Information - The San Juan Islands

The San Juan Islands are a part of the San Juan Archipelago in the northwest corner of the continental United States and are part of the state of Washington. There are over 450 islands in the entire archipelago at high tide, but less than one-sixth are inhabited, and only six are accessible by public ferry.

Prior to European settlement, the islands were part of the traditional area of the Central Coast Salish. The 1846 Oregon Treaty forced by President Polk established the 49th parallel as the boundary between Canada and the U.S., except in the San Juan archipelago. While both sides agreed that all of Vancouver Island would remain British, the treaty wording was left vague enough as to put the boundary between modern-day Gulf Islands and San Juan Islands in dispute. Conflicts over this border led to the Pig War in 1859. Skirmishes continued until the boundary issue was eventually placed in the hands of Kaiser Wilhelm I of Germany for arbitration. The border was finally established in 1872.

Today, the San Juan Islands are an important tourist destination, with sea kayaking and whale watching two of the primary attractions. Part of the charm that attracts tourists and residents to the San Juans is that each island seems to have a character of its own, both in terms of geography and of the lifestyle of the people who live there.

The San Juans are actually the remaining mountain-tops of a receding continent much older than the American mainland. The islands are generally quite hilly, the tallest mountain being Mount Constitution at almost exactly a half-mile (800 m), with some flat areas and valleys, often quite fertile, in between. The coastlines are a mixed bag of sandy and rocky beaches, shallow and deep harbors, placid and reef-studded bays. Gnarled, ochre-colored madrona trees grace much of the shorelines while evergreen fir and pine forests cover large inland areas.

The islands get less rainfall than Seattle, about 65 miles to the south, due to the rain-shadow of U.S. and Canadian mountain ranges to the west. Summertime high temperatures are around 70 °F while average wintertime lows are in the high thirties and low forties. Snow is infrequent in winter except for the higher elevations, but the islands are subject to high winds at times-those from the northeast sometimes bring brief periods of freezing and arctic-like wind chills.

Orcas Island

Orcas is the largest of the San Juan Islands. Orcas is slightly larger but less populous than San Juan Island. Shaped like a pair of saddlebags, it is almost bisected by fjord-like East Sound, at the northern end of which is located the village of Eastsound, the second largest town in the county.

Eastsound has a number of stores, inns, and restaurants in addition to gift and souvenir shops, gas stations and other businesses.

There are other, smaller settlements at Orcas (where the ferry lands), West Sound, Deer Harbor, Olga and Doe Bay, each different and worth a leisurely sightsee. At Olga there is an attractive and popular cafe and store (the rustic building is a former strawberry barreling plant) where local artists hang out and sell their work.

Half mile (800 m) high Mount Constitution is a prime attraction. The easy drive to the top (except in the worst winter weather when park rangers close the road) provides a spectacular 360-degree marine view said to be one of the finest anywhere in the world. The mountain is part of Moran State Park, which also offers camping, swimming, fishing and hiking in its nearly 5,000 acres (20 km²) of woodland.

San Juan Island

San Juan is the second-largest and most populous of the San Juan Islands, and is also the location of Friday Harbor, which is San Juan Island's major population center, the San Juan County seat, and the only incorporated town in the islands. Friday Harbor is a popular destination for visitors who are on foot. The ferry dock is right at the foot of town and within easy walking distance of lodging, many wonderful restaurants and the shopping opportunities of Spring Street.

San Juan Island has one weekly newspaper, many farms, and an economy where tourism plays a major role. The only major commercial establishment outside of Friday Harbor is the village and resort of Roche Harbor on the northwest side of the island.

Other notable landmarks are the old British and American Camps at opposite ends of the island which together comprise the San Juan Island National Historical Park, which commemorates the 1859 "Pig War." Interpretive centers and reconstructed buildings, formal gardens, etc. recall the history of early European settlement in the area.

Lopez Island

Lopez is the third largest of the San Juan Islands, and is 29.5 square miles in size. In 2002 the permanent population was 2,176 people. The island is longest in the north-south direction, with the ferry landing at the extreme north end. Near the ferry is Odlin Park, and Spencer Spit State Park is also on the north end. Near the center of the island, south down the coast from Lopez Village, is Shark Reef, another park.

Lopez is much flatter than most of the other major San Juan Islands, which makes it a popular destination for bicycle tourists. Lopez is locally famous for the longstanding custom of waving at every motorist, bicyclist, or pedestrian encountered on the island's roads.

The Lopez Island Historical Museum collects and preserves regional history of Lopez and the San Juan Islands. The Museum features artifacts reflecting Lopez's contributions to maritime, fishing and farming. The museum has an extensive archive of documents of local historic, and artifacts depicting late 1800's and early 1900s Lopez life.

The Pig War

The War was a confrontation in 1859 between American and British authorities, resulting from a dispute over the boundary between the United States and Great Britain. It is so called because the only casualty was a pig.

The Oregon Treaty of June 15, 1846 divided the Oregon Territory between the United States and Britain "along the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude to the middle of the channel which separates the continent from Vancouver's Island and thence southerly through the middle of the said channel, and of Fuca's Straits, to the Pacific Ocean."

However, there are actually two straits which could be called the middle of the channel: Haro Strait, along the west side of the San Juan Islands; and Rosario Strait, along the east side. Because of this ambiguity, both the United States and Britain claimed sovereignty over the San Juan Islands.

Exactly 13 years later, on June 15, 1859, this ambiguity led to direct conflict: Lyman Cutlar, an American farmer, shot and killed a pig rooting in his garden. That pig was owned by an Irishman who was employed by the Hudson's Bay Company. A possibly apocryphal story claims Cutlar said to the farmer "Keep your pigs out of my potatoes!" The farmer replied, "Keep your potatoes out of my pigs!" When British authorities threatened to arrest Cutlar, American settlers called for military protection.

William S. Harney, commanding the Dept. of Oregon, initially dispatched 66 American soldiers of the 9th Infantry under the command of Captain George Pickett to San Juan Island. When British authorities learned of this, three British warships were sent under the command of Captain Geoffrey Hornby to counter the Americans. The situation continued to escalate. By September, 461 Americans with 14 cannons under Colonel Silas Casey, were opposed by three British warships mounting 70 guns and carrying 2,140 men. During this time, no shots were fired; both sides wisely chose not to involve "two great nations in a war over a squabble about a pig". Local commanding officers on both sides had been given essentially the same orders by their respective governments: defend yourselves, but absolutely do not fire the first shot. For several days, the British and U.S. soldiers exchanged insults, each side attempting to goad the others into firing the first shot, but discipline held on both sides, and thus no shots were fired.