Washington is in the
region known as the Pacific Northwest, a term which often includes
part or all of British Columbia in Canada and part of Alaska. Sometimes
it refers only to the lands within the northwestern United States.
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. 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. 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 north to 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 not one
single tree. Mount Rainier, the highest mountain in the state, is
covered with more glacial ice than any other peak in the lower 48
states.
