Further reading

• Jones, M.A. (1999). Geologic framework for the Puget Sound aquifer system, Washington and British Columbia (U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1424). Reston, VA: U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey.
• LeWarne, Charles P. (1995). Utopias on Puget Sound, 1885–1915. University of Washington Press. ISBN 9780295974446.
• Prosser, William Farrand (1903). A history of the Puget Sound country : its resources, its commerce and its people : with some reference to discoveries and explorations in North America from the time of Christopher Columbus down to that of George Vancouver in 1792, when the beauty, richness and vast commercial advantages of this region were first made known to the world. Lewis Pub. Co.Available online through the Washington State Library's Classics in Washington History collection

External links

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Puget Sound.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Puget Sound.

• University of Washington Libraries Digital Collections – Oliver S. Van Olinda Photographs A collection of 420 photographs depicting life on Vashon Island, Whidbey Island, Seattle, and other communities of Washington State's Puget Sound from the 1880s through the 1930s.
• Pacific Science Center: Geology of Puget Sound
• USGS:Puget Sound earthquake origins
• Life on Whidbey Island, the largest in Puget Sound
• Features of Puget Sound Region: Oceanography And Physical Processes, Chapter 3 of the State of the Nearshore Report, King County Department of Natural Resources, Seattle, Washington, 2001.

[show] v t e  State of Washington

[hide] v t e Lake Washington Ship Canal
Works	Ballard Locks Carl S. English Jr. Botanical Gardens Fremont Cut Montlake Cut
Landforms	Lake Washington Portage Bay Lake Union Salmon Bay Shilshole Bay Puget Sound
Crossings	University Link Tunnel Montlake Bridge University Bridge I-5 Ship Canal Bridge Aurora Bridge Fremont Bridge Ballard Bridge Locks Salmon Bay Bridge
People	Eugene Semple James A. Moore Hiram M. Chittenden James. B. Cavanaugh Reginald H. Thomson Bebb and Gould Charles Bebb Carl F. Gould
United States Army Corps of Engineers

Authority control	WorldCat Identities VIAF: 241512905 GND: 4217703-0 BNF: cb12224455j (data)

Categories:

• Puget Sound
• Estuaries of Washington (state)
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Prominent islands

43. Anderson Island Bainbridge Island Blake Island Camano Island Fidalgo Island Fox Island

    Guemes Island Harstine Island Herron Island Indian Island Marrowstone Island

    Maury Island McNeil Island Squaxin Island Vashon Island Whidbey Island

    See also

    • Back-arc basin
    • Fjords of Canada
    • Puget Sound AVA
    • Seattle Metropolitan Area

    References

    1. 
       
44. Lincoln, John H. "The Puget Sound Model Summary". Pacific Science Center. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
45. 
    
46. "Watershed Boundary Dataset". USDA, NRCS, National Cartography and Geospatial Center. Retrieved 6 September 2010. ArcExplorer GIS data viewer.
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48. "Basic Information about Estuaries". United States Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
49. 
    
50. "Saving the Sound". ecy.wa.gov. Washington State Department of Ecology. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
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52. Kruckeberg, Arthur R. (1991). The Natural History of Puget Sound Country. Seattle: University of Washington Press. pp. 61–64. ISBN 0-295-97477-X.
53. 
    
54. "Saving Puget Sound". Washington State Department of Ecology. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
55. 
    
56. Kruckeberg, Arthur R. (1991). The Natural History of Puget Sound Country. Seattle: University of Washington Press. pp. 427–428. ISBN 0-295-97477-X.
57. 
    
58. Bates, Dawn; Hess, Thom; Vi, Hilbert (1 January 1994). Lushootseed Dictionary. University of Washington Press. ISBN 9780295973234.
59. 
    
60. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Puget Sound
61. 
    
62. Environmental History and Features of Puget Sound, see also: Map of subareas of Puget Sound, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and National Marine Fisheries Service
63. 
    
64. Kruckeberg (1991), pp. 18–23.
65. 
    
66. Baum, Rex L.; Godt, Jonathan W.; Highland, Lynn (2008). Landslides and engineering geology of the Seattle, Washington, area. Volume 20 of Reviews in engineering geology. Geological Society of America. pp. 12–13. ISBN 978-0-8137-4120-8.
67. 
    
