Often referred to by its full title, Washington State, to distinguish it from, Washington D.C. offers rugged coastline, deserts, forests, mountains, volcanoes, and hundreds of coastal islands to explore. The Cascade Mountains divide the state, with the damp forested coastal areas to the west, and pine forests, deserts and irrigated farmland of the Columbia River Plateu to the east. It is the adjacent to Canada.

The 2010 United States Census recorded the state's population at 6,724,540. Approximately 60 percent of Washington's residents live in the Seattle Metrolpolitan area, the center of transportation, business, industry along the Puget Sound.  Washington's climate varies greatly from west to east. An Oceanic climate (also called "west coast marine climate") predominates in western Washington, and a much drier climate prevails east of the Cascade Range.

Western Washington is known for its mild climate, considerable fog, frequent cloud cover and long-lasting drizzles in the winter, and sunny and dry summers. The western side of the Olympic Peninsula receives as much as 160 inches (4,100 mm) of precipitation annually, making it the wettest area of the 48 conterminous states. 

The state's nickname "Evergreen" was proposed in 1890 by Charles T. Conover of Seattle, Washington. The name proved popular as the forests were full of evergreen trees and the abundance of rain keeps the shrubbery and grasses green throughout the year.

Washington has over 1,000 dams, built for a variety of purposes including irrigation, power, flood control, and water storage

Washington in Numbers: Horse Population: Over 155,000 horses   Population: 6,724,540 Land area: 71,300 sq. miles Capital: Olympia Counties: 39 Highest Point : Mount Rainier 14,411 feet Lowest Point: Pacific Ocean Geographic Center : In Chelan Co., 10 mi. WSW of Wenatchee 10 largest Cities :     Seattle: 608,660 Spokane: 208,916 Tacoma: 198,397 Vancouver: 161,791 Bellevue: 122,363   Everett: 103,019 Kent: 92,411 Yakima: 91,067 Renton: 90,927 Spokane Valley: 89,755