History

Find articles pertaining to human history in the Puget Sound and Salish Sea regions from the perspective of the social and economic sciences. Subtopics may include history of science and policy regarding Puget Sound protection and restoration, as well as related cultural history.

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Chief Sealth, known to settlers as Chief Seattle. Photo: E.M. Sammis/MOHAI.

OVERVIEW

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.

RELATED ARTICLES

Homewaters book cover
4/20/2021

'Homewaters' blends natural and cultural history of Puget Sound

A new book explores our complicated connection to the ecosystem we call home. We interview author David B. Williams about Homewaters: A Human and Natural History of Puget Sound, published this month by the University of Washington Press.

Historic map of Seattle showing areas in different colors.
4/12/2021

Why is so much pollution found in disadvantaged communities?

Researchers are looking at the forces of discrimination that worsen the environmental health risks for some communities.

Brightly painted canoes on river shore with construction cranes in background.
4/12/2021

Diverse populations benefit from targeted efforts to improve environmental justice

Years of struggle have led to reduced pollution and a stronger sense of community in the Duwamish Valley. As cleanup efforts there continue, environmental justice has come front and center for the area's diverse populations.

Timber pike seawall below a house along the shoreline.
3/30/2021

Is shoreline armoring becoming a relic of the past?

Close to 30% of Puget Sound's shoreline is armored with seawalls and other structures meant to protect beaches against rising tides and erosion. But science increasingly shows that these structures are ineffective and cause significant harm to salmon and other creatures. State and federal agencies have been encouraging private property owners to remove armoring in a race to improve habitat, but why did so much of it start appearing in the first place?

A geoduck farm near Totten Inlet between Shelton and Olympia. Photo: KBCS (CC BY 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/8gHRA8
3/13/2020

A history of Puget Sound's 'boss clam'

The geoduck has earned an honored place as Puget Sound's largest and most distinctive native clam, but how much do we really know about it? Often seen as a culinary curiosity, the geoduck has only been commercially harvested on a large scale since the 1970s, and the clam's current popularity is based mostly on demand from Asian markets. Nevertheless, this deep-burrowing mollusk has always been a signature part of the Salish Sea ecosystem. 

Herring fishing boats in the Strait of Georgia, BC
7/19/2019

Ancient harvests: A history of Salish Sea herring

Scientists believe that herring have been a staple of Salish Sea food and culture since humans first arrived here at least 12,500 years ago. That importance has continued into modern times, even as herring numbers have declined in parts of the region. 

Clam gardens, while all being characterized by a level terrace behind a rock wall in the lower intertidal, are diverse in their shapes and sizes. Photo: Amy S. Groesbeck.Clam gardens, while all being characterized by a level terrace behind a rock wall in the lower intertidal, are diverse in their shapes and sizes.
12/5/2014

Ancient clam gardens of the Northwest Coast of North America

Northwest Coast First Peoples made clam garden terraces to expand ideal clam habitat at tidal heights that provided optimal conditions for clam growth and survival, therefore enhancing food production and increasing food security.

7/31/2013

Puget Sound Voices: Don Malins interview

The audio files below are excerpts from a May 2013 interview with Donald Malins, former Director of the Environmental Conservation Division of NOAA Fisheries. Research by Malins and his colleagues in the 1970s and mid-1980s revealed high levels of industrial toxics in sediment-dwelling fish in Puget Sound, leading to the creation of Superfund sites in the Duwamish Estuary and Commencement Bay. Read a full profile of Donald Malins. The interview was conducted by Richard Strickland and Randy Shuman in cooperation with the Encyclopedia of Puget Sound as part of the Puget Sound Voices series. Additional assistance was provided by Jake Strickland. 

Don Malins examines a fish during a research trip to the Duwamish estuary. Photo circa 1987. Photographer unknown.
7/30/2013

Toxics research that changed Puget Sound history

In the 1970s and 1980s, research from a division of NOAA's Montlake Lab suddenly changed the way scientists and the public viewed the health of Puget Sound. Their discovery of industrial toxics in the region's sediment-dwelling fish led to the creation of two Superfund sites, and new approaches to ecosystem management across the Sound. The man at the forefront of this research was Dr. Donald Malins, featured here as part of the Puget Sound Voices series.

Camas flower in full bloom
4/25/2012

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.

A physcial model of Puget Sound shown without water.
6/28/2023

Before supercomputers, a structural model helped scientists predict currents in Puget Sound

One of the first working models of Puget Sound was a scaled-down concrete reproduction, with actual water running through channels, around islands and into bays, inlets, and harbors. Motors, pumps and timing gears are part of an elaborate mechanism that replicates tides and river flows in the still-functioning model.

A 1924 photo titled "Treaty trees" shows the site of the 1854 Medicine Creek Treaty. The photo is used by permission of the Washington State Historical Society (photo catalog no. 1943.42.30562) and was retrieved from HistoryLink.org.
4/18/2023

Legal milestones for Indigenous sovereignty and salmon co-management in the Puget Sound region

Treaty rights are critical to the sovereignity of Puget Sound area Tribes and are deeply connected to natural resource management. Five landmark treaties in our region were signed during a three-year period from 1854 to 1856 and continue to drive policy to this day.  

