The Kitsap Peninsula () lies west of

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 ...

across

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 ...

, in

Washington state Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

in 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 ...

Hood Canal Hood Canal is a fjord-like body of water that lies south of Admiralty Inlet in Washington State that some consider to be the western lobe and one of the five main basins of Puget Sound.Olympic Peninsula The Olympic Peninsula is a large peninsula in Western Washington that lies across Puget Sound from Seattle, and contains Olympic National Park. It is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the north by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the ...

on its west side. The peninsula, a.k.a. "Kitsap", encompasses all of

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 ...

except

Bainbridge Bainbridge may refer to: People *Bainbridge (name) Places * Bainbridge Township (disambiguation) United States * Bainbridge Island, Alaska * Bainbridge, Georgia * Bainbridge, Indiana * Bainbridge (town), New York ** Bainbridge (village), New Yo ...

and

Blake Blake or Blake's may refer to: People * Blake (given name), a given name of English origin (includes a list of people with the name) * Blake (surname), a surname of English origin (includes a list of people with the name) ** William Blake (1757 ...

islands, in addition to the northeastern part of Mason County and the northwestern part of Pierce County. The highest point on the Kitsap Peninsula is Gold Mountain. The

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

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 ...

, and

Naval Base Kitsap Naval Base Kitsap is a United States Navy, U.S. Navy base located on the Kitsap Peninsula in Washington (state), Washington state, created in 2004 by merging the former Naval Station Bremerton with Naval Submarine Base Bangor. It is the home ba ...

(comprising the former NSB Bangor and NS Bremerton) are on the peninsula. Its main city is

Bremerton Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. The population was 43,505 at the 2020 census and an estimated 44,122 in 2021, making it the largest city on the Kitsap Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard ...

. The 1841

United States Exploring Expedition The United States Exploring Expedition of 1838–1842 was an exploring and surveying expedition of the Pacific Ocean and surrounding lands conducted by the United States. The original appointed commanding officer was Commodore Thomas ap Catesby ...

, led by

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

of the U.S. Navy, named it the Great Peninsula or Indian Peninsula. While "Great Peninsula" remains the official name, the name "Kitsap Peninsula" is more commonly used and is derived from Kitsap County, which occupies most of the peninsula. The county was named for

Chief Kitsap Kitsap (; ) was a leader of the Suquamish people during the 19th century. Kitsap was the orchestrator of a region-wide coalition that sought to end the constant slave raids perpetrated by the Cowichan. His wealth and prestige allowed him to bu ...

, a late 18th- and 19th-century warrior and

medicine man A medicine man (from Ojibwe ''mashkikiiwinini'') or medicine woman (from Ojibwe ''mashkikiiwininiikwe'') is a traditional healer and spiritual leader who serves a community of Indigenous people of the Americas. Each culture has its own name i ...

of the

Suquamish The Suquamish () are a Lushootseed-speaking Native American people, located in present-day Washington in the United States. They are a southern Coast Salish people. Today, most Suquamish people are enrolled in the federally recognized Su ...

Tribe. The Suquamish were one of the historical fishing tribes belonging to the

Coast Salish The Coast Salish peoples are a group of ethnically and linguistically related Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, living in the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon. They speak on ...

peoples, and their ancestral grounds were based on the eastern shores of the Kitsap Peninsula. The city of Seattle is named after the tribe's most famous leader,

Chief Seattle Seattle ( – June 7, 1866; , ; usually styled as Chief Seattle) was a leader of the Duwamish and Suquamish peoples. A leading figure among his people, he pursued a path of accommodation to white settlers, forming a personal relationship wi ...

. The

Port Madison Indian Reservation The Suquamish Indian Tribe of the Port Madison Reservation is a federally recognized tribe and Indian reservation in the U.S. state of Washington. The tribe includes Suquamish, Duwamish, and Sammamish peoples, all Lushootseed-speaking Indigen ...

, located between

Poulsbo Poulsbo ( ) is a city on Liberty Bay in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. It is the smallest of the four cities in Kitsap County. The population was 11,970 at the 2020 census and an estimated 10,927 in 2018. The Suquamish people hav ...

and

Agate Pass Agate Pass or Agate Passage is a high-current tidal strait in Puget Sound connecting Port Madison and mainland Kitsap County in the US state of Washington. It lies between Bainbridge Island and the mainland of the Kitsap Peninsula near Suqu ...

, is the modern Suquamish tribal center. The Kitsap Peninsula is also home to the

Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe The Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe, formerly known as the Port Gamble Indian Community of the Port Gamble Reservation or the Port Gamble Band of S'Klallam Indians is a federally recognized tribe of S'Klallam people, located on the Kitsap Peninsula ...

, another branch of Coast Salish people; their tribal center is the

Port Gamble S'Klallam Indian Reservation The Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe, formerly known as the Port Gamble Indian Community of the Port Gamble Reservation or the Port Gamble Band of S'Klallam Indians is a federally recognized tribe of S'Klallam people, located on the Kitsap Peninsula ...

at Little Boston, located on the northwest coast of the peninsula. A third subgroup of the Coast Salish are the

Twana Twana ( Twana: ) is the collective name for a group of nine Coast Salish peoples in the western Puget Sound region along much of Hood Canal. The Skokomish are the main surviving group and self-identify as the Twana today. The spoken language, ...

