Washington Trivia & Tidbits - Page 15

Looking for Washington trivia? Try our list Washington little know facts, tidbits and trivia.

The highest mountain in Washington, Mount Rainier—the 14,410-foot volcanic peak in the Cascade Range—was named by English explorer George Vancouver, who named it for British Navy Rear Adm. Peter Rainier. The admiral never set foot on American soil, let alone saw the mountain named after him.

first appeared: 6/16/2002

Lime Kiln Point State Park on San Juan Island, near Friday Harbor (pop. 1,989), is a site noted for whale watching. In addition to orca whales, observers will often spot porpoises, seals, sea lions, and eagles at the park during the optimal viewing months, June through September.

first appeared: 6/9/2002

Mount Rainier, the highest volcano in the Cascade Range at 14,410 feet, stood even higher at one time because of lava flows on opposite sides of the mountain that reached 1,000 feet higher than the present crest of the lava cone. Those flows are thought to have fallen in explosions and landslides.

first appeared: 6/2/2002

The view from the top of 4,500-foot Puffer Butte in Fields Spring State Park, south of Asotin (pop. 1,095), looks out over the Grand Ronde River and three states—Washington, Idaho, and Oregon. The site is named for an early homesteader couple named Puffer, who would climb neighboring Patterson Butte daily to keep a lookout for American Indians. If any were spotted, the couple hastily moved its livestock to Puffer Butte for safekeeping.

first appeared: 5/26/2002

North-central Washington’s Okanogan National Forest is known as Sunny Okanogan for its hot, dry summers and clear-sky, snow-blanketed winters. The North Cascades Scenic Highway offers a popular route to explore the area.

first appeared: 5/19/2002

The Flume Creek Mountain Goat Viewing Area near Metaline (pop. 162) offers a chance to see mountain goats in the wild. Spring mornings, evenings, and overcast days are the best viewing times, when the goats gather to feed and rest on the ledges above Flume Creek. Actually, the animals are not true goats but instead are related to Old World antelopes.

first appeared: 5/12/2002

The Cle Elum Historical Telephone Museum in Cle Elum (pop. 1,755) recounts the tale of telephone service in the area dating back to April 5, 1901, when the first manual switchboard call was made by a local store owner. Pacific Northwest Bell Telephone Co. donated its former office building to the Cle Elum Historical Society in 1966, after the town became the last place in the company’s service area to switch from manual service to automatic dialing.

first appeared: 5/5/2002

The Giant Pacific Octopus, which can weigh upwards of 600 pounds, can be found in the salt waters off Washington.

first appeared: 4/28/2002

The sawmill at Port Gamble was built by Capt. W.C. Talbot and Cyrus Walker soon after they arrived in the area, in July 1853. The mill operated until 1995, making it the longest continuously running mill in North America before its closing. The town is a national historic site.

first appeared: 4/21/2002

The world’s largest tulip fields can be found in the Skagit Valley, where the brightly colored flowers put on a dazzling show every summer.

first appeared: 4/14/2002

Grand Coulee Dam near Grand Coulee (pop. 897) is four times larger than the Great Pyramid of Giza.

first appeared: 4/14/2002

Chocoholics visiting Boehm’s Candies in Issaquah (pop. 11,212) not only can see how the famous hand-dipped Swiss treats are made but can take in the Edelweiss Chalet, which contains paintings, statues, and a replica of a 12th-century Swiss chapel.

first appeared: 4/7/2002

Hoquiam’s Castle in Hoquiam (pop. 9,097), built from 1897 to 1900 as the home of lumber magnate Robert Lytle, is now a bed and breakfast. The three-story, 10,000-square-foot home features wood paneling, leaded and stained glass windows, cut crystal chandeliers, and antique furnishings.

first appeared: 3/31/2002

Washingtonian Don Ibsen is credited with developing the sport of water skiing in 1928. His first attempts using wooden boxes failed. Eventually, Ibsen fashioned two pieces of cedar to create the first pair of water skis.

first appeared: 3/24/2002

The hot springs in Sol Duc and Olympic Hot Springs in Olympic National Park are the subject of American Indian legend. According to lore, two dragon-like creatures fought a battle that ended without victory for either one. They then retreated to separate caves, where they cried hot tears, creating the hot springs.

first appeared: 3/17/2002

Fort Flagler State Park is now a camping park on a bluff overlooking Puget Sound. It began in the 1890s as part of the fortification system protecting the cities of Seattle, Tacoma, and Everett, as well as the Bremerton Naval Yard. The property was purchased as a state park in 1955 after the fort closed in 1953.

first appeared: 3/10/2002

Usk, in eastern Washington, was named by a Welsh settler who named his new home after Usk, a small country town in the Usk valley in Monmouthshire, South Wales. Both the Washington and Welsh communities were located about 16 miles north of towns named Newport.

first appeared: 3/3/2002

Fort Vancouver National Historic Site is reputed to be home to the largest annual fireworks show west of the Mississippi River.

first appeared: 2/24/2002

Water captured from Mount Rainier’s snow and ice fields would provide enough water for Seattle residents to drink and bathe in for 200 years.

first appeared: 2/24/2002

The Space Needle in Seattle was designed to withstand winds of up to 200 miles an hour.

first appeared: 2/17/2002

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