Shoreline, Washington
city in King County, Washington, United States of America
Shoreline is a city in King County, Washington, United States. It is located between the city limits of Seattle and the Snohomish County border, approximately 9 miles (14 km) north of Downtown Seattle. As of the 2020 census, the population of Shoreline was 58,608, making it the 22nd largest city in the state. Based on per capita income, one of the more reliable measures of affluence, Shoreline ranks 91st of 522 areas in the state of Washington to be ranked.
History
Coast Salish
The modern-day Shoreline area is within the historic territory of local Coast Salish peoples, now considered subgroups of the Duwamish. A trail stretched from Salmon Bay (šilšul), where Shilshole (šilšulabš) villages were, to Green Lake, and then traveled north through bogs that housed Licton Springs and the headwaters of the south fork of Thornton Creek, and continued up to Haller Lake. From there it wound through the peat bogs where Twin Ponds and Ronald Bog Parks are now. Large quantities of cranberries were once gathered at these bogs, as well as salmonberries and skunk cabbage along the banks of Thornton Creek. The x̌ax̌čuʔabš from Lake Union (x̌ax̌čuʔ) traveled to this area to gather cranberries.
From there the trail continued north to Echo Lake.
The public source identifies “Shoreline, Washington” as city in King County, Washington, United States of America. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Shoreline, Washington and city.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Shoreline, Washington”, the useful work is to connect “city in King County, Washington, United States of America” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 2, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q983657. VIAF identifies the subject as 127002443. The Library of Congress control number is no2002007122. Authority coordinates are 47.756, -122.340. 4 of 6 selected statements include explicit references; 2 carry qualifiers and 1 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2020.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
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- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
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- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
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Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Shoreline, Washington” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.