| Strait of
Georgia Geography
The Strait of Georgia watershed encompasses 916 square miles.1
It is bordered on the downstream side by the Puget Sound watershed
to the south, on the upstream side by the Nooksack watershed
to the east, and to the west by the San Juan Island watershed.
The watershed includes portions of Whatcom and Skagit Counties.
The principal urban area is Bellingham. Three tribes are located
in the watershed; Lummi, Swinomish, and Upper Skagit.
 |
USGS
Cataloging Unit: 17110002
(click image for detailed view) |
Included in the Strait of Georgia watershed are the following:
Strait Of Georgia
The majority of the Strait of Georgia is in British Columbia
(BC) with the southern portion ending in Washington State. In
Washington State, the Strait of Georgia watershed encompasses
916 square miles.
It was 14,000 years ago that a slow moving river of ice flowed
through the Fraser Valley and formed the Strait of Juan de Fuca,
the body of water that separates Vancouver Island from the Olympic
Peninsula in Washington State. While advancing south and west,
the enormous glaciers carved hills and valleys, and their slow
meltdown and retreat made room for the temperate climate that
characterizes the Georgia Basin today. The Coast Salish people
have lived here since the glaciers retreated. They called the
region "Sqla-lot-sis" [phonetic pronunciation], which
means "homeland."2
The Strait of Georgia is an amazing and diverse ecosystem.
People have historically used the land and water for living,
fishing, establishing industries and performing scientific research.
The Strait of Georgia is home to millions of animals. It is
a diverse ecosystem made up of many different habitats, including
deep fjords, rocky reefs, and eelgrass beds. Kelp beds are one
of the richest habitats in the Strait of Georgia, as they provide
both food and shelter for a myriad of species.3
The Strait is fed by freshwater from the huge Fraser River
system, which carries rich silt and fresh water far across the
Strait. This 850-mile long river drains over 20 million hectares
- one quarter of BC. It has the largest salmon runs in North
America and its estuary is a vital stopover spot for migrating
birds from three continents. Aside from the mild climate, one
of the main reasons that the Strait of Georgia is so rich in
wildlife is because of the Fraser River and the fresh water,
silt, and nutrients it carries far into the Strait.2
These waters support an estimated 3000 species of plant and
animal life. These include:2
- about a dozen species of marine mammals, including seals,
porpoises, dolphins, killer whales and sea lions
- almost 200 species of fish
- over 100 species of marine birds
- 500 marine plant species, including about 200 varieties
of different seaweeds and more than 1500 invertebrates.
The Strait has a wide variety of habitats. You can find pristine
sandy beaches, rocky shores, steep cliffs, sandstone shelves,
mudflats, deep fjords, and so forth. From a biological point
of view, the most productive habitats in the region are estuaries.
Estuaries are where the rivers meet the sea, which results in
a mixture of fresh water with salt. Estuaries make up a small
percentage of coastline, yet they are essential at some point
of the life cycle to 80% of the wildlife.2
For example, salmon must spend time in the estuary as young
smolts, getting used to salt water, before they head to the
ocean. As adults, salmon return to estuaries for spawning. In
winter, when ponds ice over and fields vanish under snow, waterfowl
and migrating birds depend on estuaries, where they can still
get food and water. Intertidal areas and estuaries are also
important food sources for larger animals such as bear, deer,
river otters, mink, and muskrat.2
The Fraser River estuary is a vital point on the bird migration
route known as the Pacific Flyway. It provides a rest and stopover
between California and Alaska and a wintering ground for at
least 100,000 waterfowl. At the peak of migration, up to 180,000
ducks and geese fly into the Fraser delta in a single day. The
Fraser estuary and Boundary Bay together form the largest winter
waterfowl resting area on the west coast of North America.2
There are many other important estuaries in the Strait of
Georgia. As well as being vital for fish and wildlife, salt
marshes and other wetland vegetation serve as the "kidneys"
of the ecosystem, trapping and holding water and air-borne contaminants
such as the sulfur in acid rain.2
Georgia Strait is important not only in a biological sense,
but is essential to the human population of the region for income,
transportation, recreation, and spiritual sustenance. These
waters have been important for commercial, sports, and aboriginal
fishing. The shellfish industry is also economically important,
with many shellfish growers located in communities around the
Strait. Many others work on these waters in transport, towing,
and other forms of marine commerce. Tourism is the fastest-growing
industry and now probably the most important one to the region.2
The Strait and its watersheds face serious environmental problems,
the bulk of these caused by region's rapid human population
growth and the urbanization and development that has come with
it. The human population around the Strait is expected to increase
from its current level of 2.9 million to 3.6 million by the
year 2010. (If the population of adjacent Puget Sound is factored
in, these figures rise to nearly 6 million today and nearly
10 million by 2010.) Toxic chemicals and sewage outfalls are
only two of many threats to marine life that come from this
growing human population.2
Back to Top Drayton Harbor
Drayton Harbor is the first protected bay on the Washington
side of the Strait of Georgia. It is nearly enclosed by Semiahmoo
Spit with an entrance channel between the Spit and the Port
of Bellingham Blaine Harbor marina in Blaine.
