Olympia sits on a low flat at the southern end of Puget Sound on the shores of Budd Inlet's two bays, between Seattle and the Olympic Mountains to the north, Mt. Rainier to the northeast, and Mt. Saint Helens to the south. The city is further divided by Capitol Lake.
The city and the surrounding area experience fair-weather summers and the grey, wet overcast winters of the Pacific Northwest. Tempered by the Japanese trade current, the mild northwest climate favors lushly forested landscapes replete with ferns and mosses. Rainfall tends to be spread out over a large number of days. With about 52 clear days out of every 365, Thurston County residents live under some form of cloud cover 86 percent of the year, with more than a trace of rain falling on almost half of the days of the year.
Area: 18.52 square miles (2000)
Elevation: 221 feet above sea level
Average Temperatures: January, 37.9° F; July, 63.2° F; annual average, 49.9° F
Average Annual Precipitation: 50.59 inches