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81-625: Today (as of 2010), BNSF's Northern Transcon travels up the Staples Subdivision instead, which is a more direct route between Minneapolis–Saint Paul and Fargo, North Dakota . Amtrak's Empire Builder , formerly a Great Northern Railway train, was shifted to take the Staples Subdivision in the late 1970s. U.S. Highway 75 closely follows the rail line. The Red River Valley and Western Railroad interchanges with BNSF in Wahpeton. In

162-537: A branch line until 1948, when it was truncated to Kalispell. When Flathead Tunnel was constructed in 1970, part of the Haskell Pass alignment along the Fisher River was recycled, namely the leg from Jennings to Tamarack siding (originally Sterling). On Haskell Pass, much of the right-of-way has been grown over, but small remnants of infrastructure and the original tunnel through the pass itself are still intact. Keeping

243-537: A checkered history. Since 1996 it has been a third route to the coast. As of 2010 it was seldom used but still in service. Stampede Pass line: Seattle, Washington Seattle ( / s i ˈ æ t əl / see- AT -əl ) is a city on the West Coast of the United States . It is the seat of King County , Washington . With a 2023 population of 755,078 it is the most populous city in both

324-661: A great frenzy among the technology companies in Seattle but the bubble ended in early 2001. In 1999, the World Trade Organization held its conference in Seattle, which was met with protest activity . The protests and police reactions to them largely overshadowed the conference itself. In 2001, the city was impacted by the Mardi Gras Riots and then by the Nisqually earthquake the following day. Another boom began as

405-516: A high trestle over Herrig Creek, and passing through a 1,425-foot-long (434 m) tunnel at the summit of Haskell Pass, emerging high on the mountains above Pleasant Valley. The line descended to the valley floor, then turned north along Island Creek, and west down Wolf Creek , to the Fisher River . The line followed the Fisher River north to the Kootenai River Valley , where it returned to

486-579: A high trestle. From East Glacier Park, Montana , the route continues ascending until it crests the Continental Divide at the summit of Marias Pass . The line descends down the west side of the pass for 20 miles (32 km) to Essex, Montana , running mostly double track on a narrow shelf, and crossing several high trestles over the Flathead River . Essex is home to the Izaak Walton Inn , which

567-441: A number of technology companies, including Amazon , F5 Networks , RealNetworks , Nintendo of America , and T-Mobile . This success brought an influx of new residents with a population increase within city limits of almost 50,000 between 1990 and 2000, and saw Seattle's real estate become some of the most expensive in the country. Seattle in this period attracted attention as home to the companies opened operations in or around

648-478: A number of theaters in the city exhibiting vaudeville acts and silent movies. He went on to become one of America's greatest theater and movie tycoons. Scottish-born architect B. Marcus Priteca designed several theaters for Pantages in Seattle, which were later demolished or converted to other uses. Seattle's surviving Paramount Theatre , on which he collaborated, was not a Pantages theater. War work again brought local prosperity during World War II , centered on

729-531: A switch unit and full crew. The track is maintained by a small track crew. The portion of the Northern Transcon line from Columbia Falls to Libby, Montana has been significantly rerouted twice since its initial construction in 1892. Prior to the opening of the Flathead Tunnel , trains left the modern route at Stryker, Montana and traveled northwest to Eureka, Montana , then traveled southwest along

810-595: A total area of 142.5 square miles (369 km ), 84 square miles (220 km ) of which is land and 58.1 square miles (150 km ) is water (41% of the total area). According to the Köppen climate classification system, Seattle has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate ( Csb ), while under the Trewartha system, it is labeled an oceanic climate ( Dobk ). It has cool, wet winters and mild, relatively dry summers, covering characteristics of both climate types. The climate

891-566: Is a 0.95% maximum grade in the Napavine, Washington area. The direct Seattle route traverses the Cascade Range at the Cascade Tunnel (Scenic and Berne, Washington); it has 2.2% ruling grades in the vicinity of the tunnel. Direct Seattle route: Portland-Seattle route: The former Northern Pacific Railway route via Stampede Pass through Pasco and Auburn, WA to Tacoma, WA has had

