Point Roberts, Washington | |
|---|---|
.jpeg) Point Roberts cannery c. 1918 | |
| Nicknames: The Point, Point Bob | |
 Show Point Roberts Show Whatcom County Show Washington Show the United StatesInteractive location map of Point Roberts | |
| Coordinates:48°59′40″N123°03′32″W / 48.99444°N 123.05889°W /48.99444; -123.05889 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Washington |
| County | Whatcom |
| Established | June 15, 1846 |
| Area | |
• Total | 4.884 sq mi (12.65 km2) |
| Elevation | 121 ft (37 m) |
| Population (2020)[2] | |
• Total | 1,191 |
• Estimate (2022) | 1,249 |
| • Density | 240/sq mi (94/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−08:00 (PST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−07:00 (PDT) |
| ZIP Code | 98281 |
| Area code | 360 |
| GNIS feature ID | 2586745[1] |
| Website | Point Roberts Chamber of Commerce |
Point Roberts is apene-exclave of the US state ofWashington on the southernmost tip of theTsawwassen peninsula, south ofVancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The area, which had a population of 1,191 at the2020 census,[2] is reached from the rest of the United States by traveling 25 mi (40 km) through Canada, or without passing through Canada by boat or private airplane.[3] It is acensus-designated place inWhatcom County, Washington, with apost office, and aZIP Code of 98281.[4] Direct sea and air connections with the rest of the U.S. are available acrossBoundary Bay.
Point Roberts was created when the United Kingdom and the United States settled thePacific Northwest American–Canadian border dispute in the mid-19th century with theOregon Treaty.[3] The two parties agreed that the 49th parallel would definethe boundary between their respective territories, and the small area that incorporates Point Roberts is south of the 49th parallel. Questions about ceding the territory to the United Kingdom and later to Canada have been raised since its creation; however, its status has remained unchanged.
The area around the southern Tsawwassen Peninsula was a favored fishing spot for severalCoast Salish groups.[5] The first Europeans to see Point Roberts were members of the 1791 expedition ofFrancisco de Eliza. The maps produced from Eliza's explorations depicted Point Roberts as "Isla de Cepeda" or "Isla de Zepeda."[6][7] In 1792, the British expedition ofGeorge Vancouver and the Spanish expedition ofDionisio Alcalá Galiano encountered one another near Point Roberts. In the morning of June 13, 1792, the two ships under Galiano sailed into Boundary Bay and verified Point Roberts was not an island, which was thus renamedPunta Cepeda. They then sailed around Point Roberts and immediately encounteredHMSChatham, the second ship of Vancouver's expedition. The two parties made contact and agreed to share information and work together in mapping theStrait of Georgia.[8]
Point Roberts acquired its present name from George Vancouver, who named it after his friendHenry Roberts, who had originally been given command of the expedition.[9] Point Roberts assumed its present political status in 1846, when theOregon Treaty extended the49th parallel as the boundary between U.S. and British territory from theRocky Mountains toGeorgia Strait.
After years of joint occupation of the disputed area betweenMexican California and Russian America (nowAlaska) known as theOregon Country to the Americans, and as theColumbia District to the British, American expansionists like U.S. SenatorEdward A. Hannegan of Indiana urgedU.S. PresidentJames K. Polk to annex the entire Oregon Country up to latitude54°40′N, as the Democrats had been elected on the slogan "Fifty-Four Forty or Fight".
While his government asserted that the title of the United States of America to the entire territory was unquestionable even though there was only one U.S. resident (a former Briton) north of the Columbia basin, Polk and Secretary of StateJames Buchanan made an offer of a boundary at 49 degrees with the line straight acrossVancouver Island, with no commercial privilege to be granted to the British south of the line, with the exception of free ports on Vancouver Island. The British rejected the offer and the U.S. soon withdrew it.
On April 18, 1846, notice was forwarded to London that theU.S. Congress had adopted a joint resolution abrogating theTreaty of 1818 which provided for joint occupancy.