Blaine is a small city of 4,000 located on Drayton Harbor and
the International Border with Canada. Blaine has a growing recreation
and tourist economy, which is centered on its historic downtown
and recently renovated marina, Peach Arch State Park, and the
Semiahmoo Resort. Blaine is the third busiest Canada crossing
in the Unites States.
The Drayton Harbor Shellfish Protection District was formed
by the Whatcom County Council in 1995 after the Washington State
Department of Health (DOH) prohibited harvesting of shellfish
in portions of Drayton Harbor due to deteriorating water quality.
The DOH based their decision for the closures on water quality
monitoring data and other aspects of the sanitary survey for
Drayton Harbor. In 1999, the entire harbor was downgraded to
a prohibited status for shellfish harvesting. To date, the entire
harbor remains closed to the harvesting of shellfish.4
Back to Top
Lake Whatcom
Lake Whatcom is a large multipurpose lake that also serves
as the source of drinking water for half (65,000) the residents
in Whatcom County. The lake and its associated watershed have
been studied for decades, resulting in numerous reports that
cover technical information, management strategies, comprehensive
plans, historical perspectives, and analysis of water supply.5
The major inputs into the lake include surface and subsurface
runoff (73.6%), direct precipitation (19.3%), and diversion
from the Middle Fork of the Nooksack River (7.1%). The largest
output was Whatcom Creek (44.5%), followed by Georgia Pacific
(20.5%), City of Bellingham (17.3%), evaporation (12.6%), the
fish hatchery at Whatcom Falls Park (4.5%), and Water District
#10 (0.6%).6
As Bellingham's gateway to the great Lake Whatcom, Bloedel
Donovan City Park provides Bellinghamsters with one of their
favorite swimming holes. Bloedel is one of the few guarded swimming
areas in town, and the huge shaded lawn gives visitors plenty
of room to relax, sunbathe, or picnic. Bloedel Donovan also
has one of the few public boat launches available on Lake Whatcom.7
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Padden Lake
Padden Lake is located in the city of Bellingham. The northern
portion of the lake is easily accessible to the public and is
routinely used for recreational purposes, whereas the southern
portion is more isolated. There is a 2.6 mile trail that loops
around the lake along which one can occasionally see rock outcrops.
Although Lake Padden is adjacent to busy Interstate-5, there
is a 1,000-foot-high ridge that divides the two. There is a
ban on motor boats (except for small electric trollers), which
makes the lake a favorite for fly-fishers and paddlers alike.8
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Bellingham
Bay9
Bellingham Bay is part of a system of interconnected bays
that exchange water with the Rosario Strait and ultimately the
Pacific Ocean through a complex network of channels and passages.
Most oceanic waters enter Bellingham Bay at depth through the
northern end of Rosario Strait between Lummi and Vendovi Islands.
Some water also enters through Bellingham Channel. Water is
exchanged between Bellingham Bay and Samish Bay to the south.
Exchange of water to the west through Hale Passage is limited
by a shallow sill. The residence time for water in Bellingham
Bay is typically four or five days, but varies between one and
eleven days.
The Bellingham Bay area is located in the northern Puget Sound
lowlands and is underlain by a series of Late Pleistocene sedimentary
glacial deposits. Regionally, along the northeast shore, groundwater
and surface water generally flow in a west to southwest direction
to the bay. The inner Bellingham Bay area is primarily influenced
by the drainage of three watersheds. The largest is the Nooksack
River watershed, which drains approximately 1,500 square kilometers.
