City North America
Seattle
Seattle is a city in the northwest of the United States, by the sea. A tall tower called the Space Needle has a round top like a flying saucer. It rains a lot in winter.
Seattle is the largest city in the state of Washington, on Elliott Bay in Puget Sound. Settlers landed at Alki Point in 1851, and the Space Needle was built for the 1962 World's Fair. The US Census Bureau estimated 784,777 people in the city in July 2025.
Seattle grew from the Denny Party's landing at Alki Point on 13 November 1851, in an area where the Duwamish people had at least 17 villages. Its Space Needle (1962) and Pike Place Market (1907) are landmarks, and light rail has run since 2009. The Census Bureau's estimate for 1 July 2025 was 784,777.
Photo: Rattlhed at English Wikipedia, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Discover Seattle
Seattle is a big city in the state of Washington. It is in the far northwest of the United States.
It sits beside a wide bay of the sea.
Seattle is a city in the state of Washington, on Elliott Bay, part of Puget Sound. It is the largest city in the state: the US Census Bureau estimated 784,777 people there on 1 July 2025, more than three times as many as Spokane, the next largest.
The city has grown in recent years. The Census Bureau's estimate for July 2020 was 740,675.
The Census Bureau's Vintage 2025 estimates give Seattle 784,777 people on 1 July 2025, up from 740,675 in July 2020 and well ahead of Spokane (230,783) and Tacoma (229,816), the next-largest places in Washington.
HistoryLink describes the setting around Elliott Bay and the Duwamish River on Puget Sound, where the Duwamish people occupied at least 17 villages when the first US settlers began building cabins in 1851.
- Country and state
- United States; Washington
- People in the city (estimate, 1 July 2025)
- 784,777
- Largest city in Washington
- yes; Spokane is next, with 230,783
- Waters
- Elliott Bay and Puget Sound
A needle and a market
The Space Needle is a tall, thin tower. Its round top looks like a flying saucer.
Nearby, a big old market sells food and crafts.
The Space Needle was built for the 1962 World's Fair, whose theme was 'The Age of Space'. It is 605 feet tall, about 184 meters, and opened on 21 April 1962. Its saucer-shaped top house, 520 feet up, gives views all around the city.
Pike Place Market opened in 1907. Today more than 70 farmers, 180 craftspeople, 220 shops and restaurants and 60 permitted buskers bring its nine historic acres to life, the market says.
The Space Needle's own history calls it a cultural centerpiece of the 1962 World's Fair ('The Age of Space'), 605 ft tall, built to symbolize Space Age aspirations and opened on 21 April 1962; its 520-ft saucer-shaped top house offers indoor and outdoor 360-degree views of downtown, Mount Rainier and Puget Sound.
Pike Place Market, founded in 1907, calls itself one of the oldest and largest continuously operating public markets in the United States, spread over nine historic acres downtown, with 70+ farmers, 180+ craftspeople, 220+ independent shops and restaurants and 60+ permitted buskers.
- Space Needle
- 605 feet (about 184 m) tall; opened 21 April 1962
- Top house
- saucer-shaped, 520 feet up, with 360-degree views
- Pike Place Market
- founded 1907; nine historic acres downtown
Log cabins on Puget Sound
Long before the city, the Duwamish people lived here in many villages.
Then settlers arrived on a ship and built log cabins by the water.
Long before the city was built, the Duwamish people had at least 17 villages around Elliott Bay and the Duwamish River, HistoryLink says. On 13 November 1851, the schooner Exact brought the rest of the Denny Party, about 22 settlers, to Alki Point. By the end of that November they had built log cabins.
That winter the men cut logs for a ship that needed long pilings for docks in San Francisco. In February 1852 they explored Elliott Bay and marked out land claims where downtown Seattle grew.
HistoryLink's essay on the first non-Native settlers records farmers claiming land on the Duwamish River in September 1851, then the rest of the Denny Party (the Boren, Bell and Denny families, about 22 people) arriving at Alki aboard the schooner Exact on 13 November 1851.
In December the ship Leonesa loaded 50-foot pilings for San Francisco's docks; on 15 February 1852, after taking soundings around Elliott Bay and judging its harbor and timber, Arthur Denny and his companions marked three claims on what became downtown Seattle.
- Duwamish villages
- at least 17 around the Duwamish River and Elliott Bay
- Rest of the Denny Party lands at Alki Point
- 13 November 1851, about 22 settlers
- Claims on Elliott Bay
- marked on 15 February 1852
Light rail, monorail and ferries
In Seattle you can ride a train that runs on a single rail, called a monorail.
Ferry boats carry people and cars across the water.
