Editing Puget Sound (section)

==Hydrology==
[[Image:Low tide on Whidbey Island.JPG|right|thumb|260px|Low tide on Whidbey Island]]
The [[United States Geological Survey]] (USGS) defines Puget Sound as a bay with numerous channels and branches; more specifically, it is a [[fjord]] system of flooded glacial valleys. Puget Sound is part of a larger [[Physiographic regions of the world|physiographic structure]] termed the Puget Trough, which is a physiographic section of the larger [[Pacific Border province]], which in turn is part of the larger [[Pacific Coast Ranges|Pacific Mountain System]].<ref name="USGS-Water">{{cite web | title = Physiographic divisions of the conterminous U. S. | publisher = U.S. Geological Survey | url = http://water.usgs.gov/GIS/metadata/usgswrd/XML/physio.xml | access-date = December 6, 2007 | archive-date = December 5, 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071205095639/http://water.usgs.gov/GIS/metadata/usgswrd/XML/physio.xml | url-status = live }}</ref>

Puget Sound is a large salt water [[estuary]], or system of many estuaries, fed by highly seasonal freshwater from the Olympic and Cascade Mountain watersheds. The mean annual river [[Discharge (hydrology)|discharge]] into Puget Sound is {{convert|41000|cuft/s|m3/s}}, with a monthly average maximum of about {{convert|367000|cuft/s|m3/s}} and minimum of about {{convert|14000|cuft/s|m3/s}}. Puget Sound's shoreline is {{convert|1332|mi|km}} long, encompassing a water area of {{convert|1020|sqmi|km2}} and a total volume of {{convert|26.5|mi3|km3}} at mean high water. The average volume of water flowing in and out of Puget Sound during each tide is {{convert|1.26|mi3|km3}}. The maximum tidal currents, in the range of 9 to 10 [[Knot (unit)|knots]], occurs at Deception Pass.<ref name=pacsci/> Water flow through Deception Pass is approximately equal to 2% of the total tidal exchange between Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca.<ref name=pacsci>{{cite web |title= The Puget Sound Model Summary |last= Lincoln |first= John H. |publisher= [[Pacific Science Center]] |access-date= August 6, 2014 |url= http://exhibits.pacsci.org/puget_sound/PSSummary.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150310034800/http://exhibits.pacsci.org/Puget_Sound/PSSummary.html |archive-date= March 10, 2015 |url-status= dead |df= dmy-all }}</ref>[[Image:Edward S. Curtis Collection People 047.jpg|thumb|left|Evening on Puget Sound by [[Edward S. Curtis]], 1913]]

The size of Puget Sound's [[drainage basin|watershed]] is {{convert|12138|sqmi|km2|abbr=on}}.<ref name="WBD">{{cite web|title=Watershed Boundary Dataset|publisher=[[United States Department of Agriculture|USDA]], [[Natural Resources Conservation Service|NRCS]], National Cartography and Geospatial Center|url=http://www.ncgc.nrcs.usda.gov/products/datasets/watershed/|access-date=September 6, 2010|archive-date=October 8, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101008015459/http://www.ncgc.nrcs.usda.gov/products/datasets/watershed/|url-status=live}} [[ArcExplorer]] [[Geographic information system|GIS]] data viewer.</ref> "Northern Puget Sound" is frequently considered part of the Puget Sound watershed, which enlarges its size to {{convert|13700|sqmi|km2|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://wa.water.usgs.gov/projects/pugt/ |title= Puget Sound Basin NAWQA |publisher= [[USGS]] |access-date= August 6, 2014 |archive-date= June 7, 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140607010934/http://wa.water.usgs.gov/projects/pugt/ |url-status= live }}</ref> The [[USGS]] uses the name "Puget Sound" for its [[hydrological code|hydrologic unit]] subregion 1711, which includes areas draining to Puget Sound proper as well as the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the Strait of Georgia, and the [[Fraser River]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://wa.water.usgs.gov/data/wuse/huc.names.txt |title= List Hydrologic Unit Codes (HUCs) – USGS Washington |publisher= [[USGS]] |access-date= August 6, 2014 |archive-date= June 7, 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140607005745/http://wa.water.usgs.gov/data/wuse/huc.names.txt |url-status= live }}</ref> Significant rivers that drain to "Northern Puget Sound" include the [[Nooksack River|Nooksack]], [[Dungeness River|Dungeness]], and [[Elwha River]]s. The Nooksack empties into Bellingham Bay, the Dungeness and Elwha into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The [[Chilliwack River]] flows north to the Fraser River in Canada.

[[Tide]]s in Puget Sound are of the mixed type with two high and two low tides each tidal day. These are called Higher High Water (HHW), Lower Low Water (LLW), Lower High Water (LHW), and Higher Low Water (HLW). The configuration of basins, sills, and interconnections cause the [[tidal range]] to increase within Puget Sound. The difference in height between the Higher High Water and the Lower Low Water averages about {{convert|8.3|ft|m}} at [[Port Townsend, Washington|Port Townsend]] on Admiralty Inlet, but increases to about {{convert|14.4|ft|m}} at Olympia, the southern end of Puget Sound.<ref name=pacsci/>

Puget Sound is generally accepted as the start of the [[Inside Passage]].<ref>{{cite book |last= Merriam-Webster |first= Richard |title= Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Encyclopedia |publisher= Merriam-Webster |year= 2000 |isbn= 978-0-87779-017-4 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=V2d12iZkgOwC |page= 808 |access-date= May 7, 2016 |archive-date= March 17, 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160317025746/https://books.google.com/books?id=V2d12iZkgOwC |url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last= Manning |first= Richard |title= Inside Passage: A Journey Beyond Borders |publisher= Island Press |year= 2001 |isbn= 978-1-55963-655-1 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=D7OULK95PfcC |page= 113 |access-date= May 7, 2016 |archive-date= September 2, 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160902155822/https://books.google.com/books?id=D7OULK95PfcC |url-status= live }}</ref>