Cle Elum Washington Map

About Cle Elum, Washington

Cle Elum is a locality in Kittitas County, Washington, United States. It has a population of approximately 1,905. The population density is 178.6 people per km². Cle Elum is located at 47.1954°N, 120.9392°W. It observes the Pacific Time (America/Los_Angeles) timezone. ZIP code: 98922.

Cle Elum lies in a valley where the Cascade Mountains begin their dramatic rise, a place where the air carries the scent of pine needles and the subtle, dry dust of the eastern plains. It lies 23.0 miles northwest of Ellensburg, WA (from Ellensburg, WA: bearing 307°T), and is situated 33.4 miles west-southwest of Wenatchee. The land here is a study in contrasts: verdant slopes climb towards rugged peaks, their flanks etched by ancient glaciers, while the valley floor is a broad, sun-drenched sweep of sagebrush and hardy grasses, giving way to fields of alfalfa and the occasional hardy orchard. The Cle Elum River, a ribbon of cool, clear water, threads its way through the landscape, reflecting the vast, often intensely blue sky, and the granite and basalt of the surrounding hills are softened by the long, hazy light of late afternoon. This place, Cle Elum, was once a vital hub for the Northern Pacific Railway, a crossroads where coal from the mountain mines was loaded for transport, a history evident in the sturdy brick buildings that still line its main street, their facades bearing the patina of decades. The economy, once driven by the deep shafts and the rumble of trains, has since diversified, finding new life in agriculture, tourism drawn by the nearby outdoor recreation, and a quiet, persistent connection to its working-class roots. There's a distinct character to Cle Elum, a grounded pragmatism born from its frontier past and its position on the cusp of vastly different geographies, a place where the long, literate PNW gray of winter gives way to the sharp, bright promise of a Cascade spring.

About This Cle Elum Map Page

This page provides an embedded street and satellite map of Cle Elum, Washington — switch between views using the small square in the bottom left-hand corner of the map. Coordinates: 47.195398, -120.939249. Live weather conditions are sourced directly from the National Weather Service, with current observations and a 7-day forecast also powered by Open-Meteo. Real-time local news and world news feeds keep the page current, while a Wikipedia summary or an editorially written description provides background on Cle Elum and Kittitas County.

Detailed location data for Cle Elum includes the ZIP code (98922), telephone area code (509), county seat of Kittitas County (Ellensburg), and school district assignment (Cle Elum-Roslyn School District). These are among the most commonly searched location details for any US city or town.

Location data is drawn from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) and cross-verified against 2020 US Census records by coordinate proximity — ensuring the correct Cle Elum is identified even where the name is shared across multiple counties or states. Population figures are sourced from the 2020 US Census.