68. "Features of Puget Sound Region: Oceanography and P" (PDF). kingcounty.gov. Seattle: King County Department of Natural Resources. 2001. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
69. 
    
70. "Ancient seismic stresses at work in Puget Sound region" Cyberwest Magazine 9 June 2004
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72. Washington State Department of Ecology: "Puget Sound landslides"
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74. "Physiographic divisions of the conterminous U. S.". U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved 6 December 2007.
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76. "Puget Sound Basin NAWQA". USGS. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
77. 
    
78. "List Hydrologic Unit Codes (HUCs) – USGS Washington". USGS. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
79. 
    
80. Merriam-Webster, Richard (2000). Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Encyclopedia. Merriam-Webster. p. 808. ISBN 978-0-87779-017-4.
81. 
    
82. Manning, Richard (2001). Inside Passage: A Journey Beyond Borders. Island Press. p. 113. ISBN 978-1-55963-655-1.
83. 
    
84. "Eelgrass". Encyclopedia of Puget Sound. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
85. 
    
86. "Kelp". Encyclopedia of Puget Sound. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
87. 
    
88. "Harbor seals". Encyclopedia of Puget Sound. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
89. 
    
90. "Killer Whales". Encyclopedia of Puget Sound. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
91. 
    
92. "Salmonids". Encyclopedia of Puget Sound. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
93. 
    
94. "Puget Sound Shorelines: Salmon". Washington Department of Ecology. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
95. 
    
96. "Forage Fishes". Encyclopedia of Puget Sound. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
97. 
    
98. "Bentho-Pelagic Fish". Encyclopedia of Puget Sound. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
99. 
    
100. "Rockfish". Encyclopedia of Puget Sound. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
101. 
     
102. "Taxonomic List of Puget Sound Fishes". Burke Museum. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
103. 
     
104. Kruckeberg, Arthur R. (1995). The Natural History of Puget Sound Country. University of Washington Press. p. 79. ISBN 978-0-295-97477-4. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
105. 
     
106. "Dungeness Crabs". Encyclopedia of Puget Sound. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
107. 
     
108. "Bivalves". Encyclopedia of Puget Sound. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
109. 
     
110. "Marine birds". Encyclopedia of Puget Sound. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
111. 
     
112. "Bald eagles". Encyclopedia of Puget Sound. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
113. 
     
114. Hayes, Derek (1999). Historical atlas of the Pacific Northwest: maps of exploration and discovery : British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Yukon. Sasquatch Books. pp. 85–86. ISBN 978-1-57061-215-2. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
115. 
     
116. Mackie, Richard Somerset (1997). Trading beyond the mountains: the British fur trade on the Pacific, 1793–1843. UBC Press. p. 146. ISBN 978-0-7748-0613-8. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
117. 
     
118. "History of Fort Nisqually". Metro Parks Tacoma. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
119. 
     
120. Mackie, Richard Somerset (1997). Trading beyond the mountains: the British fur trade on the Pacific, 1793–1843. UBC Press. pp. 235–239. ISBN 978-0-7748-0613-8. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
121. 
     
122. "Tumwater History". City of Tumwater, WA. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
123. 
     
124. "Settlers met at Monticello to sign a petition asking Congress to create a separate territory north of the Columbia River". Washington Secretary of State. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
125. 
     
126. "First trains cross the Northern Pacific Railroad bridge spanning the Columbia River between Pasco and Kennewick on December 3, 1887". HistoryLink. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
127. 
     
"2007 Puget Sound Update: Ninth Report of the Puget Sound Ambient Monitoring Program". wdfw.wa.gov. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Retrieved 6 August 2014.

Transportation

Transportation

A unique state-run ferry system, the Washington State Ferries, connects the larger islands to the Washington mainland, as well as both sides of the sound, allowing people and cars to move about the greater Puget Sound region.

View northwest from the Space Needle, overlooking (left to right) Elliott Bay, Duwamish Head, Puget Sound, and Restoration Point.

