Puget Sound 2

Puget Sound is unusually deep, with an average depth of over 450 feet. Its deepest point is just north of Seattle at over 900 feet. Puget Sound’s geography and large water volume produce an average range of more than 12 feet between high and low tides. The water of Puget Sound is unusually cold, not getting any warmer than 53 degrees in summer, with a low of about 45 in winter.”

The creation of the Puget Sound is indeed complex. The Puget Lowland, where Puget Sound is located, is the result of the tectonic processes related to the subduction of the Juan de Fuca Plate. Thousands of years ago, ice sheets advanced across the Puget Sound area, depositing large volumes of glacial sediment. The result of the movement of the melting icepack is believed to be what created the Puget Sound we see today. Water erosion aided the creation of the shape of the landscape and created rivers that flow from the Cascade and Olympic mountain ranges into the Sound to this day. Hundreds of small watersheds were thus established throughout the area, creating the lush environment that is common within the Pacific Northwest. The Sound is now home to hundreds of species of marine life and is used by commercial and recreational vessels for a multitude of purposes.