The Kitsap Peninsula () lies west of

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

across

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...

, in

Washington state Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

in 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. Though ...

Hood Canal Hood Canal is a fjord forming the western lobe, and one of the four main basins,Olympic Peninsula The Olympic Peninsula is a large arm of land in western Washington that lies across Puget Sound from Seattle, and contains Olympic National Park. It is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the north by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the ...

on its west side. The peninsula, a.k.a. "Kitsap", encompasses all of

Kitsap County Kitsap County is located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 275,611. Its county seat is Port Orchard, and its largest city is Bremerton. The county was formed out of King County and Jefferson County on ...

except Bainbridge and

Blake Island Blake Island is a Puget Sound island in Kitsap County, Washington, Kitsap County, Washington (state), Washington, United States, that is preserved as Blake Island Marine State Park. The island lies north of Vashon Island, south of Bainbridge Isl ...

s, as well as the northeastern part of Mason County and the northwestern part of Pierce County. The highest point on the Kitsap Peninsula is Gold Mountain. The

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

Puget Sound Naval Shipyard Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, officially Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PSNS & IMF), is a United States Navy shipyard covering 179 acres (0.7 km2) on Puget Sound at Bremerton, Washington in uninterrupted u ...

, and

Naval Base Kitsap Naval Base Kitsap is a U.S. Navy base located on the Kitsap Peninsula in Washington state, created in 2004 by merging the former Naval Station Bremerton with Naval Submarine Base Bangor. It is the home base for the Navy’s fleet throughout Wes ...

(comprising the former NSB Bangor and NS Bremerton) are on the peninsula. Its main city is

Bremerton Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington. The population was 37,729 at the 2010 census and an estimated 41,405 in 2019, making it the largest city on the Kitsap Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremerto ...

. Though earlier referred to as the Great Peninsula or Indian Peninsula, with "Great Peninsula" still its official name, its current name comes from Kitsap County, which occupies most of the peninsula. It is thus the namesake of

Chief Kitsap Kitsap or Ktsap (died April 18, 1860) was a war chief of the Suquamish Native American tribe. One source says that he was the most powerful chief on Puget Sound from 1790 to 1845. Kitsap County, Washington and the Kitsap Peninsula are named for ...

, an 18th- and 19th-century warrior and medicine man of the

Suquamish The Suquamish () are a Lushootseed-speaking Native American people, located in present-day Washington in the United States. They are a southern Coast Salish people. Today, most Suquamish people are enrolled in the federally recognized Suquami ...

Tribe. The Suquamish were one of the historical fishing tribes belonging to the

Coast Salish The Coast Salish is a group of ethnically and linguistically related Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, living in the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon. They speak one of the Coas ...

group of peoples, and their ancestral grounds were based on the eastern shores of the Kitsap Peninsula. Seattle is named after the tribe's most famous leader,

Chief Seattle Chief Seattle ( – June 7, 1866) was a Suquamish and Duwamish chief. A leading figure among his people, he pursued a path of accommodation to white settlers, forming a personal relationship with "Doc" Maynard. The city of Seattle, in th ...

. The

Port Madison Indian Reservation The Port Madison Native Reservation is an Indigenous Reservation in the U.S. state of Washington belonging to the Suquamish Tribe, a federally recognized indigenous nation and signatory to the Treaty of Point Elliott of 1855. Location The reserv ...

, located between

Poulsbo Poulsbo ( ) is a city on Liberty Bay in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. It is the smallest of the four cities in Kitsap County. The population was 9,200 at the 2010 census and an estimated 10,927 in 2018. The area was historically in ...

and

Agate Pass Agate Pass or Agate Passage is a high-current tidal strait in Puget Sound connecting Port Madison and mainland Kitsap County in the US state of Washington. It lies between Bainbridge Island and the mainland of the Kitsap Peninsula near Suquamish. ...

, is the modern Suquamish tribal center. The Kitsap Peninsula is also home to the

Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe The Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe, formerly known as the Port Gamble Indian Community of the Port Gamble Reservation or the Port Gamble Band of S'Klallam Indians is a federally recognized tribe of S'Klallam people, located on the Kitsap Peninsula i ...

, another branch of the Coast Salish people, whose tribal center is the

Port Gamble S'Klallam Indian Reservation The Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe, formerly known as the Port Gamble Indian Community of the Port Gamble Reservation or the Port Gamble Band of S'Klallam Indians is a federally recognized tribe of S'Klallam people, located on the Kitsap Peninsula i ...

at Little Boston located on the northwest coast of the peninsula. And though their main center now is at Skokomish the Hood Canal was the main demesne of the communities of the

Twana Twana is the collective name for a group of nine Coast Salish peoples in the northern-mid Puget Sound region, most of whom are extinct or are now subsumed into other groups and organized tribes. The Skokomish are the main surviving group and sel ...

