View source for Puget Sound

{{Short description|Sound in Washington, United States}}
{{about|the body of water|the geographical region|Puget Sound region|the university with this name|University of Puget Sound}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Use American English|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox body of water
| name               = Puget Sound
| native_name        =
| other_name         = {{native name|lut|'''x̌ʷəlč'''}}<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0" />
| image              = Puget Sound by Sentinel-2, 2018-09-28 (small version).jpg
| alt                = Refer to caption
| caption            = Satellite view of Puget Sound and surrounding waterways, taken by [[Sentinel-2]] in September 2018
| image_bathymetry   = Map pugetsound with border.png
| alt_bathymetry     =
| caption_bathymetry = <!--    Stats      -->
| location           = Puget Sound Lowlands, [[Washington (state)|Washington]], U.S.
| group              =
| coordinates        = {{coord|47.6|N|122.4|W|scale:1000000|display=inline,title}}
| type               =
| etymology          = [[Peter Puget]]
| part_of            = [[Salish Sea]]
| inflow             = [[Deschutes River (Washington)|Deschutes River]], [[Nisqually River]], [[Puyallup River]], [[Duwamish River]], [[Cedar River (Washington)|Cedar River]], [[Snohomish River]], [[Stillaguamish River]], [[Skagit River]]
| rivers             =
| outflow            = [[Admiralty Inlet]], [[Deception Pass]]<br>avg: {{convert|41000|cuft/s|m3/s|abbr=on}}<ref name=pacsci/><br>max: {{convert|367000|cuft/s|m3/s|abbr=on}}<br>min: {{convert|14000|cuft/s|m3/s|abbr=on}}
| oceans             =
| catchment          = {{convert|12138|mi2|km2|abbr=on}}<ref name=WBD/>
| basin_countries    =
| agency             =
| designation        =
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| engineer           =
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| length             = {{convert|100|mi|km|abbr=on}}
| width              = {{convert|10|mi|km|abbr=on}}
| area               = {{convert|1020|mi2|km2|abbr=on}}<ref name=pacsci/>
| depth              = {{convert|450|ft|m|abbr=on}}
| max-depth          = {{convert|930|ft|m|abbr=on}}<ref name=pacsci/>
| volume             = {{convert|26.5|mi3|km3|abbr=on}}<ref name=pacsci/>
| residence_time     =
| salinity           =
| shore              = <!-- {{convert|VALUE|UNITS}} must be used -->
| elevation          = <!-- {{convert|VALUE|UNITS}} must be used -->
| temperature_high   = <!-- {{convert|VALUE|UNITS}} must be used -->
| temperature_low    = <!-- {{convert|VALUE|UNITS}} must be used -->
| frozen             =
| islands            =
| islands_category   =
| sections           =
| trenches           =
| benches            =
| cities             = [[Seattle]], [[Tacoma, Washington|Tacoma]], [[Olympia, Washington|Olympia]], [[Everett, Washington|Everett]], [[Bremerton, Washington|Bremerton]]

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'''Puget Sound''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|juː|dʒ|ɪ|t}} {{respell|PEW|jit}}; {{Langx|lut|x̌ʷəlč}} {{IPA|lut|ˈχʷəlt͡ʃ|ipa|}} {{respell|WHULCH}})<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Zalmai |first=Zahir |url=https://www.puyalluptriballanguage.org/resources/GibbsFinal4.pdf |title=A Lushootseed Analysis of a 1877 Dictionary by George Gibbs |publisher=Zahir Consulting Services |year=2009 |pages=218}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> is a complex [[estuary|estuarine]]<ref name=epaest>{{cite web |title= Basic Information about Estuaries |publisher= [[United States Environmental Protection Agency]] |access-date= August 6, 2014 |url= http://water.epa.gov/type/oceb/nep/about.cfm |archive-date= November 29, 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121129162908/http://water.epa.gov/type/oceb/nep/about.cfm |url-status= dead }}</ref> system of interconnected [[Marine habitat|marine]] waterways and basins located on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of [[Washington (state)|Washington]]. As a part of the [[Salish Sea]], the [[sound (geography)|sound]] has one major and two minor connections to 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 {{convert|100|mi|km}} from Deception Pass in the north to [[Olympia, Washington|Olympia]] in the south. Its average depth is {{convert|450|ft|m}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Saving the Sound|url=http://www.ecy.wa.gov/puget_sound/overview.html |publisher=Washington State Department of Ecology|access-date=August 6, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808123447/http://www.ecy.wa.gov/puget_sound/overview.html|archive-date=August 8, 2014}}</ref> and its maximum depth, off Jefferson Point between [[Indianola, Washington|Indianola]] and [[Kingston, Washington|Kingston]], is {{convert|930|ft|m}}. The depth of the main basin, between the southern tip of [[Whidbey Island]] and [[Tacoma, Washington|Tacoma]], is approximately {{convert|600|ft|m}}.<ref name=pacsci/>

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 the north, such as [[Bellingham Bay]] and the [[San Juan Islands]] region.<ref name="Kruckeberg-1991-pp61-64">{{harvnb |Kruckeberg |1991 |pp=[{{GBurl |id=yqtVmRNdHWwC |pg=PA61}} 61–64]}}</ref>

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, Washington|Tacoma]], [[Olympia, Washington|Olympia]], and [[Everett, Washington|Everett]]. Puget Sound is also the second-largest [[estuary]] in the United States, after [[Chesapeake Bay]] in [[Maryland]] and [[Virginia]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Saving Puget Sound |url=http://www.ecy.wa.gov/puget_sound/overview.html |publisher=[[Washington State Department of Ecology]] |access-date=June 15, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160622123036/http://www.ecy.wa.gov/puget_sound/overview.html |archive-date=June 22, 2016 }}</ref>

==Names==
In 1792, [[George Vancouver]] gave 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.<ref name="Kruckeberg-1991-pp427–428">{{harvnb |Kruckeberg |1991 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/naturalhistoryof0000kruc/page/426/mode/2up 427]–[https://archive.org/details/naturalhistoryof0000kruc/page/428/mode/2up 428]}}</ref>

