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Strait of Juan de Fuca
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Please help improve this article's coverage of international boundary issues by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (October 2007) |
The Strait of Juan de Fuca is 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 1788 by the English Captain John Meares of the ship Felice for Juan de Fuca, the Greek sailor who claimed to have gone on a voyage with Spanish explorers in 1592 to seek the fabled Strait of Anián.
The United States Geological Survey 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 over Rosario Head (Fidalgo Island). The eastern boundary is a continuous line extending south from Rosario Head along Whidbey Island to Point Partridge and south to Point Wilson (Quimper Peninsula). The Olympic Peninsula of the State of Washington forms the southern boundary of the strait.
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. 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 and a private high-speed ferry between Victoria, British Columbia and Seattle.
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."[1]
Counties along the Strait of Juan de Fuca:
- Clallam County, Washington
- Jefferson County, Washington
- Island County, Washington
- San Juan County, Washington
Regional districts along the Strait of Juan de Fuca:
- ^ 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.