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972-543: Is divided into many subdivisions. From east to west, these include: To the west of Spokane, WA (at Latah Jct, as of June 1973 to the present day ), the line splits into two main routes, one using mostly the old Great Northern Railway route directly to Seattle, WA , and the other using mainly the former Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway route, but also a large section of the former Northern Pacific Railway route, to Portland, OR via Pasco and Vancouver, WA; then it travels north to Seattle. Expedited Transcon traffic

1053-489: Is generally routed via the direct Seattle route, and slow bulk-freight traffic is generally routed via the Spokane–Portland–Seattle route (through Vancouver, WA). The Spokane–Portland–Seattle route is mostly water level with a 1.15% maximum grade near Marshall, Washington . (Note that there is a parallel BNSF-owned route that bypasses the 1.15% grade with a maximum grade of 0.8%; they operate it directionally.) There

1134-506: Is hilly in some places. Like Rome, the city is said to lie on seven hills ; the lists vary but typically include Capitol Hill , First Hill , West Seattle , Beacon Hill , Queen Anne , Magnolia, and the former Denny Hill . The Wallingford , Delridge , Mount Baker , Seward Park , Washington Park , Broadmoor , Madrona , Phinney Ridge , Sunset Hill , Blue Ridge , Broadview , Laurelhurst , Hawthorne Hills , Maple Leaf , and Crown Hill neighborhoods are all located on hills. Many of

1215-491: Is sometimes characterized as a "modified Mediterranean" climate because it is cooler and wetter than a "true" Mediterranean climate, but shares the characteristic dry summer (which has a strong influence on the region's vegetation). Temperature extremes are moderated by the adjacent Puget Sound , greater Pacific Ocean , and Lake Washington . Thus extreme heat waves are rare in the Seattle area, as are very cold temperatures (below about 15 °F; −9 °C). The Seattle area

1296-557: Is the cloudiest region of the Continental United States , due in part to frequent storms and lows moving in from the adjacent Pacific Ocean. Seattle is cloudy 201 days out of the year and partly cloudy 93 days. With many more "rain days" than other major American cities, Seattle has a well-earned reputation for frequent rain: In an average year, there are 150 days in which at least 0.01 inches (0.25 mm) of precipitation falls, more days than in nearly all U.S. cities east of

1377-515: The 1962 World's Fair , for which the Space Needle was built. Another major local economic downturn was in the late 1960s and early 1970s, at a time when Boeing was heavily affected by the oil crises , loss of government contracts, and costs and delays associated with the Boeing 747 . Many people left the area to look for work elsewhere, and two local real estate agents put up a billboard reading "Will

1458-608: The Alaska–Yukon–Pacific Exposition of 1909, which is largely responsible for the layout of today's University of Washington campus. A shipbuilding boom in the early part of the 20th century became massive during World War I , making Seattle somewhat of a company town. The subsequent retrenchment led to the Seattle General Strike of 1919 , an early general strike in the country. A 1912 city development plan by Virgil Bogue went largely unused. Seattle

1539-588: The Builder on the segment of the Transcon between Fargo and Minot, but that would have meant the loss of the Grand Forks , Devils Lake|Devils Lake and Rugby station stops. To compensate for the loss of station stops at Grand Forks, Devils Lake, and Rugby that would have been caused by the shift, BNSF suggested that Amtrak add a station stop at New Rockford, North Dakota . However, Amtrak said that they would continue using

1620-510: The Builder turns north in Fargo onto a BNSF secondary line to reach Grand Forks, North Dakota , while the Northern Transcon heads directly toward Minot. The Builder rejoins the Transcon main route at Minot and continues on to Seattle, though a section branches off to serve Portland, Oregon . BNSF also owns trackage with running rights in Winnipeg , Manitoba , Canada , where it has a yard operated by