Graphic image of tidal channels
2/25/2022

How do you build an estuary? The answer lies in Puget Sound’s geologic history

Puget Sound is often referred to as the second largest estuary in the United States behind only Chesapeake Bay, but its overall size may be less important than its complexity. The place is defined by the mixing of saltwater from the ocean and freshwater from creeks and rivers that create an almost alchemical transformation of habitat. In this article, we look at the geologic forces that formed Puget Sound and made it the dynamic system that we understand today.   

Stacked tires. Photo: Kool Cats Photography. https://flic.kr/p/ChFgxf (CC BY-NC 2.0)
12/2/2020

The history and chemistry of tires

Modern automobile tires are a complex mixture of chemicals, all used together in different ways to give tires their structure and properties, including riding comfort, safety and long life. Chemicals from tire wear particles are now thought to be responsible for the deaths of large numbers of coho salmon returning to spawn in Puget Sound streams. 

Eugene and Dorothy Collias.  Photo courtesy of Collias estate
10/14/2019

History of UW Oceanography by Eugene Collias

Notes and biography about the history of the department of oceanography at the University of Washington (1903-1980) as reported by oceanagrapher Eugene Collias. Report courtesy of the Collias estate.

Ballard Locks from the air. Photo: Jeff Wilcox (CC BY-NC 2.0) https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffwilcox/4805933588
2/18/2016

Will Ballard Locks withstand a major earthquake?

For close to 100 years, Seattle's Ballard Locks has been one of the region's busiest waterways, drawing major boat traffic along with millions of tourists. But as it prepares to celebrate its centennial, the aged structure is also drawing the concern of engineers. They worry that an earthquake could cause the locks to fail, draining massive amounts of water from Lake Washington and Lake Union. In some scenarios, the two lakes could drop by as much as 20 feet, stranding boats, disabling bridges and causing big problems for salmon restoration.

Puget Sound portion of a 1798 chart showing "part of the coast of N.W. America : with the tracks of His Majesty's sloop Discovery and armed tender Chatham / commanded by George Vancouver, Esqr. and prepared under his immediate inspection by Lieut. Joseph Baker." Credit: Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division.
9/18/2015

Puget Sound: A uniquely diverse and productive estuary

Puget Sound is the second largest estuary in the contiguous United States. Today, we understand that estuaries — where freshwater and saltwater merge — are among the most productive places for life to exist.

8/7/2015

A study of the nutrients in the main basin of Puget Sound

This study compared recent and historical data to determine the presence of any significant changes in nutrient and oxygen concentrations subsequent to METRO discharge, examined seasonal cycles in water properties, and examined the flux of nutrients within the study area.

Chemistry of Puget Sound waters report cover
8/6/2015

Chemistry of Puget Sound waters and influencing factors

This 1954 report present the results of a geochemical investigation, based on existing data, of the waters of Puget Sound. Rivers draining into the Puget Sound and upwelled water moving in at depth from Juan de Fuca Strait are the chief sources of the chemical constituents in Puget Sound.

The shared marine waters of British Columbia and Washington report cover
7/28/2015

The shared marine waters of British Columbia and Washington

A scientific assessment of current status and future trends in resource abundance and environmental quality in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Strait of Georgia, and Puget Sound 

Seattle's central waterfront at sunset. Photo: Michael Matti (CC BY-NC 2.0) https://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelmattiphotography/9090323308/
10/29/2014

Brighter future for salmon at downtown seawall

The decaying seawall along Seattle’s waterfront is providing scientists with an opportunity to improve long-lost habitat for migrating salmon. It could also show the way for habitat enhancements to crumbling infrastructure worldwide. One University of Washington researcher describes the project.

Blue dye is used to illustrate currents in the Puget Sound Model at the UW School of Oceanography. Video screenshot: copyright Richard Strickland and Encyclopedia of Puget Sound
4/29/2014

Videos: The Puget Sound Model

The Puget Sound Model was designed and built by the University of Washington School of Oceanography in the early 1950s to simulate the tides and currents of Puget Sound. A series of videos produced by the Encyclopedia of Puget Sound describes its construction and operation.

The Puget Sound Model at the UW School of Oceanography
3/19/2014

The Puget Sound Model

The Puget Sound Model was designed and built in the early 1950s at the University of Washington School of Oceanography as a research and teaching tool for understanding Puget Sound circulation patterns.

Book cover for "Elwha: A River Reborn" by Lynda Mapes
11/20/2013

Exhibit traces Elwha restoration

The Encyclopedia of Puget Sound spoke with Seattle Times reporter Lynda Mapes about the exhibit Elwha: A River Reborn, which opened at the University of Washington Burke Museum on November 23rd. The exhibit is based on the book of the same title by Mapes and photographer Steve Ringman, and tells the story of the largest dam removal in U.S. history.  

Vern Morgas (second from the left) and friends
5/31/2013

Puget Sound Voices: scuba pioneer

Vern Morgas remembers the early days of scuba diving in Puget Sound.

Salish Sea map my Norm Maher. Courtesy of the SeaDoc Society.
4/2/2013

The Salish Sea

The Salish Sea extends across the U.S.-Canada border, and includes the combined waters of the Strait of Georgia, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Puget Sound Basin and the San Juan Islands (see map).

The name Salish Sea was proposed by Bert Webber in 1989 to reflect the entire cross-border ecosystem. Both Washington State and British Columbia voted to officially recognize the name in late 2009. The name honors the Coast Salish people, who were the first to live in the region.