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Strait of Juan de Fuca

 
Dictionary: Juan de Fu·ca   (də fū'kə, fyū'-) pronunciation, Strait of
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A strait between northwest Washington State and Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, linking Puget Sound and the Strait of Georgia with the Pacific Ocean. Discovered by an English captain in 1787, it was named for a Spanish sailor who reputedly had discovered it in 1592.

 

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Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Juan de Fuca Strait
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Strait, North Pacific Ocean. Located between the Olympic Peninsula of Washington, U.S., and Canada's Vancouver Island, it is 11 – 17 mi (18 – 27 km) wide and 80 – 100 mi (130 – 160 km) long. It is named for a Greek who sailed in the service of Spain and who may have visited the passage in 1592. It is used by ships bound for Vancouver and Seattle. Settlements along its banks include Victoria, B.C., and Port Angeles, Wash.

For more information on Juan de Fuca Strait, visit Britannica.com.

 
Columbia Encyclopedia: Juan de Fuca Strait
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Juan de Fuca Strait (wän də fyū'kə), inlet of the Pacific Ocean, 100 mi (161 km) long and 11 to 17 mi (18-27 km) wide, between Vancouver Island, British Columbia, and Washington state, linking the Strait of Georgia and Puget Sound with the Pacific; forms part of the U.S.-Canada border. Victoria, British Columbia, the strait's largest city, is located at its eastern end; ferries connect it with the U.S. mainland. Discovered by the English captain Charles W. Barkley in 1787, the strait was named for a sailor, Juan de Fuca, who reputedly had explored it for Spain in 1592.

Wikipedia: Strait of Juan de Fuca
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The Strait of Juan de Fuca (also called Juan de Fuca Strait) is a large body of water about 95 miles (153 km) long[1] forming the principal outlet for the Georgia Strait and Puget Sound, connecting both to the Pacific Ocean. It provides part of the international boundary between the United States and Canada.

It was named in 1787 by the English Captain Charles William Barkley for Juan de Fuca, the Greek navigator who sailed in a Spanish expedition in 1592 to seek the fabled Strait of Anián.[2] The strait was explored in detail between 1789 and 1791 by Manuel Quimper, José María Narváez, Juan Carrasco, Gonzalo López de Haro, and Francisco de Eliza.

Contents

Definition

The USGS defines the Strait of Juan de Fuca as a channel. It extends east from the Pacific Ocean between Vancouver Island, British Columbia, and the Olympic Peninsula, Washington, to Haro Strait, San Juan Channel, Rosario Strait, and Puget Sound. The Pacific Ocean boundary is formed by a line between Cape Flattery and Tatoosh Island, Washington, and Carmanah Point (Vancouver Island), British Columbia. Its northern boundary follows the shoreline of Vancouver Island to Gonzales Point, then follows a continuous line east to Seabird Point (Discovery Island), British Columbia, Cattle Point (San Juan Island), Washington, Iceberg Point (Lopez Island), Point Colville (Lopez Island), and then to Rosario Head (Fidalgo Island). The eastern boundary runs south from Rosario Head across Deception Pass to Whidbey Island, then along the western coast of Whidbey Island to Point Partridge, then across Admiralty Inlet to Point Wilson (Quimper Peninsula). The northern coast of the Olympic Peninsula forms the southern boundary of the strait.[1]

Sunset over the strait

Weather

Because it is exposed to the generally westerly winds and waves of the Pacific, seas and weather in Juan de Fuca Strait are, on average, rougher than in the more protected waters inland, thereby resulting in a number of small craft advisories.

Ferries

An international vehicle ferry crosses the Strait from Port Angeles, Washington to Victoria, British Columbia several times each day, as do passenger ferries of the Washington State Ferry system, a seasonal private ferry connecting Port Angeles with Victoria and a private high-speed ferry between Victoria and Seattle.

Boundary dispute

This strait remains the subject of a maritime boundary dispute between British Columbia and the U.S. The governments of Canada and the United States have proposed a boundary based on equidistance principles, while British Columbia argues that the submarine Juan de Fuca Canyon is the appropriate "geomorphic and physiogeographic boundary."[3]

Counties and regional districts

Counties along the Strait of Juan de Fuca:

Regional districts along the Strait of Juan de Fuca:

See also

References

  1. ^ a b USGS GNIS: Strait of Juan de Fuca
  2. ^ While USGS GNIS: Strait of Juan de Fuca says John Meares named the strait in 1788, most sources say it was Barkley in 1787, for example: Juan de Fuca Strait, BCGNIS; Existence of the Strait of Juan de Fuca confirmed by Captain Charles Barkley, Washington Secretary of State; Hayes, Derek (1999). Historical Atlas of the Pacific Northwest: Maps of exploration and Discovery. Sasquatch Books. pp. 16. ISBN 1-57061-215-3.  online at Google Books; and Pethick, Derek (1980). The Nootka Connection: Europe and the Northwest Coast 1790-1795. Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre. pp. 24. ISBN 0-88894-279-6. 
  3. ^ See Fogarassy, Tony, The Alaska Boundary Dispute: History and International Law, Clark Wilson, LLP at 3, citing Office of the Premier, Province of British Columbia, Submission of the Province of British Columbia on West Coast Maritime Boundaries Between Canada and the United States (1977). See also, generally, The CIA World Factbook, 2006.

External links

Coordinates: 48°17′58″N 124°02′58″W / 48.29944°N 124.04944°W / 48.29944; -124.04944


This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Strait of Juan de Fuca".  Read more