The entire Nooksack flow does not, however, reach Bellingham
Bay. Part of it enters Lummi Bay by way of the Lummi River.
With an annual discharge of 650,000 cubic meters, the Nooksack
River is also the primary source of sediments to the bay. The
Nooksack River is influenced by anthropogenic factors that include
agriculture and logging.
Whatcom Creek flows from Lake Whatcom through the City of Bellingham
to the bay. The City occupies much of the watershed. Presently,
Whatcom Creek is influenced by channelization, vegetation removal,
and urban water runoff.
The Squalicum Creek watershed drains an area of 65 square kilometers
via Squalicum Creek; this creek originates at Squalicum Lake
and also flows through the City. The creek is influenced by
channelization, vegetation removal, and urban water runoff.
The Chuckanut Bay watershed drains an area of 34 square kilometers
via Chuckanut Creek and direct runoff into Chuckanut Bay. The
watershed is occupied primarily by forest land, but some residential
and commercial areas are present. The watershed is minimally
impacted by anthropogenic activities.
The Padden Creek watershed drains an area of 16 square kilometers
via Padden Creek. The creek flows from Lake Padden through a
largely residential area, and enters Bellingham Bay near Post
Point. The creek is influenced by urban and industrial storm
water runoff.
Bellingham Bay has been the subject of considerable study.
Regional geology, hydrology, and oceanography elements describing
the physical setting of Bellingham Bay have been compiled, primarily
through the Bellingham Bay Pilot Project. The Pilot Project
was an outgrowth of a cooperative sediment management program
investigating contaminated marine sediments in urban areas of
Puget Sound. Since 1996, the Bellingham Bay Pilot Project has
been dealing with source control and sediment cleanup, sediment
disposal site identification, habitat restoration, and aquatic
land use issues prompted by discovery of mercury contamination
in the sediments of inner Bellingham Bay.
A variety of public and private recreational facilities (that
is, parks, open space, marinas) are located in Bellingham Bay.
The Port of Bellingham operates the Squalicum Harbor marina
located between the Squalicum and I & J waterway. Other
boating facilities include the Hilton Harbor marina, the Harris
Street boat ramp, and the Boulevard Park boat ramp.
A variety of parks and public access points are located along
the shoreline of the bay. The largest shoreline park in inner
Bellingham Bay is Boulevard Park near Fairhaven, which is operated
jointly by Whatcom County, the City of Bellingham, and the Port
of Bellingham, and includes 790 meters of shoreline. Other parks
in this area include Marine Park (183 meters of shoreline),
Little Squalicum Park, and the Maritime Heritage Center.
Back to Top Portage Bay
The Portage Bay Shellfish Protection District was formed by
the Whatcom County Council in 1998 after the Washington State
Department of Health (DOH) prohibited harvesting of shellfish
in portions of Portage Bay due to deteriorating water quality.
The DOH based their decision for the closures on water quality
monitoring data and other aspects of the sanitary survey for
Portage Bay. In 1999, a total of 220 acres in Portage Bay was
downgraded to a restricted status for shellfish harvesting.
To date, that entire area still remains closed to the harvesting
of shellfish.10
Back to Top
Lummi Island11
Lummi Island is located at the northern extremity of Rosario
Strait where it merges with the Gulf of Georgia. It has an area
of 8.2 square miles. The island is nine miles long and its maximum
width is nearly two miles. It trends in a northwest to southeast
direction and the narrow waters of Hale Passage separate it
from the mainland and Portage Island to the east.
The northern half of Lummi Island is relatively low and flat.
With the exception of a few rock hills near the northern extremity
of the island, the whole northern half of Lummi Island is covered
with glacial drift and its elevations are below 200 feet. The
northern extremity of Lummi Island, which is called Point Migley,
is rocky but its elevation is moderate. Along the west shore
of the island, about two miles south of Point Migley, a low
sandy point extends westward to form Village Point. The village
of Carlyle is located on this point. On the opposite side of
the island a low sandy point, called Lummi Point, extends to
the east.
The region to the northeast of Village Point is covered with
ridge-shaped rocky hills, the highest of which is located to
the west of Lummi Point and rises to an elevation of 340 feet.
