The Puget Sound region is a coastal area of the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...

in the U.S. state of Washington, including

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ; ) is a complex estuary, estuarine system of interconnected Marine habitat, marine waterways and basins located on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As a part of the Salish Sea, the sound ...

, the Puget Sound lowlands, and the surrounding region roughly west of the

Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington (state), Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as m ...

and east of the

Olympic Mountains The Olympic Mountains are a mountain range on the Olympic Peninsula of the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are not especially high – Mount Olympus (Washington), Mount Olympus is the high ...

. It is characterized by a complex array of saltwater bays, islands, and peninsulas carved out by prehistoric glaciers. Poet Robert Sund called the Puget Sound region "Ish River country", owing to its numerous rivers with names ending in "ish", such as the Duwamish, Samish, Sammamish, Skokomish, Skykomish, Snohomish, and the Stillaguamish. The ''ish'' ending is from

Salishan languages The Salishan languages ( ), also known as the Salish languages ( ), are a Language family, family of languages found in the Pacific Northwest in North America, namely the Canadian province of British Columbia and the American states of Washingt ...

and means "people of".

History

The Puget Sound region was formed by the collision and attachment of many

terrane In geology, a terrane (; in full, a tectonostratigraphic terrane) is a crust fragment formed on a tectonic plate (or broken off from it) and accreted or " sutured" to crust lying on another plate. The crustal block or fragment preserves its d ...

s ("microcontinents") to the North American plate between about 50 to 10 million years ago. About 15,000 years ago during the Vashon Glaciation, the Puget Sound region was covered by a lobe of the Cordilleran ice sheet. The glacier that covered the area was about thick within the vicinity of Seattle. By the time Captain George Vancouver found the Sound in 1792, early native people had already been there for over 5,000 years. Logging started as early as 1853. In the 1880s logging railroads cut their way into Puget Sound. 1886 the St. Helens fire burned . Mount Rainier National Park started in 1899. The 1902 Yacolt Burn burned . Olympic National Park was established in 1938. George Vancouver explored Puget sound in 1792. Vancouver claimed it for

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

on June 4, 1792, naming it for one of his officers, Lieutenant Peter Puget. It became part of the

Oregon Country Oregon Country was a large region of the Pacific Northwest of North America that was subject to a long Oregon boundary dispute, dispute between the United Kingdom and the United States in the early 19th century. The area, which had been demarcat ...

, and became U.S. territory when the 1846

Oregon Treaty The Oregon Treaty was a treaty between the United Kingdom and the United States that was signed on June 15, 1846, in Washington, D.C. The treaty brought an end to the Oregon boundary dispute by settling competing American and British claims to ...

was signed. After arriving along the

Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in North America that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon Territory. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail crossed what ...

, many settlers wandered north to what is now Washington and settled the Puget Sound area. The first non-indigenous settlement was New Market (now known as Tumwater) in 1846. In 1853

Washington Territory The Washington Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington. It was created from the ...

was formed from part of

Oregon Territory The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the United States, Union as the Oreg ...

. In 1888 the

Northern Pacific Northern Pacific may refer to: * Northern Pacific Airways, an upcoming airline * Northern Pacific Field Hockey Conference, an NCAA Division I conference * Northern Pacific Hockey League, an American Tier III junior ice hockey league * Northern Paci ...

railroad line reached Puget Sound, linking the region to eastern states. For a long period Tacoma was noted for its large smelters where gold, silver, copper and lead ores were treated. Seattle was the primary port for trade with

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

and the rest of the country and for a time possessed a large shipbuilding industry. The region around eastern Puget Sound developed heavy industry during the period including

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and the

Boeing Company The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...

became established in the area. During World War II the Puget Sound area became a focus for the war industry, with Boeing producing many of the nation's

heavy bomber Heavy bombers are bomber Fixed-wing aircraft, aircraft capable of delivering the largest payload of air-to-ground weaponry (usually Aerial bomb, bombs) and longest range (aeronautics), range (takeoff to landing) of their era. Archetypal heavy ...

s and the ports of Seattle, Bremerton and Tacoma available for shipbuilding. The most important yards in the Sound during World War II were Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding's Seattle and Tacoma yards, also known as ''Todd Pacific'', ''Todd Seattle'' and ''Todd Tacoma'' and the Puget Sound Navy Yard. They produced a significant portion of

