Snohomish County /snoʊˈhoʊmᵻʃ/ is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2015 census, the population was 772,501, making it the third-most populous county in Washington. The county seat and largest city is Everett. The county was created out of Island County on January 14, 1861 and is named for the Snohomish tribe.
Geography[]
Snohomish County's western border is along the Puget Sound with varying degrees of elevation. Some areas are forested cliffside while others are sea level rocky beaches or river delta's. As you move east from the coast, in general, the landscape slowly rises in elevation. There are several hills, lakes, and ponds. The main rivers are the Stillaguamish River, Snohomish River, Skykomish River, and Snoqualmie River. There are three main valley's as you move eastward towards the Cascade Range. At the north end, the main valley ends at the town of Darrington. In the middle is Verlot and the Robe Valley. The Skykomish Valley is the southernmost valley that leads into the Cascade Range and follows US Highway 2 into Stevens Pass. Beyond these valley's, the terrain is mountainous and forested with several lakes, rivers, and streams. The highest mountain in the county is Glacier Peak. 68% of the county is forested. These forests are dominated by conifer species such as Douglas firs, hemlocks, and cedars, with pockets of deciduous species in logged areas.
Communities[]
Cities[]
- Arlington
- Bothell
- Brier
- Edmonds
- Everett (county seat)
- Gold Bar
- Granite Falls
- Lake Stevens
- Lynnwood
- Marysville
- Mill Creek
- Monroe
- Mountlake Terrace
- Mukilteo
- Snohomish
- Stanwood
- Sultan
- Woodway
Towns[]
Census-Designated Places[]
- Alderwood Manor
- Arlington Heights
- Bothell East
- Bothell West
- Bryant
- Bunk Foss
- Canyon Creek
- Cathcart
- Cavalero
- Chain Lake
- Clearview
- Eastmont
- Esperance
- Fobes Hill
- Hat Island
- High Bridge
- Kayak Point
- Lake Bosworth
- Lake Cassidy
- Lake Goodwin
- Lake Ketchum
- Lake Roesiger
- Lake Stickney
- Larch Way
- Lochsloy
- Machias
- Maltby
- Martha Lake
- May Creek
- Meadowdale
- Mill Creek East
- Monroe North
- North Lynnwood
- North Marysville
- North Sultan
- Northwest Stanwood
- Oso
- Perrinville
- Picnic Point
- Silvana
- Silver Firs
- Sisco Heights
- Startup
- Sunday Lake
- Swede Heaven
- Three Lakes
- Verlot
- Warm Beach
- Woods Creek
Unincorporated Communities[]
- Trafton
- Tulalip Indian Reservation
Transportation[]
Road Network[]
Snohomish County has five major routes that connect the county to the other counties and other areas. There are four north-south routes, which are Interstate 5, Interstate 405, State Route 9, and State Route 99. The only complete east-west route is U.S. Route 2.
Public Transportation[]
Snohomish County is served by three public transitsystems.
Community Transit, which provides local service within the county (excluding the city of Everett) and commuter service to the Boeing Everett Factory, Downtown Seattle and the University of Washington campus. Community Transit also operates a bus rapid transitservice called Swift from Everett Station to the Aurora Village in Shoreline along the State Route 99 corridor, which opened in 2009.
Everett Transit, a municipal system serving the city of Everett.
Sound Transit, which provides commuter rail service and express bus service connecting to regional destinations in Seattle and Bellevue. Sound Transit runs four daily Sounder commuter trains at peak hours between Everett Station and Seattle, stopping at Mukilteo and Edmonds.
Intercity rail service is provided by Amtrak, which has two lines operating within Snohomish County: Amtrak Cascades between Seattle and Vancouver, British Columbia, stopping in Edmonds, Everett, and Stanwood station; and the Empire Builder between Seattle and Chicago, Illinois, stopping in Edmonds and Everett. Intercity bus service is provided by Greyhound Lines and Northwestern Trailways from Everett Station.
Airports[]
Snohomish County has one official airport and several municipal airports.
The one official airport is Paine Field, otherwise known as Snohomish County Airport. There are smaller outlying airports, such as Harvey Field in Snohomish. There are two municipal airports, Arlington Municipal and Darrington Municipal. There are also two private airports, one in Lake Stevens and another in Granite Falls. The Martha Lake Airport in Martha Lake was a former private airport that was closed in 2000 and was converted into a county parkthat opened in 2010.
Ferries[]
There are two ferry routes operated by Washington State Ferries in Snohomish County waters that go to and from different counties from the county. The first line is the Edmonds-Kingston route, which carries SR 104. SR 104 terminates in the west at US 101 west of the Kitsap Peninsula, after crossing the Hood Canal over the Hood Canal Bridge. SR 104 terminates in the east at SR 522 in Lake Forest Park. The second line is the Mukilteo-Clinton line, which carries SR 525. SR 525 terminates in the west at SR 20 on Whidbey Island, near where SR 20 goes across on another ferry line to US 101. SR 525 terminates in the east at an interchange with Interstate 5, where it continues as Interstate 405.
Media[]
Residents receive much of their information from Seattle-based media, the most prominent of which include The Seattle Times and regional TV news stations. The Herald in Everett is the county's most popular daily newspaper, while weekly newspapers such as the Snohomish County Tribune, Everett Tribune, Marysville Globe, and The Monroe Monitor serve their respective communities.
The county is part of the Seattle broadcast television market and is served by several regional television newsstations, including KOMO, KING, KIRO, KCTS, and KCPQ.
Local radio stations based in the county include KKXA, KRKO, KSER, and KWYZ.
There are also smaller local publications, with significant online presences: The Monroe Monitor, My Edmonds News, Edmonds Beacon, My Everett News, The Mountlake Terrace News, News of Mill Creek, The Mukilteo Beacon, The Snohomish County Reporter, The Snohomish Times, and The Gold Bar Reporter.