The British emissary,Richard Pakenham, had been advised that the last concession he could expect of the United States was to bend the boundary at the 49th parallel around the southern end of Vancouver Island.Fort Victoria was viewed as the future center for settlements on the island. It was deemed necessary around this point in time to give up territory on theLower Mainland to keep Vancouver Island part ofBritish North America.
Lord Aberdeen, BritishForeign Secretary, proposed a treaty making the 49th parallel the boundary to the sea, giving the UK the whole of Vancouver Island. TheTreaty of Oregon was concluded on June 15, 1846.
The acceptance of the 49th parallel as the international boundary was concluded without precise knowledge of its effects. Later, as the Boundary Commission surveyed the line, the British government realized the peninsula of Point Roberts would be an isolated part of the United States. TheBritish Foreign Office instructedCaptain James Prevost, the British Boundary Commissioner, to inform his U.S. counterpart of the situation and request Point Roberts be left to Britain, because of the great inconvenience it would be to the United States. If the American Boundary Commission was reluctant, Prevost was instructed to offer "some equivalent compensation by a slight alteration of the Line of Boundary on the Mainland". It is not known how the U.S. commissioner responded, but Point Roberts remained part of the United States.[10]
During the1858 Fraser gold rush, prospectors from Victoria, BC who were attempting to avoid tax collection briefly settled Point Roberts. Their settlement was called Robert's Town and consisted of six wooden buildings, including a store and saloon, but lasted less than a year.[11]
In 1949, there was talk about Point Roberts seceding from the U.S. and joining Canada. A regional development plan for the Lower Mainland presented in 1952 suggested turning Point Roberts into aninternational park or leasing it for99 or 999 years.[12] In 1973, a drought that caused the wells to run dry created tensions between Point Roberts's U.S. and Canadian residents. The Americans threatened to cut off the Canadian residents' water supply — and hung up signs saying "Canadians Go Home" — unless the Canadian municipality of Delta agreed to provide water. An agreement signed on August 28, 1987, requires the Point Roberts Water District to purchase raw water on an annual basis from the Greater Vancouver Water District.[13] Delta Fire Department alsoprovides assistance to the Point Roberts volunteer fire department when requested. Until 1988, BC Tel (nowTelus Communications) provided telephone service; the sole exchange prefix of 945, officially part of area code 206, could also be dialed through area code 604 during the period of BC Tel ownership.[14]
After theSeptember 11 attacks of 2001, security at border crossings—including Point Roberts—was increased, leading to long delays for residents.[15] The Canadian border was closed to non-essential travel in March 2020 due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, which had been worsening in both countries but especially in the United States.[16][17] In 2020, a study found that Point Roberts had lost 80 percent of its business and hundreds of seasonal residents as a result of the pandemic and border shutdown. The area, described as a "ghost town" by the local chamber of commerce director, had no confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of September 2020[update].[18] A temporary ferry was set up by the Port of Bellingham in August 2020 to connect Point Roberts to the mainland, initially to Blaine and later to Bellingham.[19] The Canadian government waived its mandatory COVID testing requirements for Point Roberts residents in February 2021, following negotiations with Washington state.[20] The border was fully reopened for non-essential travel in August 2021 and the ferry service ceased the same month.[21]
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Point Roberts was acclaimed as the "safest place" for avoidingcoronavirus due to its isolation from the mainland United States and Canada and very low case numbers.[22][23] Because of limited access to the rest of Whatcom County and border closures into Canada, the case numbers remained very low.[24] The City of Delta installed achain-link fence at the end of English Bluff Road in 2025 to deter accidental crossings after an elderly man walked into Point Roberts. The fence was poorly received by local residents and at least one Delta council member demanded its removal.[25][26]
Point Roberts is a U.S.exclave bordered by Canada and the waters ofBoundary Bay. It is 22 miles (35 km) south ofDowntown Vancouver,British Columbia. Point Roberts is part of the U.S. because it lies south of the 49th parallel, which constitutes theCanada–US border in that area. Other exclaves of this type include parts ofMinnesota such as theNorthwest Angle andElm Point, Minnesota.Alburgh, Vermont and nearby Province Point are separated from the rest of the U.S. by Lake Champlain, though Alburgh is reachable by highway bridge from "mainland" Vermont.
