Budd Inlet is an inlet located at the southern end of Puget Sound in Thurston County, Washington. It is the southernmost arm of Puget Sound.[1]

Budd Inlet
Looking south toward East Bay
Budd Inlet is located in Washington (state)
Budd Inlet
Budd Inlet
LocationThurston County, Washington
Coordinates47°5′39″N 122°54′48.7″W / 47.09417°N 122.913528°W / 47.09417; -122.913528
TypeInlet
Part ofSouth Puget Sound
River sourcesDeschutes River
Ocean/sea sourcesSalish Sea
Max. length6.84 mi (11.01 km)
Max. width1.86 mi (2.99 km)
Sections/sub-basinsWest Bay, East Bay

Etymology

edit

Budd Inlet was named by Charles Wilkes during the United States Exploring Expedition, to honor Thomas A. Budd, who served as acting master of the Peacock and Vincennes.[2] A portion of the coast of Antarctica, Budd Coast, is also named for Thomas Budd.

History

edit
 
Overlooking Olympia and Budd Inlet, 1893

Historically, the shores surrounding Budd Inlet were occupied by village sites of the Steh-Chass (or Stehchass), Lushootseed-speaking peoples who became part of the post-treaty Squaxin Island Tribe.

Around 1850, American settlers founded the city of Olympia at the southern end of Budd Inlet.[3]

Geography

edit

Budd Inlet is 6.84 mi (11.01 km) long and has a maximum breadth of 1.86 mi (2.99 km). The southern end of Budd Inlet is divided into two channels – West Bay and East Bay – by a peninsula that was artificially broadened throughout the late 19th and early 20th century.

The Deschutes River empties into West Bay just north of Tumwater Falls. The mudflats that existed here were dammed and submerged beneath Capitol Lake in 1949.

A deepwater shipping channel was dredged[when?] in East Bay to provide deep water access to the Port of Olympia.

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "Deschutes River watershed area: Budd Inlet - Washington State Department of Ecology". ecology.wa.gov. Retrieved 2020-10-01.
  2. ^ Phillips, James W. (1971). Washington State Place Names. University of Washington Press. ISBN 0-295-95158-3.
  3. ^ "History of Olympia, Washington". olympiawa.gov. July 27, 2012. Archived from the original on September 10, 2012. Retrieved September 14, 2012.
edit

  Media related to Budd Inlet at Wikimedia Commons