An alternative term for Puget Sound, used by a number of Native Americans and environmental groups, is Whulge (or Whulj), an [[Anglicisation (linguistics)|anglicization]] of the [[Lushootseed]] name for Puget Sound, {{Langx|lut|x̌ʷəlč|label=none}}, which literally means "sea, salt water, ocean, or sound". The name for the Lushootseed language, {{Langx|lut|dxʷləšucid|label=none}}, is derived from the root word {{Langx|lut|√ləš|label=none}}, an alternative name for Puget Sound.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last1=Bates |first1=Dawn |url= |title=Lushootseed Dictionary |last2=Hess |first2=Thom |last3=Vi |first3=Hilbert |date=January 1, 1994 |publisher=University of Washington Press |isbn=9780295973234 |location=Seattle |language=en |access-date= }}</ref>

==Definitions==
The [[United States Geological Survey|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 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]].<ref>{{Cite GNIS|1507653|Puget Sound}}</ref> 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, the waters of the [[San Juan Islands]] or anything farther north.

Another definition, given by [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|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 the west by a line running north from the mouth of the [[Sekiu River]] on the Olympic Peninsula.<ref>[http://www.nwfsc.noaa.gov/publications/techmemos/tm44/environment.htm Environmental History and Features of Puget Sound] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090513125424/http://www.nwfsc.noaa.gov/publications/techmemos/tm44/environment.htm |date=May 13, 2009 }}, see also: [http://www.nwfsc.noaa.gov/publications/techmemos/tm44/fig4.htm Map of subareas of Puget Sound] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090513201732/http://www.nwfsc.noaa.gov/publications/techmemos/tm44/fig4.htm |date=May 13, 2009 }}, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and National Marine Fisheries Service</ref> 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 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".<ref name="Kruckeberg-1991-pp61-64" /> 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.

== Geology ==
[[Image:Mt Rainier distant-600px.jpg|right|270px|thumb|Snow-capped peaks are a backdrop to many Puget Sound scenes; here [[Mount Rainier]] is seen from [[Gig Harbor]].]]

Continental [[ice sheet]]s have repeatedly advanced and retreated from the Puget Sound region. The most recent [[glacial period]], called the [[Last Glacial Period#Pinedale or Fraser glaciation (Rocky Mountains)|Fraser Glaciation]], had three phases, or [[Stadial|stades]]. During the third, or [[Vashon Glaciation]], a lobe of the [[Cordilleran ice sheet|Cordilleran Ice Sheet]], called the Puget Lobe, spread south about 15,000 years ago, covering the Puget Sound region with an ice sheet about {{convert|3000|ft|m}} thick near [[Seattle]], and nearly {{convert|6000|ft|m}} at 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, Washington|Olympia]] to near [[Tenino, Washington|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 the Canada–US border.<ref name=kruckeberg18-23>{{harvnb |Kruckeberg |1991 |pp=[{{GBurl |id=yqtVmRNdHWwC |pg=PA18}} 18–23]}}</ref>

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 lake]]s), [[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 the landscape from melt water of the Vashon Glacier creating the drumlin field. As the ice retreated, vast amounts of [[Till|glacial till]] were deposited throughout the Puget Sound region.<ref name=kruckeberg18-23/> 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 lake]]s formed, filling the main trough of Puget Sound and inundating 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 (Washington)|Black Hills]], where it drained south into the [[Chehalis River (Washington)|Chehalis River]].<ref name=baum12-13>{{cite book |last1= Baum |first1= Rex L. |last2= Godt |first2= Jonathan W. |last3= Highland |first3= Lynn |title= Landslides and engineering geology of the Seattle, Washington, area |series= Volume 20 of Reviews in engineering geology |year= 2008 |publisher= Geological Society of America |isbn= 978-0-8137-4120-8 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=neA6HWzDUVQC&pg=PA12 |pages= 12–13 |access-date= May 7, 2016 |archive-date= September 2, 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160902235434/https://books.google.com/books?id=neA6HWzDUVQC&pg=PA12 |url-status= live }}</ref> 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 the {{ill|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.<ref name=baum12-13/>

As icebergs [[Ice calving|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 the Sound display [[glacial erratic]]s, 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, 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 {{convert|120|ft|m}} above sea level.
[[File:Seattle seen from Ferry on Puget Sound.jpg|thumb|The [[Downtown Seattle]] skyline, seen from a state ferry on [[Elliott Bay]]]]

{{anchor|Basins and sills}}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 Puget Sound|South Sound]], south of the [[Tacoma Narrows]], and the [[Main Basin]], which is further subdivided into [[Admiralty Inlet]] and the Central Basin.<ref name=sotn>{{cite web|title=Features of Puget Sound Region: Oceanography and P|url=http://your.kingcounty.gov/dnrp/library/2001/kcr762/PDFELEMENTS/SONR03.pdf|publisher=King County Department of Natural Resources|access-date=August 6, 2014|location=Seattle|year=2001|archive-date=December 22, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141222091921/http://your.kingcounty.gov/dnrp/library/2001/kcr762/PDFELEMENTS/SONR03.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> 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, the one at the entrance to Hood Canal (about {{convert|175|ft|m|disp=or|abbr=on}} below the surface), and the one at the Tacoma Narrows (about {{convert|145|ft|m|disp=or|abbr=on}}). Other sills that present less of a barrier include the ones at [[Blake Island]], [[Agate Pass]], [[Rich Passage]], and [[Hammersley Inlet]].<ref name="Kruckeberg-1991-pp61-64" />

