The San Juans, Washington State, Usa
Thanks for visiting the San Juan Islands in Washington, a cluster of 743 large and small rugged islands sprawling within the lower end of Georgia Strait in northwest Washington State just below the Canadian border, and on the crossroads of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound. Resting in the rain shadow of the Olympic mountain range, these unique islands enjoy a mild and dry local climate, getting only about 29 inches of rain annually. Because of this, a species of prickly pear cactus is native to this area. Much like their Canadian neighbors further north – the Gulf Islands, the San Juans have been inhabited seasonally for approximately two thousand years. They were utilized as summer homes by individuals of the Lummi, Samish, and Songish tribes. Today, about 60 of these islands are still populated. The San Juan islands have been no strangers to early fishermen and smugglers either. British wool was one of several early goods smuggled, after which ambitions ran to opium in addition to Chinese laborers. Prohibition naturally motivated the next product of the smugglers – alcohol. It would be naive to think that smuggling has faded away today: drugs, spirits, cigarettes as well as other contraband carry on being smuggled along the international Canadian border today. Named in 1791 by Spanish explorer, Francisco Eliza, in honor of his patron, the viceroy of Mexico, four (Orcas Island, San Juan Island, Lopez Island, and Shaw Island) of the larger maze of islands are accessible by convenient ferries that depart from Anacortes in Washington State and Sidney in British Columbia, Canada. Up until the seventies the San Juans were a sleepy backwater, however in the last 40 years the population has more than doubled. Sleepy no longer, nevertheless varied and beautiful, the San Juans are absolutely worthy of a trip, particularly off season.
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Tags: islands, san juans, travel, washington