November 3, 2009
OLYMPIA — The Washington State Board on Geographic Names has approved a proposal to use “Salish Sea” as the collective name for the body of water that includes the Puget Sound, the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Georgia Strait.
The new designation does not change or eliminate the names of any of the several bodies of water within the Salish Sea on either side of the international border. It mandates that cartographers use Salish Sea on maps and atlases. The term, which has been adopted by the British Columbia Geographical Names Office, is already used by some scientists to describe the unified ecosystem and habitats of the inland waters.
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