The Salish Sea is also one of the largest and most biologically diverse in land seas in the world. It is called after the natives of the region, the Coast Salish. The inland Salish Sea includes the waters of British Columbia, the San Juan Islands, the Puget Sound and waters around Vancouver. The area comprises the large cities of Seattle, Vancouver and stretches between Olympia, Washington, in the south and Campbell River, British Columbia, in the north and Neah Bay in the western direction.
It is a journey into a realm of sea lions, orcas, and a wide variety of Indigenous cultures; more than a boat tour. The splendid beauty and diversity of marine life that lives in this region will amaze you. Due to the high standards of life this wonderful body of water gives its employees and consumers, some of the most successful companies in the world, such as Microsoft, Amazon, Boeing and Starbucks, have their headquarters located in the region.
Salish Sea Facts:
- Coastline length, including islands: 7,470 km
- Total number of islands: 419
- Total land area of islands: 3,660 square kilometers
- Sea surface area: 16,925 square kilometres
- Maximum depth: 650 meters
- Total population: more than 8 million.
- The estimated number of species of marine animals includes 261 fish species (see Ashley et al., 2022), 172 bird species (see Gaydos and Pearson, 2011), 37 mammal species (see Gaydos and Pearson, 2011), and an estimated 3,000 species of macro-invertebrates.
- There are 135 species and subspecies that are listed as endangered, threatened, or are pending listing (see Wainstein and Gaydos, 2022).
The Coast Salish People
The local people, the aboriginal people, who have inhabited this area thousands of years are referred to as the Coast Salish. They live on the Salish Sea and southwest of British Columbia. These people are similar in their languages and traditions. The group of Salishan or Salish to which the Coast Salish belong is rather a broader one. Salish is represented in 23 languages.
The Salishan people were first met by European explorers in the late 1700s. The Coast Salish people had been very dependent on the waterways of the Salish Sea as their trade routes. These natives continue to depend on the sea to provide sustenance, such as food.
Historical Importance
- Early Inhabitation: The age of the place according to archaeological sources is over 10,000 years. Their long term adjustment and management is seen in the fishing grounds, villages and clam gardens.
- Trade and Exchange: The Salish Sea used to be the centre of the canoes and trade in the past, which connected different Coast Salish settlements with the inland and coastal communities.
- Colonial Encounters: European immigrants, fur traders and explorers arrived in the late 18 th and on early 19 th centuries. Colonisation disrupted the life way of the indigenous people and brought about environmental change, compelled and repressed cultures.
Modern Recognition In 2009 the Salish Sea was officially adopted as a way of closing the gap between environmental consciousness and cultural consciousness to pay tribute to the Coast Salish population and their focus on the natural solidarity of the rivers.
Cultural and Historical Importance Salish Sea
The Salish Sea is a network of coastal waterways [such as Straits of Georgia, Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound] that has cultural and historical significance, particularly to the Indigenous peoples who have settled around its edges throughout a millennium. The main factors are as under:
1. Cultural Importance
The so-called Coast Salish Nations comprising of Lummi, Samish, Duwamish, Suquamish, and many others is considered crucial to the identity, spirituality, and life of the native inhabitants of the area, the Salish Sea. The rivers, islands, and coast are all amalgamated with oral traditions, myths of creation and traditions of the ancestors.
2. Language and Traditions
There is a connection between the seascape and terrain and indigenous languages, songs and rites. A lot of these languages include stories, ecological knowledge, and cultural memory in their place names.
3. Spiritual Significance:
The sea is not merely a source, but rather a personage, and a family. The waters and the animals that live there are often celebrated during seasonal occasions and ritual practices.
Rich Marine Life at the Salish Sea
Salish Sea is a culturally and ecologically significant location since it is the ancestral site of Coast Salish people and a key marine ecosystem hosting its diversity of life. The aboriginal people have been residing on its beaches thousands of years, harvesting salmon, shellfish and other products of the waters in a sustainable manner and deriving spiritual essence, stories and legends out of the waters. The archaeological record early on and the trade routes emphasize the importance of the sea in terms of cultural connectedness.
The Salish Sea has now become as well-known with its high diversity of species, such as orcas and humpback as well as grey whales, harbour seals, sea lions, salmon, herring, Dungeness crabs, giant Pacific octopuses and kelp forests of many kinds, which has homes to an enormous number of species. Moving along her shores, migratory birds buzz as centuries of human husbandry can be there in her clam gardens and the eelgrass meadows. Despite the current endangering of numerous species by pollution, habitat loss, and climate changes, the sea which got name in 2009 to honor the Coast Salish peoples is still a living example of how ecologies interact and preserve culture, and conservation, a shared future task.
