Pickering Passage is a strait, in the southern end of part of

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected m ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

of Washington. Entirely within Mason County, the Pickering Passage separates

Hartstine Island Harstine Island (also known simply as Harstine or Hartstene) is an island in Mason County, Washington, United States. The US Census recognizes it as an unincorporated community. The island is located west of Case Inlet in southern Puget Sound, n ...

from the mainland, and connects

Totten Inlet Totten Inlet lies in the southern end of Puget Sound in the U.S. state of Washington. The inlet extends southwest from the western end of Squaxin Passage, and much of the county line between Mason and Thurston counties runs down the center ...

with the north end of

Case Inlet Case Inlet, in southern Puget Sound in the U.S. state of Washington, is an arm of water between Key Peninsula on the east and Hartstine Island on the west. Its northern end, called North Bay, reaches nearly to Hood Canal, creating the defining i ...

. Pickering Passage flows past the mouths of Hammersley Inlet,

, and Eld Inlet. It is a nutrient rich area, producing

oysters Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not al ...

that grow very quickly.

History

Pickering Passage was named by

Charles Wilkes Charles Wilkes (April 3, 1798 – February 8, 1877) was an American naval officer, ship's captain, and explorer. He led the United States Exploring Expedition (1838–1842). During the American Civil War (1861–1865), he commanded ' during the ...

during the Wilkes Expedition of 1838–1842, to honor Charles Pickering (naturalist), one of the expedition's naturalists. From 1922 to 1969, a ferry owned and operated by

Mason County, Washington Mason County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 65,726. The county seat and only incorporated city is Shelton. The county was formed out of Thurston County on March 13, 1854. Origi ...

crossed Pickering Passage to link Harstine Island to the mainland. The ferry was replaced by a bridge in 1969Findlay, Jean Cammon and Paterson, Robin, ''Mosquito Fleet of South Puget Sound'', (2008) Arcadia Publishing , at 119.

References

Bodies of water of Mason County, Washington Straits of Washington (state) Landforms of Puget Sound {{MasonCountyWA-geo-stub