Puget Sound
The deep glacial inlet of western Washington
Puget Sound is a deep, many-armed inlet of the Pacific reaching far into northwestern Washington, a fjord-like maze of channels, bays, and islands carved by Ice Age glaciers. Connected to the open ocean through the Strait of Juan de Fuca, it plunges to depths of around 280 meters - far deeper than most American bays - and forms the maritime backbone of the Pacific Northwest.
Seattle, Tacoma, and Olympia sit along its shores, and its protected deep water makes it a major center for shipping, the U.S. Navy, and ferries. The sound is the southern heart of the Salish Sea, rich in salmon, orcas, and shellfish, and backed by the snow-capped Olympic and Cascade ranges. Like other great estuaries, it faces ongoing pressure from urban growth and the decline of its iconic resident killer whales.
Related
- San Juan IslandsWashington’s rain-shadowed archipelago between Puget Sound and Vancouver Island
- Northwest Seaport AllianceThe combined ports of Seattle and Tacoma on Puget Sound
- SeattleA Pacific Northwest city between sound and lake
- Tacoma Narrows BridgeThe Puget Sound span famous for its 1940 collapse
- WashingtonThe Evergreen State, the wet and dry sides of the Cascades