It is located near the Carbon River in the north of the county, approximately 50 miles (80 km) southeast of Seattle.

Carbonado is the last town before entering Mount Rainier National Park Carbon River Entrance.

The boom was brought on by the demand for raw material in nearby growing cities such as Seattle and Tacoma.

Starting with the town of Wilkeson and moving on through Burnett, Carbonado, Montezuma, Fairfax, and finally Manley Moore, these settlements sprawled up the valley to the very boundary of Mount Rainier National Park.

The energy resource in Carbonado was also the raw material that the citizens of the company town were harvesting, coal.

The railroad, integral to the transportation of people, supplies and exported materials, extended all the way up the valley, servicing the towns and several homesteads.

These were settled predominantly by Polish immigrants, and supplied the towns down the valley with fresh milk and eggs.

Two survive today, one known as Carbon River Ranch (the main house is the old Fairfax school and can be seen from Washington State Route 165) and the other formerly known as Huckle-Chuck.

Since the decline of the mining era, Carbonado has experienced extreme shrinking and small booms ultimately ending with a steady population.

The cemetery holds the memories of older and more recent dead with many of the grave holders' family still living nearby.

One hill in the town started out as the coal slag pile and now has been carpeted by ivy and trees.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.42 square miles (1.09 km2), all of it land.