47°43′31″N 122°31′33″W / 47.725210°N 122.525797°W / 47.725210; -122.525797
79-500: Port Madison , sometimes called Port Madison Bay, is a deep water bay located on the west shore of Puget Sound in western Washington . It is bounded on the north by Indianola , on the west by Suquamish , and on the south by Bainbridge Island . Port Madison connects to Bainbridge Island via the Agate Pass Bridge to the southwest. Two small bays open off Port Madison: Miller Bay to the northwest, and another small bay to
158-563: A bay with numerous channels and branches; more specifically, it is a fjord system of flooded glacial valleys. Puget Sound is part of a larger physiographic structure termed the Puget Trough, which is a physiographic section of the larger Pacific Border province , which in turn is part of the larger Pacific Mountain System . Puget Sound is a large salt water estuary , or system of many estuaries, fed by highly seasonal freshwater from
237-641: A dispute with the Colony of Vancouver Island over the ownership of the San Juan Islands, with the US claiming Haro Strait as the border and Britain claiming Rosario Strait. The resulting Pig War and San Juan Dispute were a diplomatic stalemate until the boundary issue was placed in the hands of Emperor Wilhelm I of Germany for arbitration in 1871. The border through Haro Strait was established in 1872. The surrounding bodies of water, including Puget Sound and
316-523: A lumber mill on the Bainbridge Island shore of the bay in 1854, and Port Madison was soon a booming mill town. The town of Port Madison became Kitsap County 's first county seat , but after the economic depression of the 1890s closed the mill, the seat was relocated and Port Madison became a ghost town. Today, Port Madison is a residential area and a popular destination for boaters . This Kitsap County, Washington state location article
395-515: A major navigation beacon, Turn Point Light , is located. Strong, dangerous rip tides occur near Turn Point, as well as near the northern end of Boundary Pass, between Patos Island Light on Patos Island and East Point on Saturna Island . Rosario Strait is also a major shipping channel. More than 500 oil tankers pass through the strait each year, to and from the Cherry Point Refinery and refineries near Anacortes. The strait
474-576: A project in 1847 to reorganize the official charts of the region for the British Admiralty. The project only applied to British territory, which at the time included the San Juan Islands but not Puget Sound . Kellett removed most of the names given by Wilkes and kept British and Spanish names, sometimes moving Spanish names to replace those given by Wilkes. As a result, Wilkes' names are common in Puget Sound and Spanish names are rare, while
553-507: A total volume of 26.5 cubic miles (110 km ) at mean high water. The average volume of water flowing in and out of Puget Sound during each tide is 1.26 cubic miles (5.3 km ). The maximum tidal currents, in the range of 9 to 10 knots , occurs at Deception Pass. Water flow through Deception Pass is approximately equal to 2% of the total tidal exchange between Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The size of Puget Sound's watershed
632-624: A valve was mistakenly opened aboard the submarine USS Puffer , releasing up to 500 US gallons (1,900 L; 420 imp gal) of radioactive water into Puget Sound, during an overhaul in drydock at Bremerton Naval Shipyard . San Juan Islands The San Juan Islands is an archipelago in the Pacific Northwest of the United States between the U.S. state of Washington and Vancouver Island , British Columbia , Canada. The San Juan Islands are part of Washington state, and form
711-542: Is 12,138 sq mi (31,440 km ). "Northern Puget Sound" is frequently considered part of the Puget Sound watershed, which enlarges its size to 13,700 sq mi (35,000 km ). The USGS uses the name "Puget Sound" for its hydrologic unit subregion 1711, which includes areas draining to Puget Sound proper as well as the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the Strait of Georgia, and the Fraser River . Significant rivers that drain to "Northern Puget Sound" include
790-608: Is 930 feet (280 m). The depth of the main basin, between the southern tip of Whidbey Island and Tacoma , is approximately 600 feet (180 m). In 2009, the term Salish Sea was established by the United States Board on Geographic Names as the collective waters of Puget Sound, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the Strait of Georgia . Sometimes the terms "Puget Sound" and "Puget Sound and adjacent waters" are used for not only Puget Sound proper but also for waters to
