South Puget Sound

{{Further|History of Olympia, Washington|History of Washington (state)#Puget Sound}}

Archaeology indicates that continuous human occupation began approximately ten thousand years ago by the Salish peoples who still live there. Lieutenant Peter Puget perhaps made first contact with the indigenous peoples and first charted the South Sound in the 1790s, giving rise to the original "Puget's Sound", which was then just the area south of the Narrows.{{sfn|Burns|1985|p=66}} Fort Nisqually was established in 1832, and Fort Steilacoom became the territorial militia headquarters in August 1849.{{citation|title=The Official History of the Washington National Guard|publisher=Washington Military Department|url=http://mil.wa.gov/national-guard/museum/official-history-of-washington-national-guard}} Both preceded by decades Fort Lewis (now Joint Base Lewis-McChord), which was created for World War I. The Medicine Creek Treaty between the tribes and the United States was signed in 1854 at the Nisqually River delta in the South Sound area, when settlers from other parts of America began to arrive.

Olympia became a settlement in the 1840s, providing access to inland areas in Southwest Washington.{{sfn|WPA Guide|1941|p=179}} Tumwater pioneers Michael Simmons, born in Kentucky, and George Washington Bush, a multiracial War of 1812 veteran from Pennsylvania, were among the first Puget Sound settlers from the United States in 1844. Simmons and Bush likely hacked a path through virgin forest from the Oregon Trail. In 1860 the route was made into a military road between Fort Vancouver on the Columbia to Forts Nisqually and Steilacoom on the Sound.{{sfn|Phelps|1978}}{{sfn|Prosch|1908}}

The Indian Shaker Church was founded in 1881 at Mud Bay by Native Americans "Mud Bay" Sam Yowaluch and "Mud Bay" Louie Yowaluch, and John Slocum of the Squaxin Island Tribe.{{sfn|Washington Secretary of State|1996|p=3}}{{Historylink|article=2640|title=Native Americans organize the Indian Shaker Church in 1892|author=David Wilma|date=September 4, 2000}} The church spread throughout the Northwest United States and Southern British Columbia in the 19th century, and still exists {{as of|2017|lc=yes}}.

The 20th century was characterized by rapid development and urbanization on the shores of the South Sound.

File:NOAA 18448.pdf

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The passages and inlets west of Hartstene Island, due to extensive Pleistocene glaciation, contain the shallowest water of the entire Sound.{{sfn|Burns|1985|p=69}} Away from the Tacoma Narrows, the basin has low rates of tidal exchange (tidal flushing), leading to issues with eutrophication. Shoreline complexity is greater in the South Sound than in the other basins, due to the many passages, inlets and islands:{{sfn|Burns|1985|p=66}}

;Passages

• Pickering Passage
• Peale Passage
• Dana Passage
• Squaxin Passage

;Inlets

• Hammersley Inlet and Oakland Bay
• Totten Inlet
• Skookum Inlet
• Eld Inlet
• Budd Inlet
• Henderson Inlet
• Case Inlet

;Islands

• Fox Island
• McNeil Island
• Anderson Island
• Hartstene Island
• Steamboat Island

File:Oyster Bay Washington panorama 2.jpg

Great tidal variation gives rise to extensive mudflats in the inlets of the South Sound.{{efn|"Mudflats are common along the Nisqually River delta, in the shallow headwaters at the north ends of Case and Carr inlets, and extensively in the heads of the small inlets at the southwest."{{sfn|Burns|1985|p=69}}}} Tidal variation increases with distance from the entrance to Puget Sound and is greatest at 15+ feet in the South Sound, versus only 11 in Seattle (compare 5 in Los Angeles).{{sfn|Kruckeberg|1991|p=69}} Mudflats include the Mud Bay region at the southern end of Eld Inlet and Oyster Bay at the southern end of Totten Inlet. The entirety of Oyster Bay is exposed mud at low tide.{{sfn | Mueller | Mueller | 2006 | p=258}}

Major watersheds in the South Sound include the Deschutes River (Washington) and the Nisqually River.