1701-641: The Lake Washington Ship Canal (consisting of two man-made canals, Lake Union , and the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks at Salmon Bay , ending in Shilshole Bay on Puget Sound). The sea, rivers, forests, lakes, and fields surrounding Seattle were once rich enough to support one of the world's few sedentary hunter-gatherer societies. In modern times the surrounding area lends itself well to sailing, skiing, bicycling, camping, and hiking year-round. The city

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1782-740: The Pacific Ocean , and Lake Washington . It is the northernmost major city in the United States, located about 100 miles (160 km) south of the Canadian border . A gateway for trade with East Asia , the Port of Seattle is the fourth-largest port in North America in terms of container handling as of 2021 . The Seattle area has been inhabited by Native Americans (such as the Duwamish , who had at least 17 villages around Elliot Bay) for at least 4,000 years before

1863-768: The Pacific Ring of Fire , Seattle is in a major earthquake zone . On February 28, 2001, the magnitude 6.8 Nisqually earthquake did significant architectural damage, especially in the Pioneer Square area (built on reclaimed land , as are the Industrial District and part of the city center), and caused one fatality. Other strong earthquakes occurred on January 26, 1700 (estimated at 9 magnitude), December 14, 1872 (7.3 or 7.4), April 13, 1949 (7.1), and April 29, 1965 (6.5). The 1965 quake caused three deaths in Seattle directly and one more by heart failure. Although

1944-752: The Rocky Mountains . However, because it often has merely a light drizzle falling from the sky for many days, Seattle actually receives significantly less rainfall (or other precipitation) overall than many other major U.S. cities like New York City , Miami , or Houston . According to the 2012–2016 American Community Survey (ACS), the racial makeup of the city was 65.7% White Non-Hispanic , 16.9% Asian , 6.8% Black or African American , 6.6% Hispanic or Latino of any race, 0.4% Native American , 0.9% Pacific Islander , 0.2% other races, and 5.6% two or more races . Seattle's population historically has been predominantly white. The 2010 census showed that Seattle

2025-513: The Seattle Fault passes just south of the city center, neither it nor the Cascadia subduction zone has caused an earthquake since the city's founding. The Cascadia subduction zone poses the threat of an earthquake of magnitude 9.0 or greater, capable of seriously damaging the city and collapsing many buildings, especially in zones built on fill. According to the U.S. Census Bureau , the city has

2106-510: The US Department of Transportation to assist with the state portion of the cost. Work began in June 2012, and the track is being raised in two stages: 5 feet (1.5 m) in 2012, and another 5 feet in 2013. Two bridges and their abutments are also being raised. When the track raise is complete, the top-of-rail elevation will be 1,466 ft (446.84 m). This is 10 feet above the level at which

2187-512: The University of Washington negatively. As schools across Washington lost funding and attendance, the university actually prospered during the time period as they focused on growing their student enrollment. While Seattle public schools were influenced by Washington's superintendent Worth McClure, they still struggled to pay teachers and maintain attendance. Seattle was the home base of impresario Alexander Pantages who, starting in 1902, opened

2268-592: The anti-Chinese riots of 1885–1886 . This violence originated with unemployed whites who were determined to drive the Chinese from Seattle; anti-Chinese riots also occurred in Tacoma . Seattle had achieved sufficient economic success when the Great Seattle Fire of 1889 destroyed the central business district. However, a far grander city center rapidly emerged in its place. Finance company Washington Mutual , for example,

2349-489: The state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region of North America , and the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The Seattle metropolitan area 's population is 4.02 million, making it the 15th-largest in the United States. Its growth rate of 21.1% between 2010 and 2020 made it one of the country's fastest-growing large cities. Seattle is situated on an isthmus between Puget Sound , an inlet of

2430-488: The 1902–1970 alignment at Jennings. The Haskell Pass line was used only for ten years before the Kootenai River alignment opened. Shifting to the Kootenai River alignment was controversial because the new alignment was 20 miles (32 km) longer than the old route, although the new route had less steep grades. Much of the Haskell Pass route was abandoned in 1902. The leg from Columbia Falls to Marion remained in use as

2511-478: The 1980s, the Seattle area developed into a technology center ; Microsoft established its headquarters in the region. In 1994, Internet retailer Amazon was founded in Seattle, and Alaska Airlines is based in SeaTac, Washington , serving Seattle–Tacoma International Airport , Seattle's international airport. The stream of new software, biotechnology , and Internet companies led to an economic revival, which increased

Moorhead Subdivision - Misplaced Pages Continue

2592-657: The Chicago-Quincy sections of the Amtrak Illinois Service on their way to Galesburg and points west. The Northstar Line operates north of Minneapolis on the Midway and Staples Subdivisions. Also, the Seattle Subdivision hosts Amtrak Cascades as well as Sounder commuter rail trains. [REDACTED] Amtrak Empire Builder [REDACTED] Metro Transit Northstar Line The Northern Transcon

2673-614: The Denny Party. Members of the Denny Party claimed land on Alki Point on September 28, 1851. The rest of the Denny Party set sail on the schooner Exact from Portland , Oregon, stopping in Astoria , and landed at Alki Point during a rainstorm on November 13, 1851. After a difficult winter, most of the Denny Party relocated across Elliott Bay and claimed land a second time at the site of present-day Pioneer Square , naming this new settlement Duwamps . Charles Terry and John Low remained at

2754-585: The Flathead River valley to Whitefish, Montana . Located in Whitefish is a restored passenger depot/museum (also serving Amtrak ). The line continues northwest to Stryker, Montana, then turns south and passes through the 7-mile-long (11 km) Flathead Tunnel as it runs west toward Sandpoint , Idaho . The line leaves the Rocky Mountains after Athol, Idaho and reaches Spokane, Washington . At Spokane

2835-520: The Kootenai River and rejoined the present-day line at Jennings, located just below the Libby Dam. In 1970, the construction of the Libby Dam formed Lake Koocanusa , flooding the towns of Rexford, Montana and Waldo, British Columbia and the railroad line. This required the relocation of more than 60 miles (97 km) of track between Stryker and Jennings and the building of Flathead Tunnel which, like

2916-558: The Legislature of Territorial Washington incorporated the Town of Seattle with a board of trustees managing the city. The Town of Seattle was disincorporated on January 18, 1867, and remained a mere precinct of King County until late 1869, when a new petition was filed and the city was re-incorporated December 2, 1869, with a mayor–council government . The corporate seal of the City of Seattle carries

2997-665: The Northern Transcon open during the winter is a significant challenge, weather from snow in the Midwest and mountains, or rain in the Pacific Northwest. Heavy rains have the potential to cause mudslides along Puget Sound between Seattle and Everett and in the Nisqually, Washington area between Tacoma and Olympia . For example, in early January 2006, there were four slides between Seattle and Everett. In late January 2006 and again in early February 2006, mudslides occurred both between Seattle and Everett and around Nisqually. Heavy snow in

3078-660: The Pacific Ocean) to the west and Lake Washington to the east. The city's chief harbor, Elliott Bay , is part of Puget Sound, making the city an oceanic port. To the west, beyond Puget Sound, are the Kitsap Peninsula and Olympic Mountains on the Olympic Peninsula ; to the east, beyond Lake Washington and the Eastside suburbs, are Lake Sammamish and the Cascade Range . Lake Washington's waters flow to Puget Sound through

3159-541: The Rockies around Marias Pass have the potential to cause avalanches that can block the tracks. Following the clearing of a slide or an avalanche, no passenger train can run on the track for 48 hours to ensure that the slide area has stabilized, per BNSF policy. Amtrak operates its Empire Builder on the corridor between Twin Cities and points west, though the train utilizes a more northerly route between Fargo and Minot. Until

3240-661: The Seattle area and has been open to all residents of Washington since 2002. On March 20, 1970, twenty-eight people were killed when the Ozark Hotel was burned by an unknown arsonist. The Wah Mee massacre in 1983 resulted in the killing of 13 people in an illegal gambling club in the Seattle Chinatown-International District . Prosperity began to return in the 1980s beginning with Microsoft 's 1979 move from Albuquerque, New Mexico , to nearby Bellevue, Washington . Seattle and its suburbs became home to

3321-630: The Seattle area during his 1791–1795 expedition for the Royal Navy , which sought to chart the Pacific Northwest for the British. In 1851, a large party of American pioneers led by Luther Collins made a location on land at the mouth of the Duwamish River ; they formally claimed it on September 14, 1851. Thirteen days later, members of the Collins Party on the way to their claim passed three scouts of

Moorhead Subdivision - Misplaced Pages Continue

3402-617: The bigger West Coast city. Seattle had building contracts that rivaled New York City and Chicago , but also lost to Los Angeles. Seattle's eastern farm land faded due to Oregon 's and the Midwest 's, forcing people into town. Hooverville arose during the Depression, leading to Seattle's growing homeless population. Stationed outside Seattle, the Hooverville housed thousands of men but very few children and no women. With work projects close to

3483-486: The city emerged from the Great Recession , commencing when Amazon moved its headquarters from North Beacon Hill to South Lake Union . The move initiated a historic construction boom which resulted in the completion of almost 10,000 apartments in Seattle in 2017, more than any previous year and nearly twice as many as were built in 2016. From 2010 to 2015, Seattle gained an average of 14,511 residents per year, with

3564-488: The city's population by almost 50,000 in the decade between 1990 and 2000. The culture of Seattle is heavily defined by its significant musical history . Between 1918 and 1951, nearly 24 jazz nightclubs existed along Jackson Street, from the current Chinatown/International District to the Central District . The jazz scene nurtured the early careers of Ernestine Anderson , Ray Charles , Quincy Jones , and others. In

3645-616: The city, Hooverville grew and the WPA settled into the city. A movement of women arose from Seattle during the Great Depression , fueled in part by Eleanor Roosevelt 's 1933 book It's Up to the Women ; women pushed for recognition, not just as housewives, but as the backbone to family. Using newspapers and journals Working Woman and The Woman Today , women pushed to be seen as equal and receive some recognition. The Great Depression did not impact

3726-535: The city. In 1990, the Goodwill Games were held in the city. Three years later, in 1993, the APEC leaders was hosted in Seattle. The 1990s also witnessed a growing popularity in grunge music, a sound that was largely developed in Seattle's independent music scene. In 1993, the movie Sleepless in Seattle brought the city further national attention, as did the television sitcom Frasier . The dot-com boom caused

3807-416: The current main line, and Northwest of Eureka the original mainline is now a trail that meanders over towards Lake Koocanusa, with the old right of way eventually diving into the reservoir. The alignment that travelled from Whitefish to Libby via Eureka was created in 1902 to replace a predecessor alignment over Haskell Pass , farther to the south. The pass was named for its founder, Charles Haskell, who in

3888-625: The dam, was constructed by the US Army Corps of Engineers . Part of the original main line from Stryker to Eureka is still in use as the Mission Mountain Railroad . Before the construction of the tunnel, the Empire Builder also had a station stop in Eureka. The only visible remnants of the original route are a stub track at Jennings, where the unused original track still remains close to

3969-511: The date "1869" and a likeness of Chief Seattle in left profile. That same year, Seattle acquired the epithet of the "Queen City", a designation officially changed in 1982 to the "Emerald City". Seattle has a history of boom-and-bust cycles, like many other cities near areas of extensive natural and mineral resources. Seattle has risen several times economically, then gone into precipitous decline, but it has typically used those periods to rebuild solid infrastructure. The first such boom, covering

4050-579: The early part of the 20th century, and funded many new Seattle companies and products. In 1907, 19-year-old James E. Casey borrowed $ 100 from a friend and founded the American Messenger Company (later UPS ). Other Seattle companies founded during this period include Nordstrom and Eddie Bauer . Seattle brought in the Olmsted Brothers landscape architecture firm to design a system of parks and boulevards. The Gold Rush era culminated in

4131-486: The early years of the city, rode on the lumber industry. During this period the road now known as Yesler Way won the nickname "Skid Road", supposedly after the timber skidding down the hill to Henry Yesler 's sawmill. The later dereliction of the area may be a possible origin for the term which later entered the wider American lexicon as Skid Row . Like much of the U.S. West , Seattle experienced conflicts between labor and management and ethnic tensions that culminated in

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4212-404: The fifth-largest LGBT community in the U.S. Logging was Seattle's first major industry, but by the late 19th century the city had become a commercial and shipbuilding center as a gateway to Alaska during the Klondike Gold Rush . The city grew after World War II , partly due to the local company Boeing , which established Seattle as a center for its manufacturing of aircraft. Beginning in

4293-606: The first permanent European settlers. Arthur A. Denny and his group of travelers, subsequently known as the Denny Party , arrived from Illinois via Portland, Oregon , on the schooner Exact at Alki Point on November 13, 1851. The settlement was moved to the eastern shore of Elliott Bay in 1852 and named "Seattle" in honor of Chief Seattle , a prominent 19th-century leader of the local Duwamish and Suquamish tribes. Seattle currently has high populations of Native Americans alongside Americans with strong Asian, African, European, and Scandinavian ancestry, and, as of 2015, hosts

4374-429: The formation of Amtrak in May 1971, both Burlington Northern and its predecessor, the Great Northern , ran the Builder on the section between Chicago and Twin Cities via Savanna, part of today's BNSF Northern Transcon route. When Amtrak took over service, it rerouted the train to run between Chicago and Minneapolis - St. Paul through Milwaukee via the Milwaukee Road . Both Burlington Northern and Great Northern at

4455-417: The founders of Duwamps, was the primary advocate to name the settlement Seattle after Chief Seattle ( Lushootseed : siʔaɫ , anglicized as "Seattle"), chief of the Duwamish and Suquamish tribes. The name "Seattle" appears on official Washington Territory papers dated May 23, 1853, when the first plats for the village were filed. In 1855, nominal land settlements were established. On January 14, 1865,

4536-411: The growth strongly skewed toward the center of the city, and unemployment dropped from roughly 9 percent to 3.6 percent. The city has found itself "bursting at the seams", with over 45,000 households spending more than half their income on housing and at least 2,800 people homeless , and with the country's sixth-worst rush-hour traffic. Seattle is located between the saltwater Puget Sound (an arm of

4617-401: The hilliest areas are near the city center, with Capitol Hill, First Hill, and Beacon Hill collectively constituting something of a ridge along an isthmus between Elliott Bay and Lake Washington. The break in the ridge between First Hill and Beacon Hill is man-made, a result of two of the many regrading projects that reshaped the topography of the city center. The topography of the city center

4698-420: The lake will naturally overflow and will thus be a permanent solution to the Devils Lake flooding. The Metra BNSF Line operates in the whole Chicago Subdivision , providing commuter rail service. These are the only passenger trains directly operated by BNSF via a "purchase of service agreement" with Metra. This stretch of track also hosts the Amtrak California Zephyr , the Amtrak Southwest Chief , and

4779-418: The last person leaving Seattle – Turn out the lights." Seattle remained the corporate headquarters of Boeing until 2001, when the company separated its headquarters from its major production facilities; the headquarters were moved to Chicago. The Seattle area is still home to Boeing's Renton narrow-body plant and Everett wide-body plant . The company's credit union for employees, BECU , remains based in

4860-425: The late 19th and early 20th centuries were almost entirely from Guangdong Province . The Seattle area is also home to a large Vietnamese population of more than 55,000 residents, as well as over 30,000 Somali immigrants. The Seattle-Tacoma area is also home to one of the largest Cambodian communities in the United States, numbering about 19,000 Cambodian Americans, and one of the largest Samoan communities in

4941-407: The late 20th and early 21st century, the city also was the origin of several rock bands, including Foo Fighters , Heart , and Jimi Hendrix , and the subgenre of grunge and its pioneering bands, including Alice in Chains , Nirvana , Pearl Jam , Soundgarden , and others. Archaeological excavations suggest that Native Americans have inhabited the Seattle area for at least 4,000 years. By

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5022-415: The line by the lake. In 2010, analysts estimated that Amtrak would soon either have to rebuild the bridge that crosses the lake at Churchs Ferry, or reroute its passenger trains. In June 2011 agreement was reached that Amtrak and BNSF would each cover 1/3 of the cost with the rest to come from the federal and state governments. In December 2011, North Dakota was awarded a $ 10 million TIGER grant from

5103-427: The mainland U.S., with over 15,000 people having Samoan ancestry. Additionally, the Seattle area had the highest percentage of self-identified mixed-race people of any large metropolitan area in the United States, according to the 2000 United States Census Bureau. According to a 2012 HistoryLink study, Seattle's 98118 ZIP code (in the Columbia City neighborhood) was one of the most diverse ZIP Code Tabulation Areas in

5184-457: The miners in Alaska and the Yukon . Few of those working men found lasting wealth. However, it was Seattle's business of clothing the miners and feeding them salmon that panned out in the long run. Along with Seattle, other cities like Everett , Tacoma , Port Townsend , Bremerton , and Olympia , all in the Puget Sound region, became competitors for exchange, rather than mother lodes for extraction, of precious metals. The boom lasted into

5265-411: The north, the line meets BNSF's KO Subdivision . This United States rail–related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about transportation in Minnesota is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Northern Transcon The Northern Transcon, a route operated by the BNSF Railway , traverses the most northerly route of any railroad in

5346-421: The original landing location, reestablished their old land claim and called it "New York", but renamed "New York Alki" in April 1853, from a Chinook word meaning, roughly, "by and by" or "someday". For the next few years, New York Alki and Duwamps competed for dominance, but in time Alki was abandoned and its residents moved across the bay to join the rest of the settlers. David Swinson "Doc" Maynard , one of

5427-411: The population, Spanish was spoken by 4.5% of the population, speakers of other Indo-European languages made up 3.9%, and speakers of other languages made up 2.5%. Seattle's foreign-born population grew 40% between the 1990 and 2000 censuses. The Chinese population in the Seattle area has origins in mainland China , Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, and Taiwan . The earliest Chinese-Americans that came in

5508-404: The production of Boeing aircraft. The war dispersed the city's numerous Japanese-American businessmen due to the Japanese American internment . After the World War II, however, the local economy dipped. It rose again with Boeing's growing dominance in the commercial airliner market. Seattle celebrated its restored prosperity and made a bid for world recognition with the Century 21 Exposition ,

5589-409: The river through La Crosse and Prairie du Chien , Wisconsin before turning west again in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota to Casselton, North Dakota . From Casselton the route runs northwest to Minot , North Dakota , then west through Montana and Idaho to Spokane, Washington . In Montana, the line passes the East Gate of Glacier National Park and crosses the Two Medicine River on

5670-436: The route splits into two, with one line going to Seattle, Washington and the other to Portland, Oregon . The two longest railroad tunnels in the country are along the Northern Transcon: the Flathead Tunnel through the Rocky Mountains in Montana and the new Cascade Tunnel through the Cascade Mountains in Washington . From St. Paul to the West Coast, this is basically the route of Amtrak 's Empire Builder . But

5751-443: The time also used to operate west from the Twin Cities before turning northwest in Willmar, Minnesota , to reach Fargo. Between 2009 and 2013, when BNSF suspended freight traffic between Fargo and Minot via Grand Forks because of overflows of Devils Lake , threatened to allow the rising waters to cover the line unless Amtrak could provide $ 100 million to raise the tracks. BNSF also offered Amtrak, during that time, to accommodate

5832-465: The time the first European settlers arrived, the Duwamish people occupied at least 17 villages in the areas around Elliott Bay . The name for the modern city of Seattle in Lushootseed , dᶻidᶻəlal̓ič , meaning "little crossing-over place", comes from one of these villages, which was located at the present-day King Street Station . In May 1792, George Vancouver was the first European to visit

5913-590: The western United States . This route was originally part of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad , Northern Pacific Railway , Great Northern Railway and Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway systems, merged into the Burlington Northern Railroad system in 1970. The route starts at Chicago and runs west across northern Illinois to the Mississippi River . It follows the eastern shore of

5994-571: The winter of 1891 had set out to locate a reasonable alignment for the Great Northern railroad to take between Kalispell, Montana and the Kootenai River. Ranging as far north as the Canada–US border, Haskell's party eventually returned to Kalispell in early spring, having crossed a low notch in the Salish Mountains on the return trip. A year after the scouting trip, construction was begun on what

6075-731: Was also changed by the construction of a seawall and the artificial Harbor Island (completed 1909) at the mouth of the city's industrial Duwamish Waterway , the terminus of the Green River . The highest point within city limits is at High Point in West Seattle, which is located near 35th Ave SW and SW Myrtle St. North of the city center, the Lake Washington Ship Canal connects Puget Sound to Lake Washington. It incorporates four natural bodies of water: Lake Union , Salmon Bay , Portage Bay , and Union Bay . Due to its location in

6156-412: Was constructed when the line was built to shelter railroad employees during the winter months. It also contains a small railyard used to store helper engines, which are used to supply additional power to freight trains crossing Marias Pass. Prior to the invention of the powerful diesel locomotives used today, longer trains often had to be split in order to make it up the pass. From Essex, the line follows

6237-534: Was founded in the immediate wake of the fire. The Panic of 1893 hit Seattle hard. The second and most dramatic boom resulted from the Klondike Gold Rush , which ended the depression that had begun with the Panic of 1893 . In a short time, Seattle became a major transportation center. On July 14, 1897, the S.S. Portland docked with its famed "ton of gold", and Seattle became the main transport and supply point for

6318-705: Was mildly prosperous in the 1920s but was particularly hard hit in the Great Depression, experiencing some of the country's harshest labor strife in that era. Violence during the Maritime Strike of 1934 cost Seattle much of its maritime traffic, which was rerouted to the Port of Los Angeles . The Great Depression in Seattle affected many minority groups, one being the Asian Pacific Americans; they were subject to racism, loss of property, and failed claims of unemployment due to citizenship status. Seattle

6399-485: Was one of the major cities that benefited from programs such as the Works Progress Administration , CCC , Public Works Administration , and others. The workers, mostly men, built roads, parks, dams, schools, railroads, bridges, docks, and even historical and archival record sites and buildings. Seattle faced significant unemployment, loss of lumber and construction industries as Los Angeles prevailed as

6480-448: Was one of the whitest big cities in the country, although its proportion of white residents has been gradually declining. In 1960, whites constituted 91.6% of the city's population, while in 2010 they constituted 69.5%. According to the 2006–2008 American Community Survey , approximately 78.9% of residents over the age of five spoke only English at home. Those who spoke Asian languages other than Indo-European languages made up 10.2% of

6561-512: Was to be the first of three Great Northern lines through the Salish. Completed in 1892, the Haskell Pass line left the modern alignment of the route at Columbia Falls, Montana , a few miles east of Whitefish. The line travelled almost due south to Kalispell, where a branch split off the route that ran to Somers, Montana on the shore of Flathead Lake . The line travelled west from Kalispell to Marion, then alongside Little Bitteroot Lake, looping up on

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