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 San Juan County.
San Juan County is a county in the Salish Sea in the far northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 17,788. The county seat and only incorporated town is Friday Harbor, on San Juan Island. The county was formed on October 31, 1873, from Whatcom County and is named for the San Juan Islands, which are in turn named for Juan Vicente de Güemes, 2nd Count of Revillagigedo, the Viceroy of New Spain.
Friday Harbor is a town in San Juan County, Washington, United States. The population was 2,613 at 2020 census. Located on San Juan Island, Friday Harbor is the major commercial center of the San Juan Islands archipelago and is the county seat of San Juan County.
The Strait of Georgia or the Georgia Strait is an arm of the Salish Sea between Vancouver Island and the extreme southwestern mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada, and the extreme northwestern mainland coast of Washington, United States. It is approximately 240 kilometres (150 mi) long and varies in width from 20 to 58 kilometres. Along with the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound, it is a constituent part of the Salish Sea.
San Juan Island is the second-largest and most populous of the San Juan Islands in northwestern Washington, United States. It has a land area of 142.59 km2 and a population of 8,632 as of the 2020 census.
Orcas Island is the largest of the San Juan Islands of the Pacific Northwest, in northwestern Washington, United States.
Shaw Island is the smallest of the four San Juan Islands served by the Washington State Ferries. The island has a land area of 19.952 square kilometers and a small year-round population of 188. During the summer time, weekends swell with other residents and the occasional tourist.
Eastsound is an unincorporated community on Orcas Island in San Juan County, Washington, United States. Eastsound is the largest population center on Orcas Island, the second-most populated and physically largest of the San Juan Islands.
MV Elwha was a Super-class ferry in the Washington State Ferry System. The 382-foot (116 m) vessel entered service in June 1968, and spent most of her career working the Anacortes-San Juan Islands-Sidney B.C. route.
Moran State Park is a public recreation area on Orcas Island in Puget Sound's San Juan Islands in the state of Washington, United States. The state park encompasses over 5,000 acres of various terrain including forests, wetlands, bogs, hills, and lakes. It is the largest public recreation area in the San Juan Islands and the fourth largest state park in the state. A park focal point is the observation tower atop Mount Constitution, the highest point in San Juan County at 2,407 feet.
The King County Water Taxi is a passenger-only fast ferry service operated by the King County Metro Transit Department, Marine Division. It operates two routes between Downtown Seattle and West Seattle or Vashon Island.
Lummi Island lies at the southwest corner of Whatcom County, Washington, United States, between the mainland part of the county and offshore San Juan County. The Lummi Indian Reservation is situated on a peninsula east of the island, but it does not include Lummi Island. The island has a land area of 23.97 square kilometres and had a population of 822 as of the 2000 census. The population nearly doubles in summer when second-home owners from Canada and the U.S. arrive for the summer months.
Patos Island Lighthouse is an active aid to navigation overlooking the Strait of Georgia at Alden Point on the western tip of Patos Island in the San Juan Islands, San Juan County, Washington, in the United States. The station is the northernmost in the San Juan Islands and marks the division point between the eastern and western passages into the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
Crane Island is one of the San Juan Islands in San Juan County, Washington, United States. It lies just off the southwestern shore of Orcas Island, between it and the northwest corner of Shaw Island. Crane Island has a land area of 0.956 km². The 2000 census reported a population of 20 permanent residents.
Barnes Island is a small uninhabited island in San Juan County, Washington, USA. It is located near Clark Island off the northeast coast of Orcas Island. There is no ferry service to it, although it has a small dock. Barnes Island is a privately held island in the San Juans, owned by Charles Bundrandt as of 2013, and is being used for Christian camps, with a permanent group house in addition to tent sites.
The U.S. state of Washington is home to a number of public and private ferry systems, most notably the state-run Washington State Ferries.
Canoe Island is a 47-acre (19-hectare) island located in the center of the San Juan Islands, an archipelago in the U.S. state of Washington. The island is situated in Upright Channel between Shaw and Lopez Islands. Canoe Island's surface is mostly forested with second-growth cedar, fir, hemlock, and madrona, with some old-growth trees, too. Its maximum elevation is 127.7 feet. The rocky shoreline is bordered by dense forests of bull kelp.
The Central Waterfront of Seattle, Washington, United States, is the most urbanized portion of the Elliott Bay shore. It runs from the Pioneer Square shore roughly northwest past Downtown Seattle and Belltown, ending at the Broad Street site of the Olympic Sculpture Park.
The Guemes Island ferry, the M/V Guemes, carries passengers and vehicles across Guemes Channel between Anacortes, Washington and Guemes Island. The ferry is operated by the Skagit County Public Works Department's Ferry Division.
The Journal of the San Juan Islands is a newspaper based in Friday Harbor, Washington. The Journal publishes on Wednesdays. It also publishes SanJuanJournal.com; Springtide, an annual magazine for visitors; The Book of the San Juan Islands, an annual almanac; and special sections related to aspects of island life.
