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Modern Puget Sound timeline
The Puget Sound region has a long history that has shaped the culture and environment we experience today. View a timeline describing key events in the Puget Sound region dating from Washington statehood to the present.
Marine fecal bacteria
Fecal bacteria are found in the feces of humans and other homeothermic animals. They are monitored in recreational waters because they are good indicators of harmful pathogens that are more difficult to measure.
Eyes Over Puget Sound: Surface Conditions Report - April 23, 2012
Warm, sunny weather and higher-than-normal river flows . The freshwater layer in Whidbey Basin increased by 2 m. Abundant surface debris and algae blooms in river-fed inlets in South and Central Sound. Puyallup plume extends into Quartermaster Harbor. New thermosalinograph installed on ferry.
Relic gardens: camas in the San Juan Islands
A botanist believes Coast Salish tribes once favored small islands in the San Juan archipelago for growing camas, an important food staple. Her studies may also show the vulnerability of these relic gardens to climate change as sea levels rise.
Eyes Over Puget Sound: Surface Conditions Report - March 19, 2012
Cool, wet, cloudy weather with higher-than-normal river flows. Spectacular river plumes, suspended sediment and wind extend far into the waterways. Surface debris abundant. The freshwater layer in Whidbey Basin increased by 2 m matching high precipitation.
Eyes Over Puget Sound: Surface Conditions Report - February 27, 2012
Little sunshine, cold air temperatures, and higher river flows. Freshwater plumes extend far into the waterways. Chilly surface temperatures in Central Sound. First blooms begin in South Sound. A thinner freshwater layer at Mukilteo suggests a low discharge of the Snohomish river.
Shoreline formation in Puget Sound
Puget Sound has over 4,000 km (2,500 miles) of shorelines, ranging from rocky sea cliffs to coastal bluffs and river deltas. The exchange of water, sediment, and nutrients between the land and sea is fundamental to the formation and maintenance of an array of critical habitat types.
Puget Sound's climate
The climate of Puget Sound is a product of the interaction between large-scale wind and weather patterns and the complex topography of the region. Seasonal changes in the movement of moisture-laden air that collides with the sudden barrier of the Olympic and Cascade mountains bring Puget Sound the record-breaking precipitation for which it is so famous. These circulation and topographic
Ecosystem services in Puget Sound
Ecosystem services are the “outputs” and experiences of ecosystems that benefit humans, and are generated by the structure and function of natural systems, often in combination with human activities. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, a global effort to catalog and assess ecosystem status and functions, offers a useful classification scheme.