Cutts Island State Park

Cutts Island State Park
Cutts (or Deadman's) Island
Map showing the location of Cutts Island State Park
Map showing the location of Cutts Island State Park
Location in the state of Washington
Map showing the location of Cutts Island State Park
Map showing the location of Cutts Island State Park
Cutts Island State Park (the United States)
LocationPierce County, Washington, United States
Nearest cityGig Harbor, Washington
Coordinates47°19′15″N 122°41′15″W / 47.32083°N 122.68750°W / 47.32083; -122.68750[1]
Area2 acres (0.81 ha)
Elevation43 ft (13 m)[1]
DesignationWashington marine state park
Established1969[2]
AdministratorWashington State Parks and Recreation Commission
WebsiteCutts Island State Park

Cutts Island State Park is a public recreation area park comprising the entirety of two-acre (0.81 ha) Cutts Island in Carr Inlet in Pierce County, Washington. The island is a clay butte with a stand of trees and a teardrop-shaped beach at low tide.[3] It sits one half-mile offshore from Kopachuck State Park and is accessible only by water and occasionally by sandbar at extremely low tide. Eight mooring buoys are available for boaters. Park activities include beachcombing and scuba diving.[4]

Island names

Cutts Island has also been known as "Crow Island," after the crows found in abundance on the island in 1792 by explorer Peter Puget, and "Scotts Island," after Thomas Scott, quartermaster of the 1841 Wilkes expedition. The belief that the island served as a burial ground for Native American tribes who placed their dead in canoes in the forks of trees gave birth to the name "Deadman's Island." The origin of the name "Cutts Island" is unknown.[5]

  1. ^ a b "Cutts Island State Park". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference inventory was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference wasp2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference wasp was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference mueller was invoked but never defined (see the help page).