Washington State Place Names Trivia Quiz

Answer: Seattle

Seattle is the largest city in the state of Washington. It was founded on November 13, 1851 at Alki Point on the shores of Elliot Bay. It was named for the chief of the Duwamish and Suquamish tribes. His name has been spelled many different ways but he was Christened Noah Sealth by a Catholic priest.

Answer: Mount Vernon

Mount Vernon is the county seat of Skagit County. It was originally founded as a fur trading post on the Skagit River. George Washington's Mount Vernon was named in honor of Admiral Edward Vernon of the British Navy.

Answer: Deception Pass

Deception Pass was named by British explorer George Vancouver because it had appeared to be a narrow bay rather than a passageway. There is a bridge across it that affords a beautiful view.

Answer: Walla Walla

Walla Walla was first mentioned by Lewis and Clark as Wollaw Wollahs. Its name comes from the Nez Perce word Walatsa which means running waters. The repetition makes it mean 'many waters'. Walla Walla is the location of the main state prison.

Answer: Aberdeen

Aberdeen was named after the Aberdeen Packing Company. The Finnish born owner had named his fish packing company after Aberdeen, Scotland to capitalize on the on the Scottish city's prominence in fisheries world. It was considered appropriate because the Gaelic word meant "the meeting of two rivers" and the Aberdeen and Chehalis rivers meet near Aberdeen, Washington.

Answer: Mt. St. Helens

Mt. St. Helens is located in northern Skamania County. The catastrophic eruption on May 18, 1980 resulted in the deaths of 60 people. The height of the mountain was reduced by 1,313 feet -- from 9,677 feet to 8,364 feet.

Answer: Skamania County

The county seat of Skamania County is Stevenson. It is the location of Mount Saint Helens, the Bonneville Dam, and the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. It is also notable as being the only county in the state of Washington (and probably the country) where it is illegal to kill a bigfoot.

Answer: Custer

Custer is a small town located off of the I-5 freeway. It is north of Bellingham.

Answer: Chief Joseph Dam

After being ordered to report to a reservation in 1877, Chief Joseph led his tribe through Idaho and Montana. They were stopped 40 miles from Canada and after a 5 day battle only 431 people were left.

Answer: Vader

A name for the town couldn't be decided on so in 1913 the State Legislature stepped in. They named the town Vader to honor an elderly German settler. He was not flattered and promptly moved to Florida.