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Washington History
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 In
1853, the Washington Territory was formed from part of the
Oregon Territory. Named in honor of George Washington,
Washington was the 42nd state to join the Union, in 1889. Its
coastal location and Puget Sound harbors give it a leading role
in trade with Alaska, Canada, and the Pacific Rim. The state has
two major mountain ranges--the 7,000-foot Olympic Mountains
surrounded by temperate rain forest on the peninsula west of
Puget Sound, and the more majestic Cascade Range, which boasts
the 14,410-foot Mount Rainier and the volcanic Mount St. Helens,
which erupted twice in the 1980s. Although the capital is
Olympia, most people live in the metropolitan areas of
Seattle-Everett and Tacoma. The state tree of the "Evergreen
State" is the western hemlock, and the flower is the western
rhododendron. |
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