, who historically also occupied the area around the Hood Canal. Their main center now is at Skokomish. The peninsula is connected to the eastern shore of Puget Sound by

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 ...

, which run from

Downtown Seattle Downtown is the central business district of Seattle, Washington. It is fairly compact compared with other city centers on the U.S. West Coast due to its geographical situation, being hemmed in on the north and east by hills, on the west by ...

; from

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

Edmonds Edmonds may refer to: * Edmonds (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the surname) * Edmonds, Washington, a city in Washington, US **Edmonds station (Washington), a passenger train station in Washington, US * Edmonds station (SkyTrai ...

; and from

Southworth Southworth may refer to: People * Southworth (surname) Places * Southworth, Ohio, an unincorporated community * Southworth, Washington – unincorporated community on Puget Sound in Kitsap County, Washington * Point Southworth – on Kitsap Penins ...

West Seattle West Seattle is a conglomeration of List of neighborhoods in Seattle, neighborhoods in Seattle, Washington, United States. It comprises two of the List of neighborhoods in Seattle, thirteen districts, Delridge, Seattle, Delridge and Southwest, ...

via

Vashon Island Vashon () is a census-designated place (CDP) in King County, Washington, United States. It covers an island alternately called Vashon Island or Vashon–Maury Island, the largest island in Puget Sound south of Admiralty Inlet. Before the constru ...

. Several passenger ferry routes are operated by

Kitsap Fast Ferries Kitsap Fast Ferries is a passenger 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 sometime ...

from these terminals to Downtown Seattle. It is also connected 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 ...

from Point Fosdick to

Tacoma Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, northwest of Mount ...

, and to the west, to the northeastern shore of the main

Olympic Peninsula The Olympic Peninsula is a large peninsula in Western Washington that lies across Puget Sound from Seattle, and contains Olympic National Park. It is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the north by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the ...

by the

Hood Canal Bridge The Hood Canal Bridge (officially William A. Bugge Bridge) is a floating bridge in the northwest United States, located in western Washington. It carries State Route 104 across Hood Canal in Puget Sound and connects the Olympic and Kitsap ...

Cities and towns

Annapolis Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

* Bangor * Belfair *

* Brownsville * Colby *

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''. Colchester occupies the ...

* Chico * East Port Orchard * Erlands Point *

Gig Harbor Gig Harbor () is the name of both a bay on Puget Sound and a city on its shore in Pierce County, Washington. The population was 12,029 at the 2020 census. Gig Harbor bills itself as "the Maritime City" and maintains a strong connection to its ...

* Gorst * Hansville * Illahee * Indianola * Keyport *

Kitsap Lake Kitsap Lake is a lake in Kitsap County, Washington. The lake is near the exact center of the Kitsap Peninsula, roughly between the Dyes Inlet in the Puget Sound and the Blue Hills peak range. It is located on the edge of the Bremerton, Washing ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

* Navy Yard City * Olalla * Parkwood * Port Gamble *

Port Orchard Port Orchard, part of Washington state's Puget Sound, is the strait that separates Bainbridge Island on the east from the Kitsap Peninsula on the west. It extends from Liberty Bay and Agate Pass in the north to Sinclair Inlet and Rich Passag ...

* Purdy * Retsil *

Scandia Scandza was described as a "great island" by Gothic-Byzantine historian Jordanes in his work ''Getica''. The island was located in the Arctic regions of the sea that surrounded the world. The location is usually identified with Scandinavia. Jor ...

* Seabeck * Silverdale *

* Tahuya * Tracyton

Bays and inlets

* Anderson Cove * Appletree Cove * Big Beef Harbor * Burke Bay *

Burley Lagoon Burley Lagoon is a picturesque watershed located on the Key Peninsula in the U.S. state of Washington. The Purdy Bridge and Purdy Sand Spit separate Burley Lagoon from Henderson Bay at the northern end of Carr Inlet. The unincorporated communit ...

Carr Inlet Carr Inlet, in southern Puget Sound in the U.S. state of Washington, is an arm of water between Key Peninsula and Gig Harbor Peninsula. Its southern end is connected to the southern basin of Puget Sound. Northward, it separates McNeil Island and ...

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

* Chico Bay * Clam Bay *

Colvos Passage The Colvos Passage is a tidal strait within Puget Sound in the American state of Washington running west of Vashon Island between the island and the Kitsap Peninsula. It lies just north of the Dalco Passage. Colvos Passage has a permanent ...

* Coon Bay *

Dogfish Bay Liberty Bay is a narrow inlet extending about 4 miles in a northerly direction from the northwest part of Port Orchard, adjacent to the Kitsap Peninsula in Western Washington. Background The southeastern half of Liberty Bay is very narrow. The ...

Dyes Inlet Dyes Inlet is an inlet on the Kitsap Peninsula in western Washington, USA. The unincorporated Silverdale community is located on the north shore of the inlet and has a small marina, boat ramp, boardwalk, and two waterfront parks. The west shoreli ...

