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Padilla Bay
The south portion of Padilla Bay with March Point (foreground) and the Skagit River Valley in the distance
Padilla BayShow map of Strait of Juan de FucaPadilla BayShow map of Washington (state)Padilla BayShow map of the United States
Location	Washington, United States
Type	Bay
Part of	Salish Sea

Padilla Bay is a bay located in the U.S. state of Washington, between the San Juan Islands and the mainland. Fidalgo Island and Guemes Island lie to the west of Padilla Bay. Guemes Channel, between the islands, connects Padilla Bay to Rosario Strait. Samish Island lies to the north of Padilla Bay, beyond which is Samish Bay and Bellingham Bay.

History

In 1791 the Spaniard José María Narváez explored and named Padilla Bay, calling it Seno Padillo, in honor of Juan Vicente de Güemes Padilla Horcasitas, the viceroy of New Spain.

The Estuary

Padilla Bay is a tidal bay. It is entirely flooded at high tide and at low tide mudflats are exposed. These mud flats are habitat for many species of birds and animals. The bay is very shallow. Near Hat Island the bay is only 12 feet (4 m) deep. Part of the estuary tidal flats are contained by dikes built in order to make farmland out of the mudflats. The Swinomish Channel is a salt-water channel in Washington State, United States, which connects Skagit Bay, to the south, and Padilla Bay, to the north, separating Fidalgo Island from mainland Skagit County. In the past, the Skagit River had emptied into Padilla Bay.

The Reserve

The Padilla Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve is an area of 8,004 acres (32 km) of estuary located in Skagit County. The reserve contains the Breazeale Interpretive Center, which features exhibits about the natural history and ecology of the estuary and bay, fish tanks, a hands-on room and a video theater.

The site also features classrooms, research facilities, and public access to a beach site. It is a popular location for graduate studies from Western Washington University and the University of Washington.

Padilla Bay is a part of the National Estuarine Research Reserve which it was incorporated into in 1980. It is managed by the Washington Department of Ecology. It has several trails. There is a wheelchair trail to the observation deck as well as a shore trail that is 2.25 miles (3.62 km) long and runs along the top of the dikes.

The research center is located in the Skagit Valley of Washington. The nearest town is Anacortes, Washington about 6 miles (10 km) away.

References

1. McDowell, Jim (1998). José Narváez: The Forgotten Explorer. Spokane, Washington: The Arthur H. Clark Company. p. 55. ISBN 0-87062-265-X.
2. Meany, Edmond S. (1923). Origin of Washington geographic names. Seattle: University of Washington Press. p. 205.
3. Padilla Bay, Skagit, WA - Google Maps: https://maps.google.com/

External links

• Padilla Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve - official site
• Breazeale Interpretive Center

48°30′57.5″N 122°32′0.1″W / 48.515972°N 122.533361°W / 48.515972; -122.533361

v t e National Estuarine Research Reserves of the United States
Apalachicola Ashepoo Combahee Edisto Basin Bahía de Jobos Chesapeake Bay Chesapeake Bay Delaware Elkhorn Slough Grand Bay Great Bay Guana Tolomato Matanzas He‘eia Hudson River Jacques Cousteau Kachemak Bay Lake Superior Mission-Aransas Narragansett Bay North Carolina North Inlet-Winyah Bay Old Woman Creek Padilla Bay Rookery Bay San Francisco Bay Sapelo Island South Slough Tijuana River Waquoit Bay Weeks Bay Wells
Category Commons

