华盛顿(Washington)
美国西北部太平洋沿岸一州。全州分成数个地理区域。西北部濒临太平洋的奥林匹克半岛。浓密的雨林沿着崎岖的奥林匹克山脉西坡延伸，最高点奥林帕斯山高2,428公尺。西南的威拉帕丘陵地势开阔，有深水良港。普吉湾低地东面的喀斯开山脉有州的最高峰来尼尔山，高4,392公尺，是美国本土第五高峰。哥伦比亚盆地占有州中部的大部分土地，由哥伦比亚河及其主要支流蛇河所灌溉。东北部的奥卡诺根高地是落矶山脉的延伸，最高峰海拔超过2,100公尺。从奥瑞冈延伸入华盛顿州的蓝山山脉则包括隆起的高原和州东南角的山脉。华盛顿州早期为印第安人居住地。17～18世纪，西班牙、英国和美国的探险家、皮毛商、传教士和白人陆续到达这里。1843年一批移民自奥瑞冈小道迁入。1853年建立华盛顿地区。1889年11月11日被批准成为美国第四十二州。水力和森林是该州重要的资源。工业以制造航空器和太空产品为主，此外还有制材、造纸、铝、食品加工、造船等。农产品以小麦为大宗，其他还有苹果、马铃薯、玉米、大豆等。旅游业亦重要。面积176,479平方公里，首府奥林匹亚。人口约5,894,121（2000）。
English version：
Washington
State (pop., 1997 est.: 5,610,000), northwestern U.S. It covers an area of 68,139 sq mi (176,479 sq km); its capital is Olympia. The state contains the Cascade Range, which includes Mount Rainier and Mount St. Helens, and the Olympic Mtns. The Strait of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound extend inland into the state from the Pacific Ocean. Cape Alva, the most westerly point of the coterminous U.S., is in Washington, as is the Columbia River. The area was inhabited by Pacific coast Indians, including the Chinook and Nez Percé, when the region was visited by Spanish, Russian, British, and French explorers 1543-1792. Claimed by the Spanish and British, it was crossed by the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1805. Spain surrendered to the U.S. its territories north of California in 1819. Until the 1840s international agreement permitted citizens of both the U.S. and Britain to settle in what was known as Oregon Country. An 1846 treaty with Great Britain set the present Washington-Canada boundary; the Oregon Country was added to the U.S., and renamed the Territory of Oregon in 1848. Washington received territorial status in 1853 and was reduced to its present size in 1863. It was admitted to the Union as the 42nd state in 1889. In the late 1890s it was the main staging point for gold miners going to the Alaskan and Yukon strikes. The greatest stimulus to its 20th century progress came with the development of hydroelectric power and the work on the Bonneville and Grand Coulee dams. Its important manufactures include aircraft and shipbuilding. Expanding trade with Pacific Rim countries, high technology, and tourism add to the economy.