Point Roberts, WA
| Point Roberts, Washington | |
|---|---|
| Census-designated place | |
| Point Roberts | |
| Nickname(s): The Point, Point Bob | |
 Red dot (above) indicates location of Point Roberts, west of contiguous Whatcom County and the rest of Washington State. |
|
| Coordinates: 48°59′05″N 123°04′05″W / 48.98472°N 123.06806°WCoordinates: 48°59′05″N 123°04′05″W / 48.98472°N 123.06806°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Washington |
| County | Whatcom |
| Established | June 15, 1846 |
| Area | |
| • Total | 4.884 sq mi (12.65 km2) |
| Elevation | 0 ft (0 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 1,314 |
| • Density | 269/sq mi (104/km2) |
| Time zone | PST (UTC−8) |
| • Summer (DST) | PDT (UTC−7) |
| ZIP code | 98281 |
| Area code(s) | 360 |
| Highways | none |
Point Roberts is a land exclave of the United States that is located on the southernmost tip of the Tsawwassen Peninsula, south of Vancouver in British Columbia. The area, which had a population of 1,314 at the 2010 census, is reached by land by traveling 25 mi (40 km) through Canada. It is a census-designated place (CDP) in Whatcom County, Washington with a post office, and ZIP code of 98281. Direct sea and air connections with the U.S. are available across Boundary Bay.
Point Roberts was created when the United Kingdom and the United States settled the Pacific Northwest American-Canadian border dispute in the mid 19th century with the Oregon Treaty. Both parties agreed that the 49th parallel would delineate both countries' territories, however, the small area that incorporates Point Roberts was overlooked. Questions about ceding the territory to Canada have been raised since its creation but its geopolitical status has remained unchanged.
The first Europeans to see Point Roberts were members of the 1791 expedition of Francisco de Eliza. The maps produced as a result of Eliza's explorations depicted Point Roberts as "Isla de Cepeda" or "Isla de Zepeda." In 1792 the British expedition of George Vancouver and the Spanish expedition of Dionisio Alcalá Galiano encountered one another near Point Roberts. In the morning of June 13, 1792, the two ships under Galiano sailed into Boundary Bay and verified that Point Roberts was not an island, which was thus renamed Punta Cepeda. They then sailed around Point Roberts and immediately encountered HMS Chatham, the second ship of Vancouver's expedition. The two parties made contact and soon agreed to share information and work together in mapping the Strait of Georgia. Point Roberts acquired its present name from Vancouver, who named it after his friend Henry Roberts, who had originally been given command of the expedition. Point Roberts assumed its present political status in 1846, when the Oregon Treaty extended the 49th parallel as the boundary between American and British territory from the Rocky Mountains to Georgia Strait.
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