Seattle

Seattle is a seaport city of over 684,000 in the U.S. state of Washington. It is situated between Lake Washington to the east and the Puget Sound to the west. Originally called Duwamps, the city was supposedly renamed after Chief Si’ahl (or Sealth) of the local Duwamish and Squamish tribes. It is today the largest city in Washington and the entire Pacific Northwest. Seattle serves as the seat of King County. Its metropolitan area is the 15th-largest in the country with a population of more than 3.7 million people.

The city has evolved significantly from an economy that depended heavily on the logging industry until the 19th century. It is now a major commercial, shipping and technology center. The economy depends more on older industrial companies as well as services and technology-related companies. Seattle is considered one of the best places to do business in America. Major companies with headquarters in the area include Microsoft, Boeing and Amazon.

Seattle is North America’s third-largest port in container handling, based on 2015 figures. It is a primary gateway for U.S. trade with Asia as well as cruises to Alaska. The Port of Seattle is the eighth-largest in the U.S. on container capacity.

Boasting a notable musical history, Seattle is the place of birth of the iconic rock singer Jimi Hendrix and has a special place in the emergence of the grunge rock subgenre. The local jazz scene is said to have played key roles in the careers of greats such as Ray Charles and Quincy Jones.