869-506: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Puget Sound Puget Sound ( / ˈ p juː dʒ ɪ t / PEW -jit ; Lushootseed : x̌ʷəlč IPA: [ˈχʷəlt͡ʃ] WHULCH ) is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins located on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of Washington . As a part of the Salish Sea , the sound has one major and two minor connections to
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#1732791830789948-588: Is a specimen of elk in the Slater Museum of Natural History at the University of Puget Sound that was collected on Orcas Island, and old-timers report finding elk antlers on both Lopez and Orcas Islands. Before 1850, most of the freshwater on the islands was held in beaver ( Castor canadensis ) ponds, although the aquatic mammal was extirpated by Hudson's Bay Company fur stations at Fort Langley and San Juan Island. Remnants of beaver dams number in
1027-507: Is at Deception Pass along a line from West Point on Whidbey Island, to Deception Island, then to Rosario Head on Fidalgo Island . The third entrance is at the south end of the Swinomish Channel , which connects Skagit Bay and Padilla Bay . Under this definition, Puget Sound includes the waters of Hood Canal , Admiralty Inlet, Possession Sound , Saratoga Passage , and others. It does not include Bellingham Bay , Padilla Bay,
1106-621: Is attributed to a variety of issues, including human population growth, pollution, and climate change. Because of this population decline, there have been changes to the fishery practices, and an increase in petitioning to add species to the Endangered Species Act . There has also been an increase in recovery and management plans for many different area species. The causes of these environmental issues are toxic contamination, eutrophication (low oxygen due to excess nutrients), and near shore habitat changes. On May 22, 1978,
1185-511: Is home to numerous species of marine invertebrates, including sponges , sea anemones , chitons , clams , sea snails , limpets , crabs , barnacles , starfish , sea urchins , and sand dollars . Dungeness crabs ( Metacarcinus magister ) occur throughout Washington waters, including Puget Sound. Many bivalves occur in Puget Sound, such as Pacific oysters ( Crassostrea gigas ) and geoduck clams ( Panopea generosa ). The Olympia oyster ( Ostreola conchaphila ), once common in Puget Sound,
1264-519: Is in constant use by vessels bound for Cherry Point, Bellingham , Anacortes, and the San Juan Islands. Vessels bound for British Columbia or Alaska also frequently use it in preference to the passages farther west, when greater advantage can be taken of the tidal currents. This list includes only those islands that are part of San Juan County as defined by the USGS, bounded by the Strait of Juan de Fuca , Haro Strait , Rosario Strait , Boundary Pass , and
1343-497: Is not known, the habitat for them may have once been ideal. In the 1890s non-native European rabbits , an exotic invasive species , began to infest the islands as the result of the release of domestic rabbits on Smith Island . Rabbits from the San Juan Islands were used later for several introductions of European rabbits into other, usually Midwestern, states. The rabbits are pursued by Eurasian red fox ( Vulpes vulpes ), another non-native species introduced intermittently through
1422-501: The Chimacum Valley [ ceb ] , in the northeast Olympic Peninsula , melted, allowing the lake's water to rapidly drain north into the marine waters of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, which was rising as the ice sheet retreated. As icebergs calved off the toe of the glacier, their embedded gravels and boulders were deposited in the chaotic mix of unsorted till geologists call glaciomarine drift. Many beaches about
1501-553: The Hudson's Bay Company established Fort Victoria on Vancouver Island . The 1846 Oregon Treaty established the 49th parallel as the border between Canada and the US, with Vancouver Island remaining British. The treaty did not specify which channel the border should follow between the Strait of Georgia and the Strait of Juan de Fuca, leading to a boundary dispute. In 1852, the Territory of Oregon created Island County , including
1580-606: The Lummi , Klallam , Saanich , Samish , and Songhees dialects). European exploration in the area introduced smallpox in the 1770s. The Spanish explorer Francisco de Eliza named the San Juan Islands Isla y Archipiélago de San Juan in 1791 while sailing under the authority of Juan Vicente de Güemes Padilla Horcasitas y Aguayo, 2nd Count of Revillagigedo , the Viceroy of Mexico. Eliza named several places for
