On the Bridge of Deception Pass

There’s an interesting story about Deception Pass. George “Vancouver” (you can guess where the Canadian city in the west got its name from) gave it the title “Deception” since it had tricked him into believing, what is now, Whidbey Island was a peninsula. The so-called “deception” was heightened because of Whidbey’s failure to come out of the strait. Then in May 1792, Vancouver was anchored close to the southern end of Whidbey Island. He sent Joseph Whidbey to explore the waters east of Whidbey Island, now called Saratoga Passage, using small boats.

Whidbey reached the northern end of Saratoga Passage and researched eastward into Skagit Bay, which is shallow and hard to navigate. He returned to rejoin Vancouver without having discovered Deception Pass. It seemed that Skagit Bay was a dead-end and Whidbey Island and Fidalgo Island were a long peninsula connected to the mainland. In June the expedition sailed north along the west shore of Whidbey Island and came out to sea.

The area is now a state park and a green metallic bridge connects the islands to the mainland.

Have you been to Deception Pass?

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