About Seattle

Seattle Weather and Climate

In the winter, Seattle may see a handful of snow days per year: the last major snow event in Seattle was in 1997, when we were snowed in for a week with several inches. However, in the winter of 2006/2007, the Puget Sound area experienced a number of damaging winter storms, lowland snow, wind storms, and a weeks-long string of below-freezing days -- it remains to be seen whether this winter is an anomaly or part of a larger climatological shift caused by global warming.

Seattle summer climate tends more toward the dry than the humid -- we get occasional summer thunderstorms, but not many, and tornados are rare.

The best way to prepare for visiting Seattle is to layer -- the climate, with our hilly terrain's infamous "convergence zones", is unpredictable enough (just ask our long-suffering local weather people) that you never know when a rain storm, a dry spell, or a sudden drop in temperature might occur.

You'll notice many Seattleites who don't even use umbrellas -- after awhile, you just get used to the drizzle.

Rain jokes aside, Seattle has a milder climate than many other parts of the world, with less extreme variations in temperature, and a higher number of cloudy days with misty and damp weather.

Location and Geography

• The City of Seattle is located in the State of Washington on Puget Sound, 113 miles (182 km) south of the U.S.-Canadian border.
• It is at latitude 47" 37' and north longitude 122" 19' West.
• Its land area covers 217 sq km, and its water area covers 150 sq km -- 41% water in city limits!
• The city is located at sea level. The highest hill elevation in the city is 520 feet.
• Seattle terrain is hilly (the city is built on seven adjacent hills) and green.
• The city shoreline runs along Puget Sound to the west and Lake Washington to the east.
• The Lake Washington Ship Canal is an east/west running waterway that geologically divides Seattle into northern and southern sections.
• Lake Union is a 580 acre freshwater lake that is part of the Lake Washington Ship Canal system, located about mid-city, just to the west of Interstate-5.
• The city's major lakes are Lake Washington, which stretches along almost the entire eastern side of Seattle, and Bitter Lake, Green Lake and Haller Lake, which are all north of the Lake Washington Ship Canal.
• There are over 150 bridges in use in Seattle, helping people travel over the many waterways in the city.
• The city is separated from the Pacific Ocean by the Kitsap and Olympic peninsulas.
• An active geological fault, The Seattle Fault Zone, runs under the city.
• Harbor Island, at the mouth of the Duwamish Waterway, is an artificial island, first built in 1909. It divides the Duwamish Waterway into east and west waterways.
• South of Harbor Island, the Duwamish Waterway becomes the Duwamish River, which divides South Seattle between the Beacon Hill, Seward Park and Rainier Valley neighborhoods to the east, and the Delridge and West Seattle neighborhoods to the west.
• Seattle contains a number of streams, creeks and waterways, including Broadview Creek, Fauntleroy Creek, Longfellow Creek and Piper's Creek, which empty into Puget Sound, and Arboretum Creek, Ravenna Creek and Thornton Creek, which empty into Lake Washington.
• Seattle, the Emerald City, has hundreds of parks. See the Parks and Recreation web site for the full list.

People and Culture

A Seattle Snapshot

• Noah Sealth, chief of the local Suquamish Native American tribe, was one of the founders of the city. Seattle is named after him.
• Before it got the name Seattle in late 1852, the city was known as Duwamps.
• The Great Seattle Fire of 1889 burnt up most of the first Seattle downtown. It was rebuilt within a year, literally on top of the remains of the older downtown. You can still see sections of the original downtown on the colorful Seattle Underground Tour.
• 3.2 million people live in the Greater Seattle Area. About 570,000 live in Seattle itself. Read more data about Seattle.
• More than 75% of Seattle residents have internet access at home. The Seattle WiFi Map Project mapped out thousands of wireless networks in Seattle.
• Seattle is one of the fittest cities in the country, especially for walkers and bikers.
• Seattle has the highest per-capita music and dance attendance in the country, with 80 live music clubs (not counting the movable dance clubs and shows) and 15 symphony orchestras.
• The Seattle International Film Festival in mid-May to June showcases world film and new world filmmakers.
• Seattle has 29 professional theatres, 56 fringe theatre companies and seven theatre schools.
• Bumbershoot, over Labor Day weekend, is one of the largest entertainment festivals in the world.
• Ballard, in north Seattle, was once a Norweigan fishing village. The Alaskan fishing fleet still winters there before heading out on salmon runs.
• The Nordic Heritage Museum is the country's only museum honoring the heritage of people from the five Nordic countries.
• Ray Charles, Quincy Jones, Jimi Hendrix and Ernestine Anderson all lived in Central and South Seattle over the years.
• Seafair is a massive two-month summer festival that showcases the traditions and diversity of Puget Sound with parades, festivals, triathalons, hydroplane races and air shows.
• Alki Beach is one of the city's longest white sand beaches, 2 miles along the west side of West Seattle.
• U-Dist is the nickname of the neighborhood surrounding the University of Washington.
• The Wing Luke Museum in Chinatown/International District is the country's only museum devoted to Asian-American history, with displays on immigration, the arts and traditional medicine.

