The City of Yakima, population 93,000 and growing, was incorporated in 1886 and is located in sunny central Washington. It encompasses 28.17 square miles in an area of rich volcanic soil. A regional getaway destination, the City is 145 miles southeast of Seattle, 200 miles southwest of Spokane, and 180 miles northeast of Vancouver, Washington. The region hub city is served by rail, highway and air transportation facilities, which have helped develop the City as the commercial and business center of Central Washington. Yakima is the 11th largest city in the State of Washington. The City of Yakima operates as a first class charter city under the Council/Manager form of government. The City provides a full range of municipal services, which include public safety (police, fire, and building safety), public improvements (streets, traffic signals), sanitation (solid waste disposal, sanitary wastewater utility), water and irrigation utilities, transit, community development, parks and recreation, and general administrative services. Tagged by locals as "The Palm Springs of Washington," the city does have a large convention center with several destination amenities such as golf, tennis, orchards, wineries, craft breweries, SunDome and Central Washington Fairgrounds, minor league baseball, and greenbelt activities along the Yakima River.