Hood Canal

Hood Canal is a fjord off Puget Sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is sometimes considered to be one of the four main basins of Puget Sound. [ftp://dnr.metrokc.gov/dnr/library/2001/kcr762/PDFELEMENTS/SONR03.pdf Features Of Puget Sound Region: Oceanography And Physical Processes] , Chapter 3 of the [http://dnr.metrokc.gov/wlr/watersheds/puget/nearshore/sonr.htm, State of the Nearshore Report] , King County Department of Natural Resources, Seattle, Washington, 2001.]

Geography

Hood Canal is long and narrow, with an average width of convert|1.5|mi|km and an mean depth of convert|53.8|m|ft. It has convert|342.6|km|mi of shoreline and convert|42.4|km2|sqmi of tideland. Its surface area is convert|385.6|km2|sqmi and it contains a volume of water totaling convert|209000|m3|cuft. Hood Canal extends for about convert|50|mi|km southwest from the entrance between Foulweather Bluff and Tala Point to Union, where it turns sharply to the northeast, a stretch called The Great Bend. It continues for about convert|15|mi|km to Belfair, where it ends in shallow tidelands called Lynch Cove.

Hood Canal separates the Kitsap Peninsula from the Olympic Peninsula for its entire length. The U.S. Navy's Naval Base Kitsap, Bangor Annex, is located on the eastern shore of Hood Canal near Silverdale. Hood Canal has several internal bays, the largest of which is Dabob Bay. Most of Dabob Bay is a Naval Restricted Area, used by the submarines stationed at Bangor. Quilcene Bay is an inlet extending northwest from Dabob Bay. Near the north end of Hood Canal is Port Gamble, a bay and a town of the same name.

Several rivers flow into Hood Canal, mostly from the Olympic Peninsula, including the Skokomish River, Hamma Hamma River, Duckabush River, Dosewallips River, and Big Quilcene River.

History

Hood Canal was named by Royal Navy Captain George Vancouver for Admiral Lord Samuel Hood on May 13, 1792. Vancouver used the name "Hood's Channel" in his journal, but "Hood's Canal" on his charts. The U.S. Geographic Board decided on "Hood Canal" as the official name in 1932. [cite book |last= Phillips |first= James W. |title= Washington State Place Names |year= 1971 |publisher= University of Washington Press |isbn= 0-295-95158-3] [Gnis|1520890] Technically, Hood Canal is a fjord [cite web|url=http://www.hoodcanal.washington.edu |title=Welcome to the Hood Canal Dissolved Oxygen Program |accessdate=2008-09-08]

Roads and bridges

U.S. Route 101 runs along the west shore of Hood Canal, south of Quilcene.

Hood Canal is spanned by the Hood Canal Bridge, the third longest floating bridge in the world at 6,521 feet (1,988 m). According to the Washington State Department of transportation, the Hood Canal Bridge is the only floating bridge constructed on saltwater, [cite web
last = Washington State Department of Transportation
first =
authorlink = Washington State Department of Transportation
coauthors =
title = Hood Canal Bridge Retrofit
work =
publisher =
month = May | year = 2005
url = http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/NR/rdonlyres/E9F9AD95-7974-4A89-855E-DE815003E051/0/HCBMay2005.pdf
format = PDF
doi =
accessdate = 2006-11-29 ] although there are others, such as Nordhordland Bridge and Bergsøysund Bridge. The Hood Canal Bridge accommodates sixteen and a half foot tides.

Recreation

There are several state parks [cite web
last = Washington State Parks
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Washington State Parks
work =
publisher =
date =
url = http://www.parks.wa.gov/parks/regncoast.asp
format = Web
doi =
accessdate = 2006-11-29 ] on the shores of Hood Canal including Belfair, Twanoh, Potlatch, Triton Cove, Scenic Beach, Dosewallips, Kitsap Memorial, and Shine Tidelands.

Low oxygen levels

September 2006 marked the discovery of the largest dead zone in the history of Hood Canal. The dead zone may have been caused by low oxygen levels due to algal blooms.citation | last = McClure | first = Robert | title = Hood Canal fish suffocate | newspaper=The Seattle Post-Intelligencer | year=2006 |date = September 20, 2006 | url=http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/285777_fishkill21.html] Algal blooms occur in part because of warm weather and the slow turnover of water in the southern end of the canal, causing the build-up of nutrients from fertilizers and leaky septic systems. When the algae die, bacteria feed and their populations explode, robbing the water of oxygen. The fish kill may also be part of a natural 50-year cycle of oxygen levels in the canal.Associated Press; [http://www.thenewstribune.com/359/story/48338.html "Hood Canal oxygen tracked"] ; (Tacoma) "News Tribune"; April 26, 2007]

In May 2006, divers searching for invasive species discovered a mat of marine bacteria covering a four-mile stretch where all normal sea life was dead. The mat dissipated five months later.Dodge, John; [http://www.theolympian.com/101/story/47463.html "Bacterial mass in canal dissipates"] ; "The Olympian"; October 26, 2006] Jan Newton, oceanographer at the University of Washington, said it was important to note that Hood Canal has had very low oxygen for a long time. Similar mats have been found near Tacoma, Washington; San Diego, California; New York City; and New Orleans, Louisiana.

The oxygen level may also be partially due to a simple change in wind direction. The prevailing north wind generally pushes oxygenated water into the oxygen-depleted area. A sustained south wind will cut off this source of oxygen.

The [http://www.hoodcanal.washington.edu Hood Canal Dissolved Oxygen Program] has been formed by 38 groups to try to combat the problem.

External links

* [http://www.explorehoodcanal.com Official Tourism Web Site for the Hood Canal]

References