Entered Union November 11, 1889 (42nd state)
Washington (7,705,267), Olympia (55,371), Seattle (737,018)
The granite capitol was originally completed in 1928 using the designs of Walter R. Wilder and Harry K. White. It is located on Sid Snyder Avenue at Cherry Lane. Interstate State Highway 5 is 12 blocks southeast of the capitol. The Capitol is designed in American Neoclassical style. The Supreme Court in Olympia and Court of Appeals buildings in Seattle, Tacoma, and Spokane are the supporting buildings. The state was officially created as the 42nd state in November 11, 1889 from Native American lands and the Washington Territory. Olympia has been the capital since 1853. The state named for President George Washington. Olympia is named for the Olympic Mountains which are named for the Greek mountain. Seattle is named for a Native American chief. Mount Rainier in Pierce County is the highest point and the lowest point is sea level at the Pacific Ocean.
Washington government, in the Executive, consists of a Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Treasurer, Auditor, Attorney General, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Public Lands Commissioner, and Insurance Commissioner. There are 49 Senators and 98 Representatives in the Legislature. Nine Supreme Court Justices and Twenty-five Court of Appeals Justices serve Washington in the Judicial Divisions. Washington is located in the northwestern central part of the United States on the coast of the Pacific Ocean and the border with Canada. The geographic center is in Chelan County 7 miles west southwest of Wenatchee. The state is surrounded clockwise by Canada, Idaho, Oregon, and the Pacific Ocean.
The area is 71,298 square miles. It is 18th largest state in the country. It is the 13th most populated state in the country. It has a density of 108.1 persons per square mile making it 23rd in the country. Its major rivers are the Columbia, the Snake, the Nooksack, the Skagit, the Snohomish, the Snoqualmie, the Puyallup, the Nisqually, the North, the Walla Walla, the Yakima, the Wenatchee, the Chelan, the Spokane, and the Chehalis. Olympia is located in the southwest quarter part of the state. Seattle is located in the northwest quarter of the state.
Click here to link to the Washington county slideshow
Click below to link to a Washington county page