Puget Sound | |
Puget Sound – MODIS image
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Named for: Peter Puget | |
Country | United States |
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State | Washington |
Region | Puget Sound Lowlands |
Cities | Seattle, Tacoma, Washington, Olympia, Everett, Bremerton |
Rivers | Deschutes River, Nisqually River, Puyallup River, Duwamish River, Cedar River, Snohomish River, Stillaguamish River, Skagit River, Skokomish River |
Coordinates | 47°36′N 122°24′W / 47.6°N 122.4°WCoordinates: 47°36′N 122°24′W / 47.6°N 122.4°W |
Length | 100 mi (161 km) |
Width | 10 mi (16 km) |
Depth | 930 ft (283 m) |
Volume | 26.5 cu mi (110 km3) |
Basin | 12,138 sq mi (31,437 km2) |
Area | 1,020 sq mi (2,642 km2) |
Discharge | |
- average | 41,000 cu ft/s (1,161 m3/s) |
- max | 367,000 cu ft/s (10,392 m3/s) |
- min | 14,000 cu ft/s (396 m3/s) |
Puget Sound /ˈpjuːdʒɪt/ is a sound along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and two minor connections to the open Pacific Ocean via the Strait of Juan de Fuca — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and Deception Pass and Swinomish Channel being the minor.
Water flow through Deception Pass is approximately equal to 2% of the total tidal exchange between Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Puget Sound extends approximately 100 miles (160 km) from Deception Pass in the north to Olympia, Washington in the south. Its average depth is 450 feet (140 m) and its maximum depth, off Jefferson Point between Indianola and Kingston, is 930 feet (280 m). The depth of the main basin, between the southern tip of Whidbey Island and Tacoma, Washington, is approximately 600 feet (180 m).
Since 2009, the term Salish Sea has been established by the United States Board on Geographic Names as the collective waters of Puget Sound, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the Strait of Georgia. Sometimes the terms "Puget Sound" and "Puget Sound and adjacent waters" are used for not only Puget Sound proper but also for waters to the north, such as Bellingham Bay and the San Juan Islands region.