Washington was nicknamed "The Evergreen State" by pioneer C.T. Conover for its abundant evergreen forests. Although the nickname is widely used by the state, appearing on vehicle license plates for instance, it has not been officially adopted.

Mount Rainier, an active stratovolcano, is the state's highest elevation, at almost 14,411 feet (4,392 meters). Due to its high probability of eruption in the near future, Mt. Rainier is considered one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world. According to the United States Geological Survey, "about 80,000 people and their homes are at risk in Mount Rainier's lahar-hazard zones."

By 1900, Aberdeen had become home to many saloons, whorehouses, and gambling establishments. It was nicknamed "The Hellhole of the Pacific", as well as "The Port of Missing Men" due to its high murder rate. One notable resident was Billy Gohl, known locally as Billy "Ghoul", who was rumored to have killed at least 140 men.

Nowadays, it may feel like there's a Starbucks on every street corner, but the company started with just one store in Seattle, Washington on March 30, 1971.

Seattle's iconic Space Needle, originally built for the 1962 World's Fair, was once the tallest structure west of the Mississippi River, standing at 605 ft (184 m). The tower is 138 ft (42 m) wide, weighs 9,550 short tons (8,660 metric tons), and is built to withstand winds of up to 200 mph (320 km/h) and earthquakes of up to 9.0 magnitude. It also has 25 lightning rods.

Skamania County is known for enacting what has been described as the "Bigfoot Ordinance", making it illegal to shoot Bigfoot. According to one account, the law was put in the books at the height of the Bigfoot craze--not to protect the mythical creature, but to protect citizens from the overly enthusiastic, weapon-toting paranormal enthusiasts flocking to the area.

Twenty-four presidents have U.S. counties or county equivalents named after them, but only George Washington has a state named in his honor.

Longview is home to the Nutty Narrows Bridge built in 1963 by Amos Peters. For many years, it was the only bridge in the world designed and built strictly for squirrels. The bridge was built in 1963 in order to avoid squirrel casualties on the busy streets below. In 2011, the city began unveiling a new squirrel bridge each year as part of its annual Squirrel Fest.

The state is bordered to the north by British Columbia, the westernmost province of Canada, between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains.

Kennewick Man, one of the most complete ancient skeletons ever found, became the subject of a controversial nine-year court battle between scientists and Native American tribes who were opposed to scientific study of the man they referred to as "the Ancient One". Initially, courts ruled against the tribes, but after DNA analysis of the 8,500-year-old bones confirmed that Kennewick Man was, in fact, related to modern Native Americans, his remains were returned and laid to rest at an undisclosed location.