Washington

Washington — page 5
(cid:3)(cid:43)(cid:3)(cid:43)(cid:3)(cid:43)(cid:3)WASHINGTON (cid:43)(cid:3)(cid:43)(cid:3)(cid:43) GEOGRAPHY Washington is in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States It covers 71,298 square miles 184,661 sq km of land and water That makes it the 18th-largest state It shares borders with Oregon to the south Idaho to the east and the nation of Canada to the north To the west is the Pacific Ocean Washington’s western side is rainy and filled with dense forests Millions of people live along the Pacific Ocean coast Washington’s eastern side is more arid flat and less populated The Cascade Range is a series of towering peaks that run north and south across the middle of the state Mount Rainier soars to 14,411 feet 4,392 m Its summit is the tallest point in Washington There are glaciers on many of the highest mountains The Cascade Range also includes several volcanic peaks Southern Washington’s Mount St Helens blew its top on May 18 1980 The eruption killed dozens of people and caused much damage Mount St Helens 8 WASHINGTON