The depth of the basins is a result of the Sound being part of the [[Cascadia subduction zone]], where the [[terrane]]s accreted at the edge of the [[Juan de Fuca Plate]] are being [[subduction|subducted]] under the [[North American Plate]]. There has not been a [[megathrust earthquake|major subduction zone earthquake]] here since the [[moment magnitude scale|magnitude]] nine [[1700 Cascadia earthquake|Cascadia earthquake]]; according to [[Japan]]ese records, it occurred on January 26, 1700. Lesser Puget Sound [[earthquake]]s with shallow [[epicenter]]s, caused by the fracturing of stressed oceanic rocks as they are subducted, still cause great damage. The [[Seattle Fault]] cuts across Puget Sound, crossing the southern tip of [[Bainbridge Island]] and under [[Elliott Bay]].<!-- And if this source -- not a RS! -- says otherwise, it's wrong.  See refs at 'Seattle Fault'. --><ref>{{Cite news |date=June 1, 2004 |title=Folds at surface show ancient seismic stresses still at work in Washington |author-first1=Vince|author-last1=Stricherz|url=https://www.washington.edu/news/2004/06/01/folds-at-surface-show-ancient-seismic-stresses-still-at-work-in-washington/ |publisher=University of Washington |accessdate=March 26, 2024}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=March 2024}} 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/sea/landslides/about/geology.html|title=Puget Sound landslides|publisher=Washington State Department of Ecology|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060816083102/http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/sea/landslides/about/geology.html|archive-date=August 16, 2006}}</ref>

==Hydrology==
[[Image:Low tide on Whidbey Island.JPG|right|thumb|260px|Low tide on Whidbey Island]]
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 regions of the world|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 Coast Ranges|Pacific Mountain System]].<ref name="USGS-Water">{{cite web | title = Physiographic divisions of the conterminous U. S. | publisher = U.S. Geological Survey | url = https://water.usgs.gov/GIS/metadata/usgswrd/XML/physio.xml | access-date = December 6, 2007 | archive-date = December 5, 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071205095639/http://water.usgs.gov/GIS/metadata/usgswrd/XML/physio.xml | url-status = live }}</ref>

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 (hydrology)|discharge]] into Puget Sound is {{convert|41000|cuft/s|m3/s}}, with a monthly average maximum of about {{convert|367000|cuft/s|m3/s}} and minimum of about {{convert|14000|cuft/s|m3/s}}. Puget Sound's shoreline is {{convert|1332|mi|km}} long, encompassing a water area of {{convert|1020|sqmi|km2}} and a total volume of {{convert|26.5|mi3|km3}} at mean high water. The average volume of water flowing in and out of Puget Sound during each tide is {{convert|1.26|mi3|km3}}. The maximum tidal currents, in the range of 9 to 10 [[Knot (unit)|knots]], occurs at Deception Pass.<ref name=pacsci/> 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.<ref name=pacsci>{{cite web |title= The Puget Sound Model Summary |last= Lincoln |first= John H. |publisher= [[Pacific Science Center]] |access-date= August 6, 2014 |url= http://exhibits.pacsci.org/puget_sound/PSSummary.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150310034800/http://exhibits.pacsci.org/Puget_Sound/PSSummary.html |archive-date= March 10, 2015 |url-status= dead |df= dmy-all }}</ref>[[Image:Edward S. Curtis Collection People 047.jpg|thumb|left|Evening on Puget Sound by [[Edward S. Curtis]], 1913]]

The size of Puget Sound's [[drainage basin|watershed]] is {{convert|12138|sqmi|km2|abbr=on}}.<ref name="WBD">{{cite web|title=Watershed Boundary Dataset|publisher=[[United States Department of Agriculture|USDA]], [[Natural Resources Conservation Service|NRCS]], National Cartography and Geospatial Center|url=https://catalog.data.gov/dataset/watershed-boundary-dataset-wbd-usgs-national-map-downloadable-data-collection|access-date=September 6, 2010|archive-date=October 8, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101008015459/http://www.ncgc.nrcs.usda.gov/products/datasets/watershed/|url-status=live}} [[ArcExplorer]] [[Geographic information system|GIS]] data viewer.</ref> "Northern Puget Sound" is frequently considered part of the Puget Sound watershed, which enlarges its size to {{convert|13700|sqmi|km2|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://wa.water.usgs.gov/projects/pugt/ |title= Puget Sound Basin NAWQA |publisher= [[USGS]] |access-date= August 6, 2014 |archive-date= June 7, 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140607010934/http://wa.water.usgs.gov/projects/pugt/ |url-status= live }}</ref> The [[USGS]] uses the name "Puget Sound" for its [[hydrological code|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]].<ref>{{cite web |url= https://wa.water.usgs.gov/data/wuse/huc.names.txt |title= List Hydrologic Unit Codes (HUCs) – USGS Washington |publisher= [[USGS]] |access-date= August 6, 2014 |archive-date= June 7, 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140607005745/http://wa.water.usgs.gov/data/wuse/huc.names.txt |url-status= live }}</ref> Significant rivers that drain to "Northern Puget Sound" include the [[Nooksack River|Nooksack]], [[Dungeness River|Dungeness]], and [[Elwha River]]s. 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.

[[Tide]]s 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 {{convert|8.3|ft|m}} at [[Port Townsend, Washington|Port Townsend]] on Admiralty Inlet, but increases to about {{convert|14.4|ft|m}} at Olympia, the southern end of Puget Sound.<ref name=pacsci/>

Puget Sound is generally accepted as the start of the [[Inside Passage]].<ref>{{cite book |last= Merriam-Webster |first= Richard |title= Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Encyclopedia |publisher= Merriam-Webster |year= 2000 |isbn= 978-0-87779-017-4 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=V2d12iZkgOwC |page= 808 |access-date= May 7, 2016 |archive-date= March 17, 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160317025746/https://books.google.com/books?id=V2d12iZkgOwC |url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last= Manning |first= Richard |title= Inside Passage: A Journey Beyond Borders |publisher= Island Press |year= 2001 |isbn= 978-1-55963-655-1 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=D7OULK95PfcC |page= 113 |access-date= May 7, 2016 |archive-date= September 2, 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160902155822/https://books.google.com/books?id=D7OULK95PfcC |url-status= live }}</ref>

