City (pop., 2000: 563,374) and seaport, Washington, U.S. It is the largest city in the state and the commercial, industrial, and financial centre of the Pacific Northwest.
Situated between Elliott Bay ( Puget Sound ) and Lake Washington, it is flanked by the Olympic Mountains and the Cascade Range . Laid out in 1853, it withstood an Indian attack (1856), anti-Chinese riots (1880s), and a disastrous fire (1889) to emerge as the gateway to the Orient and Alaska. It was the main supply depot for the Yukon and Alaskan gold rushes (see gold rush ) in the 1890s. World War II brought a great boom to the city, with shipyards and the aircraft industry playing important roles. Seattle Center, site of the 1962 World's Fair, contains the 607-ft (185-m) Space Needle. Seattle's educational institutions include the University of Washington (1861).