The topography of the southern half of Lummi Island is strikingly
different from that of the northern portion. The southern half
of Lummi Island is high and rocky and its greatest elevation,
which is known as Lummi Peak, rises precipitously to an altitude
of 1740 feet. A ridge that trends parallel to the strike of
the rock formations forms the whole southern part of the island.
The southern end of Lummi Island extends out into a thin though
elevated tapering point called Carter Point.
Sheer cliffs and their talus slopes bound the southwest side,
while the northeastern side slopes away more gently and in general
follows the dip-slope of the rock formations. The talus slopes
on the southwest side of Lummi Peak extend from the water's
edge to a height of 1000 feet to form the "Devil's Rock
Slide."
A small bay, known as Inati Bay, enters the east side of the
island almost opposite Lummi Peak. About half a mile to the
south there is another small open bay called Reil Harbor.
The abrupt change in the topography of the two halves of Lummi
Island is probably due to a fault or break in the rock formations.
Where it is under cultivation, the northern half of the island
is heavily wooded, particularly with deciduous trees. The southern
half contains little soil and the vegetation is largely limited
to the soil-covered depressions in the rocks.
The delta of Lummi River, a distributary of the Nooksack River,
is gradually encroaching on the north end of Lummi Island, and
already a submerged sandy ridge extends from Lummi Island to
the mainland.
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Sinclair Island11
Sinclair Island is located about a mile to the northeast of
Cypress Island, at the north end of Bellingham Channel which
separates Cypress and Guemes islands. Sinclair Island has an
area of 1.65 square miles. It is heavily wooded with deciduous
trees and was sometimes known as Cottonwood Island.
Except for its southern margin, Sinclair Island is covered
with glacial drift and its relief is low. Along the southern
margin there are a number of rock hills and the highest of these,
which is located near the southeast extremity of the island,
has an elevation of 180 feet.
About half a mile from the northwest shore of Sinclair Island
there is a submerged reef known as Boulder Reef.
Back to Top
Cypress Island11
Cypress Island, with an area of 8.59 square miles, is located
in Rosario Strait to the east of Blakely Island. Bellingham
Channel separates it from Guemes Island on the east.
In many respects the topography of Cypress Island is a duplicate
of that occurring on Blakely Island. Near the north end of Cypress
Island a hill rises precipitously to an elevation of 720 feet.
This is called Eagle Cliff. A narrow lowland crosses the island
immediately south of Eagle Cliff, while still farther southward
there are three dome-shaped hills. The most western of these,
which has an elevation of 600 feet, merges with the elevated
region to the south. It is separated from the next dome-shaped
hill to the east by a low swampy valley that connects with the
depression crossing the island to the south of Eagle Cliff.
The most eastern of the three domes is surrounded by water on
all sides except its northwest corner. This dome-shaped hill
forms the northeast side of Eagle Harbor.
The central part of the east side of Cypress Island projects
towards the east. At the eastern extremity a small rocky elongated
knob is connected with the island by a sand bar.
The southeast corner of Cypress Island is formed by a symmetrical
dome- shaped hill that rises to an elevation of 600 feet. For
purposes of description this hill is called Olivine Hill because
it is composed largely of a fresh vitreous variety of dunite,
a rock composed almost entirely of the mineral olivine.
The southern margin of Cypress Island is fringed by glacial
drift that forms elevated cliffs along the shoreline westward
from Olivine Hill. Between Olivine Hill and the elevated central
portion of the island, the seawater enters from the northeast
to form Secret Harbor. A broad open bay, called Deep Water Bay,
of which Secret Harbor is a part, binds the north side of Olivine
Hill.
The southern shoreline of Cypress Island is strewn with large
glacially transported boulders, and the cliffs of glacial material
rise to an elevation of 100 feet. These cliffs of glacial materials
also extend along the west side of the island.
The southwest corner of Cypress Island is called Reef Point.
About two miles north of Reef Point, along the west side of
the island, a broad open bay called Strawberry Bay penetrates
the marginal shelf of glacial materials. About two miles north
of Strawberry Bay a low sandy point called Tide Point extends
out to the west and marks the northern limit of the fringing
shelf of glacial materials. To the south of Tide Point the shore
is strewn with large glacial erratics.
