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Map of Washington (WA)

Tatoosh Range located in Mount Rainier National Park and the adjacent Tatoosh Wilderness, view from Paradise.
Image: Acroterion

 

Washington State Map

More about Washington State



Some Geography
The State of Washington covers an area of 184,661 km² (71,298 sq mi) ^[1], making it slightly larger than half the size of Germany, or slightly smaller than half the size of Japan.


Bays and Straits
Washington has several distinct geographical regions. Along the northwestern coast of the state, there is the serrated coastline of the Salish Sea and the Puget Sound Basin. A number of bays and straits form a network of coastal waterways and shape the landscape.
Major maritime features are the Strait of Georgia, the Bellingham Bay, the Admiralty Inlet, the Samish Bay, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean. Within the sound are fifty plus islands, the largest are Whidbey, Orcas, San Juan, Fidalgo, and Camano.


 

Mountains

The Cascade Mountain Range divides Washington state into two parts – in the more hilly to mountainous Western Washington and Eastern Washington with the semiarid basalt plain of the Columbia Plateau. The Wenatchee Mountains in the center of the state are a major subrange of the Cascade Range.

Within the Cascade Volcanic Arc are five major volcanoes, and according to the U.S. Geological Survey, they are among the nation's most dangerous.^[2]

From north to south: Mount Baker is an active glaciated stratovolcano with a height of 3,286 m (10,781 ft).
Glacier Peak (Dakobed) is one of the most active volcanoes in the state with an elevation of 3,207 m (10,525 ft). Mount Rainier, the massive active stratovolcano is the highest mountain in Washington state at 4,392 m (14,411 ft).
Mount St. Helens, the 2,549 m (8,363 ft) high volcano is particularly known for one of the most disastrous volcanic eruptions in the history of the United States (in 1980).
Mount Adams is a potentially active stratovolcano but it has not erupted in the last 1,000 years.

 

Rivers

Major rivers in Washington State.
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region; its watershed covers a large portion of North West America, including parts of seven states and British Columbia. ^[3]

The largest tributary of the Columbia River is the Snake River. Other tributaries are the Kettle River, the Spokane River, the Okanagan River, the Crab Creek, and the Yakima River.

The Columbia River system is 'tamed' by more than 60 dams; the primary purpose of these dams is to produce hydroelectricity providing power to homes and industry, admittedly with high environmental costs.

The Skagit River is a river in northwestern Washington which empties into the Puget Sound.


 

Lakes

The largest lakes in Washington state.

The Columbia Basin Irrigation Project is the largest water reclamation project in the United States; its main facility is the Grand Coulee Dam at the Columbia River which creates the Roosevelt Lake (Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake), the largest lake in Washington state by area. The Potholes Reservoir, also part of the Columbia Basin Irrigation Project, is fed by water from Moses Lake, a lake and reservoir along the course of the Crab Creek. Banks Lake is a 45 km (28 mi) long reservoir and also part of the Columbia Basin Irrigation Project.

Other reservoirs on the Columbia River are Lake Umatilla, Lake Wallula, and Wanapum Lake.

Ross Lake is a large reservoir in the North Cascade mountains formed by the by Ross Dam on the Skagit River.

Natural lakes
Lake Chelan is a popular tourist destination; the narrow fjord-like lake is 80 km (50 mi) long, it was the largest natural lake in the state until the completion of Lake Chelan Dam.
Lake Washington is a large freshwater lake near Seattle.
Ozette Lake is the largest unaltered natural lake in Washington state.
Lake Crescent is a deep lake located within Olympic National Park; the lake is famous for its brilliant blue waters.

 

World Heritage Site

Olympic National Park on the Olympic Peninsula offers the longest undeveloped wilderness coastline in the contiguous United States.

To the east of the coast rise the Olympic Mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, glacier-clad, steep-sided peaks within a vast intact old growth forest, interspersed with alpine meadows.

Eleven major rivers radiate outwards to all sides from the mountain range and drain the Olympics. The highest peak is Mount Olympus at 2,432 m (7,980 ft).

UNESCO designated the Olympic National Park as an International Biosphere Reserve in 1976, and in 1981 as a World Heritage Site.




 

Population

Washington state has a population of 7.5 million people (2018 est.). ^[4]

Capital is Olympia, the largest city is Seattle; the largest metropolitan area is Metro Seattle (with a population of 3.8 million).
Other major cities are Spokane, Tacoma, Vancouver (WA), Bellevue, Kent, and Everett.


Airports
By far the largest airport in the state is Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (IATA code: SEA), other major airports are Spokane International Airport (Geiger Field; IATA code: GEG), Bellingham International Airport (IATA code: BLI), and Tri-Cities Airport in Pasco (IATA code: PSC).

 

Cities and Towns in Washington

The map shows the location of following cities and towns in Washington: Capital city: Olympia (48,000)


Largest cities in Washington state
The 10 largest cities in Washington state:

1. Seattle 745,000
2. Spokane 219,190
3. Tacoma 216,279
4. Vancouver 183,012
5. Bellevue 147,600
6. Kent (in the Seattle–Tacoma metroplex) 129,618
7. Everett 111,262
8. Renton 102,153
9. Federal Way 97,044
10. Yakima 93,884

Source: Population figures est. 2018


Other cities and towns in Washington: Aberdeen, Anacortes, Battle Ground, Bellingham, Blaine, Bremerton, Camas, Centralia, Chehalis, Chelan, Cheney, Clarkston, Colfax, Colville, Coulee City, Dayton, Ellensburg, Enumclaw, Ephrata, Federal Way, Forks, Goldendale, Grand Coulee, Hoquiam, Kelso, Kennewick, Lacey, Lakewood, Longview, Lynnwood, Marysville, Morton, Moses Lake, Mount Vernon, Newport, Oak Harbor, Omak, Oroville, Othello, PascoIlwaco, Port Angeles, Pullman, Puyallup, Quincy, Raymond, Redmond, Renton, Republic, Richland, Ritzville, Seattle, South Bend, Spokane Valley, Toppenish, Walla Walla, Wenatchee, Wilbur, Winthrop, and Yakima.