[a] It generally includes the Olympia area southwards to the Oregon-Washington state line at Vancouver.

Olympia, the state capital, has been a transshipment center for Southwest Washington since its settlement in the mid-19th century.

[5] Cities and towns in Southwest Washington include:[citation needed] The Southwest Washington Fair is held annually in the city of Chehalis.

The Sou'wester is the magazine of the Pacific County Historical Society.

The major north–south highways in Southwest Washington are U.S. Route 101, which runs along the Pacific Coast, and Interstate 5, a freeway between Seattle and Portland, Oregon.