Port Susan is a

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a ...

and

strait A strait is an oceanic landform connecting two seas or two other large areas of water. The surface water generally flows at the same elevation on both sides and through the strait in either direction. Most commonly, it is a narrow ocean chann ...

located in the U.S. state of Washington. Part of the Whidbey Island Basin of Puget Sound, Port Susan is bounded by

Camano Island Camano Island is a large island in Possession Sound, a section of Puget Sound. It is part of Island County, Washington, and is located between Whidbey Island and the mainland (Snohomish County) by the Saratoga Passage to the west and Port Sus ...

to the west and the mainland to the east. The

Stillaguamish River The Stillaguamish River is a river in the northwestern region of the U.S. state of Washington. It is mainly composed of two forks, the longer North Fork Stillaguamish () and the South Fork Stillaguamish. The two forks join near Arlington. From ...

empties into the northern end of Port Susan. To the south, Port Susan connects with the rest of Puget Sound via Possession Sound and Saratoga Passage. A swampy waterway connects the northern end of Port Susan with

Skagit Bay Skagit Bay is a bay and strait located in the U.S. state of Washington. It is part of the Whidbey Island Basin of Puget Sound. The Skagit River empties into Skagit Bay. To the south, Skagit Bay connects with the rest of Puget Sound via Saratoga ...

. This waterway also separates Camano Island from the mainland.

History

In late May and early June 1792

George Vancouver Captain George Vancouver (22 June 1757 – 10 May 1798) was a British Royal Navy officer best known for his 1791–1795 expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern Pacific Coast regions, including the coasts of what a ...

's expedition explored Port Susan and gave it its current name. Most of Port Susan was surveyed by boats under Vancouver's officer

Joseph Whidbey Joseph Whidbey FRS (1757 – 9 October 1833) was a member of the Royal Navy who served on the Vancouver Expedition 1791–95, and later achieved renown as a naval engineer. He is notable for having been the first European to discover and chart ...

. On June 3, 1792, Vancouver held a formal ceremony taking possession of the region for Britain, at which time he named today's Saratoga Passage "Port Gardner", in honor of Vice-Admiral Sir Alan Gardner. He named Port Susan in honor of Lady Susan, Sir Alan's wife.

References

* * Bays of Washington (state) Landforms of Puget Sound Straits of Washington (state) Bays of Island County, Washington Bodies of water of Snohomish County, Washington {{SnohomishCountyWA-geo-stub