Point Roberts borders the municipality ofDelta in British Columbia. Boundary Bay lies to the east of Point Roberts and theStrait of Georgia to the south and west. The U.S. portion of the peninsula is about 2 miles (3 km) from north to south and about 3 miles (5 km) from east to west. It has an area of 4.884 square miles (12.65 km2), all land.
Beneath Point Roberts, the bedrock of theChuckanut Formation was deposited as an alluvial plain containing layers of sediments consisting of silt, sand, gravel and peat. During the last 60 million years the sediments were compacted and folded by mountain building forces from continental drift to form strata of siltstone, sandstone, conglomerate and coal. During recent geologic history, the Chuckanut formation was overridden by four or more glaciations.[27]
Point Roberts consists of a series of the resulting glacial sediments resting upon the Chuckanut Formation. The lowest glacial sediments (now near sea level) are from Salmon Springs or older glaciations. At the peak of the most recent glaciation, the main ice sheet was in excess of 7,000 feet (2,100 m) thick as it moved southward between Vancouver Island and the Canadian Coast Range and down the Strait of Georgia. A smaller lobe of the continental glacier in excess of 5,000 feet (1,500 m) traveled down the Fraser River flood plains merging with the main ice sheet over the greater Vancouver area and Whatcom and Skagit Counties. The coalesced continental ice sheet traveled south terminating in the vicinity ofChehalis, Washington. Relatively impermeable Vashon glacial lodgment till (estimated to be as much as 40 feet (12 m) thick at the uppermost layer) was plastered over the advance outwash as the weight of the 7,000-foot (2,100 m) thick plus Strait of Georgia ice lobe moved southward over approximately 10,000 years. (Armstrong, et al., 1965) Point Roberts, Tsawwassen, and part of British Columbia extending past English Bluff comprised an island at the close of theVashon Glaciation, approximately 11,000 years ago.
As the ice sheets melted, the thinner Fraser Lobe began to float while the Strait of Georgia lobe acted as a dam forming a lake under the Fraser Lobe. Sediments settling from the melting, floating ice resulted in the accumulation of 300 feet (91 m) or more ofglacial marine drift over much of western Whatcom County. (Easterbrook, 1976; Geologic Map of Western Whatcom County, Washington, USGS, Map I-854-B) This glacial marine drift is generally soft and was not consolidated by the weight of the glacier. A discontinuous, thin mantle of this glacial marine drift above theglacial lodgement till has been identified sporadically across Point Roberts. The uppermost layer of glacial sediments consists ofrecessional sand, silt, and gravel deposited as the Strait of Georgia ice lobe receded. Since the recession of the glaciers, the Fraser River has depositeddeltaic sediments on the north and easterly side of the Point Roberts-Tsawwassen Island, connecting it to the Greater Vancouver mainland (approximately 2,500 years ago, Murray 2008). At some locations, these sediments have been eroded or removed, exposing the lodgement till.
