--- 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 [log in to unmask] --- End Forwarded Message ---