Seattle's light rail opened on 18 July 2009 and reached the airport later that year, UrbanRail reports. Its lines now run about 94 kilometers, and in March 2026 a line opened across Lake Washington on a floating bridge.
The monorail, opened in 1962 for the Century 21 Exposition, runs 1.9 kilometers between two stations. Washington State Ferries sail from Seattle to Bainbridge Island and to Bremerton.
UrbanRail traces the light rail from Westlake–Tukwila (18 July 2009) and Sea-Tac Airport (19 December 2009) through extensions to the University of Washington (2016), Northgate (2021), Lynnwood (2024) and Federal Way (2025), to the 12.8 km link to South Bellevue on 28 March 2026 across Lake Washington on a floating bridge: about 94 km in all.
It also lists the 1.9 km, two-station monorail of the 1962 Century 21 Exposition and two streetcar lines (2007 and 2016). Washington State Ferries lists Seattle–Bainbridge Island and Seattle–Bremerton among its routes.
- Light rail opened
- 18 July 2009; about 94 km of lines
- Monorail
- opened 1962 for the Century 21 Exposition; 1.9 km
- Ferries from Seattle
- to Bainbridge Island and Bremerton
Rainy winters, dry summers
Seattle's winters are cool and rainy. Summers are warm and dry.
November is the rainiest month.
The World Meteorological Organization's averages for 1981 to 2010 give Seattle December days of about 8 °C and nights of about 2 °C. In August, the warmest month, days average about 25 °C and nights about 13 °C.
A year brings about 952 millimeters of rain, mostly from October to March. November is the wettest month and July the driest.
WMO averages for 1981–2010 give highs and lows of 7.6 °C and 2.0 °C in December, the coldest month, and 24.6 °C and 13.3 °C in August, with July close behind (24.3 °C and 13.1 °C); no month has an average low below freezing.
The monthly rainfall averages add up to about 952 mm. November (166.9 mm) and January (141.5 mm) are the wettest months and July (17.8 mm) the driest; October to March bring about 716 mm.
- August, average daily high and low (WMO, 1981–2010)
- 24.6 °C and 13.3 °C
- December, average daily high and low (WMO, 1981–2010)
- 7.6 °C and 2.0 °C
- Rain in a year (sum of the monthly averages)
- about 952 mm
Markets, music and the water
At Pike Place Market, farmers sell food. Street performers put on shows for shoppers.
From the top of the Space Needle you can see mountains and the sea.
Pike Place Market is more than a place to shop. More than 70 farmers sell there, more than 60 permitted buskers (street performers) perform there, and more than 450 people live in affordable homes inside the market area, the market says.
From the Space Needle's top house, visitors can look out over downtown, the waters of Puget Sound and Mount Rainier.
The market describes itself as a historic neighborhood as well as a market: five social service programs, 220+ independently owned shops and restaurants, 180+ craftspeople, 70+ farmers, 60+ permitted buskers, 450+ residents in affordable housing and a foundation.
The Space Needle's top house gives 360-degree indoor and outdoor views of downtown, Mount Rainier and Puget Sound; HistoryLink's settlers judged Elliott Bay by its harbor, timber and feed for livestock when they chose their claims.
- Pike Place Market community
- 70+ farmers, 180+ craftspeople, 60+ buskers
- Homes at the market
- 450+ residents in affordable housing
- Space Needle views
- downtown, Mount Rainier and Puget Sound
Seattle on the map
Find the United States on the globe. Seattle is in the top left corner.
It sits beside a long arm of the sea called Puget Sound.
Seattle is in the state of Washington, in the northwest corner of the United States, on Elliott Bay in Puget Sound.
Measured from the Space Needle, Pike Place Market is about 1.3 kilometers to the south-southeast, Alki Point about 7 kilometers to the southwest, and Seattle–Tacoma International Airport about 19 kilometers to the south.
Seattle lies at about 47.6° N and 122.3° W on Elliott Bay, an arm of Puget Sound, beside the mouth of the Duwamish River (HistoryLink).
Measured from the Space Needle (Wikidata points), Pike Place Market is about 1.34 km south-southeast, Alki Point, where the Denny Party landed, about 7.27 km southwest, and Seattle–Tacoma International Airport about 19.3 km south.
- Latitude
- about 47.6° north
- Longitude
- about 122.3° west
- Alki Point
- about 7.3 km southwest of the Space Needle
Amazing facts
-
The Space Needle was built for a world's fair about space!
The Space Needle was built for the 1962 World's Fair, whose theme was 'The Age of Space'.
The Space Needle was built as the cultural centerpiece of the 1962 World's Fair, themed 'The Age of Space', to symbolize humanity's Space Age aspirations.
-
Seattle's monorail train runs on just one rail.
