Turn Island

Turn Island is a 34-acre (14 ha) island in the San Juan Islands in the Salish Sea in the U.S. state of Washington. The island sits in the San Juan Channel about 900 feet off the east coast of San Juan Island. It is preserved as Turn Island Marine State Park and is part of the San Juan Islands National Wildlife Refuge. The island has 12 campsites and is only accessible by water.^[3] A few meters off the west shore of Turn Island, astride Boat Channel lies an unnamed island. It is almost devoid of any trees, and is almost entirely covered in a thin layer of grass.^{[citation needed]}

Turn Island Marine State Park
Location in the state of Washington Show map of Washington (state) Turn Island (the United States) Show map of the United States
Location	San Juan County, Washington, United States
Nearest town	Friday Harbor, Washington
Coordinates	48°31′57″N 122°58′18″W[1]
Area	35.15 acres (14.22 ha)[2]
Elevation	59 ft (18 m)[1]
Established	1959[3]
Administered by	Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission
Website	Official website

History

Charles Wilkes, during the Wilkes Expedition of 1838-1842, thought it was part of San Juan Island and named it Point Salisbury after one of his officers. In 1858, the British found that it was an island with dangerous rocks in the channel between it and San Juan Island. The name Turn Island and Turn Rocks were given to mark the proper sailing channel.^[4]

See also

• Islands portal
• Pacific Northwest portal