Washington (United States)

How is the land laid out?

This area lies entirely within the Western Cordillera. This zone, in Washington, is divided into the Pacific Mountain System, the Columbia Plateau(1) and--in the northeast--the North Rocky Mountains. The Pacific System consists of the Cascades(2), which has subduction volcanoes like Mount Ranier(3), and the Pacific Border Province. The Columbia-Snake system's lower course flows through and along the southern edge of Washington.

Who lives there?

Washington is in the part of North America in which English-speakers and Christians are the majority.

Seattle, Washington, is famous for its Space Needle Tower--tapered except for the high disk of its revolving restaurant.

Who was there before?

Salishan languages were spoken in this area and beyond. Secret societies were part of the local former religion. In the late 19th century Somohalla founded the Indian Shaker Church which included the role of Dreamers; it was a blend of Christianity and indiginous folk ways. In the late 18th century smallpox, and in the early 19th century, influenza, reduced indiginous populutions in this area.

The Chimakuan languages were spoken near Puget Sound.

The Penutian languages--in the narrower sense(12)--were represented in Washington by the Chinook. Smallpox and measles in the early 19th century killed many. There are few or no current speakers.

English-speaking Americans conquered the area piece by piece in the 19th century.

north
east
south
west

Other broad topics

United States of America
North America

Footnotes

(1) Part of the Intermontane Plateaus.
(2) Part of the Cascade-Sierra Mountains.
(3) Almost 4400 meters tall.