1659-714: The Nooksack , Dungeness , and Elwha Rivers . The Nooksack empties into Bellingham Bay, the Dungeness and Elwha into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The Chilliwack River flows north to the Fraser River in Canada. Tides in Puget Sound are of the mixed type with two high and two low tides each tidal day. These are called Higher High Water (HHW), Lower Low Water (LLW), Lower High Water (LHW), and Higher Low Water (HLW). The configuration of basins, sills, and interconnections cause
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#17327918307891738-633: The Salish Sea . The USGS definition of the San Juan archipelago coincides with San Juan County . Islands not in San Juan County are not part of the San Juan Islands, according to the USGS. NOAA notes that, while geopolitically divided, the San Juan Islands and Canadian Gulf Islands geologically form part of a larger Gulf Archipelago. At mean high tide, the San Juan Islands comprise over 400 islands and rocks, 128 of which are named, and over 478 miles (769 km) of shoreline. The majority of
1817-437: The Strait of Juan de Fuca , which in turn connects to the open Pacific Ocean. The major connection is Admiralty Inlet ; the minor connections are Deception Pass and the Swinomish Channel . Puget Sound extends approximately 100 miles (160 km) from Deception Pass in the north to Olympia in the south. Its average depth is 450 feet (140 m) and its maximum depth, off Jefferson Point between Indianola and Kingston ,
1896-601: The Tacoma Narrows , and the Main Basin , which is further subdivided into Admiralty Inlet and the Central Basin. Puget Sound's sills, a kind of submarine terminal moraine , separate the basins from one another, and Puget Sound from the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Three sills are particularly significant—the one at Admiralty Inlet which checks the flow of water between the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound,
1975-628: The double-crested cormorant ( Phalacrocorax auritus ). Puget Sound is home to a non-migratory and marine-oriented subspecies of great blue herons ( Ardea herodias fannini ). Bald eagles ( Haliaeetus leucocephalus ) occur in relative high densities in the Puget Sound region. Puget Sound has been home to many Indigenous peoples, such as the Lushootseed-speaking peoples , as well as the Twana , Chimakum , and Klallam , for millennia. The earliest known presence of Indigenous inhabitants in
2054-579: The spiny dogfish ( Squalus acanthias ). There are about 28 species of Sebastidae (rockfish), of many types, found in Puget Sound. Among those of special interest are copper rockfish ( Sebastes caurinus ), quillback rockfish ( S. maliger ), black rockfish ( S. melanops ), yelloweye rockfish ( S. ruberrimus ), bocaccio rockfish ( S. paucispinis ), canary rockfish ( S. pinniger ), and Puget Sound rockfish ( S. emphaeus ). Many other fish species occur in Puget Sound, such as sturgeons , lampreys , various sharks , rays , and skates . Puget Sound
2133-810: The tidal range to increase within Puget Sound. The difference in height between the Higher High Water and the Lower Low Water averages about 8.3 feet (2.5 m) at Port Townsend on Admiralty Inlet, but increases to about 14.4 feet (4.4 m) at Olympia, the southern end of Puget Sound. Puget Sound is generally accepted as the start of the Inside Passage . Important marine flora of Puget Sound include eelgrass ( Zostera marina ) and various kelp , important kelps include canopy forming bull kelp ( Nereocystis luetkeana ). and edible kelps like kombu ( Saccharina latissima ) Among
2212-515: The western grebe ( Aechmophorus occidentalis ); loons such as the common loon ( Gavia immer ); auks such as the pigeon guillemot ( Cepphus columba ), rhinoceros auklet ( Cerorhinca monocerata ), common murre ( Uria aalge ), and marbled murrelet ( Brachyramphus marmoratus ); the brant goose ( Branta bernicla ); seaducks such as the long-tailed duck ( Clangula hyemalis ), harlequin duck ( Histrionicus histrionicus ), and surf scoter ( Melanitta perspicillata ); and cormorants such as
2291-508: The 2010s and 17.2 in 2022 with the COVID-19 pandemic . It is the largest ferry operator in the United States. Over the past 30 years, as the human population of the region has increased, there has been a correlating decrease in various plant and animal species which inhabit Puget Sound. The decline has been seen in numerous populations including forage fish , salmonids, bottom fish, marine birds , harbor porpoise , and orcas . The decline
