The area between Seattle and Tacoma used to be a rural escape from the "big city," but has now been virtually consumed by urban sprawl. Boeing and Weyerhaueser are major employers in the area, housing is cheaper and ethnic diversity is a way of life.

• Algona/Pacific
• Auburn
• Black Diamond
• Covington
• Des Moines
• Enumclaw
• Federal Way
• Kent
• Maple Valley
• Normandy Park
• Renton
• SeaTac
• Tukwila

All descriptions are from the Seattle PI

Lumped together, not the same

Early on, the towns jointly developed a rail system, and state highway signs lumped them together. But today they're quick to point out that they're not the same city.

Auburn has gone from home of the "Slaughter House" to become the "loveliest village of the plain." The valley was originally the home of the Skopamich, Smalhkamish and Stkamish Indian tribes. White settlers arrived in the 1850s, and eventually a treaty was signed with a combined new tribe known as the Muckleshoots.

Named for the coal in its hills

Black Diamond got its name long ago because of the abundance of the ebony-colored coal and because of the company that helped establish its economy – The Black Diamond Coal Mining Co. The California-based coal company owned the town's land in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains and sold houses to the residents and leased property. Today, it's better known for the 100-year-old Black Diamond Bakery – still open and packed seven days a week – and for the myriad parks to the city's south.

From whistlestop to community

What started out in the 1880s as a railroad stop later became the city of Covington, named for a railroad surveyor. And while thousands of new residents have moved to the area which incorporated only in 1997, there's tradition, too. Descendents of one of the first families to settle there, the Capps family, still live in Covington.

Water views almost everywhere

The "Waterland" City gets its name (and the pronunciation thereof) from the more-well-known Iowa town. This small Puget Sound-front city, incorporated in 1959, is situated on a slope down to the Sound, providing water views from most points in the city. It might be a Monterey-style resort town except for the small inconvenience of being in the Sea-Tac Airport flight path.

Rural life in the mountain shadow

This southeast King County town is small enough - and, at a 45-minute drive, far enough from Seattle - to retain its farm-country flavor. A tidy town of well-kept lawns that reflect its heritage, Enumclaw is growing and revitalizing. The town's population was 11,116 in the 2000 census, but the Enumclaw plateau area is home to about 40,000 people. The town's name means "strong wind" or "thundering noise," perhaps more approprite for the city's neighbor to the southeast, Mount Rainier.

In the big leagues after a slow start

Federal Way was eyed for its logging potential in the late 1800s, but the community developed slowly. The Federal Way Historical Society says the city got its name from a federally funded road built on an old trail in the mid-1800s. The trail is now called Pacific Highway South.

Today Federal Way is home to the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center, a bonsai collection museum and the Wild Waves and Enchanted Village amusement park. Weyerhaeuser, the international forest products giant, calls Federal Way home, as does World Vision International, a Christian relief organization that works to help impoverished communities and countries.

Kent's setting in the Green River Valley 18 miles south of Seattle offers clear-day views of Mount Rainier with the Cascade and Olympic mountains on the horizons. Downtown is nestled on the valley floor, one of three distinct areas of town that also include West Hill (mostly residential along the path of Interstate 5) and East Hill (with single-family neighborhoods, schools and more retail shopping).

Urban sprawl reaches 'resort'

Maple Valley, once a woodsy lakeside resort for city dwellers fleeing urban life, has grown into a small city that completely encircles Lake Wilderness and two other lakes southeast of Seattle. Maple Valley traces its roots to the late 1870s. It was originally known as Vine Maple Valley because of an abundance of vine maples in the area. It didn't become a city until 1997 amid growing concerns about urban sprawl.

'Prestige, privacy, privilege'

There are no signs along the freeway that point you toward Normandy Park. It's a tucked-away community, and that's much of its appeal. This strip of land on Puget Sound, due west of Seattle-Tcaoma International Airport, was planned back in the 1920s to be an upper-class planned community of French Normandy-style architecture, golf and yachts. It held 'the promise of prestige, privacy and privilege.' And the reality of today isn't that far off.

From timber to technology

Before it was settled, Renton was home to the Duwamish people. But in 1855, the tribe ceded the land along with several other regions, including parts of Burien, Seattle and Tukwila. In 1873, Erasmus Smithers developed the Renton Coal Co. With jobs and land available, workers followed. The town was formally founded in 1901. Capt. William Renton, a lumber trader and wealthy businessman, helped Smithers financially, hence the town's name.

The city by the runway

No wonder SeaTac calls itself "The Hospitality City." Home to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, it's full of shuttle parking lots, hotels and rental cars. Unfortunately, with hospitality comes the constant buzz of airplanes overhead. Originally a logging settlement, SeaTac is a community that grew up around its airport. Today, SeaTac prides itself on cultural activities.

Duwamish, P-I named Tukwila

Located just east of Sea-Tac Airport and between Western Washington's two largest cities – Seattle and Tacoma – Tukwila is full of shopping, theaters and family-fun venues. The Duwamish people dubbed the area Tukwila, for the "land where the hazelnuts grow." Settlers used the name unofficially until 1908, when the P-I held a "Name The New Town" contest. Tukwila won, and the town incorporated under that name that same year.