Seattle is on the western coast of Washington; the northwestern most state in the continental US. The largest city in the state, Seattle sits on a slender slip of land between the Puget Sound and Lake Washington. Lake Union and the Lake Washington Ship Canal divide the city into northern and southern halves. The Capitol Hill and Queen Anne neighborhoods lie south of the canal, the U District is to the northeast.

Compared to the rest of the city, the downtown orientation is quite straightforward. Historic Pioneer Square contains most of the most popular tourist sites. Seattle Center, home to many of the city's cultural and sport facilities, is just northwest of downtown. Alaskan Way is the Waterfront's main street. Interstate 5 runs north and south through the city center.

Population: 539,700 (Greater Seattle Area: 3,149,700)

Topography: Seattle is located on 12 hills. It contains more than 300 parks, totaling 5000 acres

Elevation: 512 feet

Area: 91.6 sq. miles (88.5 are land; 3.1 are water)

Emergency: 911

Telephone Area Code: 206

Time : Pacific Time Zone (3 hours behind New York City; when it is 12:00 noon in New York, it is 9:00AM in Seattle.

Rainfall: 34-37 inches of rainfall each year

Average Temperatures:

Month

High

Low

January

44F

34F

February

49F

36F

March

52F

38F

April

57F

41F

May

64F

46F

June

69F

51F

July

85F

54F

August

84F

54F

September

69F

51F

October

64F

32F

November

50F

39F

December

45F

35F

Spring, early summer and fall are ideal times to visit Seattle. From late March to mid June and from mid September through mid November days are usually warm but not too hot, and evenings are pleasant. Many festivals are held during this time period. In the spring, the landscape is decorated with colorful wildflowers. Spring thunderstorms and floods can be severe, but acres of lush greenery are produced as a result. Summers are a popular time to visit, but the days are often intensely hot. The morning air in the Fall is crisp and cool, and most days are sunny.

Public Holidays:

January 1 New Year’s Day

January ( 3rd Monday) Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday

February (3rd Monday) Presidents’ Day

May (Last Monday) Memorial Day

July 4 Independence Day

September (1st Monday) Labor Day

November 11 Veterans’ Day

November (4th Thursday) Thanksgiving Day

December 25 Christmas Day

How to get around: Note: Seattle Transportation, of the City of Seattle, is responsible for the City’s streets and bridges, bike paths, street trees, traffic signals and signs, etc. It does not operate transportation vehicles such as buses, trains, ferries, etc.

Air: Seattle - Tacoma International Airport (SeaTac)

From airport-Gray Line Airport Express (206) 626-6088 (every 1/2 hour)

Shuttle Express Limo Van 800-942-7433 or (206) 622-1424

Metro Public Bus System (206) 553-3000

Ferry- Washington State Ferries sail between Coleman Dock (Pier 52) and Bremerton on the Kitsap Peninsula and Bainbridge Island. Call 888-808-7977 for information on this and other ferries. www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/

Fareless buses operate downtown in the area bordered by sixth Avenue., the freeway, Battery St., the Waterfront and Jackson St. Fares beyond this zone are reasonable..

King County’s Metro Transit (206-553-3000 or 1-800-542-7876) operates the buses. You may find information about them at http://www.metrokc.gov/. The ferries that cross Puget Sound are operated by Washington State (206-464-6400). For this information, see http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries.

For information about state highways and freeways (206-368-4499), also see http://www.wsdot.wa.gov.

Community Transit (425-353-RIDE or 1-800-562-1375), at http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/pubtran/getthere/Ctbus.htm, provides bus service to Snohomish County, with transit links to downtown Seattle, as well as Pierce Transit (1-800-562-8109), at http://www.ptbus.pierce.wa.us/ also providing connections to downtown Seattle from Pierce County.

For information about AMTRAK (1-800-USA-RAIL) trains, see that agency’s web pages at http://www.amtrak.com. For information about Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway (1-800-809-2673), see http://www.bnsf.com/.

The SeaTac airport is operated by the Port of Seattle (206-728-3000), at http://www.portseattle.org. This agency also operates the city’s marine ports.

King County maintains and operates the King County International Airport / Boeing Field (206-296-7380); see http://www.metrokc.gov/airport/.

The City of Seattle and SEATRAN encourage travel by bicycle, and have information on bike programs (206-684-8563. Further information is available by contacting Cascade Bicycle Club (206-522-BIKE), at http://www.cascade.org

Greyhound(1-800-231-2222), at http://www.greyhound.com/ operates an inter city bus service

The Monorail (transport from downtown Seattle to the Seattle Center) is operated by a private firm overseen by the City of Seattle’s Seattle Center (206-441-6038). http://www.seattlemonorail.co

There is also a water taxi providing transport between West Seattle and Downtown Seattle, which operates during fair weather months (206-684-0224). http://www.ci.seattle.wa.us/DON/tax

Downtown is served by Waterfront Streetcars, which are 1920’s trolleys imported from Australia The waterfront streetcar/trolley is operated by King County Metro (206-296-0100 http://www.metrokc.gov/

Taxis are operated by private contractors, under licenses with the City of Seattle.