Salish Sea Activity Book

The Salish Sea

The Salish Sea is the traditional name for the inland waters of Canada and Washington State that stretch from Puget Sound to Johnstone Strait. First Nations peoples, who have lived in this region both historically and today, have long used this name for these waters.

The Salish Sea includes the Strait of Georgia, Puget Sound, and many islands, both large and small. Its shorelines feature sandy beaches, eelgrass meadows (underwater grass fields), and broad stretches of open water — each type of habitat supporting different plants and animals.

About ten thousand years ago, massive rivers of ice, called glaciers, flowed through the Strait of Georgia from ice fields farther north. When this river of ice reached the Olympic Mountains, it split into two branches. One branch moved into what is now the Puget Sound area, while the other flowed down the Strait of Georgia. These glaciers carved deep grooves into the land, and when they eventually melted and retreated, they left behind gravel, sand, clay, and a mixture of rock and soil called till.

The Salish Sea is an extremely rich habitat, meaning it supports a large amount of life. This richness comes from two sources: rivers carrying nutrients out to the ocean, and upwelling — a process in which cold, nutrient-rich water rises from the depths to the surface.

Unfortunately, the Salish Sea is losing its rich variety of marine life, especially in areas where human population and activity are heaviest.

Meet the Animals

The Geoduck (pronounced "gooey-duck") is the largest of all clams. It's too big for its own shell and can't close its shell tightly the way other clams do. For protection, it buries itself about three feet deep in the sand. It has two tubes running through its long neck, called a siphon. To feed, it stretches its neck up to the surface of the sand, drawing in water full of food through one tube and expelling waste through the other.

Sea Stars (sometimes called starfish) come in more varieties along the northwest coast than anywhere else in the world. You can find them clinging tightly to the sides of large rocks or open ledges. Most sea stars have five arms, though the number can vary — the Sunflower Sea Star may have twenty or more! If a sea star loses an arm, a new one will grow back in its place.

Sea Anemones usually cling tightly to rocks using a suction disk. When they do move, it may take hours to travel just one inch. Found in tidepools, they can grow to be 1 to 12 inches across. Like jellyfish, they have stinging cells called nematocysts in their tentacles, which they use to paralyze small crabs or fish. They then carry this food to their mouths, located at the center of their ring of tentacles.

Pacific Harbor Seals are the marine mammal most commonly seen in the Salish Sea. They are "true seals," meaning they lack external ear flaps and cannot bring their hind flippers underneath their bodies to walk on land. They're often spotted resting on rocks during low tide. Harbor seals can dive as deep as 1,380 feet and stay underwater for as long as 28 minutes!

Orcas, also known as Killer Whales, live in three different lifestyle groups in the Salish Sea: residents, transients, and offshore whales. Adult males have a tall, straight dorsal fin that can reach up to 5 feet high. Adult females have smaller, triangular dorsal fins, only 3 to 4 feet tall.

Sea Urchins have rounded bodies covered in spines, making them look more like pincushions than animals. They use their spines to "walk," moving as if on stilts. Purple sea urchins live on wave-swept ocean rocks, while green sea urchins prefer quieter tidepools. Urchins feed on algae, seaweed, and plankton (tiny floating plants).

The Giant Pacific Octopus is the largest octopus species in the world. It can weigh up to 600 pounds and have an arm span of over 31 feet!

Spiny Dogfish are the most common shark found in the Salish Sea. They grow up to 5 feet long and are most often seen at the water's surface during dawn or dusk. They pose no danger to humans — though if you catch one, watch out for the sharp spine on its back, which is how it got its name.

Hermit Crabs don't have shells of their own, so they move into the empty shells left behind by other animals. As a hermit crab grows, it must find and move into a larger shell.

Halibut grow so large that when they're caught and hauled aboard ships, their thrashing tails have injured and even killed people. Females can grow to nearly 500 pounds and almost nine feet long, while males reach only about half that length and usually weigh under 100 pounds. Most halibut caught, however, are young fish weighing only around 35 pounds.

Sea Otters live in kelp forests and often wrap themselves in kelp fronds while sleeping to keep from drifting away. They eat abalones, crabs, urchins, sea stars, snails, and other shellfish. To crack open hard shells, they lie on their backs, place a rock on their chests, and pound the shells against it. Sea otters play an important role in keeping kelp forests healthy by controlling the population of sea urchins, which feed on kelp.

Tufted Puffins eat mostly fish that are 6 to 8 inches long. They dive and chase fish underwater, using their wings like paddles to swim. A puffin can carry up to six fish in its bill at once, crosswise. How? It wedges the first fish between its rough tongue and upper jaw, freeing the lower part of its bill to catch more fish — and it can catch fish on one side of its bill, then the other.

Did you know that salmon must return to the exact same spot in the same river where they were born?

A Reminder

The beaches, rocky shores, marshes, and coastal and open waters of the Salish Sea are home to countless plants and animals. Please be respectful of these habitats — take your trash home with you, and leave only footprints behind.