South Puget Sound

South Basin (lightest blue) marked on a map of Puget Sound
Olympia at the southern end of Budd Inlet

South Puget Sound is the southern reaches of Puget Sound in Southwest Washington, in the United States' Pacific Northwest. It is one of five major basins encompassing the entire Sound, and the shallowest basin, with a mean depth of 37 meters (121 ft).[1][2] Exact definitions of the region vary:[a] the state's Department of Fish and Wildlife counts all of Puget Sound south of the Tacoma Narrows for fishing regulatory purposes.[4] The same agency counts Mason, Jefferson, Kitsap, Pierce and Thurston Counties for wildlife management.[5] The state's Department of Ecology defines a similar area south of Colvos Passage.[b]

The term "South Sound Region" or just "South Sound" is used to apply to the communities surrounding the water.[c] The South Sound contains the Olympia-Tumwater Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Shelton Micropolitan Statistical Area.[8] The terms appear in names of local institutions and commercial entities such as South Puget Sound Community College in Olympia and South Sound Center in Lacey.

  1. ^ Burns 1985, p. 67.
  2. ^ Gustafson et al. 2000.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference EOPS2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference WDFW was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference WDFW2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference ECY was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Employment Security was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ OMB statistical areas maps (PDF), Washington State Office of Financial Management, August 23, 2016


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