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Protection Island (Washington)

Commons category link is locally definedIUCN Category IVIslands of Washington (state)Landforms of Jefferson County, WashingtonNational Wildlife Refuges in Washington (state)
Protected areas of Jefferson County, WashingtonStrait of Juan de FucaUninhabited islands of Washington (state)
Auklet burrows, Protection Island
Auklet burrows, Protection Island

Protection Island is an island located in the Strait of Juan de Fuca just north of Discovery Bay in northeastern Jefferson County, Washington, United States. The island has a land area of 379 acres (153 ha). It is a federally protected National Wildlife Refuge; boats are not permitted within 200 yards (180 m) for the safety and health of wildlife on and near the shores. There is only one individual still living on the island not associated with the government. Marty Bluewater has lifetime use of his inholding cabin on the island's southern bluffs. The island also houses a caretaker, a volunteer hired by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, to watch over the island and take care of its many inhabitants. Boat trips from nearby Port Townsend, Washington provide ecotourism visits for viewing wildlife from the adjacent waters. Spanish explorers were the first Europeans to find the island. In 1790 it was given the name Isla de Carrasco, in honor of Juan Carrasco. It was given its present name by George Vancouver in 1792.Protection Island National Wildlife Refuge was designated in 1982 to protect the entire island and its coast. Approximately 70 percent of the nesting seabird population of Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca nest on the island, which includes one of the largest nesting colonies of rhinoceros auklets in the world and the largest nesting colony of glaucous-winged gulls in Washington. The island contains one of the last two nesting colonies of tufted puffins in the Puget Sound area. It is on the flyway for many migrating birds. Seals (harbor and elephant), sea lions, orcas, and other cetaceans are often seen nearby. About 1,000 harbor seals depend upon the island for a pupping and rest area.The refuge is closed to visitation to protect the fragile habitat. Visitors may view the island by boat; a 200-yard off-shore buffer is enforced to ensure adult birds are not flushed from their nests. The waters surrounding the North Olympic Peninsula support five additional refuges: Flattery Rocks, Quillayute Needles, Copalis, Dungeness, and San Juan Islands. Protection Island is managed as part of the Washington Maritime National Wildlife Refuge Complex.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Protection Island (Washington) (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Protection Island (Washington)
North Diamond Shore Lane,

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Latitude Longitude
N 48.1278714 ° E -122.9262842 °
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North Diamond Shore Lane

Washington, United States
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Auklet burrows, Protection Island
Auklet burrows, Protection Island
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Quimper Peninsula

The Quimper Peninsula is a narrow peninsula forming the most northeastern extent of the Olympic Peninsula of Washington state in the northwestern United States of America. The peninsula is named after the Peruvian-born Spanish explorer Manuel Quimper who, in command of Princess Royal, charted the north and south coasts of the Strait of Juan de Fuca during the summer of 1790. The Spanish had given the name Quimper to today's New Dungeness Bay, which George Vancouver had renamed New Dungeness. In 1838 Charles Wilkes gave the peninsula the name Dickerson, but the U.S. Coast Survey renamed it with Quimper's name.The Quimper Peninsula is defined by Discovery Bay to the west, the Strait of Juan de Fuca to the north, and Port Townsend Bay to the east. From the isthmus it extends approximately seven miles to the north-northwest and then curves to the northeast for another four miles before terminating at Point Wilson. For most of its length the width is less than four miles. This peninsula forms the westernmost boundary of Admiralty Inlet. Its approximate geographic center is at coordinates 48°5′N 122°50′W. Although the Quimper Peninsula is geographically the most isolated part of Jefferson County, Washington, it is the most economically developed and densely populated part of the county. Port Townsend, the county seat and only incorporated city in the county, is located at the end of the peninsula. The communities of Cape George, Port Hadlock, Irondale, and Chimacum are on the peninsula south of Port Townsend. The name "Quimper Peninsula" has become a convenient means of referring collectively to Port Townsend and the surrounding communities. When non-native explorers first arrived in the late 18th century, and the first non-native settlers in the mid-19th century, there were no permanent Native American settlements on the northern part of the peninsula as fresh water was obtainable only from streams at the southern end of the peninsula. The Chimakum lived along the southeastern shore of the peninsula and members of the S'Klallam along the southwestern shore. Because of strong tidal currents in Admiralty Inlet, Native Americans traveling between the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound would often portage their canoes across the Quimper Peninsula by way of a prairie they called Kah Tai, that traversed the peninsula in present-day Port Townsend.