| Census Bureau Report |
| Time Zone: Pacific |
| Capital: Olympia |
| Statehood Date: 11/11/1889 |
| Statehood Order: 42 |
| Flower: Coast Rhododendron |
| Bird: Willow Goldfinch |
| Land: 66581 Sq. Miles |
| Water: 4721 Sq. Miles |
| Rank In Area Size: 18 |
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| In 1853, the Washington Territory was formed from part of the Oregon Territory. Named in honor of George Washington. 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. Most people live in the metropolitan areas of Seattle-Everett and Tacoma. |
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