Washington

Washington

Washington can be divided into six regions. The Olympic Mountains stand in Washington’s northwest corner, which is bordered by the Strait of Juan de Fuca in the north and the Pacific Ocean in the west. This wild, wet area contains dense rain forests. Most of this region is within Olympic National Park—and experts think parts of the park still haven’t been explored.

The Coast Range area is in Washington’s southwest corner, and it includes forested hills and beaches along the coastline.

The Columbia Plateau spreads across the south-central portion of the state. It’s part of the world’s biggest lava plateau and includes steep, dry canyons called coulees and, patches of dry lava called scablands. The Blue Mountains rise in the state’s southeast corner. Also in the southeast are the Palouse Hills, which are covered in loess—windblown sediment made of silt and clay.

A portion of the Rocky Mountains sits the northeast portion of the state. The Columbia Mountains are also part of this region.