Puget Sound region and settled the Puget Sound area. The first non-indigenous settlement was New Market (now known as Tumwater) in 1846. In 1853 Washington Territory was formed from part of Oregon Territory. In 1888 the Northern Pacific railroad line reached Puget Sound, linking the region to eastern states. For a long period Tacoma was noted for its large smelters where gold, silver, copper and lead ores were treated. Seattle was the primary port for trade with Alaska and the rest of the country and for a time possessed a large shipbuilding industry. The region around eastern Puget Sound developed heavy industry during
Puget Sound faults deformation suggests possible unmapped faults near Federal Way, running between Sumner and Steilacoom, and south of Renton. Puget Sound faults The Puget Sound faults under the heavily populated Puget Sound region (Puget Lowland) of Washington state form a regional complex of interrelated seismogenic (earthquake-causing) geologic faults. These include (from north to south, see map) the: The Puget Sound region (Puget Lowland) of western Washington contains the bulk of the population and economic assets of the state, and carries seven percent of the international trade of the United States. All this is at risk of earthquakes from three sources: While the