Deception Pass

Vancouver gets the credit on both plaques here, but Spanish pilots had charted this channel before he arrived and called it Boca de Flon. The island to the north kept its Spanish name, given for Lieutenant Salvador Fidalgo of Francisco de Eliza's expedition, who spent the summer of 1790 sailing north to inspect the Russian posts in Alaska. The highway board's other claim needs correcting. Whidbey is the largest island in Washington, but among the islands of the contiguous states it ranks fourth, behind Long Island, Padre Island and Isle Royale, not second.

What the plaque says

Deception Pass Named by Captain George Vancouver 10 June 1792. Feeling that he had been "deceived" as to the nature of the inner waterway, Port Gardner (now Saratoga Passage) he wrote on his chart "Deception Pass." He honored Master Joseph Whidbey, who found the passage while commanding a small-boat crew of explorers, by naming the island "Whidbey." Historical data by Edmond S. Meany Velocity of currents in Deception Pass 5 to 8 knots per hour. Depth varies 4 to 37 fathoms 1 knot 6082.66 feet 1 fathom 6 feet. Placed by Ann Washington Chapter D.A.R. 1935 Deception Pass To the north of this narrow passage is Fidalgo Island, so named for the Spanish explorer, Lieutenant Salvador Fidalgo. To the south is Whidbey Island, second largest island in the contiguous 48 states, which Captain George Vancouver, while exploring this region in 1792, at first thought to be a peninsula. Further exploration conducted by him disclosed the existence of this intricate channel. Upon the realization that he had been deceived as to the character of the large island, Vancouver gave to this channel the name of Deception Passage and in naming the island he honored his trusted officer, Joseph Whidbey.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Deception Pass — steps away
  A tide race between Whidbey and Fidalgo islands that fooled George Vancouver, and the 1935 bridge that finally tied Whidbey to the mainland.
• Ebey's Landing — 15 mi
  A bluff trail above the beach where, in August 1857, a Kake raiding party came ashore to answer the shelling of their camp at Port Gamble the year before.

More markers nearby

• Chuckanut Drive — 17 mi
• Big Cedar Stump / Smokey Point — 27 mi
• Discovery Bay — 27 mi