Despite its proximity to 49 °N latitude, Point Roberts has anOceanic climate (Köppen:Cfb); however, winters may be colder for this climatic subtype, similar to theVancouver-Seattle-Portland axis.[28] Point Roberts lies within adepression created byVancouver Island, the north shore mountains surroundingVancouver, and the North Cascades (includingMount Baker). Thismicro-climate provides some of the mildest weather in thePacific Northwest. With annual precipitation of about 40 inches (1,000 mm), Point Roberts enjoys more sunny days and a milder climate than its neighbors.[citation needed] While 49 °N latitude suggests a harsh winter,snow averages and low January temperatures are milder than the American average: 8.4 inches (210 mm) in vs 25.8 inches (660 mm) and 35.8 °F (2.1 °C) vs 22.6 °F (−5.2 °C), respectively. Although the amount of rainfall is less than the regional average, it is better-distributed through the year , with 146 days of precipitation. The comfort index is high.[29]
| Climate data for Point Roberts, Washington | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 61 (16) | 68 (20) | 72 (22) | 80 (27) | 85 (29) | 92 (33) | 95 (35) | 92 (33) | 86 (30) | 78 (26) | 65 (18) | 62 (17) | 95 (35) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 45.3 (7.4) | 48.3 (9.1) | 52.4 (11.3) | 57.3 (14.1) | 63.0 (17.2) | 67.6 (19.8) | 71.6 (22.0) | 71.7 (22.1) | 66.8 (19.3) | 57.7 (14.3) | 49.5 (9.7) | 44.2 (6.8) | 58.0 (14.4) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 34.5 (1.4) | 35.0 (1.7) | 38.0 (3.3) | 41.4 (5.2) | 46.3 (7.9) | 50.8 (10.4) | 53.6 (12.0) | 53.4 (11.9) | 49.0 (9.4) | 43.4 (6.3) | 38.2 (3.4) | 33.7 (0.9) | 43.1 (6.2) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −1 (−18) | −1 (−18) | 11 (−12) | 22 (−6) | 26 (−3) | 35 (2) | 37 (3) | 37 (3) | 28 (−2) | 19 (−7) | 6 (−14) | −1 (−18) | −1 (−18) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 4.98 (126) | 3.40 (86) | 3.41 (87) | 2.43 (62) | 2.02 (51) | 1.72 (44) | 1.22 (31) | 1.39 (35) | 1.85 (47) | 3.65 (93) | 6.01 (153) | 5.90 (150) | 37.98 (965) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 2.5 (6.4) | 1.5 (3.8) | 0.6 (1.5) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0.1 (0.25) | 0.7 (1.8) | 3.0 (7.6) | 8.4 (21) |
| Source 1:[30] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2:[31] | |||||||||||||
As of the2010 United States census,[2] there were 1,314 people, 678 households, and 372 families residing in the Point Roberts ZCTA (ZIP Code Tabulation Area). There were 2,068 housing units, only 678 (33%) of which were occupied. The racial makeup of the ZCTA was 91.9%White, 0.8%African American, 0.8%Native American, 4.5%Asian, 0.3% fromother races, and 1.7% from two or more races.Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 2.4% of the population.
The age distribution was 16.2% under 20, 3.0% from 20 to 24, 16.2% from 25 to 44, 40.7% from 45 to 64, and 23.9% who were 65 or older. The median age was 52.7 years.
The median income for a household in the ZCTA wasUS$58,672; the median income for a family was $75,724; and theper capita income was $39,696.
During the summer the population swells to about 4,500, most of the visitors being vacationing Canadians.[14]
Point Roberts' population includes descendants ofIcelandic immigrants, who first settled there in the 1890s.[32][3]
Many of the area's businesses serve weekend and recreational visitors fromGreater Vancouver.[3] Canadians visit for cheaper American gasoline, alcohol, and food when theCanadian Dollar is strong; Americans from Point Roberts seek goods which are cheaper in Canada. Many Canadians visited its bars and nightclubs on Sundays, until Sunday drinking was legalized in British Columbia in 1986.[33] The local post office and several private companies rent manypost office boxes to individuals and businesses from the Greater Vancouver area, who find it a convenient and fast way to receive mail and parcels from the United States without paying for cross-border shipping costs, or as a delivery point for online purchases when American sellers do not ship outside the United States. Forty times more Canadians have mailboxes in Points Roberts than the number of residents.[14][3] The U.S. Consulate General in Vancouver also used the Point Roberts post office,[34] but it has since changed to using one inBlaine, Washington, on the contiguous border.[35]
Because entry to Point Roberts from the rest of the U.S. requires two international border crossings, it has sometimes been described as "the best gated community in the U.S."[14] Residents enjoy a low crime rate, with a high local security presence.[36] Popular folklore describes the town as a popular resettlement site for theUS Federal Witness Protection Program, assisting informants who testify against criminals to relocate under new identities for their protection.[3]
While there is one doctor's clinic, there is no hospital, dentist, pharmacist or veterinarian. Point Roberts residents usually seek medical care inBellingham, Washington, although Vancouver is closer, because American health insurers will not pay for treatment from Canadian providers.[14]
