Map of the Salish Sea & Surrounding Basin

In the fall of 2009 and winter of 2010 the Washington State Board on Geographic Names, the Province of British Columbia Geographic Names Office, the U.S. Board on Geographic Names and the Geographical Names Board of Canada each approved the name ‘Salish Sea‘ as an official designation for the inland marine waters of Washington and British Columbia. The SALISH SEA (Mer des Salish) extends from the north end of the Strait of Georgia and Desolation Sound to the south end of the Puget Sound and west to the mouth of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, including the inland marine waters of southern British Columbia, Canada and northern Washington, USA. These separately named bodies of water form a single estuarine ecosystem. Formally adopted by British Columbia and Washington State in 2009, ‘The Salish Sea’ as a name for these waters has been embraced by citizens on both sides of the border for years including the Coast Salish Gathering (the alliance of Coast Salish Tribal and First Nations leaders)