Environmental issues

Main article: Environmental issues in Puget Sound

In the past 30 years there has been a large recession in the populations of the species which inhabit Puget Sound. The decrease has been seen in the populations of: forage fish, salmonids, bottom fish, marine birds, harbor porpoise and orcas. This decline is attributed to the various environmental issues in Puget Sound.^{[citation needed]} 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.^[43]
The causes of these environmental issues are toxic contamination, eutrophication (low oxygen due to excess nutrients), and near shore habitat changes.^[43]

History

George Vancouver explored Puget Sound in 1792. Vancouver claimed it for Great Britain on 4 June 1792, naming it for one of his officers, Lieutenant Peter Puget.^[36]
After 1818 Britain and 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.^[37]
The first European settlement in the Puget Sound area was Fort Nisqually, a fur trade post of the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) built in 1833.^[38] Fort Nisqually was part of the HBC's Columbia District, headquartered at Fort Vancouver. The Puget Sound Agricultural Company, a subsidiary of the HBC, established farms and ranches near Fort Nisqually. British ships such as the Beaver, exported foodstuffs and provisions from Fort Nisqually.^[39]
The first American settlement on Puget Sound was Tumwater. It was founded in 1845 by Americans who had come via the Oregon Trail. The decision to settle north of the Columbia River 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.^[40]
In 1853 Washington Territory was formed from part of Oregon Territory.^[41] In 1888 the Northern Pacific railroad line reached Puget Sound, linking the region to eastern states.^[42]

Flora and fauna

See also: List of fishes of the Salish Sea

Important marine flora of Puget Sound include eelgrass (Zostera marina)^[21] and kelp, especially bull kelp (Nereocystis luetkeana).^[22]

Sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka)

Steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Among the marine mammals species found in Puget Sound are harbor seals (Phoca vitulina).^[23] Orca (Orcinus orca) 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.^[24]
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).^[25][26]
Common forage fishes found in Puget Sound include Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii), surf smelt (Hypomesus pretiosus), and Pacific sand lance (Ammodytes hexapterus).^[27] Important benthopelagic fish of Puget Sound include North Pacific hake (Merluccius productus), Pacific cod (Gadus macrocelhalus), walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma), and the spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias).^[28] 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).^[29]
Many other fish species occur in Puget Sound, such as sturgeons, lampreys, various sharks, rays, and skates.^[30]
Puget Sound 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.^[31] Dungeness crabs (Metacarcinus magister) occur throughout Washington waters, including Puget Sound.^[32] 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, was depleted by human activities during the 20th century. There are ongoing efforts to restore Olympia oysters in Puget Sound.^[33]

Double-crested cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)

There are many seabird species of Puget Sound. Among these are grebes such as 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 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).^[34] Bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) occur in relative high densities in the Puget Sound region.^[35]
It is estimated^{[by whom?]} that more than 100 million geoducks (pronounced "gooey ducks") are packed into Puget Sound's sediments. Also known as "king clam", geoducks are considered to be a delicacy in Asian countries.

Hydrology

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) defines Puget Sound as 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.^[16]
Puget Sound is a large salt water estuary, or system of many estuaries, fed by highly seasonal freshwater from the Olympic and Cascade Mountain watersheds. The mean annual river discharge into Puget Sound is 41,000 cubic feet per second (1,200 m³/s), with a monthly average maximum of about 367,000 cubic feet per second (10,400 m³/s) and minimum of about 14,000 cubic feet per second (400 m³/s). Puget Sound's shoreline is 1,332 miles (2,144 km) long, encompassing a water area of 1,020 square miles (2,600 km²) and a total volume of 26.5 cubic miles (110 km³) 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 km³). The maximum tidal currents, in the range of 9 to 10 knots, occurs at Deception Pass.^[1]

Evening on Puget Sound by Edward S. Curtis, 1913

The size of Puget Sound's watershed is 12,138 sq mi (31,440 km²).^[2] "Northern Puget Sound" is frequently considered part of the Puget Sound watershed, which enlarges its size to 13,700 sq mi (35,000 km²).^[17] 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.^[18] Significant rivers that drain to "Northern Puget Sound" include 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 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.^[1]
Puget Sound is generally accepted as the start of the Inside Passage.^[19][20]