- Tacoma epitomizes the cultural, economic, social, and technological development of the Puget Sound region and the entire state of Washington. Situated above Commencement Bay on scenic bluffs that were home to the Puyallup Tribe and other native peoples for millennia, the county seat of Pierce County possesses a natural harbor that was admired by the sound’s earliest Euro-American explorers. Tacoma won the prize of the era in 1873 when the Northern Pacific Railroad selected it as its western terminus. Tacomans have since established their community as a regional center for Pacific Rim shipping, forest products, high technology, and the arts. Ranked in the 2000 census as Washington’s third-largest city, Tacoma in the early years of the twenty-frist century embarked on an urban renaissance, with the construction of light rail transit, new museums and cultural centers, and a state-of-the-art telecommunications network.
- Nooksack River § Middle Fork (Wikipedia)
The Middle Fork Nooksack River, about 20 miles (32 km) long, originates on the southern slopes of Mount Baker near Baker Pass. It flows generally northwest between Mount Baker and Twin Sisters, and drains into the North Fork opposite Welcome, about 4.5 km (2.8 mi) northeast of the confluence between the North and South Forks.