The Colvos Passage is a tidal strait

Strait

A strait or straits is a narrow, typically navigable channel of water that connects two larger, navigable bodies of water. It most commonly refers to a channel of water that lies between two land masses, but it may also refer to a navigable channel through a body of water that is otherwise not...

 within Puget Sound

Puget Sound

Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...

 in the American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 state of Washington running west of Vashon Island

Vashon Island

Vashon is a census-designated place in King County, Washington, United States. It covers an island alternately called Vashon Island or Vashon-Maury Island, the largest island in Puget Sound south of Admiralty Inlet. The population was 10,624 at the 2010 census. At , it is about 60 percent larger...

 between the island and the Kitsap Peninsula

Kitsap Peninsula

The Kitsap Peninsula is an arm of land that is part of the larger Olympic Peninsula in Washington state that lies west of Seattle across Puget Sound. Hood Canal separates Kitsap Peninsula from the rest of the Olympic Peninsula...

. It lies just north of the Tacoma Narrows

Tacoma Narrows

The Tacoma Narrows , a strait, is part of Puget Sound in the U.S. state of Washington. A navigable maritime waterway between glacial landforms, the Narrows separates the Kitsap Peninsula from the city of Tacoma....

. One of the more interesting things about the Colvos Passage is that it has a permanent northbound current (the rest of the Sound either flows southbound or varies with the tide). The communities of Fragaria, Sunrise Beach, Spring Beach, Maplewood, Lisabeula, Cove and Sylvan Beach

Sylvan Beach, Washington

Sylvan Beach, is a community located in King County, Washington, on the west side of Vashon Island on Colvos Passage. It is known as one of Vashon's walk-in communities, since most of the homes can only be reached by walking in from the road on the community's boardwalk...

 are located on Colvos Passage.

Colvos Passage was named by Charles Wilkes

Charles Wilkes

Charles Wilkes was an American naval officer and explorer. He led the United States Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842 and commanded the ship in the Trent Affair during the American Civil War...

 during the United States Exploring Expedition

United States Exploring Expedition

The United States Exploring Expedition was an exploring and surveying expedition of the Pacific Ocean and surrounding lands conducted by the United States from 1838 to 1842. The original appointed commanding officer was Commodore Thomas ap Catesby Jones. The voyage was authorized by Congress in...

, to honor George Colvocoresses

George Colvocoresses

George Musalas "Colvos" Colvocoresses was a United States Navy officer who commanded the USS Saratoga during the American Civil War. From 1838 up until 1842, he served in the United States Exploring Expedition, better known as the Wilkes Expedition, which explored large regions of the Pacific Ocean...

, a midshipman for the expedition. Wilkes considered his name too long for geographic honors and so shortened it to Colvos on the official charts.