Glossary

This glossary is a helpful guide, through terms and definitions, to various aspects of Whidbey and Camano Islands.

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Admirality Inlet

Admiralty Inlet is a narrow body of water passing between Whidbey Island on the east and the northeast part of the Olympic Peninsula on the west. Included within the limits of Puget Sound, Admiralty Inlet begins at the east end of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and extends southward along the west coast of Whidbey Island for approximately 15 nmi (29 km). All deep draft vessels entering or leaving Puget Sound must pass through Admiralty Inlet. Consequently, it is a busy traffic area for large vessels.

Bridge

A bridge is a structure built to span a gorge, valley, road, railroad track, river, body of water, or any other physical obstacle, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle. Designs of bridges will vary depending on the function of the bridge and the nature of the terrain where the bridge is to be constructed.

Cascade Loop

This 400 mile self-guided driving tour circles through the heart of Washington from the waters of Puget Sound across the Cascade Mountains and into Methow Valley, the high desert climate of the Columbia River Valley. Whidbey and Camano Islands are part of the Cascade Loop.

Dungeness Crab

The Dungeness crab is a species of crab that inhabits eelgrass beds and water bottoms from the Aleutian Islands in Alaska to Santa Cruz, California.

They measure as much as 25 cm (10 inches) in some areas off the coast of Washington, but typically are under 20 cm (8 inches). A Dungeness crab measuring 7 inches

Dungeness crabs have a wide, hard shell which they must split in order to grow; this process is called ecdysis. They have five pairs of legs, which are similarly armored, the foremost pair of which ends in claws which the crab uses both as defense and to tear apart large food items. The crab uses its smaller appendages to pass the food particles into its mouth. Once inside the crab's stomach, food is further digested by the "gastric mill", a collection of tooth-like structures. Cancer magister prefers to eat clams, other crustaceans and small fish, but is also an effective scavenger. Dungeness crabs can also bury themselves completely in the sand if threatened.

Eagle

Eagles are large birds of prey which are members of the bird order Falconiformes and family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other genetically. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa.

ecosystem

An ecosystem is a natural unit consisting of all plants, animals and micro-organisms (biotic factors) in an area functioning together with all of the non-living physical (abiotic) factors of the environment

Eel Grass

Zostera is a small genus of widely distributed seagrass, commonly called eelgrass. It contains twelve species. Eel grass plays a critical role in the migration of Salmon in the Pacific Northwest as it protects the fish when they are returning to spawn.

Zostera is found on sandy substrates or in estuaries submerged or partially floating. Most Zostera are perennial. They have long, bright green, ribbon-like leaves, about 1 cm wide. Short stems grow up from extensive, white branching rhizomes. The flowers are enclosed in the sheaths of the leaf bases, the fruits are bladdery and can float.

Zostera beds are important for sediment deposition, substrate stabilization, as substrate for epiphytic algae and micro-invertebrates, and as nursery grounds for many species of economically important fish and shellfish. Zostera often beds in bay mud in the estuarine setting. It is an important food for Brent Geese and Wigeon.

Feeder Bluffs

Bluffs that continuously replenish beaches with sand and gravel of the ideal size and consistency for use by foriage fish to lay their eggs. Feeder bluffs are important features of Whidbey and Camano Island shorelines.

Festival

A festival is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on some unique aspect of that community.

Geoduck

Native to the Pacific Coast of the United States and Canada (primarily Washington, British Columbia, and Southeast Alaska), it is the largest burrowing clam in the world, weighing in at an average of one to three pounds (0.5 - 1.5 kg) at maturity, but specimens weighing over 15 pounds (7.5 kg) and as much as 2 meters (6 ft) in length are not unheard of.

