Okay, time for the big reveal. Here are the answers and, in case you didn’t suspect it, all of them but one are found in Homewaters, which you can buy direct from me, with a signature. (Cost is $33, which includes shipping, taxes, and autograph.)
- Answer A. In 2009, archeologists found hundreds of pieces of basalt, rhyolite, dacite, and chert, which had been hewn into projectile points, knives, scrapers, and hammerstones. The site is located along Bear Creek. No coffee mugs were found: apparently the Bear Creek people eschewed coffee, or at least mugs.
- Answer B — The geoduck was found near Richmond Beach and dated by counting the growth rings. A 205-year-old rougheye rockfish was found in Alaska and biologists have determined that red sea urchins have the possibility of cracking two centuries in age. Both species live in Puget Sound, so Answer D could also be correct.
- Answer C – Bing Crosby did have an ancestor with the name of Clanrick, who did pilot steamers, but he didn’t operate the Capital. The answer is the story. The Capital lived to steam again after its short and muddy stroll.
- Answers A and D – The answer depends on whether you think that Apostolos Valerianos, better known as Juan de Fuca, saw his eponymous strait or not; most historians think he did not. If not, then the first is Frances Barkley, wife of Charles Barkley, who was the first European woman to reach this region, in 1787. So, being the generous soul I am, I consider both to be correct.
- Answer B – Built to protect the Sound from enemy invaders, the Triangle of Fire, which consisted of Forts Flagler, Casey, and Warden, was at its maximum strength in 1910. No shots were ever fired at any enemy. I am just glad it’s not Answer A, as that sounds dangerous.
- Answer C – xw̌əlč is normally translated as salt water and is the oldest known name that refers to the body of water we call Puget Sound.
- Answer A, C, and E – Quimper, Fidalgo, and Haro are three of the many Spanish names on the landscape, a clear reminder of Spanish exploration in this region, an often overlooked part of the area’s history.
- Answers B and C – Wilkes generally chose pretty straightforward names, such as Fox (ship surgeon John L. Fox) but he also included a couple of curiosities, such as Bung Bluff (south end of Herron Island) and Ned and Tom (near McNeil Island), which never made it onto any maps.
- Answer B – Yep, you guessed it, those guns were powerful enough to lob a shell from tech giant to tech giant.
- Answer D – Eighteen species, in one of the richest areas of kelp diversity anywhere, make their home in Puget Sound.
- Answer B – Sea urchins are a primary consumer of kelp and if their numbers aren’t kept in check by animals such as sea otters, they can ravage a kelp forest. Sadly seersuckers have long been on the decline in Puget Sound though sartorial sightings are periodically reported.
- Answer B – Although they sometimes refer to themselves as age readers, sclerochonologists (sclero-meaning hard or hardness; and chrono-or time) figure out the age of fish by counting growth rings. They are very very patient and precise people.
- Answer B – In the 1940s, there was a perceived need for Vitamins A and D and Puget Sound fishers and processors capitalized on this by harvested millions of pounds of sharks. All that was “needed” were the livers so the rest of the fish was tossed, unused for any purpose.
- Answer D – Although such an intriguing specimen was found, apparently none of the archeologists made any such comment, but I did compare it to a turducken. It’s in the book.
- Sadly, it is Answer D. Nearly all of us contribute to this phenomenon of putting more of these pollutants in Puget Sound. PAHs also impact salmon and rockfish.
- Answer D – Our namesake Peter Puget had an eye for the flowers.
- Answer B – Not only did Charles Wilkes leave behind a legacy of names, he also thought rather highly of the inland sea.
- Answer A – The Rafeedie decision has been called the shellfish equivalent of the Boldt decision.
- Answer D – One of the hallmarks of this region, according to Butler and Campbell, is that over thousands of years of catching and consuming fish, the Coast Salish peoples did not deplete their most important food source. They write that there are many lessons to learn from this behavior.
- Answer B – Like many early writers in local papers about steamers in the Sound, the author complained. “Though they take a whole week to make a twenty-four hours’ voyage, they hurry in and out of a way-port as if the devil or a sheriff was always after them, and the people generally are beginning to indulge the hope that one or more of those personages may speedily catch and keep them.”
15-20 correct – I will seek you out the next time I write about Puget Sound.
10-15 correct – Sit back, relax, and enjoy the beauty of Puget Sound, knowing you know some cool info about it.
5-10 correct – Sit back, relax, and enjoy the beauty of Puget Sound, knowing you learned some cool info about it.
0-5 correct – Have I got a book for you to bone up on your Puget Sound facts.
Here’s a link to order Homewaters direct from me, if you feel you want to get 100% on the next quiz.