==Flora and fauna==
{{see also|List of fishes of the Salish Sea}}
Important marine flora of Puget Sound include eelgrass (''[[Zostera marina]]'')<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.eopugetsound.org/science-review/1-eelgrass |title= Eelgrass |publisher= Encyclopedia of Puget Sound |access-date= August 6, 2014 |archive-date= October 26, 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141026080701/http://www.eopugetsound.org/science-review/1-eelgrass |url-status= live }}</ref> and various [[kelp]], important kelps include canopy forming bull kelp (''[[Nereocystis luetkeana]]'').<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.eopugetsound.org/science-review/2-kelp |title= Kelp |publisher= Encyclopedia of Puget Sound |access-date= August 6, 2014 |archive-date= October 26, 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141026135722/http://www.eopugetsound.org/science-review/2-kelp |url-status= live }}</ref> and edible kelps like kombu (''[[Saccharina latissima]])<ref>{{cite web |title=Sugar Kelp, Kombu, Sugar Wrack – Seaweeds of the Pacific Northwest |url=https://seaweedsofpnw.com/sugar-kelp-kombu-sugar-wrack/ |website=Seaweeds of the Pacific Northwest |date=September 30, 2018 |access-date=February 7, 2022}}</ref>
[[File:Harbor Seal (Phoca Vitulina) in Puget Sound Washington 3.jpg|thumb|198x198px|A harbor seal along the coast of the Puget Sound]]
Among the marine mammals species found in Puget Sound are [[harbor seal]]s (''Phoca vitulina'').<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.eopugetsound.org/science-review/11-harbor-seals |title= Harbor seals |publisher= Encyclopedia of Puget Sound |access-date= August 6, 2014 |archive-date= October 26, 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141026064646/http://www.eopugetsound.org/science-review/11-harbor-seals |url-status= live }}</ref> [[Southern resident orcas|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.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.eopugetsound.org/science-review/12-killer-whales |title= Killer Whales |publisher= Encyclopedia of Puget Sound |access-date= August 6, 2014 |archive-date= October 26, 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141026065418/http://www.eopugetsound.org/science-review/12-killer-whales |url-status= live }}</ref>

Many fish species occur in Puget Sound. The various [[Salmonidae|salmonid]] species, including [[Puget Sound salmon recovery|salmon]], [[trout]], and [[Salvelinus|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''), [[Rainbow trout|steelhead]] (''O. mykiss irideus''), sea-run [[bull trout]] (''Salvelinus confluentus''), and [[Dolly Varden trout]] (''Salvelinus malma malma'').<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.eopugetsound.org/science-review/8-salmonids |title= Salmonids |publisher= Encyclopedia of Puget Sound |access-date= August 6, 2014 |archive-date= October 26, 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141026064658/http://www.eopugetsound.org/science-review/8-salmonids |url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/sea/pugetsound/species/salmon.html |title= Puget Sound Shorelines: Salmon |publisher= Washington Department of Ecology |access-date= August 6, 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141113053309/http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/sea/pugetsound/species/salmon.html |archive-date= November 13, 2014 |url-status= dead |df= dmy-all }}</ref>

[[File:Oncorhynchus nerka.jpg|right|thumb|200px|[[Sockeye salmon]] (''Oncorhynchus nerka'') with spawning colors]]
[[File:Lake Washington Ship Canal Fish Ladder pamphlet - ocean phase Steelhead.jpg|right|thumb|200px|[[Rainbow trout|Steelhead trout]] (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'')]]Common [[forage fish]]es found in Puget Sound include [[Pacific herring]] (''Clupea pallasii''), [[Hypomesus pretiosus|surf smelt]] (''Hypomesus pretiosus''), and Pacific [[sand lance]] (''Ammodytes hexapterus'').<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.eopugetsound.org/science-review/5-forage-fishes |title= Forage Fishes |publisher= Encyclopedia of Puget Sound |access-date= August 6, 2014 |archive-date= August 8, 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140808055638/http://www.eopugetsound.org/science-review/5-forage-fishes |url-status= live }}</ref> Important [[benthopelagic fish]] of Puget Sound include [[North Pacific hake]] (''Merluccius productus''), [[Pacific cod]] (''Gadus macrocephalus''), [[Alaska pollock|walleye/Alaska pollock]] (''Theragra chalcogramma''), and the [[spiny dogfish]] (''Squalus acanthias'').<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.eopugetsound.org/science-review/6-bentho-pelagic-fish |title= Bentho-Pelagic Fish |publisher= Encyclopedia of Puget Sound |access-date= August 6, 2014 |archive-date= October 26, 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141026065042/http://www.eopugetsound.org/science-review/6-bentho-pelagic-fish |url-status= live }}</ref> Lots of other notable groundfish exist in Puget Sound, such the [[lingcod]] (''Ophiodon elongatus'') and other [[Hexagrammidae|greenlings]], [[Cabezon (fish)|cabezon]] (''Scorpaenichthys marmoratus'') and other [[sculpin]]s'','' and the [[Pacific halibut]] (''Hippoglossus stenolepis'') along with other [[flatfish]] such as the [[California halibut]] (''Paralichthys californicus'',) [[Sole (fish)|soles]], and [[Citharichthys|sanddabs]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cat |date=2023-08-24 |title=Puget Sound Fishing: The Complete Guide for 2025 |url=https://fishingbooker.com/blog/puget-sound-fishing/ |access-date=2025-04-17 |website=FishingBooker Blog |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":2" />

