20 facts about Washington state
- Washington was named after George Washington, the first President of the United States, and is the only U.S. state named after a president.
- Washington is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States.
- According to the 1990 census, more than half the residents of metropolitan Seattle were born outside Washington.
- It was admitted to the Union as the forty-second state in 1889.
- On May 18, 1980, Mount Saint Helens erupted in Washington, resulting in 57 deaths and billions of dollars in damage.
- The United States Census Bureau estimated the state's population was 6,664,195 in 2009.
- Capital: Olympia.
- Total Area: 19th among States 182,949 sq km (70,637 sq mi).
- Governor Gary Locke is the first Chinese-American governor in U.S. history.
- Nearly 60% of Washington's residents live in the Seattle metropolitan area, the center of transportation, business, and industry, and home to an internationally known arts community.
- In 1997 Gary Locke became the first Asian American governor in the continental United States.
- Washington is commonly called Washington State or occasionally the state of Washington to distinguish it from the District of Columbia.
- Washington is number one in the country in the production of these fruits and vegetables: apples, lentils, dry edible peas, hops, pears, red raspberries, spearmint oil, and sweet cherries.
- Washingtonians (residents of Washington) and many residents of neighboring states normally refer to the state simply as "Washington" while usually referring to the nation's capital as "Washington, D.C." or simply "D.C."
- Washington has over 1,000 dams.
- Microsoft Corporation is located in Redmond.
- Washington is home to Boeing, the world's largest aircraft maker.
- The state of Washington is the only state to be named after a United States president.
- Lewis and Clark explored the Columbia River area of what is now Washington in 1805-06.
- Starbucks, the biggest coffee chain in the world was founded in Seattle.
