Washington is the northwestern-most state of the contiguous United States. Its northern border lies mostly along the 49th parallel, and then via marine boundaries through the Strait of Georgia, Haro Strait and Strait of Juan de Fuca, with the Canadian province of British Columbia to the north. Washington borders Oregon to the south, with the Columbia River forming most of the boundary and the 46th parallel forming the eastern part of the southern boundary. To the east Washington borders Idaho, bounded mostly by the meridian running north from the confluence of the Snake River and Clearwater River (about 116°57' west), except for the southernmost section where the border follows the Snake River. To the west of Washington lies the Pacific Ocean.[4] Washington was a Union territory during the American Civil War, although it never actually participated in the war.
Washington is part of a region known as the Pacific Northwest, a term which always includes at least Washington and Oregon and may or may not include Idaho, western Montana, northern California, and part or all of British Columbia, Alaska, and the Yukon Territory, depending on the speaker or writer's intent.
The high mountains of the Cascade Range run north-south, bisecting the state. Western Washington, west of the Cascades, has a mostly marine west coast climate with relatively mild temperatures, wet winters, and dry summers. Western Washington also supports dense forests of conifers and areas of temperate rain forest.[5] In contrast, Eastern Washington, east of the Cascades, has a relatively dry climate with large areas of semiarid steppe and a few truly arid deserts lying in the rainshadow of the Cascades; the Hanford reservation receives an average annual precipitation of between six and seven inches (178 mm). Farther east, the climate becomes less arid. The Palouse region of southeast Washington was grassland that has been mostly converted into farmland. Other parts of eastern Washington are forested and mountainous.
The Cascade Range contains several volcanoes, which reach altitudes significantly higher than the rest of the mountains. From the north to the south these volcanoes are Mount Baker, Glacier Peak, Mount Rainier, Mount St. Helens, and Mount Adams. Mount St. Helens is currently the only Washington volcano that is actively erupting; however, all of them are considered active volcanoes.
Washington's position on the Pacific Ocean and the harbors of Puget Sound give the state a leading role in maritime trade with Alaska, Canada, and the Pacific Rim. Puget Sound's many islands are served by the largest ferry fleet in the United States.
Washington is a land of contrasts. The deep forests of the Olympic Peninsula, such as the Hoh Rain Forest, are among the only temperate rainforests in the continental United States, but the semi-desert east of the Cascade Range has few trees. Mount Rainier, the highest mountain in the state,[3] is covered with more glacial ice than any other peak in the lower 48 states.[6]
Federal land and reservations
National parks and monuments
There are three National Parks and two National Monuments in Washington:
- Mount Rainier National Park
- North Cascades National Park
- Olympic National Park
- Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
- Hanford Reach National Monument
National forests
Nine national forests are located (at least partly) in Washington:
- Colville National Forest
- Gifford Pinchot National Forest
- Idaho Panhandle National Forest
- Kaniksu National Forest
- Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest
- Okanogan National Forest
- Olympic National Forest
- Umatilla National Forest
- Wenatchee National Forest
Federally protected wildernesses
31 wildernesses are located (at least partly) in Washington, including:
- Alpine Lakes Wilderness
- Glacier Peak Wilderness
- Goat Rocks Wilderness
- Henry M. Jackson Wilderness
- Juniper Dunes Wilderness
- Lake Chelan-Sawtooth Wilderness
- Mount Baker Wilderness
- Norse Peak Wilderness
- Olympic Wilderness
- Pasayten Wilderness
- Wild Sky Wilderness
National wildlife refuges
23 National Wildlife Refuges are located (at least partly) in Washington including:
- Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge
- Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge
- Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge
- Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge
- Saddle Mountain National Wildlife Refuge
- San Juan Islands National Wildlife Refuge
- Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge
- Willapa National Wildlife Refuge
Other federally protected lands
Other protected lands of note include:
- Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area
- Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve
- Fort Vancouver National Historic Site
- Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park
- Lake Chelan National Recreation Area
- Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area
- Ross Lake National Recreation Area
- San Juan Island National Historical Park
- Whitman Mission National Historic Site