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'').<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.eopugetsound.org/science-review/7-rockfish |title= Rockfish |publisher= Encyclopedia of Puget Sound |access-date= August 6, 2014 |archive-date= October 26, 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141026065105/http://www.eopugetsound.org/science-review/7-rockfish |url-status= live }}</ref> Interestingly, hybridization has occurred between some of these rockfish, in the case of between the quillback, copper, and [[Brown rockfish|brown]] (''S.'' ''auriculatus.'')<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rockfish hybrids {{!}} Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife |url=https://wdfw.wa.gov/species-habitats/species/rockfish-hybrids |access-date=2025-04-17 |website=wdfw.wa.gov |language=en}}</ref> Some rockfish, like the bocaccio and [[Sebastes miniatus|vermillion]] (''S. miniatus,'') have a [[distinct population segment]] in the sound, which are at risk of [[overfishing]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fisheries |first=NOAA |date=2025-03-25 |title=Bocaccio (Protected) {{!}} NOAA Fisheries |url=https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/bocaccio-protected |access-date=2025-04-17 |website=NOAA |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Vermilion rockfish {{!}} Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife |url=https://wdfw.wa.gov/species-habitats/species/sebastes-miniatus#state-record |access-date=2025-04-17 |website=wdfw.wa.gov |language=en}}</ref>

Many other fish species occur in Puget Sound, such as [[sturgeon]]s, [[lamprey]]s, and various cartilaginous like fish [[shark]]s, [[Chimaera|chimeras]], [[Batoidea|rays]], and [[Skate (fish)|skates]].<ref name=":2">{{cite web |url= http://www.burkemuseum.org/static/FishKey/ |title= Taxonomic List of Puget Sound Fishes |publisher= Burke Museum |access-date= August 6, 2014 |archive-date= July 15, 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140715200518/http://www.burkemuseum.org/static/FishKey/ |url-status= live }}</ref>
[[File:February 2, 2012 Wolf Eel (really a fish!) in Puget Sound (6842178290).jpg|left|thumb|185x185px|A [[wolf eel]] (''Anarrhichthys ocellatus'') in Puget Sound ]]
Puget Sound is home to numerous species of marine [[invertebrate]]s, including [[sponge]]s, [[sea anemone]]s, [[chiton]]s, [[clam]]s, [[sea snail]]s, [[limpet]]s, [[crab]]s, [[barnacle]]s, [[starfish]], [[sea urchin]]s, and [[sand dollar]]s.<ref name="Kruckeberg-1991-p79">{{harvnb |Kruckeberg |1991 |p=[https://archive.org/details/naturalhistoryof0000kruc/page/78/mode/2up 79]}}</ref> [[Dungeness Crab in Puget Sound|Dungeness crabs]] (''Metacarcinus magister'') occur throughout Washington waters, including Puget Sound.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.eopugetsound.org/science-review/3-dungeness-crabs |title= Dungeness Crabs |publisher= Encyclopedia of Puget Sound |access-date= August 6, 2014 |archive-date= August 8, 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140808055728/http://www.eopugetsound.org/science-review/3-dungeness-crabs |url-status= live }}</ref> Many [[bivalve]]s occur in Puget Sound, such as [[Pacific oyster]]s (''Crassostrea gigas'') and [[geoduck]] clams (''Panopea generosa''). The [[Ostrea lurida|Olympia oyster]] (''Ostrea lurida''), 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.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.eopugetsound.org/science-review/1-bivalves |title= Bivalves |publisher= Encyclopedia of Puget Sound |access-date= August 6, 2014 |archive-date= October 26, 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141026065117/http://www.eopugetsound.org/science-review/1-bivalves |url-status= live }}</ref>

In 1967, an initial scuba survey estimated that were "about 110 million pounds of geoducks" (pronounced "gooey ducks") situated in Puget Sound's sediments.<ref name="Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife">{{cite web |title=Commercial wild stock geoduck clam fishery |publisher=Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife |url=https://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/commercial/geoduck#history-fishery |at=History of the fishery |access-date=March 13, 2024}}</ref> Also known as "king clam," geoducks are considered to be a delicacy in Asian countries.

There are many [[seabird]] species in Puget Sound. Among these are [[grebe]]s such as the [[western grebe]] (''Aechmophorus occidentalis''); [[loon]]s such as the [[common loon]] (''Gavia immer''); [[auk]]s 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''); [[Merginae|sea ducks]] such as the [[long-tailed duck]] (''Clangula hyemalis''), [[harlequin duck]] (''Histrionicus histrionicus''), and [[surf scoter]] (''Melanitta perspicillata''); and [[cormorant]]s such as the [[double-crested cormorant]] (''Phalacrocorax auritus''). Puget Sound is home to a non-migratory and marine-oriented subspecies of [[great blue heron]]s (''Ardea herodias fannini'').<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.eopugetsound.org/science-review/9-marine-birds |title= Marine birds |publisher= Encyclopedia of Puget Sound |access-date= August 6, 2014 |archive-date= October 26, 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141026053728/http://www.eopugetsound.org/science-review/9-marine-birds |url-status= live }}</ref> [[Bald eagle]]s (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') occur in relative high densities in the Puget Sound region.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.eopugetsound.org/science-review/10-bald-eagles |title= Bald eagles |publisher= Encyclopedia of Puget Sound |access-date= August 6, 2014 |archive-date= October 26, 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141026053411/http://www.eopugetsound.org/science-review/10-bald-eagles |url-status= live }}</ref>

==History==
[[Image:1867 U.S. Coast Survey Chart or Map of Puget Sound, Washington - Geographicus - PugetSound-uscs-1867.jpg|thumb|left|upright|U.S. Coast Survey nautical chart of Puget Sound, Washington Territory, 1867]]

Puget Sound has been home to many Indigenous peoples, such as the [[List of Lushootseed-speaking peoples|Lushootseed-speaking peoples]], as well as the [[Twana]], [[Chimakum]], and [[Klallam]], for millennia. The earliest known presence of Indigenous inhabitants in the Puget Sound region is between 14,000 BCE to 6,000 BCE.<ref name="Kopperl Taylor Miss Ames 2015 pp. 116–120">{{cite journal |last1=Kopperl |first1=Robert E. |last2=Taylor |first2=Amanda K. |last3=Miss |first3=Christian J. |last4=Ames |first4=Kenneth M. |last5=Hodges |first5=Charles M. |title=The Bear Creek Site (45KI839), a Late Pleistocene–Holocene Transition Occupation in the Puget Sound Lowland, King County, Washington |journal=PaleoAmerica |volume=1 |issue=1 |date=2015 |issn=2055-5563 |doi=10.1179/2055556314Z.0000000004 |pages=116–120}}</ref>
{{Location map |USA |width=230 |float=right|relief=1 |caption=Puget Sound's location in the U.S. |lon_dir=W |lat_dir=N |lat_deg=47.6 |lon_deg=122.4 }}

