Discreet Biohazard Cleanup Near West Union Gap Union Gap, WA

Union Gap is a city in Yakima County, Washington, immediately south of the city of Yakima, at the point where the Yakima River squeezes through a water gap between the Rattlesnake Hills and Ahtanum Ridge.

The gap that gives the city its name is a regional transportation choke point, carrying U.S. Route 97, Interstate 82, and the BNSF Railway between the upper and lower Yakima Valley.

Union Gap is the original Yakima: it was officially incorporated on November 23, 1883, under the name Yakima City.

When the Northern Pacific Railroad bypassed Yakima City in December 1884, residents rolled more than 100 buildings four miles on logs and horse teams to the new depot site — reportedly without business ever stopping, even at the bank and courthouse — creating the town first called North Yakima.

In 1918 North Yakima shortened its name to Yakima, and the original townsite to the south took the name Union Gap to end the confusion between the two.

True to its motto, 'The old town with new ideas,' Union Gap has become the retail hub of the entire Yakima Valley, anchored by Valley Mall and other large shopping centers.

Part of the city of Union Gap lies within the Yakama Nation's reservation.

The 2020 census counted 6,568 residents in Union Gap living in 2,183 households, and 58.6 percent of residents identified as Hispanic or Latino.

Union Gap is the namesake of the late-1960s pop group Gary Puckett & The Union Gap, whose lead singer grew up in neighboring Yakima.

Local industry includes the Liberty Bottleworks plant, which manufactures aluminum water bottles in Union Gap.