Geoducks are one of the longest-living organisms in the Animal Kingdom. They have a life expectancy of about 146 years, with the oldest recorded at over 160 years. Scientists speculate that the geoduck's longevity is the result of low wear and tear. A geoduck sucks plankton down through its long siphon, filters them for food and ejects its refuse out through a separate hole in the siphon. Adult geoducks have few natural predators, which may also contribute to their longevity. In Alaska, sea otters and dogfish have proved capable of dislodging geoducks; starfish also attack and feed on the exposed geoduck siphon.

Geoducks are broadcast spawners. A female geoduck produces about 5 billion eggs in her century-long lifespan—in comparison, a human female produces about 500 viable ova during the course of her life.

Grey Whales

The Gray Whale or Grey Whale (Eschrichtius robustus) is a whale that travels between feeding and breeding grounds yearly. It reaches a length of about 16 meters (52 ft), a weight of 36 tons and an age of 50–60 years. Gray Whales were once called Devil Fish because of their fighting behavior when hunted. The Gray Whale is the sole species in the genusEschrichtius, which in turn is the sole genus in the family Eschrichtiidae. This animal is descended from the filter-feeding whales that developed at the beginning of the Oligocene, over 30 million years before the present.

Gray Whales are distributed in a North-eastern Pacific (American) population and critically endangered North-western Pacific (Asian) population. A third population in the North Atlantic became extinct in the 17th century.

Herons

Although herons resemble birds in some other families, such as the storks, ibises and spoonbills, they differ from these in flying with their necks retracted, not outstretched. They are also one of the bird groups that have powder down.

The members of this family are mostly associated with wetlands, and prey on rabbits, fish, frogs and other aquatic species. Some, like the Cattle Egret and Black-headed Heron, also take large insects, and are less tied to watery environments.

In February 2005, the Canadian scientist Dr. IQ in terms of their innovation in feeding habits. Herons were named among the most intelligent birds based on this scale, reflecting a wide variety, flexibility and adaptiveness to acquire food.

Kayak

A kayak is a small human-powered boat. It typically has a covered deck, and a cockpit covered by a spraydeck. It is propelled by a double-bladed paddle in the hands of a sitting paddler. The kayak was used by the native Ainu, Aleut and Eskimo hunters in sub-Arctic regions of northeastern Asia, North America and Greenland. Modern kayaks come in a wide variety of designs and materials for specialized purposes. Kayaks are in some parts of the world referred to as canoes.

Loganberry

The loganberry is generally thought to be derived from a cross between the European red raspberry cultivar 'Red Antwerp' and the American blackberry cultivar 'Aughinburgh'. It was accidentally created in 1880 or 1881 in Santa Cruz, California, by the American lawyer and horticulturist James Harvey Logan (1841-1928). In the 1880s, berry growers began to cross varieties to obtain better commercial varieties. Logan was unsatisfied with the existing varieties of blackberries and tried to cross two varieties of blackberries to produce a superior cultivar.

Marionberry

'Marion' (marketed as "Marionberry") or called Marion blackberry is a cross between 'Chehalem' and 'Olallie' (commonly called "olallieberry") berries. It is claimed to "capture the best attributes of both berries and yields an aromatic bouquet and an intense blackberry flavor".

mollusk

The majority of mollusc species live in marine environments, and many of them are found intertidally, in the shallow subtidal and on the continental shelf. Pelagic species of octopus and squid live throughout the water column of the ocean, and some species of clam and limpet live in the abyssal depths of the oceans around hot hydrothermal vents. However, not all molluscs are marine: the bivalve and gastropod classes also contain freshwater species, and the gastropods additionally have representatives that live on land, the land snails and slugs.

A number of species of molluscs are valued by humans as seafood, or for their decorative shells. Edible species include various clams, snails, squid and octopuses.

Olympics

The Olympic Games

Orca Whales

The Orca or Killer Whale (Orcinus orca), less commonly, Blackfish or Seawolf, is the largest species of the oceanic dolphin family. It is found in all the world's oceans, from the frigid Arctic and Antarctic regions to warm, tropical seas.