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 [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]] on June 4 the same year, naming it for one of his officers, [[Peter Puget|Lieutenant Peter Puget]]. He further named the entire region; ''New Georgia'', after King [[George III]].<ref name="Washington State Archives 2022">{{cite web |title=Territorial Timeline: While searching for the Northwest Passage, Captain George Vancouver explores Puget Sound and names the bordering land New Georgia |website=Washington State Archives |date=July 6, 2022 |url=https://www.sos.wa.gov/archives/timeline/detail.aspx?id=16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230415162753/https://www.sos.wa.gov/archives/timeline/detail.aspx?id=16 |archive-date=April 15, 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Hayes 1999 pp. 85–86">{{cite book |last=Hayes |first=Derek |chapter=Vancouver on the Northwest Coast |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/historicalatlaso0000haye_i1k9/page/84/mode/2up |chapter-url-access=registration |title=Historical atlas of the Pacific Northwest: maps of exploration and discovery: British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Yukon |url=https://archive.org/details/historicalatlaso0000haye_i1k9 |url-access=subscription |via=Internet Archive |publisher=Sasquatch Books |publication-place=Seattle |year=1999 |isbn=978-1-57061-215-2 |oclc=40813256 |page=[https://archive.org/details/historicalatlaso0000haye_i1k9/page/84/mode/2up 85]–[https://archive.org/details/historicalatlaso0000haye_i1k9/page/86/mode/2up 86]}}</ref>
After 1818 Britain and the United States, which both claimed the [[Oregon Country]], agreed to "joint occupancy", deferring resolution of the [[Oregon boundary dispute]]. The [[Puget Sound Agricultural Company]] was formed 
by HBC to encourage settlement. Pursuant to the 1846 [[Oregon Treaty]]; Puget Sound which was part of the disputed region became US territory.

American [[maritime fur trade]]rs visited Puget Sound in the early 19th century.<ref name="Mackie 1997 p. 146">{{harvnb |Mackie |1997 |pp=[{{GBurl|id=VKXgJw6K088C|pg=PA146 146]}}{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131211113334/http://books.google.com/books?id=VKXgJw6K088C&pg=PA146 |date=December 11, 2013}}}}</ref>

An [[Hudson's Bay Company]] expedition led by [[James McMillan (fur trader)|James McMillan]] in late 1824 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.<ref name="Williams 2020">{{cite web |last=Williams |first=David B. |author-link=David Williams (natural history writer) |title=Hudson's Bay Company builds Fort Nisqually in spring 1833. |work=HistoryLink |url=https://www.historylink.org/file/20999 |id=Essay 20999 |date=March 19, 2020 |access-date=March 21, 2024}}</ref>

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.<ref name="Metro Parks Tacoma Fort Nisqually">{{cite web |url= http://www.metroparkstacoma.org/history-fort-nisqually/ |title= History of Fort Nisqually |publisher= Metro Parks Tacoma |access-date= August 6, 2014 |archive-date= August 10, 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140810044114/http://www.metroparkstacoma.org/history-fort-nisqually/ |url-status=deviated}}</ref> [[Fort Nisqually]] was part of the HBC's [[Columbia District]], headquartered at [[Fort Vancouver]]. In 1838, 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.<ref name="Galbraith 1954 pp. 234–259">{{cite journal |last=Galbraith |first=John S. |author-link=John Semple Galbraith |title=The Early History of the Puget's Sound Agricultural Company, 1838-43 |journal=Oregon Historical Quarterly |publisher=Oregon Historical Society |volume=55 |issue=3 |date=September 1954 |issn=0030-4727 |jstor=20612147 |pages=234–259 |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/20612147 |archive-date=June 4, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210604132935/https://www.jstor.org/stable/20612147 |url-status=live }}</ref> Missionaries J.P. Richmond and W.H. Wilson were attending Fort Nisqually for two years by 1840.<ref name="Meany 1916 pp. 136–143">{{cite journal |last=Meany |first=Edmond S. |author-link=Edmond S. Meany |title=First American Settlement on Puget Sound |journal=The Washington Historical Quarterly |publisher=University of Washington |volume=7 |issue=2 |date=April 1916 |issn=0361-6223 |jstor=40474609 |pages=136–143 |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/40474609 |archive-date=August 15, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200815160958/https://www.jstor.org/stable/40474609 |url-status=live }}</ref> British ships, such as the ''[[Beaver (steamship)|Beaver]]'', exported foodstuffs and provisions from Fort Nisqually, and would eventually export Puget Sound lumber, an industry that would soon outpace the dominant fur trading market and drive the early Puget Sound economy.{{sfn|Mackie |1997 |pp=235–239}}<ref name="Buchanan 1936 pp. 34–53">{{cite journal |last=Buchanan |first=Iva L. |title=Lumbering and Logging in the Puget Sound Region in Territorial Days |journal=The Pacific Northwest Quarterly |publisher=University of Washington |volume=27 |issue=1 |date=January 1936 |issn=0030-8803 |jstor=20698094 |pages=34–53 |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/20698094 |archive-date=June 4, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210604132920/https://www.jstor.org/stable/20698094 |url-status=live }}</ref>

