Sumas is a city in northern Whatcom County, Washington, tucked against the Canada–United States border and directly across from Abbotsford, British Columbia. The 2020 census counted 1,583 residents. The name, pronounced SOO-mas, comes from the area's Indigenous heritage; the region was traditionally home to the Nooksack people before non-Native settlers arrived in the 1870s, and the city was incorporated in 1891. Sumas is defined by two forces: agriculture and the border. The surrounding Sumas Prairie, part of the Fraser Lowland, was created when Sumas Lake was drained in the early twentieth century, opening rich farmland that supports the dairy and farming operations central to the local economy. At the same time, the Sumas-Huntingdon port of entry at the north end of State Route 9 is a major, around-the-clock border crossing connecting Whatcom County to Abbotsford and the Fraser Valley, making Sumas a busy conduit for freight and travelers. The city sits at the northern terminus of State Route 9, in a landscape framed by Mount Baker to the southeast and the Cascades beyond. Its location gives residents a small-town, agricultural setting within reach of both Bellingham, about thirty miles west, and the Canadian cities of the Lower Mainland. Public education is provided by Nooksack Valley School District, which operates Sumas Elementary in town along with middle and high school campuses in the surrounding valley. The district's schools serve the Nooksack Valley's rural communities and offer views of Mount Baker from campus. For residents, Sumas combines border-town commerce, dairy-country character, and mountain scenery, with the amenities of Bellingham and Abbotsford close at hand. Its position as a gateway between two countries gives it a distinctive, binational character unusual for a town of its size.