The central portion of Cypress Island is elevated and rocky.
It is composed of a group of rock domes that merge into each
other. The highest of these, known as Cypress Dome, is located
about a mile to the east of Tide Point and has an elevation
of 1530 feet. Three small lakes occur in a depression on the
east side of Cypress Dome, near the summit. The largest of these
is known as Cypress Lake. To the southeast of Cypress Lake is
a swampy region that occupies the head of a canyon that slopes
down towards Strawberry Bay. To the south of this elevated swampy
region there is another large dome which rises to an altitude
of 1480 feet. There is a small lake on the east side of the
summit of this dome.
Except for the areas that are deeply covered with glacial drift,
the surface of Cypress Island, though wooded, is quite free
from underbrush. The elevated fringing bench of glacial materials
is very heavily wooded.
Back to Top
Fidalgo Island
Fidalgo Island is home to a number of pristine beaches and
both fresh and salt water. There are a number of lakes on the
island used for recreational fishing, including Serene Pass
Lake, where no motor boats are allowed, as well as Campbell
Lake and Heart Lake. In addition to fishing, the islands relief
allows for mountain hiking and biking. Atop 1,273-foot Mount
Erie one can view the many islands and mountains from Canada
to Seattle. There are numerous state parks on the island including
Deception Pass, Rosario Beach, and Bowman's Bay, on the south
end of the island. Located on the island is the town of Anacortes,
which is equally distanced between Seattle to the south and
Vancouver, British Columbia to the north.
Back to Top
Guemes Island11
The waters of Bellingham Channel separate Guemes Island from
Cypress Island on the west. On the other sides the waters of
Guemes Channel bound it, separating it from Fidalgo Island on
the south and from the mainland on the east.
Guemes Island has an area of 7.96 square miles. The island
is rough in shape and no large bays or harbors break its sides.
With the exception of a few elongated dome-shaped rock hills
occurring near the southeast end, the island is entirely covered
with stratified glacial drift. This material forms high cliffs
along all of the shores except a portion of the southern margin
near the village of Guemes, which is low and flat. The elevation
occurring in the drift-covered portion of Guemes Island is 140
feet.
The rounded point that forms the southwest corner of the island
is known as Yellow Bluff. The northern extremity of Guemes Island
is called Clark Point.
Near the southeast corner of the island there are seven rocky
hills, the highest of which has an elevation of 560 feet. A
small protected harbor, known as Boat Harbor, occurs to the
east of this hill.
All parts of Guemes Island that are not cultivated are heavily
populated with both conifers and deciduous trees.
Back to Top
Padilla Bay12
Padilla Bay is an estuary at the saltwater edge of the large
delta of the Skagit River. It is about eight miles long and
three miles across.
Because the bay is filled with sediment from the Skagit River,
the bottom is very shallow, flat, and muddy. It is so shallow
that almost the whole bay is intertidal. This means that it
is flooded at high tide but when the tide goes out the whole
bay empties out exposing miles and miles of mud flats. This
condition allows unusually large eelgrass meadows to grow. There
are nearly 8,000 acres of eelgrass in Padilla Bay.
Eelgrass is valuable because it is a habitat for wildlife and
commercially harvested animals. Eelgrass is used as a nursery
by salmon, crab, perch, and herring. Eelgrass is also home for
millions of worms, shrimp, clams, and other invertebrates which
are food for great blue herons, eagles, otters, seals, as well
as humans. This is why Padilla Bay was selected to be a National
Estuarine Research Reserve.
Most of Padilla Bay's small watershed (23,000 acres) is low
flat delta that is now farmland. In the late 1800s the marshes
of the Skagit River delta were diked and drained. The Skagit
River is now confined to a channel that empties into Skagit
Bay leaving Padilla Bay "orphaned" from the river
that formed its mud flats. Today, Padilla Bay's freshwater comes
from a number of agricultural sloughs. The Swinomish Channel
connects Padilla Bay to Skagit Bay, which is just to the south.
Padilla Bay is bordered on the east and south by flat diked
farmland. To the north and west are the rocky San Juan Islands
in northern Puget Sound. The Cascade Mountains to the east overlook
Padilla Bay and Puget Sound.
