Description of Washington State

The Pacific Ocean borders Washington on the east side of the state.  Just to the east of the Pacific ocean lies the Olympic Mountains, and just to the east of the Olympic Mountains is the Puget Sound area.  The Cascade Mountains are to the east of Puget Sound.  The Cascade Mountains are a very important land feature because they act as a barrier.  On the west side of the Cascades, Washington is wet, but on the east side, Washington is dry.  That is the main difference between the east and west sides of the state.  To the northeast of the Cascades are the Okanogan Highlands.  Located just to the south of the Okanogan Highlands is the Columbia Plateau.  Finally, in the southeast corner of Washington are the Blue Mountains.  That is the basic geography of Washington state.

Image from Wikipedia