Medina

History

The eastern shore of Lake Washington between Meydenbauer Bay and Evergreen Point was a sparsely populated area that was cleared for its timber in the 1870s. Seattle businessman Thomas Dabney established a claim on the south side of modern-day Medina in 1886, becoming the area's first permanent white settler. Dabney built a ferry dock in 1890, naming it Dabney's Landing, while the surrounding area was turned into berry farms and fruit orchards. Other settlers arrived at Dabney's Landing, which was briefly named Flordeline by its founder until objections were raised by a group of women who proposed the Arabic name "Medina" in 1891. After a series of debates and sign-switching incidents, Medina won and was adopted as the name of the town. Medina was platted in 1914 and officially incorporated on August 19, 1955. The town's first mansions were built in the 1920s by wealthy Seattle businessmen, encouraged by the arrival of direct ferry service, and led to the nickname of Washington's "Gold Coast". The area's farmers, mostly of Japanese descent, were evicted during the 1940s internment and their farms were turned over for redevelopment.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which, is land and is water. Medina is connected to Seattle, on the western shore of Lake Washington, by State Route 520 on the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge, the longest floating bridge in the world. This region experiences warm (but not hot) and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above 71.6 °F. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Medina has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps.

Most-observed species

• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  172,060
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  135,069
• Dark-eyed Junco

  Junco hyemalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  133,288
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  125,945
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  116,376
• Anna's Hummingbird

  Calypte anna (R.Lesson, 1829) · Aves
  107,384
• Spotted Towhee

  Pipilo maculatus Swainson, 1827 · Aves
  94,220
• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  90,695

Largest nearby schools

• Eastlake High School
  High · Sammamish · 2,349 students · 21.4:1 ratio
• Redmond High School
  High · Redmond · 2,218 students · 21.1:1 ratio
• Skyline High School
  High · SAMMAMISH · 2,170 students · 22.8:1 ratio
• Lake Washington High School
  High · Kirkland · 2,015 students · 21:1 ratio
• Hazen Senior High School
  High · Renton · 1,871 students · 24:1 ratio
• Bothell High School
  High · Bothell · 1,764 students · 19.8:1 ratio
• Newport Senior High School
  High · Bellevue · 1,726 students · 19.8:1 ratio
• Juanita High School
  High · Kirkland · 1,695 students · 19.5:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.56 — 2026-09-12
  2 km ENE of Mount Vernon, Washington
• M 2.51 — 2026-08-09
  11 km SSW of River Road, Washington
• M 3.8 — 2026-07-02
  2 km E of Oak Harbor, Washington
• M 2.5 — 2026-06-26
  11 km E of Carnation, Washington
• M 2.82 — 2026-06-26
  1 km SSE of Easton, Washington
• M 2.87 — 2026-06-08
  2 km ESE of Oak Harbor, Washington