WashingtonThe state in the northwest corner. Capital: Olympia.
OregonSouth of Washington, on the Pacific coast. Capital: Salem.
IdahoThe inland state on the east side. Capital: Boise.
Cities 6
OlympiaCapital of Washington, at Puget Sound's south end.
SalemCapital of Oregon, on the Willamette south of Portland.
BoiseCapital of Idaho, in the southwest of the state.
SeattleThe dot on the east shore of Puget Sound.
PortlandIn Oregon, where the Willamette reaches the Columbia.
SpokaneThe dot in eastern Washington, near Idaho.
Rivers and sea 4
Columbia RiverThe long river from Canada to the Pacific Ocean.
Snake RiverIt crosses southern Idaho and joins the Columbia.
Willamette RiverIt runs north through western Oregon to Portland.
Salish SeaThe inland sea that takes in Puget Sound.
How this list was compiled: Which states: Wikipedia, 'Pacific Northwest' (there is no official boundary; the usual idea is Oregon, Washington, Idaho and British Columbia; broader ones reach the Alaska Panhandle, Yukon, Northern California and Western Montana), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Northwest, read 2026-10-01, and the U.S. Geological Survey, Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center ('The NW CASC serves Washington, Oregon, and Idaho'), https://www.usgs.gov/programs/climate-adaptation-science-centers/northwest-casc, read 2026-10-01. A wider official region, for comparison: the Environmental Protection Agency's 'Region 10 (Pacific Northwest)' serves Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington, https://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/epa-region-10-pacific-northwest, read 2026-10-01. Capitals: Wikipedia, 'List of capitals in the United States' (Olympia, Salem, Boise), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_capitals_in_the_United_States, and the governor's main address on USA.gov (Olympia, Salem and the State Capitol in Boise), https://www.usa.gov/states/washington, https://www.usa.gov/states/oregon, https://www.usa.gov/states/idaho, all read 2026-10-01. City names: the Census Bureau's 2023 Gazetteer place files for Washington, Oregon and Idaho (Seattle city, Spokane city, Olympia city, Portland city, Salem city; Idaho's file has Boise City city), https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2023_Gazetteer/, read 2026-10-01, and the Wikipedia article above. Rivers: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 87-242, 'Largest Rivers in the United States' (Columbia, Snake, Willamette), https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/1987/ofr87-242/, read 2026-10-01; their courses are described from the drawing. Salish Sea: Wikipedia, 'Salish Sea' (it includes the Strait of Georgia, the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salish_Sea, and the Environmental Protection Agency's Salish Sea page, https://www.epa.gov/salish-sea, both read 2026-10-01. Shapes, lines, dots and names: the site's own map drawing, made by script from the files named below. The marks of Olympia and Seattle each stand a little off the middle of their dots, away from each other, so that both names have room; the mark of Washington is set by hand. The Pacific Ocean is open water on the drawing and is not asked. Drawn for this site from U.S. Census Bureau 2023 cartographic boundary file cb_2023_us_state_5m (scale 1:5,000,000), https://www2.census.gov/geo/tiger/GENZ2023/shp/cb_2023_us_state_5m.zip, downloaded 2026-09-19; from Natural Earth 5.1.2, ne_10m_geography_marine_polys (scale 1:10,000,000), https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvkelso/natural-earth-vector/v5.1.2/geojson/ne_10m_geography_marine_polys.geojson, downloaded 2026-09-19; from Natural Earth 5.1.2, ne_50m_rivers_lake_centerlines (scale 1:50,000,000), https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvkelso/natural-earth-vector/v5.1.2/geojson/ne_50m_rivers_lake_centerlines.geojson, downloaded 2026-09-19; from Natural Earth 5.1.2, ne_10m_populated_places_simple (scale 1:10,000,000), https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvkelso/natural-earth-vector/v5.1.2/geojson/ne_10m_populated_places_simple.geojson, downloaded 2026-09-19. Surrounding land from