Washington is the most northwestern state in the United States. It is located on the Pacific Ocean and even borders the states of Idaho and Oregon and the Canadian province of British Columbia.
Situated in the Pacific Northwest area of the United States, the state capital of Washington is Olympia, but its most famous and largest city is Seattle.
Moreover, Washington State is famous as the second-largest wine producer in the country is and probably more famous for its coffee. So, in this article, we will now discuss some interesting facts about Washington State.
- American goldfinch: The state bird of Washington
In 1951, the American goldfinch was designated as the state bird of Washington state. Easily spotted by its bright yellow color and high-pitched song, the state bird of Washington can be seen in fields and yards across the region.
One of the numerous fun facts about Washington State is that legislators allowed schoolchildren to vote on the state bird, and they chose the goldfinch over the meadowlark.
- The nickname of Washington State is the Evergreen State
Look only at the sprawling forests stretching across the state of Washington, and you will know why this state is also known as the Evergreen State.
In 1889, an early Washington settler, Charles Tallmadge Conover, made his fortune in the real estate and newspaper industries and depicted the phrase Evergreen State for a pamphlet promoting the region.
- Western Hemlock: The state tree of Washington
In 1947, western hemlock was selected as the state tree of Washington state. It is a massive evergreen and also the largest of the hemlock trees.
These trees can grow almost 200 feet in height. According to experts, the oldest western hemlock trees dated up to 1200 years ago.
When proposing to make this tree the official tree, A politician of Washington, George Adams, noted the western hemlock tree as the backbone of the foresting industry of Washington state.
- The coast rhododendron: The state flower of Washington
The coast rhododendron is known as the official state flower of Washington. This flower, also known as the Pacific rhododendron, was selected by the legislature as the official state flower of Washington in 1959.
The connection of this flower with the state of Washington goes back even further. Initially, it was chosen as the flower representing the state of Washington for the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago.
- The state of Washington is named after President George Washington
The origins of the state of Washington date to the 1850s, following the Oregon Territory’s transfer to the United States from Great Britain.
First known as the Territory of Columbia, the state’s name was changed to Washington to avoid confusion with Columbia District. Also, Washington is the only state in the United States named after a president.
- It is the second-largest wine-producing state
California state holds the record for producing more wine than any other state in the nation. However, an interesting fact about Washington State is that it is the second-largest wine producer in the country.
Nearly 5% of the United States wine comes from Washington state, equating to over 40 million gallons annually.
- There are about 200 named glaciers in the state of Washington
Washington State has the second most named glaciers in any other country. With 186 identified by the Geographic Names Information System, one can find notable glaciers on peaks throughout Washington state.
Mount Rainer is home to 25 named glaciers; among them, Emmons Glacier is the largest in the contiguous United States.
- Starbucks was first brewed here
In Seattle’s Pike Place Market, the first Starbucks opened for business in 1971. Around a decade later, in 1982, current CEO and chairman Howard Schultz joined the business. At 1912 Pike Place, the original location is still open.
Also, Washington State produces more apples than anywhere else in the country. Since the 1920s, Washington has been at the top of the list, producing over 65% of the nation’s apple supply.
- Square Dance: It is the official state dance of Washington
In 1979, the square dance was voted the official state dance of Washington. The reason is that the earliest settlers in Washington, then the Oregon Territory, brought square dance with them while heading west.
This particular dance originated from the French quadrille and then evolved among the pioneers on the frontier of the United States.
- The Space Needle of Seattle was created to appear like a UFO
One of the most well-known landmarks in Seattle, Architect John Graham designed the idea for the iconic Space Needle on a napkin, with the last draft inspired by the shape of a flying saucer.
In April 1962, the Space Needle opened for the Seattle World’s Fair, also known as the Century 21 Exposition, due to its Space Age theme.
- Washington State has three national parks
Washington State is a great place for nature lovers due to its pristine wilderness areas. Washington has three national parks: Mount Rainier National Park, North Cascades National Park, and Olympic National Park. These parks span more than 1.5 million acres.