Agriculture is the dominant land use, along with second growth
forest, rural residential, urban, and industrial uses. A watershed
characterization is available in the Padilla Bay/Bay View Watershed
Nonpoint Action Plan which was approved by Washington State
Department of Ecology in 1995.
 |
Padilla
Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve
(Courtesy of the NOAA Photo Library) |
Back to Top Lake Samish
Lake Samish is located 6.5 miles southeast of Bellingham. It
is comprised of two basins which are connected by a narrow strait.
The west arm is a small deep bay (130 acres, 71 foot average
depth) and the east arm is a larger shallow bay (680 acres,
31 foot average depth). There are several small inlets that
flow into the lake, including Lake Creek and Barnes Creek. Lake
Samish drains via Friday Creek to the Samish River.13
Back to Top
Samish River
Each year, animal manure, agricultural fertilizers, and precipitation
contribute 10 tons of nitrogen per square mile to the Samish
River Basin. In response, nutrient yields from the basin (up
to 2.8 tons of nitrogen per square mile per year and up to 0.3
ton of phosphorus per square mile per year) are among the highest
rates for watersheds of the Puget Sound Basin. Fertilizer is
the principal nutrient source to the Samish River Basin.14
Recently, working through the Skagit Conservation District,
in cooperation with the Skagit Land Trust, the Nature Conservancy
and other co-operators negotiated the acquisition of a 37 acre
riparian conservation easement on the floodway of the Samish
River off Prairie Road.15
Back to Top Samish Bay
South of Larrabee State Park and bounded on the east by Blanchard
Mountain, on the west by Samish Island, and on the south by
the mouth of the Samish River, is Samish Bay in Skagit County.
The bay is primarily known for shellfish. Taylor United and
Blau Oyster grow considerable quantities of oysters and clams
in the productive shallows of Samish Bay. An excellent view
of the placid waters of Samish Bay can be seen from nearby Blanchard
Mountain to the west.
Back to Top Birch Bay
While not listed as one of the rivers and streams in the Strait
of Georgia, Birch Bay, just south of the Canadian border, has
miles of natural saltwater beaches. Clamming and windsurfing
are popular pastimes at Birch Bay State Park. The Mt. Baker
foothills include the communities of Maple Falls, Glacier, and
Sumas. Mt. Baker has one of the longest ski seasons in North
America. The area offers opportunities for scenic photography,
hiking, and berry picking.16
Back to Top
Eliza Island11
Eliza Island is named in honor of Lieutenant Francisco Eliza,
the Spanish explorer who discovered the San Juan Islands in
1791. It is located about three-quarters of a mile to the east
of Carter Point on Lummi Island. Eliza Island has an area of
170 acres.
The main body of the island is composed of glacial drift that
rises to an elevation of 40 feet. It is elongated in a direction
about N 15° W, and connects with a high rocky knob at the
southern extremity of the island. The latter has an elevation
of 60 feet. A pair of long sandbars extends out from the center
of the west side of Eliza Island to connect with a small rock
knob nearly half a mile away. Between these sandbars the land
is swampy and a small lagoon still exists. Eliza Island is heavily
wooded.
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Portage Island11
Portage Island is located to the east of Lummi Island and separated
from it by the waters of Hale Passage. It has an area of 923.25
acres and rises to a maximum elevation of 200 feet. At low tide
its northwestern extremity is connected with the mainland by
a long sand spit. The northeast corner of Portage Island extends
to the north as a long irregularly curved sandy hook. The waters
of Bellingham Bay bound the east and southeast sides of the
island.
Portage Island is composed entirely of glacial drift, and its
surface, which is heavily covered with deciduous trees, is for
the most part flat or gently undulating. The southern shores
of the island are bounded by elevated cliffs of glacial materials,
and the blunt rounded off southern margin is known as Point
Frances.
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Vendovi Island11
Vendovi Island is located one and three-fourths miles to the
south of Lummi Island. It has an area of 218.98 acres and its
rugged sides rise to an elevation of 330 feet. Vendovi Island
is elliptical in shape with the major axis trending in a northwest
and southeast direction. There is a small harbor near the northwest
corner of the island. Due to the scarcity of soil, Vendovi Island
is only moderately wooded and was used as a fox farm.
