Bellingham, Washington

Bellingham is the county seat of Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is situated on Bellingham Bay, which is protected by Lummi Island, Portage Island, and the Lummi Peninsula, and opens onto the Strait of Georgia. It lies west of Mount Baker and Lake Whatcom (from which it gets its drinking water), north of the Chuckanut Mountain and Skagit Valley, and Whatcom Creek runs through the center of the city. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 67,171, although a recent calculation places the city's population at 73,469 http://www.world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?x=1122670315&men=gpro&lng=en&gln=xx&dat=32&srt=pnan&col=aohdq&geo=499469753.

Related Topics:
County seat - Whatcom County - U.S. state - Washington - Strait of Georgia - Mount Baker - Lake Whatcom - Skagit Valley - 2000

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The tongue in cheek nickname of Bellingham is the "City of Subdued Excitement." A local politician called Bellingham this in seriousness, and the local alternative press and alternative culture has been using this nickname ever since.

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The current boundaries of the city have grown to add the former cities of Fairhaven (now home to the southern ocean ferry terminus of the Alaska Marine Highway System), New Whatcom, and several others. Bellingham is also home to Western Washington University.

Related Topics:
Fairhaven - Alaska Marine Highway - Western Washington University

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The Bellingham International Airport serves regularly scheduled commuter flights to and from Seattle and, more recently, flights to Las Vegas, Nevada that serve locals but mostly Canadian residents from nearby Vancouver and British Columbia. As of August, 2004, the airport is home of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's first Air and Marine Operations Center, to assist with border surveillance. Amtrak also serves Bellingham, which is the first stop in the United States for southbound trains from Vancouver, British Columbia.

Related Topics:
Seattle - Las Vegas, Nevada - Vancouver - British Columbia - 2004 - U.S. Department of Homeland Security - Amtrak - United States

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