Orcas Island () is the largest of the

San Juan Islands The San Juan Islands are an archipelago in the Pacific Northwest of the United States between the U.S. state of Washington and Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The San Juan Islands are part of Washington state, and form the core ...

of the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Thou ...

, which are in the northwestern corner of

San Juan County, Washington San Juan County is a county located in the Salish Sea in the far northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 17,788. The county seat and only incorporated city is Friday Harbor, located on ...

History and naming of the island

The name "Orcas" is a shortened form of ''Horcasitas,'' from Juan Vicente de Güemes Padilla Horcasitas y Aguayo, 2nd Count of Revillagigedo, the Viceroy of New Spain who sent an exploration expedition under Francisco de Eliza to the Pacific Northwest in 1791. During the voyage, Eliza explored part of the San Juan Islands. He did not apply the name Orcas specifically to Orcas Island, but rather to part of the archipelago. In 1847, Henry Kellett assigned the name to Orcas Island during his reorganization of the British Admiralty charts. Kellett's work eliminated the patriotically American names that

Charles Wilkes Charles Wilkes (April 3, 1798 – February 8, 1877) was an American naval officer, ship's captain, and explorer. He led the United States Exploring Expedition (1838–1842). During the American Civil War (1861–1865), he commanded ' during the ...

had given to many features of the San Juans during the Wilkes Expedition of 1838–1842. Wilkes had named Orcas Island "Hull Island" after Commodore

Isaac Hull Isaac Hull (March 9, 1773 – February 13, 1843) was a Commodore in the United States Navy. He commanded several famous U.S. naval warships including ("Old Ironsides") and saw service in the undeclared naval Quasi War with the revolutionary Fr ...

. Other features of Orcas Island Wilkes named include "Ironsides Inlet" for East Sound and "Guerrier Bay" for West Sound. One of the names Wilkes gave remains: Mount Constitution. Wilkes's names follow a pattern: Hull was the commander of "Old Ironsides" (the ) and won fame after capturing the British warship HMS ''Guerriere'' in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...

. The islands were first claimed by Spain, then by Britain, who agreed that everything below the 49th parallel was part of the US, in the treaty signed after the War of 1812. The Oregon territory, which then included Washington state and this island, was used jointly by the US and Britain until 1848, but border disputes specifically concerning the

, including the

Pig War (1859) The Pig War was a confrontation in 1859 between the United States and the United Kingdom over the British–U.S. border in the San Juan Islands, between Vancouver Island (present-day Canada) and the State of Washington. The Pig War, so ...

, were not settled until 1871. The similarity to the name of the

orca The orca or killer whale (''Orcinus orca'') is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. It is the only extant species in the genus '' Orcinus'' and is recognizable by its black-and-white ...

, which is popularly associated with coastal Washington state, is coincidental.

Geography

With an area of 57.3 square miles (148.4 km²) and a population of 5,387 ( 2010 census), Orcas Island is slightly larger, but less populous, than neighboring San Juan Island. It is shaped like a pair of saddlebags, separated by

fjord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Icel ...

-like Eastsound, and two prominent bays, Westsound and Deer Harbor, on the southwest side. At the island's northern end is the village of Eastsound, the largest population center on Orcas and the second largest in San Juan County. Other, smaller hamlets on the island include Orcas Landing (where the inter-island/mainland ferry lands), West Sound (with Eastsound addresses), Deer Harbor, Rosario (with Eastsound addresses),

Olga Olga may refer to: People and fictional characters * Olga (name), a given name, including a list of people and fictional characters named Olga or Olha * Michael Algar (born 1962), English singer also known as "Olga" Places Russia * Olga, Russia, ...

and Doe Bay. A number of former settlements no longer exist, which were mostly built up around the lime kiln and fruit growing industries.

Island access

The state supports island access through the Washington State Ferries system. In addition, the island can be accessed through a variety of air, seaplane and sea charter services. Private watercraft can use public docks located near the villages around the island, and various public shoreline access points. During the summer season, there is an island shuttle van that runs from the ferry landing to Eastsound and other points.