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, Washington|Tumwater]], 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 people|black]] and the [[Provisional Government of Oregon]] banned the residency of mulattoes but did not actively enforce the restriction north of the river.<ref name="ci.tumwater.wa.us 2014">{{cite web |title=City of Tumwater, WA: History |publisher=City of Tumwater, WA |date=June 21, 2014 |url=http://www.ci.tumwater.wa.us/about-tumwater/history |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140821200944/http://www.ci.tumwater.wa.us/about-tumwater/history |archive-date=August 21, 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
In 1853 [[Washington Territory]] was formed from part of [[Oregon Territory]].<ref name="WA Secretary of State: Settlers met at Monticello">{{cite web |title=Settlers met at Monticello to sign a petition asking Congress to create a separate territory north of the Columbia River |website=Washington State Archives |publisher=Washington Secretary of State |url=http://www.sos.wa.gov/history/Timeline/detail.aspx?id=214 |access-date=March 23, 2024 |archive-date=December 24, 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131224105517/http://www.sos.wa.gov/history/Timeline/detail.aspx?id=214 |url-status= live}}</ref> In 1888 the [[Northern Pacific Railway|Northern Pacific]] railroad line reached Puget Sound, linking the region to eastern states.<ref name="Oldham 2003">{{cite web |last=Oldham |first=Kit |title=First trains cross the Northern Pacific Railroad bridge spanning the Columbia River between Pasco and Kennewick on December 3, 1887 |work=HistoryLink |date=March 5, 2003|url=https://www.historylink.org/File/5365 |id=Essay 5365 |access-date=March 23, 2024 |archive-date=August 8, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808054555/http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=5365 |url-status= live}}</ref> Washington State was admitted to the union in 1889 as part of the [[Enabling Act of 1889|Enabling Act]], and the regions borders have since remained unchanged.<ref name="Utter Spitzer 2013 p. 252">{{cite book |last1=Utter |first1=Robert F. |author-link=Robert F. Utter |last2=Spitzer |first2=Hugh D. |title=The Washington State Constitution |publisher=Oxford University Press |publication-place=New York, NY |year=2013 |orig-year=2002 |isbn=978-0-19-930067-9 |oclc=852158872 |page=252}}</ref>

==Transportation==
{{wide image|Puget Sound from Space Needle High Rex.jpg|x160px|View northwest from the [[Space Needle]], overlooking (left to right) Elliott Bay, Duwamish Head, Puget Sound, and Restoration Point|50%|right}}
{{main|Washington State Ferries}}
The Washington State Ferries (WSF) are a state-run ferry system that connects the larger [[:Category:Islands of Puget Sound|islands of Puget Sound]] the Washington mainland, and the [[Olympic Peninsula|Olympic]] and [[Kitsap Peninsula|Kitsap]] Peninsulas. Its vessels carry both passengers and vehicular traffic. The system averaged 24.3 million passengers in the 2010s<ref name="WSF Communications January 2023">{{cite web |title=Washington State Ferries Fact Sheet |publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation |date=January 2023 |url=https://wsdot.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2023-01/WSF-FactSheet-January2023.pdf | access-date=March 23, 2024}}</ref> and 17.2 in 2022 with the [[COVID-19 pandemic in the United States|COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref name="WSDOT, Ferries Division FY 2022">{{cite web |last=Washington State Department of Transportation, Ferries Division |title=FY 2022 WSDOT Ferries Division Performance Report |date=December 28, 2022 |url=https://wsdot.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2022-12/FY2022-WSF-Performance-Measures-Report.pdf |access-date=March 23, 2024}}</ref> It is the largest ferry operator in the United States.<ref name="WSF Communications January 2023"/>

==Environmental issues==
{{Main|Environmental issues in Puget Sound}}

Over the past 30 years, as the region's human population 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 is attributed to various issues, including human population growth, pollution, and climate change.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.epa.gov/salish-sea/marine-species-risk#why-happening |title=Health of the Salish Sea Ecosystem Report |date=May 13, 2013 |publisher=Environmental Protection Agency|access-date=July 10, 2022}}</ref> 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 [[Endangered Species Recovery Plan|recovery]] and management plans for many different area species.<ref name=report>{{cite web |url=http://wdfw.wa.gov/publications/01051/ |title=2007 Puget Sound Update: Ninth Report of the Puget Sound Ambient Monitoring Program |publisher=Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife |access-date=August 6, 2014 |archive-date=July 26, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140726180610/http://wdfw.wa.gov/publications/01051/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Fishermen purse seining in Puget Sound, ca 1917 (COBB 71).jpeg|thumb|[[Purse seining]] on Puget Sound {{circa|1917}}]]
The causes of these environmental issues are toxic contamination, [[eutrophication]] (low oxygen due to excess nutrients), and near shore habitat changes.<ref name=report /> The [[Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife|Washington Department of Fisheries]] began an [[artificial reef]] construction program in 1975 to create habitats in Puget Sound for declining fish populations, particularly [[rockfish]] and [[lingcod]]. Some reefs used disposed vehicle [[tire]]s, tied together with [[polypropylene]] rope, until they were phased out in 1982 in favor of less-expensive scrap concrete.<ref>{{cite report |date=August 16, 2023 |title=Mapping Puget Sound's Artificial Reefs: Identifying Automobile Tires for Removal |pages=2–3 |url=https://www.dnr.wa.gov/publications/aqr_aamt_tire_reef_techncial_report.pdf |publisher=[[Washington State Department of Natural Resources]] |accessdate=March 14, 2025}}</ref> The degraded rope allowed disposed tires to create obstructions that damage habitats and harm Puget Sound wildlife; the state government began removing the tire piles in late 2024 at [[Tolmie State Park]]. An estimated 100,000 tires remain in Puget Sound at 14 identified sites.<ref>{{cite news |last=Jadran |first=Farah |date=March 10, 2025 |title=Sixty years later: More than 100,000 tires from failed reef plan are coming out of Puget Sound |url=https://www.king5.com/article/tech/science/environment/thousands-tires-failed-reef-plan-puget-sound/281-dae51aef-0db7-4ca0-9af4-7bd90f1afdf8 |publisher=KING 5 News |accessdate=March 14, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release |date=October 24, 2024 |title=DNR Starts New Project to Remove Tens of Thousands of Polluting Tires from Puget Sound |url=https://www.dnr.wa.gov/news/dnr-starts-new-project-remove-tens-thousands-polluting-tires-puget-sound |publisher=Washington State Department of Natural Resources |accessdate=March 14, 2025}}</ref>

