Washington State’s Borders: Pacific Ocean, Canada, Idaho, Oregon

Four Sides of the Evergreen State

• West: Pacific Ocean – 157 mi of coastline (Strait of Juan de Fuca to Columbia River).
• North: British Columbia, Canada – 427 mi land border (49th parallel + marine boundary in Strait of Georgia).
• East: Idaho – 305 mi border (mostly meridian 117°W; follows Snake River briefly).
• South: Oregon – 295 mi border (Columbia River forms most of it).

Key Geographic Implications

• Maritime gateway: Puget Sound ports (Seattle, Tacoma) handle $100B+ trade.
• Cross-border integration: Cascadia corridor (Vancouver–Seattle–Portland) – high-speed rail studies, shared energy grid.
• Hydrography: Columbia River = southern border + hydropower spine (Grand Coulee, Chief Joseph).
• Time zone: Entire state on Pacific Time (UTC-8/UTC-7 DST).

Tripoints

• NW: Point Roberts (US exclave) – 49th parallel meets Strait of Georgia.
• SE: Clarkston/Lewiston – Snake River meets Columbia at ID-WA-OR junction.