Salish Sea

Activity Book

The Salish Sea

The Salish Sea has a special name.
People gave it this name long ago.
First Nations people lived here first.
They still live here today.

The Salish Sea is water.
It is inland water.
It touches Canada and Washington State.
It goes from Puget Sound to Johnstone Strait.

The sea has many islands.
Some islands are big.
Some islands are small.
There are sandy beaches too.
There are eelgrass meadows.
Eelgrass is a plant that grows in water.
Many different plants live here.

Long ago, this place looked different.
Ten thousand years ago, big ice rivers moved here.
We call them glaciers.
The glaciers came from the north.
They hit the Olympic Mountains.
The ice split into two parts.
One part went to Puget Sound.
One part went down the Strait of Georgia.

The glaciers dug deep into the land.
Then the ice melted away.
It left behind gravel, sand, clay, and dirt.

The Salish Sea is full of life.
Many plants and animals live here.
Rivers bring food to the ocean water.
Cold water rises up from deep down.
This cold water has lots of food in it too.

Sadly, the Salish Sea is changing.
Fewer sea animals live here now.
This happens most where people live and work.

Animals of the Salish Sea

The Geoduck
Say it like "gooey-duck."
It is the biggest clam of all.
It is too big for its shell.
It cannot close its shell all the way.
So it hides deep in the sand.
It buries three feet down.
It has a long neck called a siphon.
The siphon has two tubes.
One tube takes in food and water.
One tube lets out waste.

Sea Stars
Some people call them starfish.
The northwest coast has many kinds.
More than anywhere else in the world!
They hold tight to rocks.
Most sea stars have five arms.
But some have more.
The Sunflower Sea Star can have twenty arms!
If an arm breaks off, a new one grows back.

Sea Anemones
Say it like "uh-NEM-uh-nee."
They stick tight to rocks.
They use a sticky disk to hold on.
They move very slowly.
It can take hours to move one inch!
You can find them in tide pools.
They can grow up to twelve inches wide.
Like jellyfish, they have stinging parts on their arms.
These are called tentacles.
The sting stops small crabs and fish.
Then the anemone eats them.
Its mouth is in the middle of its tentacles.

Harbor Seals
These are the most common sea mammal here.
They are called "true seals."
They have no ear flaps you can see.
They cannot walk on their back flippers.
You can see them resting on rocks at low tide.
They can dive very deep.
They can go down 1,380 feet!
They can stay underwater for 28 minutes.

Orcas (Killer Whales)
Orcas live in three different ways here.
Some stay in one place.
Some travel through.
Some live far offshore.
Male orcas have a tall fin on their back.
It can be five feet tall!
Female orcas have a smaller fin.
It is shaped like a triangle.
It is only three to four feet tall.

Sea Urchins
They have round, spiky bodies.
They look like a pincushion!
They use their spines to walk.
It looks like walking on stilts.
Purple urchins live on rocks with big waves.
Green urchins live in calm tide pools.
Urchins eat algae, seaweed, and plankton.
Plankton are tiny floating plants.

Giant Pacific Octopus
This is the biggest octopus in the world!
It can weigh up to 600 pounds.
Its arms can spread over 31 feet wide!

Spiny Dogfish
This is the most common shark here.
It grows up to five feet long.
You can see them near the water's surface.
Look for them at dawn or dusk.
They are not dangerous to people.
But watch out for the spine on their back!
That is how they got their name.

Hermit Crabs
Hermit crabs have no shell of their own.
They use shells left by other animals.
As they grow bigger, they need bigger shells.
So they move to a new one.

Halibut
Halibut are big fish.
They can grow very large.
Some have hurt people with their strong tails!
Female halibut can grow almost 500 pounds.
They can be almost nine feet long.
Male halibut are smaller.
They usually weigh under 100 pounds.
Most halibut caught are still young.
Young ones weigh about 35 pounds.

Sea Otters
Sea otters live in kelp forests.
Kelp is a big brown seaweed.
Otters wrap themselves in kelp when they sleep.
This keeps them from floating away.
Otters eat crabs, urchins, sea stars, and snails.
To open hard shells, otters use rocks.
They lay on their backs.
They pound the shell on the rock.
Sea otters help keep kelp forests healthy.
They eat sea urchins.
Too many urchins can eat up all the kelp.

Tufted Puffins
Puffins eat mostly small fish.
The fish are six to eight inches long.
Puffins dive into the water to catch fish.
They use their wings like paddles.
They can carry six fish in their beak at once!
How do they do it?
The puffin holds fish with its tongue.
This leaves room to catch more fish.

Did you know salmon go back to where they were born?
They swim back to the same river.
They return to the very same spot!

Take Care of the Sea

Beaches, rocky shores, and oceans are homes.
Many plants and animals live there.
Please be kind to their homes.
Do not make a mess.
Take your trash back home with you.
Just leave footprints behind.