, another subgroup of the Coast Salish. The peninsula is connected to the eastern shore of Puget Sound by

Washington State Ferries Washington State Ferries (WSF) is a government agency that operates automobile and passenger ferry service in the U.S. state of Washington as part of the Washington State Department of Transportation. It runs ten routes serving 20 terminals loca ...

, which run from

Downtown Seattle Downtown is the central business district of Seattle, Washington. It is fairly compact compared with other city centers on the U.S. West Coast due to its geographical situation, being hemmed in on the north and east by hills, on the west by ...

, from Kingston to

Edmonds Edmonds may refer to: * Edmonds (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the surname) * Edmonds, Washington, a city in Washington, US ** Edmonds station (Washington), a passenger train station in Washington, US * Edmonds station (SkyTra ...

and from Southworth to

West Seattle West Seattle is a conglomeration of neighborhoods in Seattle, Washington, United States. It comprises two of the thirteen districts, Delridge and Southwest, and encompasses all of Seattle west of the Duwamish River. It was incorporated as an i ...

via

Vashon Island Vashon is a census-designated place (CDP) 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 10,6 ...

, by the

Tacoma Narrows Bridge The Tacoma Narrows Bridge is a pair of twin suspension bridges that span the Tacoma Narrows strait of Puget Sound in Pierce County, Washington. The bridges connect the city of Tacoma with the Kitsap Peninsula and carry State Route 16 (known ...

from Point Fosdick to Tacoma, and to the northeastern shore of the main

Olympic Peninsula The Olympic Peninsula is a large arm of land in western Washington that lies across Puget Sound from Seattle, and contains Olympic National Park. It is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the north by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the ...

by the

Hood Canal Bridge The Hood Canal Bridge (officially William A. Bugge Bridge) is a floating bridge in the northwest United States, located in western Washington. It carries State Route 104 across Hood Canal of Puget Sound and connects the Olympic and Kitsap P ...

Cities and towns

Annapolis Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

* Bangor * Belfair *

* Brownsville * Colby *

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...

* Chico * East Port Orchard * Erlands Point *

Gig Harbor Gig Harbor is the name of both a bay on Puget Sound and a city on its shore in Pierce County, Washington,. The population was 12,029 at the 2020 census. Gig Harbor is one of several cities and towns that claim to be "the gateway to the Olympic ...

* Gorst * Hansville * Illahee * Indianola * Keyport * Kingston *

Kitsap Lake Kitsap Lake is a lake in Kitsap County, Washington. The lake is near the exact center of the Kitsap Peninsula, roughly between the Dyes Inlet in the Puget Sound and the Blue Hills peak range. It is located on the edge of the Bremerton, Washington ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

* Navy Yard City * Olalla * Parkwood *

Port Gamble Port Gamble is an unincorporated community on the northwestern shore of the Kitsap Peninsula in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. It is also a small, eponymous bay, along which the community lies, near the entrance to Hood Canal. The uninc ...

* Port Orchard *

Purdy Purdy may refer to: People Surname *Al Purdy (1918–2000), Canadian poet *Amy Purdy (born 1979), American actress, model and Paralympic snowboarder * Ashley Purdy, Black Veil Brides bassist * Bill Purdy (born 1946), American rower * Brock Purdy ( ...

* Retsil * Seabeck * Silverdale * Southworth * Suquamish * Tahuya *

Tracyton Tracyton is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. Its population was 5,233 at the 2010 census. It was named for 19th century Secretary of the Navy Benjamin F. Tracy. Geography Tracyton is located in centra ...

Bays and inlets

* Anderson Cove *

Appletree Cove Appletree Cove is a bay and estuary of Puget Sound on the Kitsap Peninsula in the U.S. state of Washington. The cove is fed by Carpenter Creek; its estuary is a tidal flood zone that fills and empties at high and low tides. Appletree Cove was name ...

* Big Beef Harbor * Burke Bay * Burley Lagoon *

Carr Inlet Carr Inlet, in southern Puget Sound in the U.S. state of Washington, is an arm of water between Key Peninsula and Gig Harbor Peninsula. Its southern end is connected to the southern basin of Puget Sound. Northward, it separates McNeil Island and F ...

Case Inlet Case Inlet, in southern Puget Sound in the U.S. state of Washington, is an arm of water between Key Peninsula on the east and Hartstine Island on the west. Its northern end, called North Bay, reaches nearly to Hood Canal, creating the defining isth ...

Chico Bay Chico () means ''small'', ''boy'' or ''child'' in the Spanish language. It is also the nickname for Francisco in the Portuguese language (). Chico may refer to: Places *Chico, California, a city *Chico, Montana, an unincorporated community *Chic ...

