High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The name Salish Sea was coined only in the late 20th century, and was officially recognized by the United States in 2009 and by Canada in 2010, to describe the coastal waterways surrounding southern Vancouver Island and Puget Sound between Canada and the United States of America. Its major bodies of water are the Strait of Georgia, Strait of Juan de Fuca, and Puget Sound; it reaches from Desolation Sound at the north end of the Strait of Georgia to Oakland Bay at the head of Hammersley Inlet at the south end of Puget Sound. The north portion of the Salish Sea is in the Canadian province of British Columbia, while the southern portion is in the U.S. state of Washington. The inland waterways of the Salish Sea are separated from the Pacific Ocean by Vancouver Island and the Olympic Peninsula, and are thus protected from the Pacific Ocean storms. Major port cities on the Salish Sea include Seattle, Vancouver, Tacoma, and Victoria.