About the Sound

Puget Sound--Where Land and Sea Meet

Puget Sound is an estuary-where salt water from the ocean mixes with fresh water that falls as precipitation or drains from the surrounding land. Made up of a series of underwater valleys and ridges, Puget Sound is deep, with an average depth of 450 feet. More than 10,000 streams and rivers drain into Puget Sound. Nearly 85 percent of the basin's annual surface water runoff comes from 10 rivers: the Nooksack, Skagit, Snohomish, Stillaguamish, Cedar/Lake Washington Canal, Green/Duwamish, Puyallup, Nisqually, Skokomish and Elwha.

Puget Sound is surrounded by 2,500 miles of shoreline, which is a mosaic of beaches, bluffs, deltas, mudflats and wetlands. Much of the promise and potential of this region is based on natural resources and the industries, tourism and recreation these resources support. While much of the Sound is healthy, recent growth and development in the region are stressing the system. Puget Sound has significant challenges, from water pollution and sediments laden with toxic pollutants to sharp declines in populations of salmon, orcas, marine birds and rockfish. A steady loss of habitat, alarming declines in some fish and wildlife populations, and closures of shellfish beds are signs that the very best of Puget Sound is threatened.

The Puget Sound Action Team (Action Team) is committed to keeping a strong focus on protecting the Sound's health by maintaining the progress the Action Team's state agencies have made, along with local governments, tribes, environmental organizations and others. The Action Team is working toward completing specific actions and meeting measurable results to improve the water quality and habitats for fish, marine animals and other aquatic life. We invite you to join us.