Blaine is a city in Whatcom County, Washington, occupying the northwestern corner of the state where Interstate 5 reaches the Canadian border. It is the northernmost incorporated city on the interstate, and its northern boundary is defined by the Canada–United States border, marked by the Peace Arch, an international monument built in 1921 to commemorate lasting peace between the two nations. With a population of 5,884 at the 2020 census, Blaine is the fourth-largest city in the Bellingham metropolitan area but retains the scale and feel of a small coastal border town. The city's geography is striking. Blaine fronts Drayton Harbor and Semiahmoo Bay, opening onto the Strait of Georgia to the west, while Mount Baker rises to the east. The land around the harbor was historically occupied by the Semiahmoo people, and the area's modern identity grew from its fishing and cannery industry — in the early 20th century, Blaine was home to one of the nation's largest canneries, the Alaska Packers Association operation on Semiahmoo Spit. Today that spit hosts the Semiahmoo Resort and Golf Course, a destination that carries the waterfront tradition into the present. Blaine's economy and daily life are shaped by its border location. The Peace Arch crossing is a major port of entry, and the city serves as a gateway between the United States and British Columbia's Lower Mainland. Its compact downtown and marina anchor local commerce, while the surrounding shoreline, Birch Bay to the south, and the Semiahmoo resort area to the west frame a community oriented to the water. The Blaine School District serves the city along with the unincorporated coastal communities of Birch Bay and Point Roberts, with its schools co-located on a single campus. Blaine appeals to residents seeking a peaceful, scenic coastal setting with convenient access to Bellingham to the south and Vancouver, British Columbia, to the north — a rare binational position in the Pacific Northwest.