Point Roberts has a single grocery store, which threatened to close in July 2021 due to the prolonged travel restrictions due to theCOVID-19 pandemic. An emergency grant of US$100,000 from the state government was approved in late June to prevent its closure.[37]
After US presidentDonald Trump in 2025 introduced a 25% tariff on Canadian goods and was suggesting that Canada should become a US state, Canadians who objected boycotted US goods; this led to a 30% drop in Canadian visitors to Point Roberts, causing some businesses to close and others to relocate to Canada, a situation said to be worse than during the pandemic. Local people were concerned that Point Roberts as they know it could cease to exist if the government did not help.[38]
The community is served by theBlaine School District.[39] Point Roberts Primary School, the sole school in the exclave, is part of the Blaine School District and provides teaching for kindergarten as well as first through third grades. It is classified as a remote and necessary school by the state government and is the smallest school in Whatcom County, with approximately 15 students and one full-time teacher.[40] The three-room schoolhouse opened in 1993 and began offering third grade lessons in 1999.[41] From 4th grade onward, American children must take a 40-minute ride through British Columbia, crossing back into the United States atBlaine, Washington.[42] Canadian children can attend school inDelta, British Columbia.[14]
The only authorized land access to Canada from Point Roberts isPoint Roberts–Boundary Bay Border Crossing, the westernmost in theLower 48. On the US side, this major thoroughfare northward is named Tyee Drive; on the Canadian side, it is 56th Street. Point Roberts also has a small airport (Point Roberts Airpark) and a largemarina (Point Roberts Marina Resort) for air and water access; these two point facilities allow direct access to the rest of Washington state without the need to enter Canada.[3]
A temporary passenger ferry service from Point Roberts to Blaine operated by thePort of Bellingham and theWhatcom Transportation Authority entered service in August 2020 amid theCOVID-19 pandemic, which had caused the Canadian border to be closed to non-essential travel for several months. The ferry used two vessels leased fromSan Juan Cruises and was fare-free.[43] It was initially run once per week, but the frequency was increased to twice a week and the ferry was diverted to serve theBellingham Cruise Terminal due to high demand.[19] Ferry service ended in August 2021 as the border was reopening to nonessential travel.[21]
Roosevelt Road follows the US side of the border across the peninsula. To the west, it ends at a small park, Monument Park built aroundMonument 1, the westernmost point of the 49th parallel border.[44]
Until 1988, Point Roberts telephone numbers were inBritish Columbia'sarea code 604 and served byBCTel, the local telephone company for most of British Columbia. It was served by the 945 exchange which was officially inarea code 206, the area code for most of western Washington, but protected in 604, resulting in the oddity of calls from the Vancouver, British Columbia metro area being local calls while calls from Washington and the rest of the United States were billed as international calls. In 1988, Point Roberts service was severed from BC Tel, and the protection of the 604-945 prefix ended, at the expense of losing the ability to make local calls to any other exchange in either country. Along with the rest of Whatcom County, Point Roberts moved toarea code 360 in 1995.[45] The local regular-service telecom provider isWhidbey Telecom.[14]
Although Point Roberts is nominally part of theSeattle television market, the only over-the-air stations available in the town come from the Metro Vancouver region and Bellingham, Washington. Cable television in Point Roberts was provided by Delta Cable, a subsidiary of Canadian cable companyEastLink. Delta Cable pulled out of Point Roberts with short notice in August 2019.[46]
Whidbey Telecom is the broadband Internet provider to residents of Point Roberts. In 2019, Whidbey Telecom began construction to providefiber-optic Internet to Point Roberts.
Mobile telephone service is provided by a variety of companies, both American and Canadian.
Current
Past
Notes
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)I live in Point Roberts Washington and work primarily in Vancouver
Further reading
Places adjacent to Point Roberts, Washington | |
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Municipalities and communities ofWhatcom County, Washington,United States | ||
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| Cities |  | |
| CDPs | ||
| Indian reservations | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Ghost towns | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| Geographic | |
| Other | |