Seattle's monorail opened in 1962 for the Century 21 Exposition and runs 1.9 kilometers between two stations.
UrbanRail lists the Seattle Monorail as opened in 1962 for the Century 21 Exposition: 1.9 km and 2 stations.
-
Seattle's first settlers helped load logs onto a ship going to San Francisco.
In their first winter, the settlers cut trees for a ship that needed long poles for docks in San Francisco.
In December 1851 the ship Leonesa arrived at Alki seeking 50-foot pilings for San Francisco's docks; the settlers spent three weeks felling trees and towing logs to it.
-
More than 450 people live in homes at Seattle's Pike Place Market.
More than 450 people live in affordable homes in the Pike Place Market area, the market says.
Pike Place Market counts 450+ residents in its affordable housing, alongside 220+ shops and restaurants and five social service programs.
Words to know
- sound
- a long, wide inlet of the sea
- settler
- a person who moves to a new place to live and farm or build
- monorail
- a train that runs on a single rail
- light rail
- electric trains that carry people around a city, lighter than main-line trains
- ferry
- a boat that carries people, and often cars, across water
- busker
- a person who plays music or performs in the street for money
Discovery challenge
-
What is Seattle's tall tower called?
Which tower was built in Seattle for the 1962 World's Fair?
Which 605-foot tower opened on 21 April 1962 for a World's Fair themed 'The Age of Space'?
- The Eiffel Tower
- The Space Needle
- The CN Tower
Show the answer
The Space Needle
The Space Needle!
The Space Needle.
The Space Needle.
-
Who lived here before the city was built?
Which people had at least 17 villages around Elliott Bay before 1851?
HistoryLink says which people occupied at least 17 villages near the Duwamish River and Elliott Bay in 1851?
- The Duwamish
- The Maya
- The Vikings
Show the answer
The Duwamish
The Duwamish people!
The Duwamish.
The Duwamish.
-
How did the first settlers get to Seattle?
How did the Denny Party arrive at Alki Point in November 1851?
On 13 November 1851 the Boren, Bell and Denny families reached Alki aboard what?
- By train
- By ship
- By airplane
Show the answer
By ship
By ship!
By ship: the schooner Exact.
The schooner Exact.
-
What crosses a lake near Seattle on a floating bridge?
Since March 2026, what crosses Lake Washington on a floating bridge?
UrbanRail records a 12.8 km link opened on 28 March 2026 across Lake Washington. What runs on it?
- Light rail trains
- Horses
- Bicycles only
Show the answer
Light rail trains
Trains!
Light rail trains.
Light rail, on a floating bridge.
-
When is Seattle the rainiest?
Which month is the wettest in Seattle, on average?
Which month brings 166.9 mm of Seattle's roughly 952 mm a year (WMO, 1981–2010)?
- July
- November
- May
Show the answer
November
November!
November. July is the driest.
November (166.9 mm); July is the driest (17.8 mm).
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For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Locate Seattle on Puget Sound in the northwest of the United States.
- Describe who lived around Elliott Bay before the city and how settlers chose the site.
- Compare light rail, a monorail and ferries as ways to move around a city.
- Read monthly rainfall averages to compare wet winters with dry summers.
Recommended ages: 3 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- The settlers chose Elliott Bay for its harbor and timber. What would you look for when choosing a place to build a town?
- The Space Needle was built for a fair about the Space Age. What would a tower built today for the future look like?
- Seattle's market is also home to hundreds of residents. What would it be like to live inside a market?
Try at home or in class
- Floating bridge: float a row of sealed plastic bottles in a tub and lay a ruler across them to see how a bridge can float.
- Rain chart: make a bar chart of Seattle's monthly rain and mark the wettest and driest months.
- Tower model: build a tall tower with a round top from paper cups and straws, and test how stable it is.
Key vocabulary: sound, settler, monorail, light rail, ferry, busker
Where these facts come from
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- Natural Earth vector data , Natural Earth (NACIS) (Public domain)
- Vintage 2025 population estimates for Washington's places (sub-est2025_53.csv) , US Census Bureau
- Seattle and King County's First Non-Native Settlers (Essay 1660, Greg Lange) , HistoryLink.org
- About & History , Space Needle
- About Pike Place Market , Pike Place Market
- Seattle Light Rail , UrbanRail.Net (Robert Schwandl)
- Washington State Ferries , Washington State Department of Transportation
- File:Space Needle002.jpg (Rattlhed, 26 September 2006) , Wikimedia Commons
- Seattle, Washington: climatological information , World Meteorological Organization, World Weather Information Service
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file (public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA); see each media record)
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated November 1, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
Picture credits
- Photo: Rattlhed at English Wikipedia, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons · source