Located on a narrow isthmus between Puget Sound on the west and Lake Washington on the east, water comprises approximately 41% of the total area of the city of Seattle, Washington, USA. It was founded on the harbor of Elliott Bay, home to the Port of Seattle—in 2002, the 9th busiest port in the United States by TEUs of container traffic and the 46th busiest in the world.
Seattle is divided in half by the Lake Washington Ship Canal, which connects Lake Washington to Puget Sound. From east to west, it incorporates Union Bay, the Montlake Cut, Portage Bay, Lake Union, the Fremont Cut, Salmon Bay, and Shilshole Bay. The southern half of Seattle is itself divided by Seattle's largest river, the Duwamish River, which empties into the south end of Elliott Bay as the industrialized Duwamish Waterway. The lower 5.5 miles (8.9 km) of the river has been listed as a Superfund site needing environmental cleanup.
In addition, Seattle contains three other lakes, all north of the Ship Canal: Bitter Lake, Haller Lake, and Green Lake.
Seattle is home to a number of creeks. Those emptying into Puget Sound include Broadview Creek, Fauntleroy Creek, Longfellow Creek, and Piper's Creek; emptying into Lake Washington are Arboretum Creek, Ravenna Creek (via University Slough), Yesler Creek, and Thornton Creek. A map showing all of Seattle's streams and watersheds can be found at the City of Seattle's website.
The main inlets of Puget Sound are Elliott Bay, Smith Cove, and Shilshole Bay; the main inlet of Lake Washington is Union Bay.
Famous quotes containing the words bodies, water and/or seattle:
“For much of the female half of the world, food is the first signal of our inferiority. It lets us know that our own families may consider female bodies to be less deserving, less needy, less valuable.”
—Gloria Steinem (b. 1934)
“It is by teaching that we teach ourselves, by relating that we observe, by affirming that we examine, by showing that we look, by writing that we think, by pumping that we draw water into the well.”
—Henri-Frédéric Amiel (1821–1881)
“The air is precious to the red man, for all things share the same breath—the beast, the tree, the man, they all share the same breath. The white man does not seem to notice the air he breathes. Like a man dying for many days, he is numb to the stench.”
—Attributed to Seattle (c. 1784–1866)