Research Guides
Geography: Seattle
Welcome to the research guide for Geography, a starting point for finding journal articles, books, data and more!
Seattle Research
This site provides information and links to sources to help you find the information for conducting Seattle research.
Image: Detail from aerial view of Seattle waterfront.
Neighborhood Overviews & PNW History
- American Indians of the Pacific NorthwestDigital collection of historic photographs and documents about the Northwest Coast and Plateau Indian cultures
- History: Pacific NorthwestUW Libraries guide for researching history of the Pacifc NW.
- History Bursting With Telling: Asian Americans in Washington StateNarrative history with accompanying primary sources
- History of Washington State and the Pacific NorthwestNarrative history of the state
- Move to Capitol HillBlog about the queer history of Capitol Hill
- Pike Place Market CentennialHistory of the market with historic photographs
- Seattle: Historic DistrictsBackground info on each of Seattle's 7 historic districts including Pike Place Market and the International District
- Seattle Neighborhoods: Chinatown-International DistrictHistoryLink overview of the district
- SPL Neighborhood History ProjectProvides a starting point for accessing historical information about Seattle neighborhoods from the Seattle Public Library's special collections.
Maps
Printed maps can be found in the Map Library located on the ground floor of Suzzallo Library. Doing a Keyword search in the UW-only Library Catalog is the best way to find maps within the Collection. For a more comprehensive guide to Maps and GIS, visit the Maps Research Guide.
- Historical MapsDigitized collection of state maps
- Seattle Dept. of Planning & Development GISInteractive, online map viewer for Seattle. Map layers include: contours, building outlines, parcels, environmental data, zoning, etc.
- Washington State Imagery Portal2006 digital imagery of the entire state at 18 inch pixel resolution.
- King County Road Services Map VaultDatabase of scanned images, including road construction plans, road establishment documents, survey drawings, and 1936 aerial photographs
- FIMo: Fire Insurance Maps Online This link opens in a new windowFire Insurance Maps, Real Estate Atlases, Plat Books, and other historical maps showing building structures, building construction details, property ownership, property uses, and other useful information
- SimplyAnalytics This link opens in a new windowCreate maps and tables of demographic, business, and marketing variables. (Formerly known as SimplyMap.)
Local Newspapers
- Japanese American Courier, 1928-1942Japanese American newspaper in English [Microfilm A3902]
- Northwest Indian news 1971-1980Monthly newspaper published by the Seattle Indian Center; Special Collections E75 .N67
- PIke Place Market News online, 2004-2010Current version of the newspaper
- Real Change, 1994-Microfilm A9542
- Seattle MediumLargest African American owned and operated newspaper in the Pacific Northwest
- Seattle Post Intelligencer 1882 - 2009Microfilmed newspaper; A329
- Ethnic NewsWatchSelected coverage of ethnic newspapers nationwide primarily from the 1990s onward; does include Seattle published International Examiner, 1976-1987, 1992-2010 and a few other Seattle papers
Government & Data Resources
Most government material is housed in the Government Publications section on the ground floor of Suzzallo Library. Librarians there can help you find material you need. In addition to searching the UW Libraries Catalog for government documents you can also use these specialized sources. Also see this page for Information on additional statistical sources available in Government Publications.
- Explore Census Data This link opens in a new windowCensus and survey data about the United States, Puerto Rico and the Island Areas.
- Census of Population & HousingDigitized census volumes covering 1790-2000
- City of Seattle Historical Census DataCensus data from 1900-2000
- City of Seattle Population & DemographicsData from the city
- Historical Statistics of the United States This link opens in a new windowFully searchable and downloadable edition of the standard source for facts about American history. Allows customized tables and spreadsheets.
- Social Explorer This link opens in a new windowMaps and reports based on U.S. Census and other data sources, 1790 to present.