The Chehalis Gap brings Pacific moist air to the entire Puget Sound area, arriving first in the South Sound (the gap near Matlock is {{convert|15|mi}} from Shelton on Oakland Bay). Olympia is wetter than Seattle due to the absence of protection from the Olympic Mountains, and has been reckoned the rainiest city in America with 64 days of rain a year.{{cite web | url=http://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/everyday-myths/seattle-rainiest-city.htm | title=Is Seattle the rainiest city in the U.S.? | date=19 August 2015 }}

{{Further|Geoduck aquaculture|Oyster farming}}

Aquaculture in the South Sound produces much of the state's commercial shellfish harvest. Oyster farming in Totten Inlet and its side branch, Little Skookum, produce the best known edible oysters in the South Puget Sound. Geoduck production leads the nation.{{efn|A single Mason County producer contributes {{convert|700000|lb}}, or nearly half of the {{convert|1600000|lb|adj=on}} national geoduck harvest.{{citation|title=Neighbors fight geoduck farm in Washington's shellfish heartland|author=Andy Hobbs|date=June 11, 2016|newspaper=The Olympian|url=http://www.theolympian.com/news/local/article83162987.html}}}}

Jurisdictions in the South Sound include the state government and subordinate counties and cities; Nisqually, Squaxin Island, and Puyallup Tribes; and the federal government which is a landowner and operator of Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

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File:US-WA-Olympia-PortOfOlympia-StarHarmonia-FrackingSupplies-2013.02.18.JPG and crane at Port of Olympia]]

Transportation by water was once common in the South Sound. Ferries once linked many locations such as Steilacoom.{{sfn|Mueller|Mueller|2006|p=18}} The Steilacoom-Anderson Island Ferry provides service between Steilacoom and South Sound islands using two vessels.{{cite web|url=http://www.co.pierce.wa.us/pc/abtus/ourorg/pwu/ferry/steil2.htm|title=Pierce County's Ferry fleet|publisher=Pierce County, Washington|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928061037/http://www.co.pierce.wa.us/pc/abtus/ourorg/pwu/ferry/steil2.htm|archive-date=2007-09-28}} The north end of the South Sound region has the only cross-Sound bridge, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge (technically two adjacent bridges since 2007).{{citation|publisher=Washington Secretary of State|work=From Our Corner|type=official blog|title=Cross-sound bridge plans|date=April 11, 2012|author=Brian Zylstra|url=https://blogs.sos.wa.gov/FromOurCorner/index.php/2012/04/april-archives-treasure-1-cross-sound-bridge-plans/}}{{citation|author=Beekman, Dan|author2=Santos, Melissa|url=http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/updates/story/110831.html|title=First traffic crosses new bridge|newspaper=The News Tribune|location=Tacoma|date=July 16, 2007}}{{dead link|date=May 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Interstate 5 and U.S. 101 form a semicircular pathway from Shelton to Tacoma around the South Sound, and Washington State Route 3 runs up from Shelton through the center of the Kitsap Peninsula. State Route 16 across the Narrows Bridge completes a loop around the South Sound. Dead end county roads traverse the length of the southernmost peninsulas in the Totten Inlet-Eld Inlet-Budd Inlet area: Kamilche Point Road, Steamboat Island Road, Cooper Point Road, Libby Road, and Johnson Point Road.{{sfn|DeLorme|2002|pp=62-63}}

The Port of Olympia is a deepwater port for oceangoing vessels. It is sustained by dredging in Budd Inlet and Capitol Lake,{{citation|title=Capitol Lake alternatives analysis–Dredging and disposal addendum|author=Moffatt and Nichol|date=March 27, 2009|url=http://des.wa.gov/sites/default/files/public/documents/About/CapitolLake/12-CapitolLakeAlternativesAnalysis-DredgingAndDisposa.pdf}} an impoundment of the Deschutes River. Without dredging, the Deschutes would recreate its historical estuary with annual {{convert|35000|yd3}} of sediment deposit.{{efn|"Since 1951, only minimal sediment amounts have entered Budd Inlet as a result of the dam. These maritime industries [Port of Olympia, yacht club and marina] do not need to dredge as often as they once did." (Dani Madrone, Deschutes Estuary Restoration Team)}}

Tacoma Rail, BNSF Railway, Union Pacific Railroad support general rail freight,{{citation|title=Pierce-Lewis-Thurston County rail map|publisher=Tacoma Rail|url=https://www.mytpu.org/tacomarail/service-area/|access-date=2017-03-03}} and a little-used, {{convert|48|mile|adj=on}} Puget Sound and Pacific Railroad spur to the Kitsap Peninsula exists. Historically, logging railroads such as Mud Bay Logging Company were common on the South Sound shores and inland; these have been abandoned.{{sfn|Hannum|2002}}

Sanderson Field in Shelton and Olympia Regional Airport are the only major public airports (see List of airports in Washington (state)). Large military airfields exist onboard Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