Liberty Bay Liberty Bay is a narrow inlet extending about 4 miles in a northerly direction from the northwest part of Port Orchard, adjacent to the Kitsap Peninsula in Western Washington. Background The southeastern half of Liberty Bay is very narrow. The ...

* Little Beef Harbor * Little Clam Bay * Miller Bay * Mud Bay * Nesika Bay * Olalla Bay * Orrs Cove * Ostrich Bay * Oyster Bay *

Phinney Bay Phinney Bay is a small bay, approximately 0.8 miles long, off the northwest end of the Port Washington Narrows on the Kitsap Peninsula in Kitsap County, Washington, USA. Adjacent to Dyes Inlet, the city of Bremerton Bremerton is a city in Ki ...

* Pilots Cove * Port Gamble *

Port Madison Port Madison, sometimes called Port Madison Bay, is a deep water bay located on the west shore of Puget Sound in western Washington (state), Washington. It is bounded on the north by Indianola, Washington, Indianola, on the west by Suquamish, Wash ...

Port Washington Narrows The Port Washington Narrows is a tidal strait located in Bremerton, Washington, Bremerton, Washington, United States. The northwest entrance is marked on the west side by Rocky Point, and the southeast entrance is located between Point Turner on t ...

* Races Cove *

Rich Passage Rich Passage is a tidal strait in Puget Sound, allowing access to Bremerton, Washington, the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Sinclair Inlet, and Dyes Inlet. It separates Bainbridge Island from the Manchester area of Kitsap Peninsula. The Seattl ...

* Seabeck Bay *

Sinclair Inlet Sinclair Inlet is a shallow embayment in the western part of Puget Sound in Kitsap County, Washington, USA. It has a maximum depth of 20 meters. It is the southwestern extension of Port Orchard, and it touches the shores of three of Kitsap County ...

* Skunk Bay * Stavis Bay *

Stiles Lagoon Stiles or Styles may refer to: Places * Ezra Stiles College, a residential college of Yale University, U.S. * Stiles, County Antrim, a List of townlands in County Antrim, townland in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, U.K. * Stiles, Texas, U.S. * St ...

Tacoma Narrows The Tacoma Narrows (or the Narrows), a strait, is part of Puget Sound in the U.S. state of Washington. A navigable maritime waterway between glacial landforms, the Narrows separates the Kitsap Peninsula from the city of Tacoma. The Narrow ...

Yukon Harbor Yukon () is a Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada, bordering British Columbia to the south, the Northwest Territories to the east, the Beaufort Sea to the north, and the U.S. state of Alaska to the west. It is Canada’s we ...

Headlands

* Anderson Point *

Apple Cove Point aka Apple Tree Point An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are cultivated worldwide. The tree originated in Central A ...

* Bass Point * Command Point * Elwood Point * Erlands Point * Foulweather Bluff * Hood Point * King Spit *

Scandia Point Scandza was described as a "great island" by Gothic-Byzantine historian Jordanes in his work ''Getica''. The island was located in the Arctic regions of the sea that surrounded the world. The location is usually identified with Scandinavia. Jor ...

* Lemolo Point * Madrona Point * Manette Peninsula * Middle Point * Norwegian Point * Orchard Point *

Pearson Point Bird Island () is long and wide, separated from the western end of South Georgia by Bird Sound. It is part of the British overseas territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, also claimed by Argentina as part of Tierra del Fuego p ...

* Pilot Point * Point Bolin * Point Glover * Point Herron * Point Jefferson * Point Julia * Point Misery *

Point No Point Point No Point () is an outcropping of land on the northeast point of the Kitsap Peninsula in Washington (U.S. state), Washington, the United States. It was the location of the signing of the Point No Point Treaty and is the site of the Point No ...

Point Southworth Southworth is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) on Puget Sound in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. It is best known for being the west end of the Fauntleroy- Vashon Island-Southworth Washington State Ferries r ...

* Point Turner * President Point * Rocky Point *

Ross Point Ross Point () is a point forming the southeast side of the entrance to Varvara Cove on the southwest side of Nelson Island in the South Shetland Islands The South Shetland Islands are a group of List of Antarctic and subantarctic isla ...

* Ruby Point * Salisbury Point *

Sandy Hook Sandy Hook is a barrier spit in Middletown Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The barrier spit, approximately in length and varying from wide, is located at the north end of the Jersey Shore. It encloses the southern en ...

* Teekalet Bluff * Tekiu Point * Twin Spits * University Point * Virginia Point *

Waterman Point Waterman may refer to: People * Waterman (occupation), a river worker who transferred passengers across and along the city centre rivers in Britain * The Chesapeake Bay term for commercial fishermen, particularly those who seek oysters and the blu ...

* Windy Point, Puget Sound

References

External links

*
Kitsap Peninsula Visitor Information
{{Coord, 47, 32, 59, N, 122, 49, 05, W, display=title, source:GNIS Landforms of Kitsap County, Washington Landforms of Mason County, Washington Landforms of Pierce County, Washington Landforms of Puget Sound Peninsulas of Washington (state)