Museums and media

* The Orcas Island Historical Museum is located down town Eastsound and is the only object-based, interpretive heritage facility for the island, with a permanent collection containing approximately 6000 objects, paper documents and photographs. *Crow Valley School Museum is a one-room school house built in 1888, open by appoint only. * Orcas Island is also home to three historic camps: Camp Orkila, Four Winds Westward Ho and Camp Indralaya. * The ''

Islands' Sounder The ''Islands' Sounder'' is a newspaper published in Eastsound in the U.S. state of Washington. It was founded as ''The Orcas Sounder'' in 1964 by Al and Nickee Magnuson. It was expanded from 15 issues per year to a weekly publishing schedule, ...

'', originally named the ''Orcas Sounder'', is a

weekly newspaper A weekly newspaper is a general-news or current affairs publication that is issued once or twice a week in a wide variety broadsheet, magazine, and digital formats. Similarly, a biweekly newspaper is published once every two weeks. Weekly ne ...

published in Eastsound since 1964.

Public services

The Orcas Island School District operates three schools on a single campus: Orcas Island Elementary School housed in the island's historic Nellie S. Milton school building; Orcas Island Middle School; and Orcas Island High School. All of the island's public schools are located in Eastsound. The Orcas Island Public Library is located in Eastsound and serves a population of approximately 6,000 card holders. The Orcas Island Library District is a junior-taxing district that funds the Orcas Island Public Library's operating budget through property taxes. The annual Library Fair sells books donated by Orcas Island residents and visitors, the proceeds of which are donated back to the Library's operating budget. In 2018 Orcas Island Voters approved the creation of San Juan County Public Hospital District #3 (OIHCD) and later elected five Commissioners to the board. OIHCD funds local health care services ensuring care services to locals.

Parks

Village Green

The Village Green is located in the center of Eastsound village. The Village Green, with an expansive lawn and shade trees, picnic tables and outdoor performance stage, is the site of community gatherings, music performances, and the weekl
farmer’s market

Buck Park

Buck Park is located just north of the school on Mt. Baker Road. The park includes a world-clas
skateboard park
tennis courts,

pickleball Pickleball is an indoor or outdoor racket/paddle sport where two players (singles), or four players (doubles), hit a perforated hollow polymer ball over a net using solid-faced paddles. Opponents on either side of the net hit the ball back and ...

courts, baseball/softball and ultimate frisbee fields, soccer pitch, sand volleyball court, a fenced dog off-leash area, a new state-of-the-art running track, and the hub to an network of running trails and walking paths through the Eastsound area.

Moran State Park

Mount Constitution Mount Constitution is a mountain on Orcas Island, the highest point in the San Juan Islands and the second highest mountain on an ocean island in the contiguous 48 states. Only Devils Peak in the Channel Islands of California is higher. A sto ...

(elevation 2409 feet/734 meters) is the highest point in the San Juan islands. The mountain is part of

Moran State Park Moran State Park is a public recreation area on Orcas Island in Puget Sound's San Juan Islands in the state of Washington, United States. The state park encompasses over 5,000 acres of various terrain including forests, wetlands, bogs, hills, and ...

, the largest public recreation area in the San Juan Islands, and the largest State Park in Washington. Moran State Park encompasses over 5,000 acres (2,000 ha) of woodland and has several lakes, including Cascade Lake, Mountain Lake, Summit Lake, and Twin Lakes, and numerous waterfalls.

Obstruction Pass State Park

Obstruction Pass State Park is an 76-acre park with access to more than a mile of public saltwater shoreline on the south end of Orcas Island, south of Moran State Park.

Madrona Point

Madrona Point is a traditional burial ground which was controversially sold by the Cemetery Association in 1890. In 1989, the site was purchased out of private ownership for $2.2 million from the

Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the ma ...

and returned to the Lummi Nation. The tribe agreed to manage the property as an open space open to individuals and groups under a memorandum of understanding with San Juan County. However, the Lummi Nation closed the site in 2007 citing disrespect to the land.

In popular culture

The 2017 video game ''

What Remains of Edith Finch ''What Remains of Edith Finch'' is a first-person adventure game developed by Giant Sparrow and published by Annapurna Interactive. The game was released in April 2017 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One; for Nintendo Switch in ...

'' takes place on Orcas Island. The 2022 Netflix Original film '' Lou'' takes place on Orcas Island.