Washington, state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. It is bordered by Idaho on East; Oregon on South, with the Columbia River marking much of the boundary; the Pacific Ocean on West; and the Canadian province of British Columbia on North.
Area: 68,192 sqare miles
Population: 5,894,121, a 21.1% increase since the 1990
Capital: Olympia
State bird: Willow Goldfinch
State flower: Western Rhododendron.
State tree: Western Hemlock. 
Much of the land in Eeastern Washington is used for dry farming. Irrigation, however, has converted many of the river valleys east of the Cascades (especially the Yakima and Wenatchee valleys) into garden areas. This region contains most of Washington's vineyards; from the 1980s the state has developed an important wine industry. Washington leads the country in the production of apples, sweet cherries, and pears and is a major wheat producer, chiefly in the hilly southeastern Palouse area. Washington is also a major producer of corn, onions, potatoes, apricots, and other fruits, nuts, and vegetables. Cattle ranches in the beautiful Okanogan Highlands in the northeast part of the state are also economically important.
 Despite the vast semiarid expanse east of the Cascades, more than half of the state's area is forested, and the lumber and wood-products industry, so important in the early development of the state, remains one of its largest. Many of Washington's cities (among them Tacoma, Bellingham, Everett, and Anacortes) began as sawmill centers. Seattle itself was home to the original “Skid Road” and lumber, pulp, paper, and related items are still among their major products.
Visitors are attracted to Mount Rainier National Park, Olympic National Park, North Cascades National Park, Fort Vancouver and Whitman Mission national historic sites, and Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area. Mt. Saint Helens, which erupted in 1980, is now a national monument.
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