- 17 National Natural Landmarks
There are several large military-related reservations, including:
- JBLM Joint Base Lewis-McChord
- Fairchild Air Force Base
- Naval Base Kitsap
- Hanford Site
- Yakima Training Center
- Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (Bremerton)
- Naval Air Station Whidbey Island
- Naval Station Everett
Climate
Washington's climate varies greatly from west to east. An oceanic climate (also called "west coast marine climate") predominates in western Washington, and a much drier semi-arid climate prevails east of the Cascade Range. Major factors determining Washington's climate include the large semi-permanent high pressure and low pressure systems of the north Pacific Ocean, the continental air masses of North America, and the Olympic and Cascade mountains. In the spring and summer, a high pressure anticyclone system dominates the north Pacific Ocean, causing air to spiral out in a clockwise fashion. For Washington this means prevailing winds from the northwest bringing relatively cool air and a predictably dry season. In the autumn and winter, a low pressure cyclone system takes over in the north Pacific Ocean, with air spiraling inward in a counter-clockwise fashion. This causes Washington's prevailing winds to come from the southwest, bringing relatively warm and moist air masses and a predictably wet season. The term Pineapple Express is used to describe the extreme form of this wet season pattern.[8]
Despite western Washington having a marine climate similar to those of many coastal cities of Europe, there are exceptions such as the "Big Snow" events of 1880, 1881, 1893 and 1916 and the "deep freeze" winters of 1883–84, 1915–16, 1949–50 and 1955–56, among others. During these events western Washington experienced up to 6 feet (1.8 m) of snow, sub-zero (−18°C) temperatures, three months with snow on the ground, and lakes and rivers frozen over for weeks.[9] Seattle's lowest officially recorded temperature is 0 °F (−18 °C) set on January 31, 1950, but areas a short distance away from Seattle have recorded lows as cold as −20 °F (−28.9 °C).[citation needed]
In 2006, the Climate Impacts Group at the University of Washington published The Impacts of Climate change in Washington’s Economy, a preliminary assessment on the risks and opportunities presented given the possibility of a rise in global temperatures and their effects on Washington state.[10]
Rain shadow effects
The coastal mountains and Cascades compound this climatic pattern by causing orographic lift of the air masses blown inland from the Pacific Ocean, resulting in the windward side of the mountains receiving high levels of precipitation and the leeward side receiving low levels. This occurs most dramatically around the Olympic Mountains and the Cascade Range. In both cases the windward slopes facing southwest receive high precipitation and mild, cool temperatures. While the Puget Sound lowlands are known for clouds and rain in the winter, the western slopes of the Cascades receive larger amounts of precipitation, often falling as snow at higher elevations. (Mount Baker, near the state's northern border, is one of the snowiest places in the world: in 1999, it set the world record for snowfall in a single season: 1,140 inches, or 95 foot (29 m).[11] East of the Cascades, a large region experiences strong rain shadow effects. Semi-arid conditions occur in much of eastern Washington with the strongest rain shadow effects at the relatively low elevations of the central Columbia Plateau—especially the region just east of the Columbia River from about the Snake River to the Okanagan Highland. Thus instead of rain forests much of eastern Washington is covered with grassland and shrub-steppe.
Temperatures
The average annual temperature ranges from 51 °F (11 °C) on the Pacific coast to 40 °F (4 °C) in the northeast. The lowest recorded temperature in the state was −48 °F (−44.4 °C) in Winthrop and Mazama. The highest recorded temperature in the state was 118 °F (48 °C) at Ice Harbor Dam. Both records were set east of the Cascades. Western Washington is known for its mild climate, considerable fog, frequent cloud cover and long-lasting drizzles in the winter, and sunny and dry summers. The western region occasionally experiences extreme climate. Arctic cold fronts in the winter and heat waves in the summer are not uncommon. In the Western region, temperatures have reached as high as 112 °F (44 °C) in Marietta[12] and as low as −20 °F (−28.9 °C) in Longview.[13] The western side of the Olympic Peninsula receives as much as 160 inches (4,100 mm) of precipitation annually, making it the wettest area of the 48 conterminous states. Weeks or even months may pass without a clear day. The western slopes of the Cascade Range receive some of the heaviest annual snowfall (in some places more than 200 inches (510 cm)) in the country. In the rain shadow area east of the Cascades, the annual precipitation is only 6 inches (150 mm). Precipitation then increases again eastward toward the Rocky Mountains.
