THE PORT OF EVERETT, WASH. PORT AND HARBOR CONDITIONS GENERAL DESCRIPTION Everett is the third largest city on Puget Sound, its population, according to the United States Census of 1930, being 30,550. It is also the third largest port on the Sound, comparison being based on the total tonnage of all classes of water-borne commerce. The city is situated on Everett Peninsula on the eastern shore of Possession Sound, a tributary of Puget Sound, and is approximately 115 nautical miles from Cape Flattery and about 25 nautical miles north of Seattle. The entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca is approximately 682 nautical miles north of San Francisco. The strait is not only the connecting channel between the ocean and the inland passages extending southward to Puget Sound, but it also connects with those passages extending northward to the inland waters of British Columbia and southeast Alaska. Separating the State of Washington from Vancouver Island, it is approximately 15 nautical miles wide at its entrance between Cape Flattery and Carmanah Lights and extends eastward for about 50 miles to Race Rocks, on the Canadian side, with an average width of over 10 miles. From Race Rocks it expands and extends east-northeastward for 30 miles with an average width of 18 miles, connecting northward with Georgia Strait. At Point Wilson, 86 miles east of Cape Flattery, it connects southward with Admiralty Inlet and Puget Sound. The strait is very deep, varying from a minimum of 24 fathoms at the entrance of Admiralty Inlet to 150 fathoms at Cape Flattery. Admiralty Inlet begins at Point Wilson on the west and Admiralty Head on the east, approximately 3% miles apart, and extends in a general southeasterly direction for about 14 nautical miles, to its junction with Hood Canal and Puget Sound. Puget Sound extends in a general southeasterly direction toward Seattle, a distance of 26 nautical miles. This passage varies in width from 2% to 5 miles and has depths ranging from 25 to 155 fathoms, the deeper water being encountered south of Point-No-Point. The outer harbor.-Possession Sound enters Puget Sound at the southern end of Whidbey Island, which forms the eastern shore of Admiralty Inlet, and extends in a general northerly direction for 10 miles, where it joins Port Susan and Saratoga Passage. It extends northward from its entrance into Puget Sound with an average width of 2 miles and then expands into an irregular basin about 6 miles wide. The eastern part of this basin is filled with extensive flats, a large portion of which is uncovered at low water, rising sharply from deep water and extending inland to the upland shore of the city of Everett. Several channels pass through these flats to form the mouth of the Snohomish River. Possession Sound has deep water throughout its entire length, ranging from a maximum of 120 fathoms at its entrance at Possession Point to from 6 to 49 fathoms, about onehalf mile from the edge of the flats. Although navigation is more difficult than via the route through Admiralty Inlet and around the southern end of Whidbey Island, Everett Harbor may be approached from the north through Deception Pass, lying between Fidalgo and Whidbey Islands at the southern end of Rosario Strait, and thence southward along the eastern side of Whidbey Island through Skagit Bay and Saratoga Passage. Deception Pass is 2 miles in length, is narrow, has a depth ranging from 9 fathoms upward, and tidal currents which attain a velocity of from 5 to 7 knots, the period of slack water being of about 10 minutes' duration. The navigable channel through Skagit Bay is approximately 11 nautical miles long, less than one-half of a mile in width, and has a depth ranging from 5%1⁄2 to 19 fathoms. The distance through Saratoga Passage from the Skagit Bay Channel to Everett is approximately 25 nautical miles. The Passage has a minimum width of about 11⁄2 miles and a depth ranging from 18 to 99 fathoms. This route is commonly used by local vessels passing between Bellingham, Anacortes, and the San Juan Islands, and the more southerly points on Puget Sound. The inner harbor.-The inner harbor of the port of Everett consists of the Snohomish River and that section of Possession Sound into which it flows, known as Port Gardner Bay, which borders the southwestern section of the city and has depths increasing from 6 feet, 1,500 feet from the outer end of the jetty, to over 50 feet, 1,000 yards from the end of the jetty. It is upon Port Gardner Bay that the principal terminal improvements of the port have taken place, the depths of water there being great enough to accommodate vessels of the largest size in freight service. The Snohomish River-or rather the improved channel thereof known as Old River-borders the city on the east and north and enters Port Gardner Bay after flowing southward across the flats west of the city and inside of the controlling dike. Attempts to improve this channel have been rendered more or less ineffective by the tendency of the river to shoal and at the end of July 1937, the controlling depth therein at mean lower low water was about 2 feet. This channel is navigable at stages of high tide, therefore, only for boats of light draft, and terminal improvements thereon consist of wharves located at industrial plants and served by scows. TIDES The mean range of tides in Everett harbor is 7.5 feet, the diurnal range 11.3 feet, and the extreme range 18 feet TIDAL CURRENTS The velocity of tidal currents in Everett harbor is small, although during periods of freshets in the Snohomish River the ebb tide may reach a velocity of from 1% to 3 miles an hour. In Puget Sound currents varying in velocity from 2 to 5 knots occur from Point Wilson to Point-No-Point, the velocity in the more open waters south of Point-No-Point being much less. Tidal currents in Possession Sound vary in strength from one-fourth of a knot to 1 knot. ANCHORAGES There are no designated anchorages in Everett harbor. The harbor is well sheltered, and holding ground is good in any location outside of the 35-foot curve. There are no mooring buoys in the harbor. WEATHER CONDITIONS Open season for navigation.-Possession Sound and Everett harbor are open for navigation during the entire year. Prevailing winds. The prevailing winds over a period of 23 years were from the west during July through October southeast from November to February, inclusive, and northwest during the remainder of the year. Storm warnings are displayed day and night by the Weather Bureau from a steel tower on the inshore end of pier No. 3, on Port Gardner Bay. Ice. Owing to the temperate climate no ice forms to obstruct navigation. Fogs.-Fogs may be expected at any time during the year, although they are most prevalent during the months of August, September, and October, when their density is frequently augmented by smoke from forest fires. Precipitation. Everett, in common with the other cities on Puget Sound, experiences a rainy season and a dry season, the former beginning in October and continuing into May, while the latter extends over the other months of the year. The mean annual precipitation, computed from the records of the Weather Bureau for a period of 23 years, is 33.18 inches, the average maximum of 5.29 inches for the 23-year period occurring during the month of December and the average minimum of 0.80 inch during the month of July. 76504-38-2 |