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

s and

escort carrier The escort carrier or escort aircraft carrier (U.S. hull classification symbol CVE), also called a "jeep carrier" or "baby flattop" in the United States Navy (USN) or "Woolworth Carrier" by the Royal Navy, was a small and slower type of aircraf ...

s. Smaller operations included Winslow, Associated Shipbuilders and the Lake Washington Shipyard. Since 1995, Puget Sound has been recognized as an

American Viticultural Area An American Viticultural Area (AVA) is a designated wine grape-growing region in the United States, providing an official appellation for the mutual benefit of winery, wineries and consumers. Winemakers frequently want their consumers to know abo ...

by the

Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, statutorily named the Tax and Trade Bureau and frequently shortened to TTB, is a bureau of the United States Department of the Treasury, which regulates and collects taxes on trade and imports of alc ...

Political geography

The urban region designated the Puget Sound Region is centered on Seattle and consists of nine

counties A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

, two urban center

cities A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

and four satellite cities making up what has been dubbed "Pugetopolis." Both urban core cities have large industrial areas and

seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manc ...

s plus a high-rise

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

. The satellite cities are primarily

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

an, featuring a small downtown core and a small industrial area or

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

. The suburbs consist mostly of residences,

strip mall A strip mall, strip center, strip plaza or simply plaza is a type of shopping mall, shopping center common in North America and Australia where the stores are arranged in a row, with a footpath in front. Strip malls are typically developed as a ...

s, and shopping centers. The region is also home to numerous ports. The two largest and busiest are the

Port of Seattle The Port of Seattle is a public agency that is in King County, Washington. It oversees the seaport of Seattle as well as Seattle–Tacoma International Airport. With a portfolio of properties ranging from parks and waterfront real estate, to ...

and Port of Tacoma, which, if combined, comprise the third largest container port in North America after Los Angeles/Long Beach and New York/New Jersey. As defined by the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

and the

Office of Management and Budget The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). The office's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, while it also examines agency pro ...

, the Seattle metropolitan area is officially the Seattle–Tacoma–Bellevue, WA metropolitan statistical area (MSA) and consists of: * Everett metropolitan division ** Snohomish County: north of Seattle *

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

– Bellevue–

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

metropolitan division ** King County: Seattle and its immediate vicinity * Tacoma– Lakewood metropolitan division ** Pierce County: south of Seattle Based on commuting patterns, the adjacent metropolitan areas of Olympia, Bremerton, and

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is the former residence and plantation of George Washington, a Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States, and his wife, Martha. An American landmar ...

, along with a few smaller satellite urban areas, are grouped together in a wider labor market region known as the ''Seattle–Tacoma'' combined statistical area (CSA), which encompasses most of the Puget Sound region. The population of this wider region is 4,269,349—almost two-thirds of Washington's population—. The Seattle CSA is the 12th largest CSA, and the 13th largest primary census statistical area in the country. The additional metropolitan and micropolitan areas included are: * Bremerton– Silverdale– Port Orchard metropolitan area **

Kitsap County Kitsap County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 275,611. Its county seat is Port Orchard, Washington, Port Orchard; its ...

: west of Seattle, separated from the city by

; connected to Seattle by

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

and to Tacoma by the

Tacoma Narrows Bridge The Tacoma Narrows Bridge is a pair of twin bridges, twin suspension bridges that span the Tacoma Narrows strait of Puget Sound in Pierce County, Washington, Pierce County, Washington (state), Washington. The bridges connect the city of Tacom ...

* Centralia micropolitan area ** Lewis County: south of Olympia *

–

Anacortes Anacortes ( ) is a city in Skagit County, Washington, United States. The name "Anacortes" is an adaptation of the name of Anne Curtis Bowman, who was the wife of early Fidalgo Island settler Amos Bowman.Skagit County * Oak Harbor micropolitan area ** Island County: northwest of Everett, encompassing Whidbey and Camano Islands in Puget Sound * Olympia– Lacey– Tumwater metropolitan area ** Thurston County: southwest of Seattle, at the south end of

* Shelton micropolitan area ** Mason County: west of Tacoma and northwest of Olympia A state-run ferry system,

Washington State Ferries Washington State Ferries (WSF) is a public ferry system in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. It is a division of the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) and operates 10 routes serving 20 terminals within Puget ...

, connects the larger islands to the Washington mainland, as well as both sides of the sound, allowing cars and people to move about the greater Puget Sound region.

Climate

The region has a ''Csb'' ( warm summer mediterranean) climate with some areas in the far east (western foothills of the Cascades) having an oceanic (''Cfb'') climate if the isohyet is used. The wet season is from October to April and is due to the Aleutian Low coming in from the northwest, and variation in winter rain from year to year is mostly due to variation in the strength of the Aleutian Low (strong = dry and weak = wet). The dry season (May-Sep) is caused by a subtropical high moving north from California. The driest part of the region is in the rain shadow of the

around Sequim and

Whidbey Island Whidbey Island (historical spellings Whidby, Whitbey, or Whitby) is the largest of the islands composing Island County, Washington, Island County, Washington (state), Washington, in the United States, and the largest island in Washington stat ...

, receiving 40-75 cm of precipitation per year. The wettest part is in the foothills of both the Cascade and the Olympic Mts, and on the west side of the Sound, receiving 125-1000+ cm of precipitation per year.

Flora and fauna

North Pacific Oak Woodland is one of the principal plant associations of the Puget Trough, where many of the soils are well drained mesic.

Places

Counties of the Puget Sound region: * Island County * Jefferson County * King County *

* Mason County * Pierce County * Skagit County * Snohomish County * Thurston County In addition, the

San Juan Islands The San Juan Islands is an archipelago in the Pacific Northwest of the United States between the U.S. state of Washington and Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The San Juan Islands are part of Washington state, and form the core of ...

(all of San Juan County plus a few islands belonging to

Whatcom County Whatcom County (, ) is a county located in the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Washington, bordered by the Lower Mainland (the Metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley Regional Districts) of the Canadian province of British Columbia to t ...

) are often considered part of the greater Puget Sound area. Prominent islands: * Anderson Island * Bainbridge Island * Blake Island * Camano Island * Fidalgo Island * Fox Island * Harstine Island * Herron Island * Indian Island * Marrowstone Island * Maury Island * McNeil Island * Mercer Island * Squaxin Island * Vashon Island *

Urban centers: *

* Tacoma * Olympia * Everett Satellite cities: * Bellevue * Bremerton Other principal cities: * Auburn * Edmonds * Federal Way *

* Kirkland * Lakewood * Lynnwood * Marysville *

* Oak Harbor * Puyallup * Redmond * Renton *

Shoreline A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...

Military bases: * Joint Base Lewis–McChord * Camp Murray * Naval Station Everett * Naval Base Kitsap **Bangor Annex **Bremerton Annex *

Puget Sound Naval Shipyard Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, officially Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PSNS & IMF), is a United States Navy shipyard covering 179 acres (0.7 km2) on Puget Sound at Bremerton, Washington in uninterrupted ...

Naval Air Station Whidbey Island Naval Air Station Whidbey Island (NASWI) is a naval air station of the United States Navy located on two pieces of land near Oak Harbor, Washington, Oak Harbor, on Whidbey Island, in Island County, Washington (state), Washington. The main ...

Notes

References

External links

Puget Sound Regional Council
The four-county regional coordination and planning organization for the Puget Sound region. It is charged with

transportation Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...

land use Land use is an umbrella term to describe what happens on a parcel of land. It concerns the benefits derived from using the land, and also the land management actions that humans carry out there. The following categories are used for land use: fo ...

, and

economic development In economics, economic development (or economic and social development) is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and object ...

planning for the region.
Prosperity Partnership
An award-winning economic development

coalition A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political, military, or economic spaces. Formation According to ''A G ...

, dedicated to growing jobs and securing long-term prosperity in the Puget Sound region.
University of Washington Libraries Digital Collections – Oliver S. Van Olinda Photographs
A collection of 420 photographs depicting life on Vashon Island, Whidbey Island, Seattle, and other communities of Washington State's Puget Sound from the 1880s through the 1930s.
Features Of Puget Sound Region: Oceanography And Physical Processes
Chapter 3 of th
State of the Nearshore Report
King County Department of Natural Resources, Seattle, Washington, 2001. {{DEFAULTSORT:Puget Sound Region Regions of Washington (state) Physiographic sections