Fidalgo Island
Encyclopedia
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
in Skagit County, Washington, located about 78 miles (126 km) north of Seattle. To the east, it is separated from the mainland by the Swinomish Channel, and from Whidbey Island
Whidbey Island
Whidbey Island is one of nine islands located in Island County, Washington, in the United States. Whidbey is located about north of Seattle, and lies between the Olympic Peninsula and the I-5 corridor of western Washington...
to the south by Deception Pass
Deception Pass
Deception Pass is a strait separating Whidbey Island from Fidalgo Island, in the northwest part of the U.S. state of Washington. It connects Skagit Bay, part of Puget Sound, with the Strait of Juan de Fuca.-History:...
. The island is named after the Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
explorer and cartographer Salvador Fidalgo
Salvador Fidalgo
Salvador Fidalgo y Lopegarcía was a Spanish explorer who commanded an exploring expedition for Spain to Alaska and the Pacific Northwest during the late 18th century.-Early career:...
who explored the area in 1790.
Its largest city is Anacortes with a population of 14,557 according to the 2000 Census
United States Census, 2000
The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...
. The total population of the island was 20,700. There are ferries to Sidney
Sidney, British Columbia
Sidney is a town located at the northern end of the Saanich Peninsula, on Vancouver Island in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is one of the 13 Greater Victoria municipalities. It has a population of approximately 11,300. Sidney is located just east of Victoria International Airport,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
and several ports in the San Juan Islands
San Juan Islands
The San Juan Islands are an archipelago in the northwest corner of the contiguous United States between the US mainland and Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The San Juan Islands are part of the U.S...
.
Geography
Fidalgo Island has a land area of 106.684 km² (41.19 sq mi). There are at least eight major lakes on Fidalgo Island: Campbell, Little Cranberry, Erie, Heart, Mud, Pass, Trafton/Crater, and WhistleWhistle lake
Whistle Lake is a small lake located within city limits in Anacortes Community Forest Lands southeast of central Anacortes, Washington. Though not directly accessible by vehicle, Whistle Lake attracts thousands of visitors each year. The lake may be reached by driving to the trailhead off Whistle...
.
History
Samish
The Samish are a Native American tribe who live in the U.S. state of Washington. The seat of their tribal government is in Anacortes. The Native American form of "Samish" is /sʔémǝš/, from /s–/, "nominalizer", /ʔé/, "be there", and /–mǝš/, "people".-Pre-Contact with Europeans:The Samish were less...
and Swinomish
Swinomish (tribe)
The Swinomish are an historically Lushootseed-speaking Native American tribe in western Washington state in the United States. The tribe lives in the southeastern part of Fidalgo Island near the San Juan Islands in Skagit County, Washington. Skagit County is located about north of Seattle...
peoples.
Fidalgo Island is named for the Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
explorer and cartographer Salvador Fidalgo
Salvador Fidalgo
Salvador Fidalgo y Lopegarcía was a Spanish explorer who commanded an exploring expedition for Spain to Alaska and the Pacific Northwest during the late 18th century.-Early career:...
who explored the area in 1790 with the fleet of Francisco de Eliza
Francisco de Eliza
Francisco de Eliza y Reventa was a Spanish naval officer, navigator, and explorer. He is remembered mainly for his work in the Pacific Northwest...
. 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...
discovered that it was an island rather than part of the mainland. He named it Perry Island in honor of Oliver Hazard Perry
Oliver Hazard Perry
United States Navy Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry was born in South Kingstown, Rhode Island , the son of USN Captain Christopher Raymond Perry and Sarah Wallace Alexander, a direct descendant of William Wallace...
, the American commander who won the Battle of Lake Erie
Battle of Lake Erie
The Battle of Lake Erie, sometimes called the Battle of Put-in-Bay, was fought on 10 September 1813, in Lake Erie off the coast of Ohio during the War of 1812. Nine vessels of the United States Navy defeated and captured six vessels of Great Britain's Royal Navy...
during the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
. Following this theme, Wilkes named the island's highest point Mount Erie
Mount Erie (Washington)
Mount Erie is a mountain in Skagit County, Washington. The park land is owned and operated by the city of Anacortes and is located in the south of the Anacortes Community Forest Lands....
. When Henry Kellett
Henry Kellett
Vice Admiral Sir Henry Kellett KCB was a British naval officer and explorer.-Naval career:Kellett joined the Royal Navy in 1822...
reorganized the official British Admiralty charts in 1847, he removed Wilkes' name Perry and bestowed the name Fidalgo to honor the Spanish explorer. The highest point retained the name Erie.
Settlement peaked in 1850s due to the Fraser River Gold Rush and in 1890 due to speculation that the area would become a terminus of the Northern Pacific Railroad. Later the island became an important fishing
Fishing industry
The fishing industry includes any industry or activity concerned with taking, culturing, processing, preserving, storing, transporting, marketing or selling fish or fish products....
and lumber
Lumber
Lumber or timber is wood in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural material for construction, or wood pulp for paper production....
center.
Transportation
From 1924 to 1935, Fidalgo Island was linked to Whidbey IslandWhidbey Island
Whidbey Island is one of nine islands located in Island County, Washington, in the United States. Whidbey is located about north of Seattle, and lies between the Olympic Peninsula and the I-5 corridor of western Washington...
by the Deception Pass ferry
Deception Pass ferry
The Deception Pass ferry was a ferry route in Washington State that ran between Fidalgo Island and Whidbey Island across Deception Pass.-History:...
, which was superseded in 1935 by the construction of the Deception Pass Bridge
Deception Pass Bridge
The Deception Pass Bridge is a two-lane bridge connecting Whidbey Island to Fidalgo Island in the U.S. state of Washington. It was a Washington State Highways project, and included project elements built by young workers from the Civilian Conservation Corps...
.