Salish Sea

Salish Sea
French: Mer des Salish[1]
The Salish Sea, showing the open Pacific Ocean at lower left, and from there, heading inland: the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the narrow Puget Sound at lower right, and the wide Strait of Georgia at upper center. Sediment from the Fraser River shows as a greenish plume in the Strait of Georgia.
Salish Sea is located in Western Canada
Salish Sea
Salish Sea
LocationBritish Columbia and Washington
Coordinates48°56′12″N 123°03′40″W / 48.93667°N 123.06111°W / 48.93667; -123.06111
River sourcesFraser, Nisqually, Nooksack, Puyallup, Skagit, Snohomish and Squamish Rivers
Ocean/sea sourcesPacific Ocean
Catchment area110,000 km2 (42,000 sq mi) [2]
Basin countriesCanada and United States
Surface area18,000 km2 (6,900 sq mi) [3]
Average depth130 m (430 ft)
Max. depth670 m (2,200 ft)[4]
Residence time110 days[5][6]
SettlementsSeattle, Vancouver, Surrey, Tacoma, Victoria, Everett, Nanaimo

The Salish Sea (/ˈseɪlɪʃ/ SAY-lish) is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean located in the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. state of Washington. It includes the Strait of Georgia, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Puget Sound, and an intricate network of connecting channels and adjoining waterways.

The sea stretches from the channels of the Discovery Islands north of the Strait of Georgia to Budd Inlet at the south end of Puget Sound. It is partially separated from the open Pacific Ocean by Vancouver Island and the Olympic Peninsula.

Much of the coast is part of the Pacific Northwest megalopolis. The region is anchored by Metro Vancouver to the north, and Metro Seattle to the south. Other principal cities on the Salish Sea include Bellingham, Port Angeles, Port Townsend, Everett, Tacoma, Olympia, and Bremerton in Washington, and Victoria and Nanaimo in British Columbia. As of 2021, the region is home to 8.76 million people.[7]

  1. ^ Government of Canada, Natural Resources Canada. "Place names – Mer des Salish". www4.nrcan.gc.ca. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
  2. ^ Environmental History and Features of Puget Sound Archived May 13, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, NOAA-NWFSC
  3. ^ "BC Geographical Names – Salish Sea". apps.gov.bc.ca. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference JervisInlet was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference eopugetsound.org was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Pawlowicz, Rich; Riche, Olivier; Halverson, Mark (2007). "The circulation and residence time of the strait of Georgia using a simple mixing-box approach". Atmosphere-Ocean. 45 (4): 173–193. doi:10.3137/ao.450401. ISSN 0705-5900. S2CID 129018974.
  7. ^ Canada, Environment and Climate Change (February 12, 2021). "Importance Salish Sea". www.canada.ca. Retrieved July 30, 2023.