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Seattle is the largest city in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located in the U.S. state of Washington between Puget Sound and Lake Washington, about 108 miles (180 km) south of the American-Canadian border in King County, of which it is the county seat.
Seattle was founded in the 1850s and named after Chief Seattle, or Sealth. It has a total estimated city population of 573,000 and a metropolitan population of almost 3.8 million (2005). It is sometimes referred to as the "Rainy City," the "Gateway to Alaska," "Queen City" and "Jet City" (due to the heavy influence of Boeing). Its official nickname is "the Emerald City." Seattle is known as the home of grunge music, and has a reputation for heavy coffee consumption. Seattle was also the site of the 1999 meeting of the World Trade Organization and anti-globalization demonstrations. Seattle residents are known as Seattleites.