Salish Sea

The Salish Sea (/ˈseɪlɪʃ/ SAY-lish) is the intricate network of coastal waterways that includes the southwestern portion of the Canadian province of British Columbia and the northwestern portion of the U.S. state of Washington. Its major bodies of water are the Strait of Georgia, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and Puget Sound. It reaches from Desolation Sound at the north end of the Strait of Georgia to Oakland Bay at the head of Hammersley Inlet at the south end of Puget Sound. The inland waterways of the Salish Sea are partially separated from the open Pacific Ocean by Vancouver Island and the Olympic Peninsula, and are thus partially shielded from Pacific Ocean storms. Major port cities on the Salish Sea include Vancouver, Seattle, Tacoma, Bellingham, Port Angeles and Victoria. Much of the coast is part of a megalopolis stretching from West Vancouver, British Columbia to Olympia, Washington.