You can't go to Paris without stopping by the Eiffel Tower. And you can't visit Seattle without checking out the view from the world-famous Space Needle. Here's a handy "must do" list for first-time visitors and those who want to be sure they've done everything (it may take more than one trip).

10 Things You MUST See & Do in Seattle...

The Space Needle
Seattle Center, 400 Broad St.; 206.905.2100;
www.spaceneedle.com
A 41-second elevator ride takes you up 520 feet to the observation deck of the Space Needle, built for the 1962 World's Fair. Enjoy a meal at SkyCity, the restaurant at the top that revolves 360° while you dine.

Pike Place Market
Between First Ave. and Western, from Pike to Virginia streets www.pikeplacemarket.org
Born in 1907, Seattle's Pike Place Market is the granddaddy of farmers' markets. Today, it's a major tourist attraction with 200 businesses operating year-round, 190 craftspeople and 120 farmer booths - plus street performers and musicians. Flowers by the bucketful, flying fish, fresh pastries and fruit, handmade cheeses, local honey, wine, an assortment of restaurants, import goods, antiques, collectibles and lots of surprises are around every corner.

Ferries
www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries
Traveling by ferry is a state of mind as much as a means of transportation to some of the Puget Sound's most historic and scenic sites. Views of the Olympic and Cascade mountains, the Seattle cityscape and the green shorelines will draw you out onto the deck to feel the salt breeze on your face. The state ferry system takes passengers and their vehicles from Seattle and nearby departure points to Vashon Island, the Kitsap Peninsula, the San Juan Islands and Canada. For privately operated ferries, see the Sightseeing & Tours (page 35) and Visitors Services/Travel & Transportation (page 120) listings in this guide.

Seattle Aquarium
Pier 59
206.386.4300
www.seattleaquarium.org
Meet Alki, the sea otter pup born at the Aquarium. Walk under the water in a glass dome as bluntnose sixgill sharks and other Elliott Bay creatures swim all around you. Touch a sea anemone. Learn about the lives of salmon at the world's first aquarium-based salmon ladder. Marvel at the impossibly bright-colored coral reef fish. And don't forget to wave to the giant Pacific octopus.

The Seattle Waterfront
Piers 52 to 70 on Alaskan Way
ci.seattle.wa.us/tour/water.htm
A bustling collection of attractions, restaurants and shopping, as well as starting points for ferries, cruise ships, the Victoria Clipper and Argosy boat tours are located here. Feed the seagulls at the statue of Ivar Haglund in front of Ivar's Acres of Clams, stroll by the fountains on the wooden piers of Waterfront Park, admire the view or shop for souvenirs.

Woodland Park Zoo
South Gate: 750 N. 50th St
206.684.4800
www.zoo.org
See more than 1,000 animals of 300 different species, from elephants and gorillas to piranhas and penguins, in naturalistic exhibits at the Woodland Park Zoo. Drop by at scheduled feeding times and talk with the people who care for the animals.

Bill Speidel's Underground Tour
608 First Ave.
206.682.4646
www.undergroundtour.com
After the Great Seattle Fire of 1889, the city was rebuilt over the top of the ruins. This guided tour takes visitors through the hidden subterranean passages that once were the main roadways and storefronts of old downtown Seattle and tells stories of the frontier people who lived and worked there.

The Seattle Public Library
1000 Fourth Ave.
206.386.4636
www.spl.org
Designed by world-renowned Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, the award-winning glass and steel structure of the new Central Library makes the building seem a little off-kilter and translucent - allowing passersby on the street to look in.

Tillicum Village
Blake Island
206.933.8600
www.tillicumvillage.com
A short, narrated cruise takes you to an island village, where you'll feast on salmon cooked in the authentic Native American way. A stage show of traditional dances and stories entertains and teaches you about the people who lived in the Northwest first.

Ride the Ducks of Seattle
516 Broad St, Seattle
206.441.DUCK (3825)
www.ridetheducksofseattle.com
Tour Seattle by land and water on a WWII amphibious landing craft. This 90-minute adventure tour will have you "quacking up" through the streets of Seattle. You'll see the major sights of the Emerald City on land before you head out to the funky Fremont neighborhood where you'll splash into Lake Union.