On May 22, 1978, a valve was mistakenly opened aboard the submarine [[USS Puffer (SSN-652)|USS ''Puffer'']], releasing up to 500 US gallons (1,900 L; 420 imp gal) of [[Radioactive contamination|radioactive water]] into Puget Sound, during an overhaul in [[Dry dock|drydock]] at [[Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility|Bremerton Naval Shipyard]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Kaplan |first=David B. |date=August 1983 |title=The Silent Saga of the Nuclear Navy |url=http://oc.itgo.com/kitsap/nuclear/clymer.htm |journal=Oceans Magazine |access-date=August 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190827200112/http://oc.itgo.com/kitsap/nuclear/clymer.htm |archive-date=August 27, 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==See also==
* {{annotated link|Back-arc basin}}
* {{annotated link|Fjords of Canada}}
* {{annotated link|List of fjords of the United States|Fjords of the United States}}
* {{annotated link|Puget Sound AVA}}
* {{annotated link|Seattle metropolitan area}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
* {{cite book |last=Kruckeberg |first=Arthur R. |title=The Natural History of Puget Sound Country |url=https://archive.org/details/naturalhistoryof0000kruc |url-access=registration |via=Internet Archive |publisher=University of Washington Press |publication-place=Seattle |year=1991 | isbn=978-0-295-97019-6|oclc=1345617769}}
* {{cite book |last=Mackie |first=Richard Somerset |title=Trading beyond the mountains: the British fur trade on the Pacific, 1793–1843 |year=1997 |publisher=UBC Press |isbn=978-0-7748-0613-8 |oclc=180704193}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last=Jones |first=M. A. |title=Geologic framework for the Puget Sound aquifer system, Washington and British Columbia |publisher=US Geological Survey |publication-place=Reston, Virginia | year=1999 | oclc=896811412 |issn=2330-7102 |doi=10.3133/pp1424c |id=1424C |page=44}}
* {{Cite journal |last1=Jovanelly |first1=Tamie J. |title=Sedimentological Analysis of an Ancient Sand Sheet of Multiple Origins at Lynch Cove, Puget Sound, Washington |last2=Moore |first2=Andrew L. |journal=Journal of Coastal Research |year=2009 |volume=25 |pages=294–304 |doi=10.2112/07-0892.1 |jstor=27698322 |issue=2 |s2cid=128926730}}
* {{cite book |last=LeWarne |first=Charles Pierce |title=Utopias on Puget Sound, 1885-1915 |publisher=University of Washington Press |publication-place=Seattle |url=https://archive.org/details/utopiasonpugetso0000lewa |url-access=registration |via=Internet Archive |year=1995 |isbn=978-0-295-74105-5 |oclc=47010928}}
* {{cite book |last=Morgan |first=Murray |author-link=Murray Morgan  |title=Puget's Sound: A Narrative of Early Tacoma and the Southern Sound |url=https://archive.org/details/pugetssoundnarra00mor_x19 |url-access=registration |via=Internet Archive |publisher=University of Washington Press |publication-place=Seattle |year=1979 |isbn=978-0-295-95680-0 |oclc=1036792658}} Reprinted in 2018: {{ISBN|978-0-295-74423-0}} {{JSTOR|j.ctvcwn271}}
* {{cite book |last=Prosser |first=William Farrand |author-link=William F. Prosser |title=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 |url=https://archive.org/details/ahistorypugetso00prosgoog |via=Internet Archive |publisher=Lewis Pub. Co. |publication-place=New York |year=1903 |oclc=679331240}} Also available online {{cite book |title=History of the Puget Sound country |volume=1 |url=https://www.sos.wa.gov/library/publications_detail.aspx?p=15 |via=Washington State Library}} Reprinted: {{ISBN|978-0-266-41119-2}}

==External links==
{{Sister project links
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* [http://content.lib.washington.edu/vanolindaweb/index.html 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.
* {{cite web |title=Geology of Puget Sound |publisher=Pacific Science Center |date=September 10, 2005 |url=http://exhibits.pacsci.org/Puget_Sound/PSGeology.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060209130622/http://exhibits.pacsci.org/Puget_Sound/PSGeology.html |archive-date=February 9, 2006 |url-status=dead}}
* {{cite web |last=Torresan |first=Laura Zink |title=Puget Sound Earthquake Origin and Occurrence |publisher=U.S. Geological Survey |date=April 4, 2005 |url=https://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/ships/pastquak.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060527013041/http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/ships/pastquak.html |archive-date=May 27, 2006 |url-status=dead}}
* {{cite book |chapter=Features of Puget Sound Region: Oceanography and Physical Processes |chapter-url=https://your.kingcounty.gov/dnrp/library/2001/kcr762/PDFELEMENTS/SONR03.pdf|title=Reconnaissance Assessment of the State of the Nearshore Report Including Vashon and Maury Islands (WRIAs 8 and 9) |publisher=King County, Washington |url=https://kingcounty.gov/en/legacy/services/environment/watersheds/central-puget-sound/nearshore-environments/reconnaissance-assessment |date=May 2001 |access-date=March 12, 2024}}

{{Puget Sound|state=expanded}}
{{Lake Washington Ship Canal|state=collapsed}}
{{Washington|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Puget Sound| ]]
[[Category:Bodies of water of Island County, Washington]]
[[Category:Bodies of water of Jefferson County, Washington]]
[[Category:Bodies of water of King County, Washington]]
[[Category:Bodies of water of Kitsap County, Washington]]
[[Category:Bodies of water of Mason County, Washington]]
[[Category:Bodies of water of Pierce County, Washington]]
[[Category:Bodies of water of Skagit County, Washington]]
[[Category:Bodies of water of Snohomish County, Washington]]
[[Category:Bodies of water of Thurston County, Washington]]
[[Category:Estuaries of Washington (state)]]
[[Category:Fjords of Washington (state)]]
[[Category:Physiographic sections]]
[[Category:Sounds of the United States]]