Natural Earth 5.1.2, ne_10m_admin_0_countries_lakes (scale 1:10,000,000), https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvkelso/natural-earth-vector/v5.1.2/geojson/ne_10m_admin_0_countries_lakes.geojson, downloaded 2026-09-19. Albers equal-area conic projection, central meridian 117.9°W, standard parallels 43.5°N and 47.5°N. Outlines simplified; small islands are left out. Licence: public domain (work of the United States government, 17 U.S.C. 105): https://www2.census.gov/geo/pdfs/maps-data/data/tiger/tgrshp2023/TGRSHP2023_TechDoc_Ch1.pdf; public domain (Natural Earth terms of use: https://www.naturalearthdata.com/about/terms-of-use/)
The drawing: Drawn for this site from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2023 state boundary file and from Natural Earth 5.1.2. In full: from U.S. Census Bureau 2023 cartographic boundary file cb_2023_us_state_5m (scale 1:5,000,000), https://www2.census.gov/geo/tiger/GENZ2023/shp/cb_2023_us_state_5m.zip, downloaded 2026-09-19; from Natural Earth 5.1.2, ne_10m_geography_marine_polys (scale 1:10,000,000), https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvkelso/natural-earth-vector/v5.1.2/geojson/ne_10m_geography_marine_polys.geojson, downloaded 2026-09-19; from Natural Earth 5.1.2, ne_50m_rivers_lake_centerlines (scale 1:50,000,000), https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvkelso/natural-earth-vector/v5.1.2/geojson/ne_50m_rivers_lake_centerlines.geojson, downloaded 2026-09-19; from Natural Earth 5.1.2, ne_10m_populated_places_simple (scale 1:10,000,000), https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvkelso/natural-earth-vector/v5.1.2/geojson/ne_10m_populated_places_simple.geojson, downloaded 2026-09-19. Surrounding land from Natural Earth 5.1.2, ne_10m_admin_0_countries_lakes (scale 1:10,000,000), https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvkelso/natural-earth-vector/v5.1.2/geojson/ne_10m_admin_0_countries_lakes.geojson, downloaded 2026-09-19. Albers equal-area conic projection, central meridian 117.9°W, standard parallels 43.5°N and 47.5°N. Outlines simplified; small islands are left out. Licence: public domain (work of the United States government, 17 U.S.C. 105): https://www2.census.gov/geo/pdfs/maps-data/data/tiger/tgrshp2023/TGRSHP2023_TechDoc_Ch1.pdf; public domain (Natural Earth terms of use: https://www.naturalearthdata.com/about/terms-of-use/)
How it works
This blank map of the Pacific Northwest shows Washington, Oregon and Idaho with the lines between them. The capitals and three more cities are dots, and the Columbia, Snake and Willamette rivers are drawn.
Read the full guide
Blank, numbered or named
The sheet opens blank. Numbered puts 1 to 3 on the states, 4 to 6 on their capitals, 7 to 9 on Seattle, Portland and Spokane, 10 to 12 on the rivers and 13 on the Salish Sea. Named writes the names, and Borders off leaves one outline.
Blank map of the northwest United States
The region has no official border. This sheet numbers the three states most often counted. British Columbia, which the name also takes in, is drawn at the top without a number. Quiz yourself on this map asks one place at a time.
The Columbia marks most of the line between Washington and Oregon. Have students trace it first.
Questions and answers
Which states are in the Pacific Northwest?
Washington, Oregon and Idaho in the most common count, which also takes in British Columbia in Canada. There is no official border. Wider lists reach into western Montana, northern California or the Alaska Panhandle.
What are the capitals of Washington, Oregon and Idaho?
Olympia, Salem and Boise. They are the dots numbered 4, 5 and 6 on this map. Seattle and Portland, numbers 7 and 8, are not capitals.
Which rivers are on the map?
Three. The Columbia comes down from Canada and reaches the Pacific between Washington and Oregon. The Snake crosses southern Idaho and joins the Columbia. The Willamette runs north through western Oregon to Portland.
Is Puget Sound on the map?
Yes, as part of the Salish Sea, number 13. That sea takes in Puget Sound, the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Strait of Georgia. Seattle is the dot on its east shore.