2370-555: The Canada–US border. The melting retreat of the Vashon Glaciation eroded the land, creating a drumlin field of hundreds of aligned drumlin hills. Lake Washington and Lake Sammamish (which are ribbon lakes ), Hood Canal , and the main Puget Sound basin were altered by glacial forces. These glacial forces are not specifically "carving", as in cutting into the landscape via the mechanics of ice/glaciers, but rather eroding
2449-647: The HBC's subsidy operation, the Puget Sound Agricultural Company was established in part to procure resources and trade, as well as to further establish British claim to the region. Missionaries J.P. Richmond and W.H. Wilson were attending Fort Nisqually for two years by 1840. British ships, such as the Beaver , exported foodstuffs and provisions from Fort Nisqually, and would eventually export Puget Sound lumber, an industry that would soon outpace
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2528-534: The Lushootseed language, dxʷləšucid , is derived from the root word √ləš , an alternative name for Puget Sound. The USGS defines Puget Sound as all the waters south of three entrances from the Strait of Juan de Fuca . The main entrance at Admiralty Inlet is defined as a line between Point Wilson on the Olympic Peninsula , and Point Partridge on Whidbey Island . The second entrance
2607-487: The Olympic and Cascade Mountain watersheds. The mean annual river discharge into Puget Sound is 41,000 cubic feet per second (1,200 m /s), with a monthly average maximum of about 367,000 cubic feet per second (10,400 m /s) and minimum of about 14,000 cubic feet per second (400 m /s). Puget Sound's shoreline is 1,332 miles (2,144 km) long, encompassing a water area of 1,020 square miles (2,600 km ) and
2686-538: The Puget Sound region is between 14,000 BCE to 6,000 BCE. Dispatched in an attempt to locate the fabled Northwest Passage , British Royal Navy captain George Vancouver anchored on May 19, 1792, on the shores of Seattle , explored Puget Sound, and claimed it for Great Britain on June 4 the same year, naming it for one of his officers, Lieutenant Peter Puget . He further named the entire region; New Georgia , after King George III . After 1818 Britain and
2765-599: The Puget Sound region. The most recent glacial period , called the Fraser Glaciation , had three phases, or stades . During the third, or Vashon Glaciation , a lobe of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet , called the Puget Lobe, spread south about 15,000 years ago, covering the Puget Sound region with an ice sheet about 3,000 feet (910 m) thick near Seattle, and nearly 6,000 feet (1,800 m) at
2844-579: The San Juan Islands are quite hilly, with some flat areas and valleys in between, often quite fertile. The tallest peak is Mount Constitution , on Orcas Island, at an elevation of 2,407 feet (734 m). The coastlines are a mix of sandy and rocky beaches, shallow inlets and deep harbors, placid coves and reef-studded bays. Gnarled, ochre-colored madrona trees ( Arbutus ) grace much of the shorelines, while evergreen fir and pine forests cover large inland areas. The San Juan Islands get substantially less rainfall than Seattle , about 65 miles (105 km) to
2923-536: The San Juan Islands are sparse, there is a sea otter specimen collected in 1897 in the "Strait of Fuca" in the National Museum of Natural History . When the sea otter finally received federal protection in 1911, Washington's sea otter had been hunted to extinction, and although a small remnant population still existed in British Columbia, it soon died out. Fifty-nine sea otters were re-introduced to
3002-564: The San Juan Islands is provided by: The San Juan Islands are surrounded by major shipping channels. Haro Strait, along with Boundary Pass, is the westernmost and most heavily used channel connecting the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Strait of Georgia. It is the main route connecting the Port of Vancouver and other ports around the Strait of Georgia with the Pacific Ocean. Haro Strait joins Boundary Pass at Turn Point on Stuart Island, where
3081-526: The San Juan Islands. In 1853, Island County became part of the Washington Territory , which created Whatcom County out of parts of Island County in 1854. The San Juan Islands were finally split off into present-day San Juan County in 1873. In 1855, Washington Territory levied a property tax on properties of the Hudson's Bay Company on San Juan Island, which the HBC refused to pay. This led to
3160-447: The San Juan Islands; therefore, all travel from the mainland is either by water or by air. Four ferry systems serve some of the San Juan Islands. Passenger-only ferries serve more islands. Passenger-only ferry service is usually seasonal and offered by private business. There are a number of public and private airports and seaplane bases throughout the San Juan Islands. Airports: Seaplane bases: Scheduled and on demand service to