Orca are versatile and opportunistic predators. Some populations feed mostly on fish, and other populations hunt marine mammals, including sea lions, seals, and even large whales. There are up to five distinct Orca types, some of which may be separate races, subspecies or even species. Orcas are highly social; some populations are composed of matrilineal family groups which are the most stable of any animal species.

Owls

Owls are an order of birds of prey. Most are solitary, and nocturnal, with some exceptions (e.g. the Burrowing Owl). They are classified in the order Strigiformes, in which there are over 200 extant species. Owls mostly hunt small mammals, insects, and other birds, though a few species specialize in hunting fish. They are found in all regions of the Earth except Antarctica, most of Greenland, and some remote islands. Though owls are typically solitary, the literary collective noun for a group of owls is a parliament.

Penn Cove Mussels

(Mytilus trossulus) This species of mussels are naturally prevalent from Alaska to Washington, preferring pristine bays where snow melt keeps the salinity lower than the open ocean.

Puget Sound

Puget Sound is a body of water lying east of Admiralty Inlet, through which ocean waters reach inland some 50 miles from the Pacific Coast to provide all-weather ports for ocean-going ships at Seattle, Tacoma and Olympia. The waterway is a complex and intricate system of channels, inlets, estuaries, embayments and islands. Whidbey and Camano Islands are located in the northern section of Puget Sound. Seattle is the major city south of the islands, on Puget Sound's shoreline.

regatta

A regatta is a term used to describe either a boat race, or series of boat races. Although the term typically describes racing events of unpowered water craft, some powerboat race series are also called regattas. Most commonly, a regatta is either a series of rowing, sailing, gondola races or yacht racing. A regatta often includes social and promotional activities which surround the racing event, and except in the case of boat type (or "class") championships, is usually named for the town or venue where the event takes place.

Starfish

Starfish (properly called sea stars) are any echinoderms belonging to the classAsteroidea. The names "sea star" and "starfish" are also used in a broader sense to include the closely related brittle stars, which make up the class Ophiuroidea.

Starfish exhibit a superficially radial symmetry. They typically have five or more "arms" which radiate from an indistinct disk (pentaradial symmetry). However, the evolutionary ancestors of echinoderms are believed to have had bilateral symmetry. Starfish do exhibit some superficial remnant of this body structure, evident in their larval pluteus forms.

Starfish do not rely on a jointed, movable skeleton for support and locomotion (although they are protected by their skeleton), but instead possess a hydraulic water vascular system that aids in locomotion. The water vascular system has many projections called tube feet on the ventral face of the starfish's arms which function in locomotion and aid with feeding. The star fish usually hunt for shelled animals such as oysters and clams. They have two stomachs. One stomach is used for digestion, and the other stomach can be extended outward to engulf and digest prey. This feature allows the starfish to hunt prey that is much larger than its mouth would otherwise allow. Starfish are able to regenerate lost arms. A new starfish may be regenerated from a single arm attached to a portion of the central disk.

sustainability

Sustainability is a characteristic of a process or state that can be maintained at a certain level indefinitely. The term, in its environmental usage, refers to the potential longevity of vital human ecological support systems, such as the planet's climatic system, systems of agriculture, industry, forestry, fisheries, and the systems on which they depend. In recent years, public discourse has led to a use of "sustainability" in reference to how long human ecological systems can be expected to be usefully productive. In the past, complex human societies have died out, sometimes as a result of their own growth-associated impacts on ecological support systems. The implication is that modern industrial society, which continues to grow in scale and complexity, will also collapse.

tidal zone

The intertidal zone (also known as the foreshore) is the area that is exposed to the air at low tide and submerged at high tide, for example, the area between tide marks. This area can include many different types of habitats, including steep rocky cliffs, sandy beaches or vast mudflats. The area can be a narrow strip, as in Pacific islands that have only a narrow tidal range, or can include many meters of shoreline where shallow beach slope interacts with high tidal excursion.

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Getting to the Water's Edge on Whidbey & Camano Islands

Things To Do

Trip Ideas on One-Tank!