Salish Sea adopted by British Columbia in the Throne Speech to open the 2nd Session of the 39th Parliament, 9 February 2010, as a collective or umbrella-name referring to the inland marine sea comprised of Juan de Fuca Strait + Strait of Georgia + Puget Sound and their connecting channels, passes and straits.

Source: BC place name cards, files, correspondence and/or research by BC Chief Geographer/Geographical Names Office.

A portion of this feature straddles the boundary between Canada and the United States, and as such the name was approved in principle by the Geographical Names Board of Canada on 7 August 2009 pending approval by all parties. The name was approved by the Washington State Board on Geographic Names on 30 October 2009 and approved by the US Board on Geographic Names on 12 November 2009. The French form Mer des Salish is also recognized at the federal level in Canada.

Source: BC place name cards, files, correspondence and/or research by BC Chief Geographer/Geographical Names Office.

"Salish Sea" was originally proposed in March 1989 by Western Washington University marine sciences professor Bert Webber; his proposal describes the inland marine waters of southwest British Columbia and northern Washington State (discrete portions of which are well-known as Juan de Fuca Strait, Strait of Georgia and Puget Sound) as a single estuarine ecosystem and as such warranting an inclusive and descriptive name of its own. At the time, Mr. Webber was unable to demonstrate public use or familiarity with the name, and the proposal was rejected. "Salish Sea" was proposed again by Bert Webber in April 2009, by which time there was ample evidence of wide-spread use and familiarity with the name Salish Sea in local communities throughout the region, including First Nations and Tribal associations such as the Coast Salish Gathering, and by environmental sciences & maritime agencies in both British Columbia and Washington State. The boundary of Salish Sea submitted by Webber is prescribed in the 2002 Report of the Transboundary Georgia Basin-Puget Sound Environmental Indicators Working Group ISBN 0-662-31312-7 [ http://www.pyr.ec.gc.ca/georgiabasin/reports/EnvInd_Report/GB-01-034_E.pdf ]

Source: BC place name cards, files, correspondence and/or research by BC Chief Geographer/Geographical Names Office.

The boundary of Salish Sea is prescribed in the 2002 Report of the Transboundary Georgia Basin-Puget Sound Environmental Indicators Working Group ISBN 0-662-31312-7 [ http://www.pyr.ec.gc.ca/georgiabasin/reports/EnvInd_Report/GB-01-034_E.pdf ]
Extent: approx 18,000 sq.km (7,000 sq.miles) of inland marine waters including Juan de Fuca Strait + Strait of Georgia + Puget Sound, and their connecting channels, passes and straits. The western boundary is the entrance to Juan de Fuca Strait (a line between Cape Flattery and Carmanah Point); the southern boundary is the south end of Puget Sound; the northern boundary extends just beyond the Strait of Georgia to include those channels and waterways where the floodstream or tidal surge is from the south: Discovery Passage south of Seymour Narrows, Sutil Channel south of Penn Islands, Lewis Channel, Waddington Channel & Pendrell Sound, Desolation Sound and the southern portion of Homfray Channel.

Source: BC place name cards, files, correspondence and/or research by BC Chief Geographer/Geographical Names Office.