3239-483: The San Juans in 1791 and became the first European to explore the Strait of Georgia . The Vancouver Expedition , led by George Vancouver , explored the area in 1792 while a Spanish expedition led by Dionisio Alcalá Galiano and Cayetano Valdés y Flores was also exploring. The British and Spanish ships met and cooperated in exploring the north. Vancouver encountered other Spanish ships and traded information, so he
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3318-472: The Sound display glacial erratics , rendered more prominent than those in coastal woodland solely by their exposed position; submerged glacial erratics sometimes cause hazards to navigation. The sheer weight of glacial-age ice depressed the landforms, which experienced post-glacial rebound after the ice sheets had retreated. Because the rate of rebound was not synchronous with the post-ice age rise in sea levels,
3397-799: The Straits of Georgia and Juan de Fuca, were recognized collectively as the Salish Sea , by the United States in 2009 and by Canada in 2010. On the 7th of June 2024, a T-34 plane driven by former astronaut and air force pilot, Bill Anders , crashed on the San Juan Islands. Anders did not survive the crash. The islands were heavily logged in the nineteenth century, but now have an extensive second-growth coast Douglas fir ( Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii ), Pacific madrone ( Arbutus menziesii ), red alder ( Alnus rubra ) and bigleaf maple ( Acer macrophyllum ) forest. There are small stands of old-growth Douglas fir and western redcedar ( Thuja plicata ), mostly within long standing privately held property. In
3476-539: The United States, which both claimed the Oregon Country , agreed to "joint occupancy", deferring resolution of the Oregon boundary dispute until the 1846 Oregon Treaty . Puget Sound was part of the disputed region until 1846, after which it became US territory. American maritime fur traders visited Puget Sound in the early 19th century. An Hudson's Bay Company expedition led by James McMillan in late 1824
3555-534: The Viceroy, including Orcas Island (short for "Horcasitas") and Guemes Island . San Juan Island's first European discoverer was Gonzalo López de Haro , one of Eliza's officers, for whom Haro Strait is named. The Spanish had previously encountered the islands during Manuel Quimper 's exploring voyage on the Princesa Real in 1790, but they were not recognized as islands until Eliza's expedition. José María Narváez , one of Eliza's pilots, also helped explore
3634-514: The Washington coast from Amchitka Island , Alaska, in the summers of 1969 and 1970, and these have expanded by 8% per year, mainly along the outer west and northwest coast of the Olympic Peninsula . Professional marine mammal biologists verified a single sea otter observed near Cattle Point, San Juan Island, in October 1996. Although the historical numbers of sea otter in the San Juan Islands
3713-466: The bed of what is now Puget Sound filled alternately with fresh and with sea water. The upper level of the lake-sediment Lawton Clay now lies about 120 feet (37 m) above sea level. The Puget Sound system consists of four deep basins connected by shallower sills. The four basins are Hood Canal , west of the Kitsap Peninsula , Whidbey Basin, east of Whidbey Island, South Sound , south of
3792-484: The core of San Juan County . In the archipelago, four islands are accessible to vehicular and foot traffic via the Washington State Ferries system. The Gulf of Georgia Culture Area encompasses the San Juan and Gulf Islands , which share many archaeological similarities. These islands were home to various Coast Salish peoples, including the Nooksack and Northern Straits groups (consisting of
3871-538: The dominant fur trading market and drive the early Puget Sound economy. The first organized American expedition took place under the helm of Commander Charles Wilkes , whose exploring party sailed up Puget Sound in 1841. The first permanent American settlement on Puget Sound was Tumwater , founded in 1845 by Americans who had come via the Oregon Trail . The decision to settle north of the Columbia River
3950-604: The edge of the Juan de Fuca Plate are being subducted under the North American Plate . There has not been a major subduction zone earthquake here since the magnitude nine Cascadia earthquake ; according to Japanese records, it occurred on January 26, 1700. Lesser Puget Sound earthquakes with shallow epicenters , caused by the fracturing of stressed oceanic rocks as they are subducted, still cause great damage. The Seattle Fault cuts across Puget Sound, crossing
4029-414: The highlands one also finds grand fir ( Abies grandis ), western hemlock ( Tsuga heterophylla ) and other subalpine trees. The San Juan Islands host the greatest concentration of bald eagles ( Haliaeetus leucocephalus ) in the contiguous United States. Great blue herons ( Ardea herodias ), black oystercatchers ( Haematopus bachman ), and numerous shorebirds are found along the shore and in winter,
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#17327918307894108-506: The hundreds across the archipelago. Gnawed stumps and beaver sign are now seen on Orcas and other islands, and recolonization by this keystone species is likely to lead to increased abundance and diversity of birds, amphibians, reptiles and plants. In spring 2011 a pair of beaver appeared at Killebrew Lake on Orcas Island, but were killed to avoid flooding a phone company switch box buried under Dolphin Bay Road. These beaver likely swam from
4187-463: The islands are home to trumpeter swans ( Cygnus buccinator ), Canada geese ( Branta canadensis ) and other waterfowl. Peregrine falcons ( Falco peregrinus ), northern harriers ( Circus cyaneus ), barred owls ( Strix varia ) and other birds of prey are found. In addition diving birds such as rhinoceros auklets ( Cerorhinca monocerata ), pigeon guillemots ( Cepphus columba ) and endangered marbled murrelets ( Brachyramphus marmoratus ) frequent
4266-553: The islands includes the Journal of the San Juan Islands and the Islands' Sounder . Generally speaking, the resident population of San Juan County is well educated. In the period 2016 to 2020, 51.7 percent of the resident population aged 25 and up have earned a bachelor’s degree or attained a higher level of formal education. Statewide, 36.7 percent of the adult population have a bachelor’s degree or higher. There are no bridges to
4345-521: The landscape from melt water of the Vashon Glacier creating the drumlin field. As the ice retreated, vast amounts of glacial till were deposited throughout the Puget Sound region. The soils of the region, less than ten thousand years old, are still characterized as immature. As the Vashon glacier receded a series of proglacial lakes formed, filling the main trough of Puget Sound and inundating
4424-493: The largest mammals on the San Juan Islands, which are unusual in their historic absence of large carnivores, except for wolves ( Canis lupus ) which were extirpated in the 1860s. Dr. Caleb B. R. Kennerly, surgeon and naturalist, collected a wolf specimen on Lopez Island, which is now in the National Museum of Natural History , probably during the Northwest Boundary Survey from 1857 to 1861. Also, there
4503-423: The mainland and could have recolonized the islands. Northern sea otter ( Enhydra lutis kenyoni ) remains are documented on Sucia Island in the San Juan Islands archipelago. In 1790, Spanish explorer Manuel Quimper traded copper sheets for sea otter pelts at Discovery Bay , for live sea otters captured north of the bay in the "interior" of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Although historical records of sea otter in
4582-1331: The marine mammals species found in Puget Sound are harbor seals ( Phoca vitulina ). Orca ( Orcinus orca ), or "killer whales" are famous throughout the Sound, and are a large tourist attraction. Although orca are sometimes seen in Puget Sound proper they are far more prevalent around the San Juan Islands north of Puget Sound. Many fish species occur in Puget Sound. The various salmonid species, including salmon , trout , and char are particularly well-known and studied. Salmonid species of Puget Sound include chinook salmon ( Oncorhynchus tshawytscha ), chum salmon ( O. keta ), coho salmon ( O. kisutch ), pink salmon ( O. gorbuscha ), sockeye salmon ( O. nerka ), sea-run coastal cutthroat trout ( O. clarki clarki ), steelhead ( O. mykiss irideus ), sea-run bull trout ( Salvelinus confluentus ), and Dolly Varden trout ( Salvelinus malma malma ). Common forage fishes found in Puget Sound include Pacific herring ( Clupea pallasii ), surf smelt ( Hypomesus pretiosus ), and Pacific sand lance ( Ammodytes hexapterus ). Important benthopelagic fish of Puget Sound include North Pacific hake ( Merluccius productus ), Pacific cod ( Gadus macrocelhalus ), walleye pollock ( Theragra chalcogramma ), and
4661-649: The name "Puget's Sound" to the waters south of the Tacoma Narrows , in honor of Peter Puget , a Huguenot lieutenant accompanying him on the Vancouver Expedition . This name later came to be used for the waters north of Tacoma Narrows as well. An alternative term for Puget Sound, used by a number of Native Americans and environmental groups, is Whulge (or Whulj), an Anglicization of the Lushootseed name for Puget Sound, x̌ʷəlč , which literally means "sea, salt water, ocean, or sound". The name for
