The San Juans
This file appears in: The Naming of Orcas Island
A ferry cuts through the channel between Orcas Island (landmass on bottom and left side of image) and Shaw Island (landmass on right side of image). Mount Baker stands at 10,7181 feet tall about 50 miles from Shaw Island.
This file appears in: The Naming of Orcas Island
The Naming of Orcas Island – Contrary to what one might think, the island isn’t named after whales!
Spanish naval officer Francisco de Eliza led several expeditions through the Pacific Northwest in the late 1700s to explore the area’s rich ecosystems, and visited the San Juan island chain in 1791. The Viceroy of Mexico commissioned this particular…