Gray and humpback whales are rare in the South Sound but have been known to come there to feed and perhaps shelter whale calves.{{citation|title=Gray whale spotted in backwater of south Puget Sound|date=June 19, 2013|publisher=KOMO-TV|location=Seattle|url=http://komonews.com/news/local/gray-whale-spotted-in-backwater-of-south-puget-sound-11-20-2015}}{{citation|title=More humpback whales visit waters off Washington state|publisher=Associated Press|via=The Oregonian (Portland)|date=June 15, 2013|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2013/06/more_humpback_whales_visit_wat.html}} Southern resident killer whales (orcas) have been reported as far south as Eld Inlet. Smaller species include Dall's porpoise (Phocoenoides Dalli), harbor seals (Phoca Vitulina) and the Pacific harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena).{{sfn|Grette Associates|2009|p=65}} A single sea otter was sighted in the South Sound in 2012.

{{Clear}}

{{notelist|30em}}

{{Reflist|30em|refs=

{{citation|title=Marine Area 13: South Puget Sound|publisher=Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife|url=http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/washington/MarineArea/10013/|quote=Marine Area 13 (South Puget Sound) encompasses all waters south of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. }}

{{citation|title=South Puget Sound Wildlife Area|publisher=Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife|url=http://wdfw.wa.gov/lands/wildlife_areas/south_puget_sound/}}

{{citation|title=South Puget Sound Geographic Response Plan|year=2003|publisher=Washington Department of Ecology|url=http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/spills/preparedness/GRP/SouthPugetSound/SouthPugetSound.html}}

{{citation|publisher=Puget Sound Partnership|title=The 2014/2015 Action Agenda for Puget Sound: South Puget Sound|type=watersheds map|year=2014|url=http://www.psp.wa.gov/downloads/2014_action_agenda/LIO_Profiles/SouthSound_Profile_20140408.pdf}}

{{citation|title=Summary of South Puget Sound Water Quality Study|id=Pub 02-03-020|date=September 2002|publisher=Washington Department of Ecology|url=https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/publications/summarypages/0203020.html}}

{{citation|title=Sea Otter (Enhydra lutris)|year=2013|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Puget Sound|publisher=University of Washington|url=https://www.eopugetsound.org/articles/sea-otter-enhydra-lutris}}. Originally published by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife as Threatened and Endangered Wildlife in Washington: 2012 Annual Report.

{{citation|title=Geographic boundaries of Puget Sound and the Salish Sea|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Puget Sound|year=2015|publisher=University of Washington|url=https://www.eopugetsound.org/articles/geographic-boundaries-puget-sound-and-salish-sea}}

{{citation|title=Puget Salish People of Washington|publisher=Northwest Heritage Resources|location=Seattle|series=Educational Resources for Washington State Teachers|page=2|url=http://northwestheritageresources.org/Essays/Puget_Salish_essay.pdf}}

{{citation|title=Thurston County profile|publisher=Washington Employment Security Department|date=February 2016|url=https://fortress.wa.gov/esd/employmentdata/reports-publications/regional-reports/county-profiles/thurston-county-profile}}

{{citation|title=Historical Coast Salish art|date=January 16, 2014|author=Robin K. Wright | publisher=Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture |work=official blog|location=Seattle|url=http://www.burkemuseum.org/blog/historical-coast-salish-art}}

{{citation|title=What stands in the way of Deschutes estuary restoration? (Besides a dam, of course...)|author=Dani Madrone|publisher=Deschutes Estuary Restoration Team|work=Summer newsletter|year=2014|url=http://www.deschutesestuary.org/wp-content/uploads/Newsletter_Summer14_web.pdf}}

{{citation|title=Estuary or lake?|date=May 30, 2009|author=John Dodge|newspaper=The Olympian|url=http://www.theolympian.com/news/local/article25233970.html}}

{{cite web|website=The Oyster Guide|author=Rowan Jacobsen|title=Hood Canal and Southern Puget Sound: Totten Inlet|date=29 August 2007 |url=http://www.oysterguide.com/maps/hood-canal-and-southern-puget-sound/totten-inlet/|access-date=2017-03-03}}

{{citation|title=Orcas in Thurston County's Eld Inlet getting hassled by boaters|author=Natalie DeFord|newspaper=The Olympian|url=http://www.theolympian.com/news/local/article26219998.html}}

{{citation|title=Profiles of South Sound inlets and watersheds|author=John Dodge|publisher=The Olympian|url=http://media.theolympian.com/static/images/ps3images/pugetsoundpdf.pdf}}

}}

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{{Puget Sound}}

{{Washington}}

Category:Geography of Washington (state)