4740-464: The north coast of Washington and the San Juan Islands, essentially equivalent to NOAA's "Northern Puget Sound" subdivision described above. Kruckeberg uses the term "Puget Sound and adjacent waters". Kruckeberg's 1991 text, however, does not reflect the 2009 decision of the United States Board on Geographic Names to use the term Salish Sea to refer to the greater maritime environment. Continental ice sheets have repeatedly advanced and retreated from
4819-547: The north, such as Bellingham Bay and the San Juan Islands region. The term "Puget Sound" is used not just for the body of water but also the Puget Sound region centered on the sound. Major cities on the sound include Seattle , Tacoma , Olympia , and Everett . Puget Sound is also the second-largest estuary in the United States, after Chesapeake Bay in Maryland and Virginia . In 1792, George Vancouver gave
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#17327918307894898-540: The one at the entrance to Hood Canal (about 175 ft or 53 m below the surface), and the one at the Tacoma Narrows (about 145 ft or 44 m). Other sills that present less of a barrier include the ones at Blake Island , Agate Pass , Rich Passage , and Hammersley Inlet . The depth of the basins is a result of the Sound being part of the Cascadia subduction zone , where the terranes accreted at
4977-498: The opposite is true for the San Juan and Gulf Islands. Wilkes had named the San Juan Islands the Navy Archipelago and individual islands after U.S. naval officers, such as Rodgers Island for San Juan Island, " Chauncey " for Lopez Island, and Hull Island for Orcas Island. Some of Wilkes' names, such as Shaw, Decatur, Jones, Blakely, and Sinclair, named after American naval officers, survived Kellett's editing. In 1843,
5056-458: The present Canada-U.S. border. Since each new advance and retreat of ice erodes away much of the evidence of previous ice ages, the most recent Vashon phase has left the clearest imprint on the land. At its maximum extent the Vashon ice sheet extended south of Olympia to near Tenino , and covered the lowlands between the Olympic and Cascade mountain ranges. About 14,000 years ago the ice began to retreat. By 11,000 years ago it survived only north of
5135-437: The present, the San Juan Islands are an important tourist destination, with sea kayaking and orca whale-watching (by boat or air tours) being two of the primary attractions. San Juan Island's Lime Kiln Point State Park is a prime whale-watching site, with knowledgeable interpreters often on site. Politically, the San Juan Islands comprise by definition, San Juan County, Washington . Media based in and/or concerning
5214-475: The south which, confusingly, is also called Port Madison Bay (or, locally, as the "Inner Harbor"). The inner harbor, which indents into Bainbridge Island is where the Port Madison Yacht Club and a Seattle Yacht Club outstation are located. The Port Madison Indian Reservation is located on the west and north shores of Port Madison. According to various sources, the native name of the bay
5293-523: The south, due to their location in the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains to the southwest. Summertime high temperatures are around 70 °F (21 °C), while average wintertime lows are in the high 30s and low 40s Fahrenheit (around 5 degrees Celsius). Snow is infrequent in winter, except for the higher elevations, but the islands are subject to high winds at times; those from the northeast sometimes bring brief periods of freezing. In
5372-660: The southern lowlands. Glacial Lake Russell was the first such large recessional lake. From the vicinity of Seattle in the north the lake extended south to the Black Hills , where it drained south into the Chehalis River . Sediments from Lake Russell form the blue-gray clay identified as the Lawton Clay. The second major recessional lake was Glacial Lake Bretz . It also drained to the Chehalis River until
5451-609: The southern tip of Bainbridge Island and under Elliott Bay . To the south, the existence of a second fault, the Tacoma Fault , has buckled the intervening strata in the Seattle Uplift. Typical Puget Sound profiles of dense glacial till overlying permeable glacial outwash of gravels above an impermeable bed of silty clay may become unstable after periods of unusually wet weather and slump in landslides. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) defines Puget Sound as