Washington even contains many federally protected sites of historical importance, trails, and recreation areas, including Lake Roosevelt, Fort Vancouver, and the Whitman mission.
- A pig in the state of Washington nearly caused a major war
In 1859, a Pig War took place after an American residing on the contested San Juan Islands shot a pig rooting through his garden. The pig was a property of a British resident who reported the shooter, Lyman Cutlar, to the island’s British authorities.
The situation led to a standoff between the British and American forces involving three warships and over 2500 soldiers before being peacefully resolved via negotiations.
- During World War II, a fake neighborhood was built in Seattle
During World War II, Boeing, an airplane and defense manufacturer, built a huge fake neighborhood atop its Plant No. 2 in Seattle.
It was nicknamed the Boeing Wonderland by the counterfeit community and served as a decoy to hide the plant from the Japanese military’s potential bombing runs.
There were actually 53 “homes” in the Boeing Wonderland, which were demolished after the war.
- The first Patrol officers of Washington State were motorcycle cops
In 1921, the Washington State Patrol started with an initial force of just six members. However, they didn’t patrol the road by car, as their first vehicles were a fleet of Indian Motorcycles.
Nowadays, the agency has over 1000 state troopers. However, they haven’t forgotten their roots because you may still see more than 40 motorcycled officers stationed across Washington.
- Spokane is the smallest city in Washington to host the World’s Fair
The World’s Fair was held in Spokane, Washington, in 1974. At the time, Spokane was the smallest city to host the World’s Fair.
In 1982, The World’s Fair offered that title to Knoxville, Tennessee. However, many residents of Washington State still think of Spokane as the rightful champion, confidently saying Spokane’s overall metropolitan area is small than the area of Knoxville.
- In Skamamia County, Washington, it is illegal to kill Sasquatch
Sasquatch, also called Bigfoot, may or may not be real. However, if so, one of the strange facts about the state of Washington is that killing the creature in Skamamia County is illegal.
In the year 1969, a law was passed to punish anyone guilty of murdering Sasquatch with up to five years in jail. 1984 this law was amended, reducing the penalty to not exceeding six months of incarceration and a fine of 500 USD.
- Washington’s Bickleton is the world’s Bluebird Capital
The small town of Bickleton, located in Washington state, is famous as the Bluebird Capital of the World due to the thousands of Western and Mountain Bluebirds residing in the region throughout the year.
For a town that has a population of not more than 100 residents, they impressively maintain almost 2000 wooden bluebird houses in Bickleton and its surrounding area.
- In Washington, there is a bridge only for squirrels
By the early 1960s, office workers and residents in Washington’s Longview were fed up seeing squirrels get hit by vehicles trying to cross busy Olympia Way in the downtown city. Hence, in 1963, Amos Peters built the Nutty Narrows Bridge.
This 60-foot bridge is six yards above the road and is a safe squirrel passage between R.A. Long Park and the neighboring region.
- Northgate Mall in Seattle: The first to have restrooms for public
To offer relief to shoppers, Northgate Mall, now known as Northgate Station in Seattle, became the first mall to have restrooms for the public in the United States when it opened in 1950.
Also, it was even the first shopping mall built in the country after World War II. In addition to this, today, Northgate Station houses the practice arena for the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League.
- In Winlock, Washington, you can see the largest egg in the world
Since 1923, Winlock, Washington, has boasted the world’s largest egg. With a weight of almost 1200 pounds, the huge egg is crafted from fiberglass and is 12 feet long.
The egg pays homage to the region’s poultry and egg production history. It was built just two years after the first celebration of Winlock Egg Days, an annual event that is still going strong even after over a century.
- Mount Rainier: A dangerous active volcano
According to the United States Geological Survey, Mount Rainier may be the most dangerous volcano in the Cascade Range, which spans 700 miles from Canada to California.
Hence, Washington is a state in the United States with its rich culture, history, political facts, beautiful landscape, famous places, buildings, and many more.
At the end of this article, we learned 21 interesting facts that offer us a clear picture of this state, Washington. You can see our website if you want to know other interesting facts.
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