A large estuary complex, carved by glaciers

Puget Sound and the associated inland marine waters of northwest Washington State are a large estuary complex, carved by glaciers, receiving runoff from the encircling Cascade and Olympic mountains. Puget Sound is surrounded by approximately 2,500 miles of shoreline; a mosaic of beaches, bluffs, bays, estuaries, mudflats and wetlands. The waters of Puget Sound reflect a mixing of salt water from the ocean with fresh water that falls as precipitation or drains from the surrounding land. More than 10,000 streams and rivers drain into Puget Sound.