Washington cities & towns with 3-word names

Last month I posted a list of Washington counties with two word names. Today I thought I'd showcase even the even longer named cities and towns.

• Beaux Arts Village, King County
• Lake Forest Park, King County
• South Cle Elum, Kittitas County

Barometric pressure records: Seattle and Spokane

No, it's not an exciting list. The TV and newspaper people don't so much as mention barometers. This list might not even get a second glance from meteorologists. But let's give it a try anyway.

Eleven years ago today, Seattle set a record low barometric pressure. Curiously, the record high was set this time of year, too. Same with Spokane. Hmmm. That just might be a tad interesting. Here are the high and low records for Seattle and Spokane.

Seattle
High: 30.83 (Dec 3, 1921)
Low: 28.65 (Dec 12, 1995)

Spokane
High: 31.04 (Jan 4, 1924)
Low: 28.91 (Jan 20, 1943)

King County cities and towns

I'll roll out city and town lists for each and every one of Washington's counties, but I thought I'd start with the one that has the most incorporated cities and towns. That, of course, is King County.

It has 39, including four that it shares with Pierce County on the southern border, and one that it shares with Snohomish on the northern border. From little town Skykomish to giant city Seattle -- what a range! The population figures are from the 2000 Census.

-1. Seattle, 563,374
-2. Bellevue, 109,827
-3. Federal Way, 83,259
-4. Kent, 79,524
-5. Shoreline, 53,296
-6. Renton, 50,052
-7. Redmond, 45,256
-8. Kirkland, 45,054
-9. Auburn, 43,047 (King, Pierce)
10. Sammamish, 34,104
11. Burien, 31,881
12. Bothell, 30,150 (King, Snohomish)
13. Des Moines, 29,267
14. SeaTac, 25,496
15. Mercer Island, 22,036
16. Kenmore, 18,678
17. Tukwila, 17,181
18. Maple Valley, 14,209
19. Covington, 13,783
20. Lake Forest Park, 12,871
21. Issaquah, 11,212
22. Woodinville, 9,194
23. Newcastle, 7,737
24. Normandy Park, 6,392
25. Milton, 5,795 (Pierce, King)
26. Pacific, 5,527 (King, Pierce)
27. North Bend, 4,746
28. Duvall, 4,616
29. Black Diamond, 3,970
30. Medina, 3,011
31. Clyde Hill, 2,890
32. Enumclaw, 2,627 (King, Pierce)
33. Algona, 2,460
34. Carnation, 1,893
35. Snoqualmie, 1,631
36. Yarrow Point, 1,008
37. Hunts Point, 443
38. Beaux Arts Village, 307
39. Skykomish, 214


Data source: 2000 Census

Washington's largest lakes

The Grand Coulee Dam is massive enough to hold back the waters of the largest lake in the state. At 123.4 square miles, Lake Roosevelt winds more than 50 miles up the Columbia River's course in northeastern Washington. It and the next nine largest lakes make up today's list.

-1. Lake Franklin D Roosevelt, 79,000 acres
-2. Umatilla Lake, 52,000 acres*
-3. Lake Wallula, 38,800 acres*
-4. Lake Chelan, 33,104 acres
-5. Potholes Reservoir, 28,200 acres
-6. Banks Lake, 24,900 acres
-7. Lake Washington, 22,138 acres
-8. Ross Lake, 11,678 acres
-9. Moses Lake, 6,815 acres
10. Osoyoos Lake, 5,729 acres*

*straddles state line; acreage given only for portion within Washington.

List adapted from: The Washington Almanac: Facts About Washington by Andrea Jarvela (WestWinds Press, 1999)

Washington State's Sensitive Species List

I love the irony involved in a sensitive species with a name that starts with "common." But the common loon isn't endangered, thankfully. It's still somewhat common. In fact I've often seen them at the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge.

The state of Washington lists sensitive, threatened, and endangered species. Here are the animals on the first of those three lists.

FISH:
Olympic Mudminnow
Pygmy Whitefish
Margined Sculpin

AMPHIBIAN:
Larch Mountain Salamander

BIRDS:
Common Loon
Peregrine Falcon
American Peregrine Falcon
Arctic Peregrine Falcon
Peale's Peregrine Falcon

MAMMALS:
Gray Whale

The scientific names for these species are listed on the Dept. of Fish and Wildlife page: http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/diversty/soc/endanger.htm?sort_a=AnimalType&StateStatus=SE&StateStatus!=none

Counties with the most cities and towns

It's no surprise that most of the cities and towns are in the Puget Sound area. That is, of course, where the population is centered. But the three top counties on this list are followed immediately by five eastern Washington counties. The (usually) smaller rural towns organized themselves much earlier than their counterparts in the west -- many of which incorporated and started emerging from suburban sprawl only in the last fifteen years.

By the way-- there are many "towns" in Washington, but many are simply settlements or large adjacent neighborhoods. The numbers listed below include only those incorporated into organized formal local governments.

1. King County, 39
2. Pierce County, 24
3. Snohomish County, 20
4. Whitman County, 16
5. Grant County, 15
6. Yakima County, 14
7. Okanogan County, 13
7. Spokane County, 13
9. Grays Harbor County, 9
9. Lewis County, 9

Wettest months in Seattle history

By now, I'm sure you heard that it's official. All that rain last month in Seattle -- a city known nationally for being wet -- set a new record. And while November might have set a new standard, a gander at this list of the all-time wettest months in these parts might surprise you: another month from this year was already on the list.

1. 15.63 inches: November, 2006 RECENT
2. 15.33 inches: December, 1933*
3. 12.92 inches: January, 1953
4. 11.85 inches: December, 1979
5. 11.80 inches: December, 1897*
6. 11.65 inches: January, 2006

* Measured at Federal Building in downtown Seattle. All others were recorded at Sea-Tac Airport.
Data source: www.noaa.gov