Fun Fact 2: The state flag is unique for two reasons; it is the only U.S. state flag that has a green colored background and it is the only U.S. state flag that has the image of an American president on it! The state flag is a field of green with the state seal centrally located. The state seal depicts the image of President George Washington, the first President of the United States. The date on the seal 1889 refers to the date that Washington joined the U.S. constitution
Fun Fact 3: The Capital city of Washington is Olympia. Native Americas called Olympia "The Black Bear Place"
Fun Fact 4: The area of the State covers 184,827 square kilometers or 71,300 square miles
Fun Fact 5: There are two states that border Washington they are; Idaho and Oregon
Fun Fact 6: The state nickname is "The evergreen State" in tribute to it's lush evergreen forests. There is no evidence to suggest that the state nickname has been officially adopted by legislation
Fun Fact 7: The official State Song is called "Washington, My Home" it was written by Helen Davis and set to music by Stuart Churchill; it became the official state song on March 19, 1959
Fun Fact 8: The three largest cities in Washington are Seattle, Spokane and Tacoma
Fun Fact 9: The State Motto is the Chinook Indian word "Alki" which means "Bye and Bye" or "Hope for the Future". There is no evidence to suggest that the state motto has been officially adopted by legislation
Fun Fact 10: A brief history of the State - the first documented explorations of the coast were in 1775. British explorer Captain James Cook occupied the region in 1778. Disputes over occupancy raged until the British ceded its claims to land by treaty on June 15, 1846. Washington became the 42nd State to be admitted to the Union on November 11, 1889
Fun Fact 11: The abbreviation letters for the state of Washington are - Wash. The Postal Code abbreviation is - WA
Fun Fact 12: WA state symbols include; WA state flower symbol - the Coast Rhododendron. WA state bird symbol - the Willow Goldfinch. WA state insect emblem - the Green Darner Dragonfly. WA State tree - the Western Hemlock
Fun Fact 13: The state flower is the Coastal Rhododendron (Rhododendron macrophyllum). The origins of selecting the state flower date back to 1892; Washington women wanted to select a state flower to exhibit at the 1893 World's Fair. Six flowers were short-listed and the ladies were asked to vote to select the winner. The interest in this story is that, at that time, ladies could express their vote on a choice of flower but were not allowed to express their vote for government (before suffrage) it was not until 1920 with the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment that American Women were ratified in their right to vote
Fun Fact 14: What was Washington called previously? Before Washington became a U.S. state the territory was called Columbia, the name is unique - it is the only U.S. state that is named after a president
Fun Fact 15: The US Department of Commerce Census Bureau states that the Population of Washington in 2012 was an estimated 6,897,012. This compares to a population of 518,103 filed on census from the year 1900 |
