the white population numbered 12,000. During the next three decades lumbering operations proliferated along Puget Sound. Coal and gold were discovered and mined, salmon canning begun, the Palouse River valley occupied and the so-called inland wheat empire established, irrigation of parts of the Columbia Basin attempted, and railroad lines built, notably the Northern Pacific and the Great Northern. By 1880 the population exceeded 75,000, and by 1890 it had reached 357,000. Seattle, Spokane, and Tacoma had emerged as major urban centers. In 1889, Washington became the 42d state. Elisha Ferry was elected as the first governor. 20th Century The 1893 depression was a major setback to growth, but by 1900 the state once again was making rapid progress, politically and socially as well as economically. This was especially marked during the so-called Progressive Era. Establishment of regulatory agencies, legislation by referendum, and female suffrage were its major achievements. The Depression years of the 1930s saw the inauguration of the Columbia Basin Project and the Bonneville Power Administration, to build dams and provide hydroelectric power. During the 1940s, Boeing emerged as a major international company, and manufacturing other than processing of local resources, finance, and tourism began to assume major roles. World War II and the wars in Korea and Vietnam provided further economic incentives. After downturns in the early 1970s and again in the early 1980s, the economy rebounded dramatically with an infusion of high-tech companies and expanding trade with Pacific nations. James W. Scott Bibliography: Avery, Mary W., Government of Washington State, rev. ed. (1973), and Washington: A History of the Evergreen State (1965); Beckett, Paul L., From Wilderness to Enabling Act: The Evolution of the State of Washington (1968); Clark, Norman H., Washington (1976); Federal Writers' Project, Washington: A Guide to the Evergreen State (1941; repr. 1972); Kirk, Ruth, Washington State: National Parks, Historic Sites, Recreation Areas and National Landmarks (1974); Kirk, R., and Alexander C., Exploring Washington's Past (1990); LeWarne, Charles P., Washington State (1986); Ogden, Daniel, and Bone, Hugh, Washington Politics (1960); Olson, Joan and Gene, Washington Times and Trails (1970); Stewart, E. I., Washington, 4 vols. (1957); Swanson, T., et al., eds., Political Life in Washington (1985); Williams, Burton J., ed., Washington (1977); Yates, Richard and Charity, Washington State Atlas: A Political and Economic View of the Evergreen State (1985).