The state of Washington is located in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located in the Columbia drainage basin that drains its runoff precipitation out into the Pacific Ocean (WRCC, 2013). Washington has different influences controlling it's climate such as the rugged terrain, the Pacific Ocean to the West and the high and low pressures sitting over the North Pacific Ocean (WRCC, 2013). There is high precipitation along the west coast of the state west of the Cascade Mountains. This area of Washington receives the front of storms coming off of the Pacific Ocean, pouring on average of 150 inches of rain during the winter months (WRCC, 2013). Most of the winter, you can expect winds blowing over 100 m.p.h at high elevations (WRCC, 2013). The high mountains in Washington cause a lot air cooling and warming which causes the extremely wet conditions on the west and dry conditions on the east.
Washington contains at lease three different major soil types: Andisols, Mollisols, and Ultisols which can provide many nutrients for the different types of trees that thrive here (WRCC, 2013). Most of the state is covered by needleleaf evergreen forest with some grassland to the east. In Washington, and all throughout the pacific northwest, you can find the tallest trees in the world (WRCC, 2013). Logging industries harvest tree species such as Douglas fir, spruce, hemlock and cedar (WRCC, 2013). There are few "old growth" forests left in this region but now most of area consists of secondary, replanted, trees for future harvesting. On the east side of Washington you can find the major agricultural area. This area is ideal for grazing, growing berries, growing vegetables, and growing seed potatoes and grass (WRCC, 2013).
Glaciation occurred in the Pre-Holocene era about 2 million years ago (Driedger et. al., 2010). The continental glacier stretched down into the northern area of Washington but left no significant impact like the Great Lakes in the northeast. There are also three major faults that run through the state: Lake/Boundary Creek Fault, South Whidby Island Fault, and Boulder Creek Fault (Driedger et. al., 2010). The Cascade Mountain Range, which runs from California into Vancouver, Canada, runs straight through Washington. These mountains, which cause the high precipitation in the state, were formed by the colliding of the North American Plate and the Juan De Fuca Plate(Driedger et. al., 2010). The heavier Juan De Fuca Plate rides under the North American Plate and has pushed continental crust over 14,000 feet above sea level (Driedger et. al., 2010). In Washington resides on of the most famous volcanoes in North America, Mount Saint Helens. Most of Mount St. Helens is no older than 3,000 years old (Driedger et. al., 2010). The latest eruptions, which occurred from 2004 to 2008, caused the volcano to settle half an inch from the removal of magma (Driedger et. al., 2010). This amazing natural creation has been known to shoot volcanic ash to over 80,000 feet in as little as 15 minutes (Driedger et. al., 2010). Native Americans abandoned this area because of the constant enormous eruptions of Mount St. Helens.
http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/narratives/WASHINGTON.htm
Driedger, Carolyn, Westby, Liz, Faust, Lisa, Frenzen, Peter, Bennett, Jeanne, and Clynne, Michael, 2010, 30 Cool Facts about Mount St. Helens: U.S. Geological Survey General Information Product 103 (poster).
http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/103/
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