Salish Sea

Salish Sea
French: Mer des Salish[1]
The Salish Sea, showing the open Pacific Ocean at lower left, and from there, heading inland: the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the narrow Puget Sound at lower right, and the wide Strait of Georgia at upper center. Sediment from the Fraser River shows as a greenish plume in the Strait of Georgia.
Salish Sea
Location	British Columbia and Washington
Coordinates	48°56′12″N 123°03′40″W / 48.93667°N 123.06111°W / 48.93667; -123.06111
River sources	Fraser, Nisqually, Nooksack, Puyallup, Skagit, Snohomish and Squamish Rivers
Ocean/sea sources	Pacific Ocean
Catchment area	110,000 km2 (42,000 sq mi) [2]
Basin countries	Canada and United States
Surface area	18,000 km2 (6,900 sq mi) [3]
Average depth	130 m (430 ft)
Max. depth	670 m (2,200 ft)[4]
Residence time	110 days[5][6]
Settlements	Seattle, Vancouver, Surrey, Tacoma, Victoria, Everett, Nanaimo

The Salish Sea (/ˈseɪlɪʃ/ SAY-lish) is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean located in the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. state of Washington. It includes the Strait of Georgia, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Puget Sound, and an intricate network of connecting channels and adjoining waterways.

The sea stretches from the channels of the Discovery Islands north of the Strait of Georgia to Budd Inlet at the south end of Puget Sound. It is partially separated from the open Pacific Ocean by Vancouver Island and the Olympic Peninsula.

Much of the coast is part of the Pacific Northwest megalopolis. The region is anchored by Metro Vancouver to the north, and Metro Seattle to the south. Other principal cities on the Salish Sea include Bellingham, Port Angeles, Port Townsend, Everett, Tacoma, Olympia, and Bremerton in Washington, and Victoria and Nanaimo in British Columbia. As of 2021, the region is home to 8.76 million people.^[7]