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History

Mossback's Northwest

The Great Seattle-Tacoma Blow-up

True tales from the most interesting place on earth.

The Great Seattle-Tacoma Blow-up

Season 2019 Episode 6 | 4m 56s | CC

Since the mid-19th century, Seattle and Tacoma have been business rivals. A focus of their fight: what to call Mt. Rainier. Tacomans wanted it renamed Tacoma or Tahoma, said to be the native names for the volcano, but the mountain’s “discoverer” named it for a friend in the Royal Navy. Rainier survives, but discussion has been rekindled after Alaska’s Mt. McKinley was renamed “Denali.”

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