v t e Protected areas of Washington
Federal	National Parks Mount Rainier North Cascades Olympic National Monuments Hanford Reach (USFWS) Mount St. Helens Volcanic (USFS) San Juan Islands (BLM) National Historical Parks and Sites Fort Vancouver NHS Klondike Gold Rush NHP Lewis and Clark NHP Manhattan Project NHP Nez Perce NHP San Juan Island NHP Whitman Mission NHS National Historical Reserves Ebey's Landing National Trails Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Pacific Crest Trail Pacific Northwest Trail NPS National Recreation Areas Lake Chelan Lake Roosevelt Ross Lake National Wildlife Refuges Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually Columbia Conboy Lake Copalis Dungeness Flattery Rocks Franz Lake Grays Harbor Julia Butler Hansen Refuge for the Columbian White-Tailed Deer Little Pend Oreille McNary Pierce Protection Island Quillayute Needles Ridgefield Saddle Mountain San Juan Islands Steigerwald Lake Toppenish Turnbull Umatilla Willapa National Forests Colville Gifford Pinchot Idaho Panhandle Kaniksu Mount Baker–Snoqualmie Okanogan–Wenatchee Olympic Umatilla Wenatchee USFS National Recreation Areas Mount Baker National Wilderness Alpine Lakes Boulder River The Brothers Buckhorn Clearwater Colonel Bob Daniel J. Evans Glacier Peak Glacier View Goat Rocks Henry M. Jackson Indian Heaven Juniper Dunes Lake Chelan-Sawtooth Ridge Mount Adams Mount Baker Mount Rainier Mount Skokomish Noisy-Diobsud Norse Peak Pasayten Salmo-Priest San Juan Stephen Mather Tatoosh Trapper Creek Washington Islands Wenaha–Tucannon Wild Sky William O. Douglas Wonder Mountain National Marine Sanctuary and National Estuarine Research Reserve Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary Padilla Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve National Wild and Scenic Rivers Illabot Klickitat Pratt Skagit Snoqualmie White Salmon
State	State Parks Alta Lake Anderson Lake Battle Ground Lake Bay View Beacon Rock Belfair Birch Bay Blake Island Blind Island Bogachiel Bottle Beach Bridgeport Bridle Trails Brooks Memorial Cama Beach Camano Island Camp Wooten Retreat Center Cape Disappointment Clark Island Columbia Hills Columbia Plateau Trail Conconully Crawford Curlew Lake Cutts Island Daroga Dash Point Deception Pass Doe Island Dosewallips Doug's Beach Eagle Island Federation Forest Fields Spring Flaming Geyser Forks of the Sky Fort Casey Fort Columbia Fort Ebey Fort Flagler Fort Simcoe Fort Townsend Fort Worden Ginkgo Petrified Forest Goldendale Observatory Grayland Beach Griffiths-Priday Harstine Island Hope Island (Mason County) Hope Island (Skagit County) Ike Kinswa Illahee Iron Horse Jackson House James Island Jarrell Cove Joemma Beach Jones Island Joseph Whidbey Kanaskat-Palmer Kinney Point Kitsap Memorial Klickitat Trail Kopachuck Lake Chelan Lake Easton Lake Lenore Caves Lake Sammamish Lake Sylvia Lake Wenatchee Larrabee Leadbetter Point Lewis and Clark Lewis and Clark Trail Lime Kiln Point Lincoln Rock Lyons Ferry Manchester Maryhill Matia Island Matilda Jackson McMicken Island Millersylvania Moran Mount Pilchuck Mount Spokane Mystery Bay Nolte Obstruction Pass Ocean City Olallie Olmstead Place Pacific Beach Pacific Pines Palouse Falls Palouse to Cascades Paradise Point Patos Island Peace Arch Pearrygin Lake Penrose Point Peshastin Pinnacles Pleasant Harbor Posey Island Potholes Potlatch Rainbow Falls Rasar Reed Island Riverside Rockport Sacajawea Saddlebag Island Saint Edward Saltwater Scenic Beach Schafer Seaquest Sequim Bay Shine Tidelands Skagit Island South Whidbey Spencer Spit Spokane River Centennial Trail Spring Creek Hatchery Squak Mountain Squilchuck Steamboat Rock Steptoe Battlefield Steptoe Butte Stretch Point Stuart Island Sucia Island Sun Lakes-Dry Falls Tolmie Triton Cove Turn Island Twanoh Twenty-Five Mile Creek Twin Harbors Wallace Falls Wanapum Recreational Area Wenatchee Confluence Westport Light Willapa Hills Trail Willie Keil's Grave Yakima Sportsman State Forests Ahtanum Capitol Elbe Hills Green Mountain Loomis Loup Loup Tahuya Teanaway Tiger Mountain Yacolt Burn Natural Area Preserves Admiralty Inlet Badger Gulch Bald Hill Barker Mountain Bone River Camas Meadows Carlisle Bog Castle Rock Charley Creek Chehalis River Surge Plain Chopaka Mountain Clearwater Bogs Cleveland Shrub Steppe Columbia Falls Columbia Hills Crowberry Bog Cypress Highlands Dabob Bay Dailey Prairie Davis Canyon Entiat Slopes Goose Island Gunpowder Island Hamma Hamma Balds Ink Blot Kahlotus Ridgetop Kennedy Creek Kings Lake Bog Kitsap Forest Lacamas Prairie Little Pend Oreille River Marcellus Shrub Steppe Methow Rapids Mima Mounds Monte Cristo Niawiakum River North Bay Oak Patch Olivine Bridge Pinecroft Point Doughty Riverside Breaks Rocky Prairie Sand Island Schumacher Creek Selah Cliffs Skagit Bald Eagle Skookum Inlet Snoqualmie Bog Spring Creek Canyon Trombetta Canyon Trout Lake The Two-Steppe Upper Dry Gulch Washougal Oaks Whitcomb Flats Willapa Divide Natural Resources Conservation Areas Ashford Cattle Point Clearwater Corridor Cypress Island Devils Lake Dishman Hills Elk River Ellsworth Creek Granite Lakes Hat Island Hendrickson Canyon Klickitat Canyon Lake Louise Loomis Lummi Island Merrill Lake Middle Fork Snoqualmie Morning Star Mount Si Naselle Highlands Queets River Rattlesnake Mountain Scenic Area Shipwreck Point Skamokawa Creek South Nemah South Nolan Stavis Stevenson Ridge Table Mountain Tahoma Forest Teal Slough Washougal Oaks West Tiger Mountain White Salmon Oak Woodard Bay Aquatic Reserves Cherry Point Cypress Island Fidalgo Bay Maury Island Nisqually Reach Protection Island Smith and Minor Islands
Other	Former state parks Damon Point Fay Bainbridge Fort Okanogan Fort Ward Park Griffin Bay Mukilteo Lighthouse Park Osoyoos Lake Veteran's Memorial Park Skull Island Upright Channel Wenberg Westhaven Marine protected areas Blanchard Forest Cascadia Marine Trail The Enchantments Goose Island Les Hilde Trail & Trailheads Little Pend Oreille Maritime Washington National Heritage Area Mount Adams Recreation Area Sehome Hill Arboretum Walker Valley ORV Riding Area Withrow Moraine Yellow Island
Category Seattle Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission Commons

• Bays of Washington (state)
• National Estuarine Research Reserves of the United States
• Protected areas of Washington (state)
• Natural history museums in Washington (state)
• Protected areas of Skagit County, Washington
• Museums in Skagit County, Washington
• Bodies of water of Skagit County, Washington
• Nature centers in Washington (state)
• Estuaries of Washington (state)