| Patos Island Marine State Park | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Toe Point, Patos Island | |
  Location in the state of Washington Show map of Washington (state) Patos Island (the United States) Show map of the United States | |
| Location | San Juan County, Washington, United States |
| Coordinates | 48°47′04″N122°57′16″W / 48.78444°N 122.95444°W /48.78444; -122.95444[1] |
| Area | 207 acres (84 ha) |
| Elevation | 102 ft (31 m)[1] |
| Established | 1974[2] |
| Administered by | Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission |
| Website | Official website |
.jpg)
Patos Island is a small island in theSan Juan Islands of theU.S. state ofWashington. Since 1893, it has been home to thePatos Island Lighthouse, guiding vessels throughBoundary Pass between Canada and the United States. The name comes from the Spanishpato, meaning "duck," which was given to the island in 1792 by CommanderDionisio Alcalá Galiano of theSutil and CaptainCayetano Valdés y Flores of theMexicana.[3]
The island and adjacent islets comprisePatos Island State Park, a 207-acre (0.84 km2) marine park with 20,000 feet (6,100 m) of saltwater shoreline. The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission began operating Patos Island as a state park under a lease agreement with the Bureau of Land Management in 1974.[4] The entire island is owned by the federal government and is administered by theBureau of Land Management's Wenatchee Office. TheWashington State Parks and Recreation Commission operates a small campground facility at Active Cove near the west side of the island, maintains a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) loop trail, and has two offshore mooring buoys.[4][5]
The entire island, including the lighthouse, is part of theSan Juan Islands National Monument, created in 2013.[6]
