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Date: Wed, 13 Dec 2000 10:26:22 -0800
From: CONNIE MANSON <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: bay vs. sound <fwd>
Sender: CONNIE MANSON <[log in to unmask]>
Mapsters--
Puget Sound was named in 1792 by Captain George Vancouver for Lt. Peter Puget,
the shipmate who examined the southern part of the sound in May, 1792. As to
why Vancouver called it 'Puget Sound' rather than 'Puget Bay'? I suppose you'd
have to ask Vancouver. But it could have been worse: the native names for parts
of the sound included Whulch, Whulge [sometimes spelled Whulj], Whole-itsh,
K'u-k'luts, and others. (source: Robert Hitchman's "Place names of Washington"
published by the Washington State Historical Society, 1985.)
Connie J. Manson
Senior Librarian
Washington Division of Geology and Earth Resources
P.O. Box 47007
1111 Washington S.E., Room 173
Olympia, WA 98504-7007
ph: 360/902-1472; fax: 360/902-1785
>>> Johnnie Sutherland <[log in to unmask]> Wednesday, December 13, 2000 9:23:16 AM >>>
--- Begin Forwarded Message ---
Date: Tue, 12 Dec 2000 17:04:02 -0800
From: Jennifer Stone Muilenburg <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: bay vs. sound
Sender: Jennifer Stone Muilenburg <[log in to unmask]>
We just had a patron who wanted to know why Puget Sound is Puget Sound, and
not Puget Bay -- comparing especially with Chesapeake Bay and San Francisco
Bay, which seem to have a similar geographic outlay to Puget Sound (long,
skinny bodies of water connected to the ocean).
Varying definitions say (Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, *
1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.):
sound \Sound\, n. [AS. sund a narrow sea or strait; akin to Icel., Sw., Dan.
& G. sund, probably so named because it could be swum across. See Swim.]
(Geog.) A narrow passage of water, or a strait between the mainland and an
island; also, a strait connecting two seas, or connecting a sea or lake with
the ocean; as, the Sound between the Baltic and the german Ocean; Long
Island Sound.
bay \Bay\, n. [F. baie, fr. LL. baia. Of uncertain origin: cf. Ir. & Gael.
badh or bagh bay harbor, creek; Bisc. baia, baiya, harbor, and F. bayer to
gape, open the mouth.] 1. (Geol.) An inlet of the sea, usually smaller than
a gulf, but of the same general character.
Note: The name is not used with much precision, and is often applied to
large tracts of water, around which the land forms a curve; as, Hudson's
Bay. The name is not restricted to tracts of water with a narrow entrance,
but is used for any recess or inlet between capes or headlands; as, the Bay
of Biscay.
We've hopped around a US map, looking at other bays and sounds, and we can't
see a definitive difference (although we haven't compared depths). Other
than saying "the naming of geographic features is a subjective art," do any
of you know of a source with a better explanation?
Jenny Stone Muilenburg
Geographic Information Systems Librarian
Map Collection, University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900 Seattle, WA 98195-2900
phone: 206.543.2725
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