The Georgia Basin, Puget Sound, and Strait of Juan de Fuca are all part of a larger marine ecosystem, the Salish Sea. This was recently officially recognized. In August, 2009 the British Columbia Geographical Names Office approved a resolution recommending the Geographical Names Board of Canada adopt the name contingent on approval by the United States Board on Geographic Names. The name was endorsed by the Washington State Board on Geographic Names in October, 2009 and the United States Board on Geographic Names approved the name on November 12, 2009

Bellingham biologist Bert Webber, who initially proposed the name in 1989 and played an instrumental role in the naming process, says, "A lot of the credit goes to ... the support Sea Doc has given to the name. "

In celebration, SeaDoc is giving out a free 11" by 17" full-color map of the Salish Sea to the next 100 people who sign up for our email newsletter. You can find the signup box at the top and bottom of this page.

(The map is similar to the image at the left, but updated.)

To learn more about the Salish Sea, visit our Salish Sea Facts page.