Washington State Regions
Region
Olympic Peninsula
Willapa Hills
Puget Sound Lowlands
Cascade Range
Columbia Plateau
Okanogan Highlands
Horse Heaven Hills/Blue
Mountains
Location
Climate
Major
Features
Industries
•Borders the Pacific
Ocean, the Strait of Juan
de Fuca, and Hood
Canal.
•Two Parts: coastal
plain/Olympic Mountains
•Major industries are
fishing, logging and
tourism.
•Over a hundred inches
of rain fall every year
• Lots of rain
• This creates rain forests with huge trees
and hanging moss
• In North America, these temperate rain
forest are found only here in Washington
and British Columbia
The northeast
side of the
peninsula is in
a rain shadow
Created when the
mountains stop the clouds
and rain so that one side
of the mountains is wet
and the other side is dry.
• Long Beach’s winds, and long flat beaches
make it an excellent place for flying some
kites.
• The Hills are located in the southern part
of this region, they aren’t as tall as the
O.P. Mountains, but come on their hills.
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Logging
Fishing
Tourism
Cranberry production
Dairy Farms
• Like the O.P. the climate here is wet.
Along the coast line there is a ton of fog,
therefore this place has a tendency to be a
bit foggy.
• Washington State has the largest fleet of
ferries in the U.S.—These Ferries
transport people all over the Puget Sound
• Second Largest Island in the U.S. is
located in the PSL, which is Whidbey
Island
• Lake Washington is also found here
• Climate is very mild
• Fertile farmland is found in many of these
river valleys.
• Washington is famous for daffodil and tulip
fields, in the Skagit valley, that attract
thousands of tourists each year.
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Aerospace
Timber
Paper products
Computer software
– Weyerhauser, Starbucks, and Microsoft are all
based her in Washington, in the PSL
• Most of the major cities of Washington are
found in this region, which are:
– Seattle
– Tacoma
– Everett
• As well as Washington State’s capital *Olympia*
Erupted in may 1980 and killed 60
People and created an ash cloud
Which circled the entire Earth
• The mountains form a barrier between
Eastern and Western Washington
• The climates differ a lot due to the
mountains separating the two.
• The west side of the mountains receives
most of the rain and is green and wet for
most of the year.
• The eastern side of the mountains is in a
rain shadow and has much less rain and a
drier climate
• The vegetation on the west side makes
the trees and plants much different than
those on the east side
• The west side has forests of hemlock,
douglas fir, and spruce. Ponderosa pine
grows better on the east side because it
needs less rain
• Timber
• Coal
• Minerals
• Tourism
• Logging
• Wildlife management
(fish hatcheries)
Detailed look at the Okanogan
Highlands
Okanogan Highlands cont…
• It is located between
the Canadian boarder
and the Columbia &
Spokane Rivers
• It is located in the
Northeast corner of
the state
• Major Mountain
Range is- Selkirk
Mountains
• Columbia Riverlargest river in the
Pacific northwest
• Major Tributaries to
the Columbia River
(in the Okanogan
Highlands) are:
Okanogan, Spokane,
and Pend Oreille.
Detailed look at the Okanogan
Highlands
• Dry- due to the fact
that the western part
of the region is in the
rain shadow of the
Cascades.
• Average Precipitation
(meaning rain)- 15-25
inches a year
• Most of the
precipitation falls
during the winter as
snow and in the
spring as rain.
• Temperatures are hot
in the summer/cold in
the winter
• Because of the dry climate and short growing
season, vegetation is not as dense.
• Trees include pine and some fur. There is also
a multitude of grasses found in this region.
Selkirk Mountains
Detailed look at the Okanogan
Highlands
Largest dam in the United States
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Gold
Copper
Silver
Lead
Zinc
– Many deposits of clay, sand and gravel as
well.
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Mining
Ranching
Fruit growing
Tourism
– Most famous area, in the Okanogan
Highlands, for fruit growing is…