 Cypress Island from Rosario Strait | |
 Cypress Island in the San Juan Islands | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Salish Sea |
| Coordinates | 48°34′27″N122°42′20″W / 48.57417°N 122.70556°W /48.57417; -122.70556 |
| Area | 8.6 sq mi (22 km2) |
| Length | 4.75 mi (7.64 km) |
| Width | 3.5 mi (5.6 km) |
| Highest elevation | 1,525 ft (464.8 m) |
| Administration | |
United States | |
| State | Washington |
| County | Skagit County |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 40 (2000) |
Cypress Island is the westernmost part ofSkagit County, Washington, and is about halfway between the mainland and offshoreSan Juan County. It is separated fromBlakely Island to the west byRosario Strait and fromGuemes Island to the east by Bellingham Channel. The island has a land area of 5,500 acres (22 km2), and a population of 40 persons as of the2000 United States census.
TheWashington Department of Natural Resources manages about 5,100 acres (21 km2) of the island and leaves the island in a natural state. Cypress is heavily forested and has a system of trails linking various parts of the island. In roughly the middle of the island is a lake of about 7 acres (28,000 m2). On the southeastern corner of the island is a sheltered bay featuring a salmon fish farm. Cypress is not served byferry and there are no public utilities on the island.
The island is a popular destination forkayak trips due its relatively close proximity to the mainland and to the camping available at two sites on the east side.
Sheltered anchorages for boaters can be found in Eagle Harbor with public state park facilities.
Most of the island is underlain byultramafic rock such asserpentinite, which provides a poor balance of nutrients to soils that develop on it. The island's dominant soil series is Guemes very stony loam. Limited areas of fertile non-ultramafic soils occur around the island's northern end and in small pockets elsewhere. Most of these are mapped as Catla gravelly ashy sandy loam.[1]
Forests on the island are dominated byDouglas fir. The magnesium-rich bedrock supports a considerable population ofseaside juniper. Other common trees includeshore pine,Pacific madrone andDouglas maple. Somewestern hemlock,western red cedar,grand fir,red alder andbigleaf maple also occur.[2]
Prior to homesteading in the early twentieth century, the island was used by theSamish tribe, which had a winter village established on nearbyGuemes Island.[3] Samish fishing villages were present on Cypress until 1900.[4]
The first sighting of Cypress Island by Europeans was by the Spanish during the 1791 voyage ofJosé María Narváez, who named it San Vincente.[5] The island was named again by CaptainGeorge Vancouver in early June 1792, when he mistook juniper trees for cypress trees. Vancouver reports that theChatham, one of the vessels in his party, lost an anchor in Strawberry Bay, on the west side of the island.[6] Vancouver wrote:
The island of Cypress is principally composed of high rocky mountains and steep perpendicular cliffs which in the center of Strawberry bay fall a little back and the space between the foot of the mountains and the sea side is occupied by low marshy land through which are several small runs of most excellent water that find their way into the bay by oozing through the beach.[6]
In 1975, theWashington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) designated 156 acres (0.63 km2) as a Natural Area Preserve, and added 56 more acres in 1978. At that time, however, most of the island remained in private hands.
Several attempts were made to develop the island. Spokane industrialistRaymond A. Hanson acquired 3,150 acres (12.7 km2) on Cypress Island in 1978[7] and, in the 1980s proposed first a large-scale public utility development and then a five-star resort and golf-course. Small land-owners on the island, organized in a group called "Friends of Cypress Island" fought both proposals. Hanson finally sold his land to the Department of Natural Resources in 1989.[8]
This purchase along with subsequent, smaller purchases, have allowed the Natural Area Preserve to be expanded to 1,073 acres (4.34 km2), out of the 5,100 acres (21 km2) that comprise the Cypress Island Natural Resources Conservation Area.
The waters surrounding the island became a DNR Aquatic Reserve in 2007.[9][10]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
