Canada, US state give name to new seaThe Salish Sea The Salish Sea, Georgia Basin, or Whulge are conventional names for the great inland waterway stretching from Tumwater, Washington to before the Johnstone Strait, British Columbia that was the central resource of the First Nations Coast Salish peoples who historically may never appear on official navigation maps, but residents of western regions in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. and Canada hope a new name will protect their shared coastal waters. A Washington State agency approved the new name Friday for the body of water off North America's west coast that includes Puget Sound Puget Sound (py  `jĕt), arm of the Pacific Ocean, NW Wash., connected with the Pacific by Juan de Fuca Strait, entered through the Admiralty Inlet and extending in two arms c. , the Strait of Juan de Fuca The Strait of Juan de Fuca is the principal outlet for the Georgia Strait and Puget Sound, connecting both to the Pacific Ocean. It provides part of the International Boundary between the United States and Canada. , and Georgia Strait.
The name is partly in honour of the aboriginal Salish people of the Pacific Northwest, said Bob Redling, spokesman for Washington's State Board on Geographic Names. "The broader reason is to change the way we think of these waters ... what happens in Puget Sound also happens in Georgia Strait," Redling told AFP (1) (AppleTalk Filing Protocol) The file sharing protocol used in an AppleTalk network. In order for non-Apple networks to access data in an AppleShare server, their protocols must translate into the AFP language. See file sharing protocol. in a phone interview from Olympia. The Salish Sea would stretch from northern Vancouver Island Vancouver Island (1991 pop. 579,921), 12,408 sq mi (32,137 sq km), SW British Columbia, Canada, in the Pacific Ocean; largest island off W North America. It is c.285 mi (460 km) long and c. in Canada to Puget Sound in the United States and include countless inlets and coves fed by glaciers on the jagged and mountainous coastline. It would lap the edges of urban areas including Seattle, Tacoma and the western Canadian metropolis of Vancouver. "It's not as pristine as it used to be, but it's an incredible habitat for several endangered animals including salmon, killer whales, bald eagles and several shellfish," said Redling. "They need to be cleaned up, protected, and thought of in the same way, as as an ecological unit." The Washinton board voted Friday five to one for the symbolic name, which was previously approved in August by the British Columbia Geographical Names Office. The Salish Sea will officially come into existence if the name is formally approved, as expected, by federal agencies. The United States Board on Geographic Names The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is an American federal body whose purpose is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geographic names throughout the U.S. government. Overview The Board was created in 1890; its present form derives from a law of 1947. is expected to decide on the issue in late November, while the Geographical Names Board of Canada has approved a resolution to adopt the name contingent on US approval, said a statement by Washington State. The idea for the name, put forward by American marine biology professor Bert Webber, has been promoted for years by environmentalists and scientists but only recently became generally popular. "It's more an idea rather than a practical thing," said Redling, noting the other names will remain on official maps. "I don't think anyone is going to get lost trying to find the Salish Sea on a map." 
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion