Juan de Fuca Strait


Region Type Maps & Charts (if available, no international)
North America, West, Pacific Strait Juan de Fuca Strait

Inlet of the Pacific Ocean, bet. Vancouver Isl., B.C. (SW Canada; N) and Olympic Peninsula, Washington, linking the Strait of Georgia through Haro and Rosario straits, and Puget Sound with the Pacific; forms part of the U.S.-Canada border; 100 miles long, 11-20 miles wide. Victoria (B.C.), the strait's largest city, is located on N side; ferries connect it with the U.S. mainland. It is the main shipping channel to Seattle, Tacoma, Vancouver (B.C.), Victoria, other parts. Cape Flattery (Wash.), at S side of Pacific entrance to strait; San Juan Isls. (Wash.), to NE; West Coast Trail Unit of Pacific Rim Natl. Park on NW coast. Port Angeles (Wash.), on S side. Discovered by the Eng. captain Charles W. Barkley in 1787, the strait was named for a sailor, Juan de Fuca, who reputedly had explored it for Spain in 1592.

Sources

Robert A. McCaughey

Compiler

Peter Richards

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