* Clam Bay *

Colvos Passage The Colvos Passage is a tidal strait within Puget Sound in the American state of Washington running west of Vashon Island between the island and the Kitsap Peninsula. It lies just north of the Dalco Passage. Colvos Passage has a permanent pre ...

* Coon Bay *

Dogfish Bay Liberty Bay is a narrow inlet extending about 4 miles in a northerly direction from the northwest part of Port Orchard, adjacent to the Kitsap Peninsula in Western Washington. Background The southeastern half of Liberty Bay is very narrow. The ...

* Dyes Inlet *

Hood Canal Hood Canal is a fjord forming the western lobe, and one of the four main basins,Horsehead Bay * Liberty Bay * Little Beef Harbor * Little Clam Bay * Miller Bay * Mud Bay * Nesika Bay * Olalla Bay * Orrs Cove * Ostrich Bay * Oyster Bay *

Phinney Bay Phinney Bay is a small bay, 0.8 miles long, off the north end of the Port Washington Narrows in the Kitsap Peninsula in western Washington, USA. The city of Bremerton Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington. The population was 37,729 ...

Pilots Cove An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they ar ...

Port Madison Port Madison, sometimes called Port Madison Bay, is a deep water bay located on the west shore of Puget Sound in western Washington. It is bounded on the north by Indianola, on the west by Suquamish, and on the south by Bainbridge Island. Port Ma ...

* Port Orchard * Port Washington Narrows * Races Cove * Rich Passage * Seabeck Bay * Sinclair Inlet * Skunk Bay * Stavis Bay * Stiles Lagoon * Tacoma Narrows * Yukon Harbor

Headlands

* Anderson Point * Apple Cove Point * Bass Point * Command Point * Elwood Point *

Erlands Point Erlands Point is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 916. Prior to 2020, it was part of the Erlands Point-Kitsap Lake CDP. Erla ...

* Foulweather Bluff * Hood Point * King Spit * Lemolo Point *

Madrona Point Madrona may refer to: Places Canada * Madrona Island, an island in the Johnstone Strait region of the Central Coast of British Columbia * Madrona Point, on the east coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia between the communities of Parksville ...

* Manette Peninsula * Middle Point * Norwegian Point *

Orchard Point Orchard Point is a shopping centre A shopping center (American English) or shopping centre (Commonwealth English), also called a shopping complex, shopping arcade, shopping plaza or galleria, is a group of shops built together, sometimes und ...

Pearson Point Bird Island ( es, Isla Pájaro) is long and wide, separated from the western end of South Georgia by Bird Sound. It is part of the British overseas territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, also claimed by Argentina as part of ...

* Pilot Point *

Point Bolin Point or points may refer to: Places * Point, Lewis, a peninsula in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland * Point, Texas, a city in Rains County, Texas, United States * Point, the NE tip and a ferry terminal of Lismore, Inner Hebrides, Scotland * Points ...

* Point Glover * Point Herron * Point Jefferson * Point Julia *

Point Misery Point or points may refer to: Places * Point, Lewis, a peninsula in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland * Point, Texas, a city in Rains County, Texas, United States * Point, the NE tip and a ferry terminal of Lismore, Inner Hebrides, Scotland * Poin ...

* Point No Point *

Point Southworth Southworth is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) on Puget Sound in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. It is best known for being the west end of the Fauntleroy-Vashon Island-Southworth Washington State Ferries run ...

* Point Turner * President Point * Rocky Point *

Ross Point Ross Point () is a point forming the southeast side of the entrance to Varvara Cove on the southwest side of Nelson Island in the South Shetland Islands, situated 7.85 km southeast of Harmony Point. The point was charted by DI personnel on t ...

* Ruby Point *

Salisbury Point Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wi ...

Sandy Hook Sandy Hook is a barrier spit in Middletown Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The barrier spit, approximately in length and varying from wide, is located at the north end of the Jersey Shore. It encloses the southern en ...

* Teekalet Bluff * Tekiu Point * Twin Spits *

University Point A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

Virginia Point Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

* Waterman Point *

Windy Point, Puget Sound The Kitsap Peninsula () lies west of Seattle across Puget Sound, in Washington state in the Pacific Northwest. Hood Canal separates the peninsula from the Olympic Peninsula on its west side. The peninsula, a.k.a. "Kitsap", encompasses all of Kits ...

References

External links

*
Kitsap Peninsula Visitor Information
{{Coord, 47, 32, 59, N, 122, 49, 05, W, display=title, source:GNIS Landforms of Kitsap County, Washington Landforms of Mason County, Washington Landforms of Pierce County, Washington Landforms of Puget Sound Peninsulas of Washington (state)