| The fifteenth largest United States city, with a population of nearly 620,000 residents, Seattle is located in the northwestern part of the state of Washington. Nearly 3.5 million people live in the MSA area. Although the area has had inhabitants for thousands of years, the city of Seattle was not established until 1869. Seattle is located in King County, Washington at an elevation that varies from sea level to one hundred fifty feet. It is within the Pacific Standard Time Zone and the Seattle area code is 206. Seattle entertainment includes the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, and the Seattle Opera. Seattle festivals and events the Seattle Polish Film Festival and the Seattle International Film Festival. Favorite Seattle shopping areas include Westlake Center. Seattle things to do include the Museum of Flight, the Woodland Park Zoo, the Museum of History and Industry, the Henry Art Gallery, and the Frye Art Museum. The Seattle weather is cool with winter low months averaging 35 degrees and summer high temperatures in the high 70s. Over three inches of rain on average fall on the area monthly. The Space Needle is the area's tallest structure and famous around the world. The Seattle Times is the area's newspaper. Local sports teams include football's Seattle Seahawks, baseball's Seattle Mariners, and hockey's Seattle Thunderbirds. Many large companies and corporations have a presence in the Seattle area including Starbucks, Nordstrom, Safeco, Washington Mutual, and Amazon.com. Median family income is $62,000. Local higher education institutions include the University of Washington, Seattle University, Antioch University, City University, and the Art Institute of Seattle. One of the area's largest medical facilities is Harborview Medical Center. King County Metro provides public transportation. |
