Washington (State): nature and high technology

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The state of Washington (The Evergreen State) is located in the northwestern section of the United States, along the shores of the Pacific Ocean. The territory of this American state to the north borders Canada, while to the east with Idaho and to the south with Oregon. The most important city is Seattle, but the state capital is Olympia. Other important cities are Spokane and Tacoma.

FORESTS AND VOLCANOES

Modeled by volcanic and glaciers action, the state of Washington is characterized by the presence of kilometers of low and sandy coasts. The geographical feature of the state is the presence of the Cascade Range mountain range, which crosses the territory from north to south. These mountains heavily influence the climate. The chain is made up of numerous large volcanoes, such as Mount Rainier (4,392 meters), which is the highest peak in the state and in the entire Cascade mountain range.

Other important volcanoes are Mount Adams (3,743 meters), Mount Baker (3,285 meters), Glacier Peak (3,213 meters), and Mount St. Helens (2,550 meters). To the east of the Cascade Range is the Columbia River Plateau, which is the most important river in the state, and which marks the southern border with Oregon for long stretches.

The coast of Washington state to the south is straight with long strips of low and sandy coast, while it is very indented and rich in islands to the north, at Puget Sound. To the west of this is the Olympic Peninsula, dominated by Mount Olympus (2,432 meters), which is separated from the Canadian island of Vancouver by the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The state of Washington is densely covered with forests.

• Area: 184,827 sq. km. (18th largest state of the United States of America)
• Population: 6,550,000. (2008). Whites 81.8%, Blacks 3.2%; Asian 5.5%, Amerindian 1.6%. Hispanics (classified into different racial types) are 7.5%. (2000).
• State Capital: Olympia.
• Languages: The official language is English (spoken as a first language by 83,8% of the population). Spanish is spoken as a first language by 6,7% of the population. (2005).
• Religion: Christian 69% (Roman Catholic (16%), Evangelical (25%), Protestant (24%), Mormon (2%), Jehovah’s Witnesses (1%)), Buddhist (1%), Jewish (1%).
• Time zone: UTC-8, summer UTC-7.

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