Seattle is located a few hours east of the Pacific Ocean in the northwest section of the United States. The city sits with the Cascade National Park to the northeast, Olympic National Park to the west, Puget Sound to the northwest, Mount Rainier to the southeast and Mount St. Helens to the south.
According to http://www.seattle.gov/ the population for the Greater Seattle Area (GSA) in 1970 was approximately 1,939,000 and grew to approximately 3,707,400 in 2010 in the last census. *Any future reference to the "Greater Seattle Area" will be replaced with the acronym "GSA"* For demographic purposes, the GSA is comprised of King, Snohomish, Pierce, Kitsap counties and the city of Seattle. However, this post (and the next few to follow) will cover the previously listed parks and extend into their surrounding areas.
The GSA attracts individuals from all over the globe. Whether you are coming to visit downtown Seattle for the many museums, performing arts theaters, The Space Needle, whale watching or you just want to take a stroll along the waterfront - there is something for everyone! You can rent a car, head out of town to check out the mountainside or head to Forks, WA to see where they filmed Twilight. Just kidding! Honestly, I wasn't aware they filmed the movie there until I used my check-in app from my phone and the whole world wanted to know if I was there because they filmed the movie there. Nope, I just love traveling and had NO idea of that fact. We were passing through. For the Twilight fans though, it might be interesting to check out.
Did you know that Starbucks, Costco, Amazon.com and Boeing Company are headquartered in Seattle? Microsoft is headquartered in Redmond, which is just outside of Seattle. This list alone is impressive. The major industries include aerospace, transportation equipment, forest products, food processing and advanced technology (e.g. computer software or electronics). Tourism is an important contributer to the local economy. The Port of Seattle is considered to be the, "second largest handler of container cargo in the country." For more information regarding the local economy, please visit: http://www.city-data.com/us-cities/The-West/Seattle-Economy.html
It is believed that Seattle is mainly clouds and rain all year, however Seattle actually receives less rainfall, but more frequently in the form of a light misting or sprinkling. For example, if you go to: http://www.weather.com/ and enter in Seattle, WA and Ft. Lauderdale, FL to compare the precipitation average; you will find that Ft. Lauderdale has 30.4 inches more in rain on average.
Here are some interesting facts about the GSA:
- Ted Bundy and Gary Ridgway committed over 30 murders (each) in the northwest, including Seattle and the surrounding areas.
- There is a Gum Wall in the Pike Place Market off of Pike Street in downtown Seattle where you take your ABC(already been chewed) gum and find a creative way to stick it on the wall. It really is a work of art, even if it seems a bit disgusting. A must see for the non-squeamish!
- Washington state produces more apples than any other state. A quick note - I have seen the apple orchards - I believe it!
- Jimi Hendrix was born in Seattle.
- I'm pretty sure you could already gather that Starbucks was founded in Seattle.
- Pugent Sound is the starting point of the whale watching tours. If you're lucky, you may get to see orcas, humpback whales, dolphins, bald eagles and much more.
- Washington contains a high amount of glaciers as compared to the rest of the US.
- Mount St. Helens erupted due to a 5.1 earthquake beneath it.
- Salmon make their way back through the channels to Issaquah and many other areas of the GSA. Here is a salmon making a jump to get back over to the other side:
- I took these pictures at the Issaquah Hatchery: http://www.issaquahfish.org/
I chose this location to start with first because it is one of my favorite places to visit. The area is extremely diverse when it comes to the physical landscape. I also have been visiting this area for almost three years now. I was due back for a trip in August, but was unable to make it due to school. I plan to extensively discuss the features that make this area so unique. The GSA is extremely beautiful at all times of the year. I am very excited that I decided to start this blog with an area of the United States of which I am an avid fan. Until next time!
Here are some pictures of Mount Rainier in August 2012:
Please take note: All of the pictures I have supplied in this blog post are my own. Please do not use them without my permission.
Until next time!
~ Crystal ~
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