Where is Washington State?

Washington State, not to be confused with Washington D.C., is a beautiful place found all the way on the other side of the country in the furthest Northernmost corner.  Washington is bordered by Oregon and Idaho to the South and East, respectively, and shares a border with Canada to the North.

People say it rains a lot in Washington, and it does, but for those of us who live here - we don't mind!  We know that the rain helps keep our beautiful trees and forests green!  The forest below is in Forks - you may have heard of this place as it was the setting for a popular series of books and movies - the Twilight Saga!

You may recognize this famous landmark found in Seattle, Washington - the Space Needle!  Originally built for the 1962 World's Fair, the Space Needle is a well known part of the Seattle skyline.  Each year many holidays are celebrated here with a fireworks show - like the Fourth of July and New Year's.  Fireworks shoot off the top of the needle and out the sides along the way up - it's really exciting to watch!

From inside the Space Needle you can see all of Seattle below you.  One interesting thing about Washington State is that, in addition to cars, trucks and trains, you can also use a ferry to get to places in the area.  Ferries are large boats that carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles, across the water.  This allows people to travel in more direct routes when they would otherwise have to drive ALL the way AROUND the water to get where they are going.

Washington also has natural landmarks - famous mountains like the one seen in the ferry picture above.  Some of the mountains are not just any mountains though - they are volcanoes!  Mount Rainier is an active volcano, which means it could erupt at any time.  However, the volcano has stayed relatively dormant since the 1800's and isn't showing any signs of change any time soon.  Below is a photo of Mount Rainier above the city of Tacoma.

Mount Saint Helens is another famous volcano in Washington.  In May of 1980 there was an eruption that blew the top of the mountain right off!  Below is a before and after picture with a cloud above what is left of the volcano on the left side of the photo.

So that's a little bit of information about the beautiful state of Washington.  Now let's see what Flat Stanley has been up to while he was here!