Title: Washington - Plant and animal life | Britannica
Headings: Plant and animal life
Plant and animal life
Explore the Whale Museum and the whales around the San Juan Islands
People
Population composition
Settlement patterns
Demographic trends
Economy

Content: Migration continued, particularly from the Midwest, and, until national quotas on foreign immigration were imposed in the 1920s, large numbers of foreign-born people entered the state, especially from Canada and Scandinavia. The Japanese arrived later and by 1930 numbered about 18,000. During World War II, citizens or not, they were moved from the coastal areas to relocation camps in inland regions. After the war only a few received back their homes and property, and many chose to live elsewhere. For decades the western movement of the U.S. population dominated Washington’s growth. During the 1950s, for the first time—and by a wide margin—natural increase overtook migration, but toward the end of the 20th century Seattle again became a destination for large numbers of people, its population growing by about one-tenth in the last decade of the century alone. Economy
Agriculture, forestry, and fisheries have been major contributors to the state’s economy since early settlement by Europeans. The rapid increase in manufacturing and services that began in the 1940s led to concentration of the population in urban areas. About one-tenth of the nonagricultural labour force is employed in manufacturing; less than one-fifth works for state or federal government agencies.