Blakely Island, Washington facts for kids
|
Native name:
XEMXEMIȽĆ
|
|
|---|---|
Location of Blakely Island in the San Juans
|
|
 Blakely
Location in Washington (state)
|
|
| Geography | |
| Location | Pacific Northwest |
| Coordinates | 48°33′37″N 122°48′09″W / 48.56025°N 122.80243°W |
| Archipelago | San Juan Islands |
| Area | 6.507 sq mi (16.85 km2) |
| Administration | |
|
United States
|
|
| State | Washington |
| County | San Juan County |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 56 (2000) |
Blakely Island is a beautiful island in San Juan County, Washington. Its name in the SENĆOŦEN language is XEMXEMIȽĆ. It is the sixth largest island in the San Juan Islands of Washington State, United States.
The island covers about 16.852 square kilometers (6.507 square miles). It is separated from Cypress Island by a water channel called Rosario Strait. In the year 2000, only 56 people lived on Blakely Island.
You cannot just visit Blakely Island easily. There is no public way to get there. You can only reach it by a private ferry or your own boat.
Contents
History of Blakely Island
Blakely Island got its name from Charles Wilkes. He was part of a big trip called the United States Exploring Expedition between 1838 and 1842. He named the island after Johnston Blakeley. Blakeley was a brave naval commander during the War of 1812.
Thatcher Bay is on the east side of the island. Long ago, the Samish tribe had seasonal villages there. Later, when Washington was still a territory, a mill town called Thatcher was built there. In 2014, old wooden structures that were harmful to the water were removed from Thatcher Bay.
Getting Around and Services
There are no public ferry boats that go to Blakely Island. You can only get there by boat or a private ferry. These boats arrive at the marina at the very top of the island.
There is also a private airstrip on the island. Only people who own property on Blakely Island can use it. The only places to get things on the island are a general store and a café. They are both at the marina and are only open during certain times of the year.
Seattle Pacific University has a special outdoor study center on Blakely Island. It is called a biological field station and covers a huge area of 967 acres (391.3 hectares). Scientists and students go there to study nature.
Geography and Nature
Blakely Island is very hilly and has many trees. There are not many main roads or paths. In the middle of the island, there are two freshwater lakes: Horseshoe Lake and Spencer Lake. A small stream called Spencer Creek flows from Spencer Lake into Thatcher Bay.
Weather on Blakely Island
| Climate data for Blakely Island, Washington | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 65 (18) |
69 (21) |
79 (26) |
83 (28) |
90 (32) |
95 (35) |
101 (38) |
95 (35) |
88 (31) |
82 (28) |
69 (21) |
74 (23) |
101 (38) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 45.0 (7.2) |
48.6 (9.2) |
52.3 (11.3) |
57.8 (14.3) |
63.6 (17.6) |
68.2 (20.1) |
72.2 (22.3) |
72.2 (22.3) |
67.5 (19.7) |
59.2 (15.1) |
51.0 (10.6) |
46.3 (7.9) |
58.7 (14.8) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 39.8 (4.3) |
42.2 (5.7) |
45.2 (7.3) |
49.7 (9.8) |
54.7 (12.6) |
58.9 (14.9) |
62.0 (16.7) |
62.1 (16.7) |
58.4 (14.7) |
51.9 (11.1) |
45.2 (7.3) |
41.2 (5.1) |
50.9 (10.5) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 34.5 (1.4) |
36.0 (2.2) |
38.1 (3.4) |
41.6 (5.3) |
45.7 (7.6) |
49.6 (9.8) |
51.7 (10.9) |
51.8 (11.0) |
49.4 (9.7) |
44.6 (7.0) |
39.5 (4.2) |
36.0 (2.2) |
43.2 (6.2) |
| Record low °F (°C) | 6 (−14) |
9 (−13) |
18 (−8) |
27 (−3) |
31 (−1) |
33 (1) |
35 (2) |
33 (1) |
19 (−7) |
23 (−5) |
10 (−12) |
4 (−16) |
4 (−16) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 3.5 (89) |
2.5 (64) |
2.3 (58) |
1.8 (46) |
1.6 (41) |
1.4 (36) |
0.8 (20) |
1.0 (25) |
1.5 (38) |
2.6 (66) |
3.8 (97) |
3.8 (97) |
26.6 (680) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 2.1 (5.3) |
1.1 (2.8) |
0.5 (1.3) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0.4 (1.0) |
1.0 (2.5) |
5.1 (13) |
| Average precipitation days | 17 | 13 | 14 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 12 | 17 | 17 | 135 |
| Source: Weatherbase | |||||||||||||
See also
In Spanish: Isla Blakely para niños
