What is the first thing what comes to our minds when we think of Washington State? Most would say; Bill Gates, Nintendo, lumber, Pacific Ocean, or Seattle, apple, Starbucks, tourism. This essay would like to introduce the state's breathtaking geographical features, its rich history and other interesting facts.
As the name shows, Washington State is the only state which was named after a president. The name honors the first president of United States, George Washington.
Geographically, Washington State occupies 71,303 square miles. The state is in the Pacific Northwest Region of USA; this means it is between Pacific Ocean, Idaho, British Columbia (Canada) and Oregon. Due to this location Washington has one of the most …show more content…
Interestingly, it has been discovered way earlier than that. First, the first European explorers went to nowadays Washington State in the late 1700, Spanish explorers Juan Perez and Bruno Heceta sailed the state's shores. Even Lewis and Clark mentioned the Snake and Columbia Rivers leading to the Pacific Ocean. Canadians also claimed a piece of it when the Hudson’s Bay Company established a major fort and trading station there in the early 1800. Still, this area became widely known during the Gold Rush in California. Soon gold was discovered in nowadays Washington State, which led for the first settlement New Market or Tumwater foundation. The gold rush to Washington State was affectionately called the Pike's Peak Gold Rush or later Colorado Gold rush. The participants of this gold rush were called "Fifty-Niners”, because the influx of the people traveling in 1859 to this area. Masses of people wandered to the west, this movement was also promoted by the Donation Land Clams. Those who couldn't find gold realized the possibilities in lumber and agriculture. This influx of settlers led to the Oregon Territory was foundation; the Territory included Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and parts of Montana. Eventually, Idaho and western Montana got separated and these states formed. The first governor of Washington State was Elisha Peyre Ferry in 1889, presently Jay Inslee is the governor. In between the 22 …show more content…
The inland tribes were more hostile than the coastal tribes. Especially Cayuse, the Yakima and Nez Perce tribes revolted against the newcomers. When the Northwest Ordinance, in 1787, opened up the Northwest Territory for white settlement, indigenous tribes revolted against it. George Washington was forced to send military help to suppress this resistances. One of those wars was the famous Colorado war (1863-1865), where Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes united against the white settlers. The famous battle of this was the Sand Creek massacre, in which 70-163 Native Americans were killed or injured; most of those were children and