Port Angeles, Washington

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**Port Angeles** is a rather large town in the Olympic Peninsula of Washington, and the county seat of Clallam County. In the *Twilight* series, many teenagers from Forks, Washington go there for entertainment when they do not have anything to do in their own town. It has at least a movie theater, several restaurants, a bar, a bookstore, and a McDonald's. The Convenient downtown shopping districts are alive with friendly shops, flowers and outdoor art. Rising high above the city is snow capped Hurricane Ridge, the most popular of the Olympic National Park.

Port Angeles' geography makes it ideally suited to those who love the outdoors. From golfing to gardening, weather seldom interferes. The region offers incomparable recreation opportunities for year around activities. Close by are the Dungeness National Wildelife Preserve, Lakes Crescent and Sutherland, Sol Duc Hot springs and numerous rivers, beaches and parks. Olympic Discovery trail, for hikers, bicyclists and equestrians, is one of the longest trail systems in the USA.

The community is proud of the award winning Port Angeles Symphony and the hilltop Port Angeles Fine Arts Center, a noteworthy museum of contemporary art. All year long there are opportunities to enjoy live theater, concerts and festivals. The Olympic Medical center, based in Port Angeles, provides state of the art diagnostic and surgical facilities and a broad range of ancillary services. Several independent medical clients are located throughout the community. The city provides 24 hour advanced life support paramedical services to Port Angeles residents for a nominal fee. Housing costs are significantly lower then the adjacent Puget Sound area and many homes come with a mountain or water view. That view often includes the lights of Victoria, B.C., clearly visible across the strait.

### City history

The first official reported sightings of the Peninsula was made by an explorer named Juan Perez on August 10, 1774 and the first confirmed report of the strait of Juan De Fuca was made by Captian Charles Barkely in 1787. A Green names Apostolos Valerianus, who had a reputation for "tall tales" claimed to find the strait in 1592, but Captain John Kendrick an American visited the Strait in 1792 and is credited with its naming.

## In the series

### Twilight

Bella Swan, Jessica Stanley, and Angela Weber go to **Port Angeles** together in *Twilight* to go dress shopping. Bella leaves them so that she can go and look for a book store . However while she is looking for one, she encounters four men, completely drunk, one of whom intends to rape her, the other three are just following his lead. Edward Cullen, who was trying to find her to make sure that she was safe after she left Angela and Jessica, hears their thoughts, and arrives just in time to save her. He takes her to dinner at a restaurant called La Bella Italia, because he fears that she will go into shock and so wishes to get food and sugar into her system thus stablizing her. In the book, this is the first time Bella sees Edward after she found out what he is. She doesn't dare mention it while there are other people around, so instead she questions him, trying to ascertain that he really is a vampire before she makes a fool of herself. She tells him her latest theory in the car on the way home, and although he doesn't actually say that she is right, he does not deny it, and answers all of her questions truthfully. It is here that their romantic relationship truly starts.

### New Moon

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In *New Moon*, Bella and Jessica go there for a movie after Charlie complained that Bella was lifeless. After the movie, when they are walking to dinner they pass a group of men outside a bar. Bella thinks she recognizes them as the ones who almost attacked her in *Twilight*, and as they are a reminder from her days with Edward she starts to walk towards them. She then hears Edward's voice for the first time. She believed that it was her subconscious mind giving her what she wanted - some part of Edward that had not been faded out by time. At the end of *New Moon*, she realizes that this was not it, but that the reason that she heard these voices was because she knew in her subconscious mind that Edward really did love her and he wanted her to be safe. And because of this, Jessica no longer wishes to be involved with Bella Swan again.

## Geography

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Port Angeles is a city in and the county seat of Clallam County, Washington. The population was 18,397 at the 2000 census, making it the largest city on the Olympic Peninsula. The area's harbor was dubbed *Puerto de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles* (Port of Our Lady of the Angels) by Spanish explorer Fransisco de Eliza in 1791, but by the mid-1800s the name had been shortened and partially anglicized to its current form.

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Port Angeles is home to Peninsula College and is the birthplace of football hall of famer John Elway. The city is served by William R. Fairchild International Airport, and ferry service is provided across the Straight of Juan de Fuca to Victoria, British,Columbia, Canada on the M/V Coho or Victoria Express.

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Port Angeles is located in the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains, which means the city gets significantly less rain than other areas of western Washington. The average annual precipitation total is approximately 25 inches, compared to Seattle's 38 inches. Temperatures are heavily modified by the maritime location, with winter lows rarely below 25 degrees, and summer highs rarely above 80 degrees. However, in winter the city can be vulnerable to windstorms and Arctic cold fronts that sweep across the Straight of Juan de Fuca. Port Angeles receives about 4 inches of snow each year, but it rarely stays on the ground for long.

Port Angeles is also the location of the headquarters of Olympic National Park, which encompasses most of the Olympic Mountains, and was established by President Franklin D Roosevelt in 1938.

## External links

* Port Angeles on Wikipedia
* Visit Port Angeles, official visitor website

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