Back to Top
Samish Island11
Samish Island is located at the margin of the Samish delta
and is connected with it at low tide. Samish Island has an area
of 1.46 square miles. It is elongated in an east and west direction,
and, with the exception of two rock points near the western
extremity, it is composed of glacial drift. Near the southern
margin of the island the cliffs of glacial drift rise to an
elevation of 120 feet.
At the western extremity of Samish Island the bedrock outcrops
to form William Point. On the south side of William Point a
low sand bar extends far to the southward. A bridge connects
Samish Island with the mainland to the east. The surface of
the island is quite heavily wooded in places where it is not
under cultivation.
Back to Top
Huckleberry
Island
Huckleberry Island is situated in Guemes Channel near the entrance
to Padilla Bay. It is located near the southeast corner of Guemes
Island. It is elliptical in shape, with the major axis trending
in a northwest and southeast direction. Huckleberry Island has
an area of 11.74 acres and a maximum elevation of about 80 feet.
A flat sandy beach extends out from the southwest side of the
island, for at that portion banks of glacial drift flank the
rocky sides. Huckleberry Island is moderately wooded.11
Back to Top
Saddlebag Island
Saddlebag Island is situated at the entrance of Padilla Bay,
about half a mile to the east of Huckleberry Island. It has
an area of 20.6 acres and a maximum elevation of about 80 feet.
Saddlebag Island is crossed by a lowland which trends north
and south, and as a consequence embayments enter the island
from both the north and south sides. An elevated sand bar separates
these. Saddlebag Island is moderately wooded.11
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Hat Island
Hat Island is located at the entrance to Padilla Bay, about
half a mile to the southeast of Dot Island. It has an area of
91.85 acres and its maximum elevation is 300 feet. Hat Island
is elliptical in outline and somewhat dome-shaped. All parts
of the island are rocky and moderately wooded.11
Back to Top
References Cited
1. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Surf
Your Watershed: Strait of Georgia. <http://cfpub.epa.gov/surf/huc.cfm?huc_code=17110002>
2. Georgia Straight Alliance. Georgia
Strait Coastal Waters. <http://www.georgiastrait.org/whogeorgia.php>
3. <www.vanaqua.org/PacCan/human.htm> LINK IS NO LONGER
AVAILABLE
4. Marine Resources of Whatcom County. Drayton
Harbor Shellfish Protection District. <http://whatcomshellfish.wsu.edu/Drayton/Index.htm>
5. Lake Whatcom Management Program.
Lake Whatcom Data and Information Management. <http://lakewhatcom.wsu.edu/Page%203.html>
6. Institute for Watershed Studies. 2000/2001
Lake Whatcom Final Report Executive Summary. <http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~iws/abstracts/2001a.pdf>
7. The Bar Stop Entertainment Guide for Bellingham & Whatcom
County. Bloedel Donovan Park.
<http://www.barstop.com/parks/bloedel.html>
8. Lake Padden Park.
<http://whatcom.kulshan.com/country/state/county
/city/area/location/default.asp?LGroupId=60&LocationId=485>
9. Anchor Environmental. 1998. "Bellingham Bay. Final
Disposal Siting Document Report." Seattle, WA. September.
10. Marine Resources of Whatcom County. Portage
Bay Shellfish Protection District. <http://whatcomshellfish.wsu.edu/Portage/>
11. McLellean, Roy. 1927. The
Geology of the San Juan Islands. University of Washington
Press. Seattle, WA.
12. Padilla Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. National
Estuarine Research Reserve. <http://inlet.geol.sc.edu/PDB/>
13. WashingtonLakes.com. Samish
Lake -- Whatcom County: 1997. <http://washingtonlakes.com/TopoMaps/SamishLaketopoWhatcom.htm>
14. Embrey, Sandra S. and Emily L. Inkpen. United States Geological
Survey (USGS). Water-Quality
Assessment of the Puget Sound Basin, Washington, Nutrient Transport
in Rivers, 1980-93. <http://wa.water.usgs.gov/ps.pub.97-4270.ab.html>
15. Skagitonians to Preserve Farmland. Years
of Accomplishments. <http://www.skagitonians.org/accomplish99.html>
16. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Indian Health
Service. <www.ihs.gov/FacilitiesServices/AreaOffices/Portland/POpre8.asp>
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