5530-833: The surrounding seas. Western bluebirds ( Sialia mexicana ), which were eliminated from the islands 50 years ago because of competition for nesting sites by non-native European starlings ( Sturnus vulgaris ), were recently restored to San Juan Island thanks to the efforts of volunteers and conservation organizations. The islands are famous for their resident pods of orcas ( Orcinus orca ). There are three resident pods that eat salmon, but also some transient orcas that come to take harbor seals ( Phoca vitulina ). Other marine mammals include river otters ( Lontra canadensis ), Steller sea lions ( Eumetopias jubatus ), common minke whales ( Balaenoptera acutorostrata ), Dall's porpoises ( Phocoenoides dalli ) and other cetaceans . Columbia black-tailed deer ( Odocoileus hemionus columbianus ) are
5609-496: The twentieth century. On the islands is the San Juan Islands National Monument with 75 sections. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) defines the San Juan Islands as the archipelago north of the Strait of Juan de Fuca , west of Rosario Strait , east of Haro Strait , and south of Boundary Pass . To the north lie the open waters of the Strait of Georgia . All these waters are within
5688-417: The waters of the San Juan Islands or anything farther north. Another definition, given by NOAA , subdivides Puget Sound into five basins or regions. Four of these (including South Puget Sound ) correspond to areas within the USGS definition, but the fifth, called "Northern Puget Sound" includes a large additional region. It is defined as bounded to the north by the international boundary with Canada, and to
5767-596: The west by a line running north from the mouth of the Sekiu River on the Olympic Peninsula. Under this definition, significant parts of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Strait of Georgia are included in Puget Sound, with the international boundary marking an abrupt and hydrologically arbitrary limit. According to Arthur Kruckeberg, the term "Puget Sound" is sometimes used for waters north of Admiralty Inlet and Deception Pass, especially for areas along
5846-522: Was admitted to the union in 1889 as part of the Enabling Act , and the regions borders have since remained unchanged. The Washington State Ferries (WSF) are a state-run ferry system that connects the larger islands of Puget Sound the Washington mainland, and the Olympic and Kitsap Peninsulas. Its vessels carry both passengers and vehicular traffic. The system averaged 24.3 million passengers in
5925-529: Was aware of the names given by the Spanish expedition and kept them, although he renamed some features, such as the Strait of Georgia . The United States Exploring Expedition , led by Charles Wilkes , explored the region in 1841. Wilkes named many coastal features after American heroes of the War of 1812 or members of his crew, possibly unaware of the already existing Spanish names and charts. Henry Kellett led
6004-510: Was depleted by human activities during the 20th century. There are ongoing efforts to restore Olympia oysters in Puget Sound. In 1967, an initial scuba survey estimated that were "about 110 million pounds of geoducks" (pronounced "gooey ducks") situated in Puget Sound's sediments. Also known as "king clam", geoducks are considered to be a delicacy in Asian countries. There are many seabird species of Puget Sound. Among these are grebes such as
6083-482: Was either Tu-che-kup or Noo-sohk-um. On Nov. 8 1824, John Work of the Hudson's Bay Company , while looking for potential sites for a trading post, recorded it as Soquamis Bay - a variation on the name of the Suquamish tribe which made its home on the western shore. The Wilkes Expedition surveyed the bay on May 10, 1841 and named it for James Madison , the 4th president of the United States. George A. Meigs built
6162-459: Was first non-Indigenous group to enter Puget Sound since George Vancouver in 1792. The expedition went on to reach the Fraser River , first again to reach the lower Fraser since Fraser himself in 1808. The first non-Indigenous settlement in the Puget Sound area was Fort Nisqually , a fur trade post of the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) built in 1833. Fort Nisqually was part of the HBC's Columbia District , headquartered at Fort Vancouver . In 1838,
6241-575: Was made in part because one of the settlers, George Washington Bush , was considered black and the Provisional Government of Oregon banned the residency of mulattoes but did not actively enforce the restriction north of the river. In 1853 Washington Territory was formed from part of Oregon Territory . In 1888 the Northern Pacific railroad line reached Puget Sound, linking the region to eastern states. Washington State
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