If, like me, you moved to Seattle from someplace flat—the Midwest, for instance—and if, like me, you moved to Seattle from someplace more interesting—the Midwest, for instance—you may be confused by those jagged/pointy things looming on the horizon.
Step outside. Get to high ground. Look north, south, east, or west. The jagged and/or pointy looking things are mountains. The conical one to the south is an active volcano that’s gonna kill us all if the tectonic plates that created the Cascades (the mountain range to the east) and the Olympics (the mountain range to the west) don’t kill us all first. That’s right, we’re overdue for a massive 9.0 earthquake. You can get up to speed by reading Full-Rip 9.0: The Next Big Earthquake in the Pacific Northwest by Sandi Doughton. It’s comes highly recommended by people who don’t enjoy sleeping through the night.