Cle Elum is a small city in Kittitas County, Washington, set in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains along Interstate 90, roughly 80 to 90 miles east of Seattle and about 20 miles east of Snoqualmie Pass. Its name comes from the Native word "Tie-el-Lum," meaning "swift water" — an apt description for a town shaped by the Cle Elum River and the region's waterways. Today it functions as a mountain-town gateway, a recreation hub, and a familiar stopping point for travelers crossing between Western Washington and the state's interior. The city's origins are industrial. Coal was discovered in the hills near Cle Elum in 1884, and the arrival of the Northern Pacific Railroad in 1886 turned the area into one of Washington Territory's major coal-mining districts. The nearby Roslyn-Cle Elum coalfield operated multiple mines from the late 1880s through the mid-twentieth century, drawing miners and their families and giving the region a distinctive multiethnic labor heritage. South Cle Elum preserves much of that railroad-and-mining history in its historic buildings and depot. Modern Cle Elum has transitioned from coal to recreation and tourism. The surrounding Cascade landscape offers four-season outdoor activity, from hiking, mountain biking, and fishing in warmer months to snowsports around Snoqualmie Pass in winter. The Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail, a converted rail trail, and the Coal Mines Trail between South Cle Elum and Roslyn are regional draws, and the large Suncadia resort community just outside town has added golf, lodging, and second-home development to the local economy. Residentially, Cle Elum is a small, close-knit community where most residents own their homes, with a mix of historic houses, newer construction, and surrounding rural and mountain properties. Public schools belong to the Cle Elum-Roslyn School District. The city suits those who value a mountain setting, outdoor access, and a slower pace, with Seattle and the Puget Sound region within reach over the pass.