Tourism and Activities
The Tourism and Activities section here is in the points:
- Whale Watching: Guided boat tours of sea lions, seals, grey whales, humpback whales and orcas.
- Kayaking & Sailing: Be within the reach of kelp forests, islands and inlets.
- Hiking and Parks Hiking: Trails that give mountain and ocean views on mountainous and coastal islands.
- Fishing & Crabbing: Dungeness crab harvesting, recreational salmon angling and other marine crab harvests.
- Dining and Snorkelling: Sea star, colourful marine and the giant Pacific octopus viewing.
- Cultural Experiences: Learn about the local people, the Coast Salish, their history, and their traditions in local festivals, art, museums and carvings.
- Island Hopping: boat trips and ferry to areas like the coastal towns, San Juan Islands and the Gulf Islands.
- Exploration City & Coastal: Seattle, Vancouver and Victoria is a blend of urban and waterfront.
An Ecosystem divided by an International Border
Though the USA and Canada have political jurisdiction over the Salish Sea, marine life and fish cannot distinctly see the international boundary between the Georgia Basin (Canada) and the Puget Sound Basin (USA) because it does not correspond to any natural habitat or boundary.
Each day, species listed as threatened or endangered by the US Endangered Species Act or the Canadian Species at Risk Act cross the delineation. Examples of these species are marbled murrelets ( Brachyramphus marmoratus ), Southern Resident killer whales ( Orcinus orca ) and some of the ecologically significant units or species of Pacific salmon ( Onchorynchus spp.). Examples of the oceanographic processes that assist in the transport of nutrients, sediments and biota to the rest of the ecosystem are inflows of fresh water and surface-based currents caused by wind.
Environmental Concerns
The Mer des Salish is not an ecological paradise, just like most other ecologies on the globe. Pollution, climate change, overfishing and urbanisation that endanger its seas and its animals are the threats that it is subjected to. Salish Sea conservation and rehabilitation is also attempting through awareness, marine conservation programmes, sustainable fishing and marine conservation organisations and local communities.
Contemporary Significance
Besides nature and culture, the Mer des Salish is paramount to transport and trade. Vancouver and Seattle boast some of the busiest ports in North America as they are the centres of international trade. It is the sea that brings the prosperity in the region as thousands of people work in the fishing and tourism sector.
Where does the water come from?
The Salish Sea empties a land mass of approximately 110,000 square kilometres (42,471 square miles). This is larger than the sea by a sixfold fact! There are many large rivers into the Salish Sea. They are the Fraser, Nisqually, Nooksack, Puyallup, Skagit, Snohomish and Squamish rivers.
These rivers mix with the ocean water of the salty Strait of Juan de Fuca. This causes the sea to salinate to different degrees. The Fraser River is the biggest source of fresh water. It submerges the seawater, especially during spring and summer.
Islands of the Salish Sea
The Salish Sea has approximately 400 islands! The bulk of these islands is in three large groups:
- The Discovery Islands
- The Gulf Islands
- The San Juan Islands
The Whidbey Island is the biggest and the most popular Island in Washington. It is about 437 sq km or 169sq miles. The most densely populated area is in Bainbridge Island, located in Washington. Texada Island is the largest island on the Canadian side, though it has fewer inhabitants.
Future of the Salish Sea
The future of the Mer des Salish is determined by a compromise between protection and development. As awareness increases, more individuals are becoming aware of how important it is to conserve this marine ecology to ensure the future generation will be able to enjoy this ecology. The health and beauty of the Salish Sea rely on the international cooperation between the US, Canada, and Indigenous peoples.
Conclusion
The Salish Sea is not simply a gorgeous piece of water, but a place where environment, history, culture and modern-day living closely interweave. It has been the sacred land of the Coast Salish peoples, their place of identity and their place of origin for practices that are present to date. It has one of the greatest variety of marine life in North America with migratory creatures like birds and kelp forests and salmon and orcas. In the meantime, the sea also suggests the world the unlimited possibilities of travelling, having leisure and studying the culture. These riches and beauty are however, accompanied by duties.
Climate change, pollution and habitat loss are threats to the ecosystem and the practices related to the ecosystem. As a way of maintaining the natural beauties and cultural diversity of the Salish Sea for future generations collaboration, you need respect for Indigenous knowledge and sustainable practices. It is to all those who reside by its beaches a common duty, as well as a heritage living.
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