The San Juan Islands are a group of islands in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, located between northwestern Washington State and Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada, in the Salish Sea.

Quick Scoop

  • They sit just off the coast of Washington State, roughly 80 miles or so northwest of Seattle.
  • Geographically, they lie north of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, south of the Strait of Georgia, west of Rosario Strait, and east of Haro Strait and Boundary Pass.
  • The islands form San Juan County, with well‑known islands including San Juan Island, Orcas Island, and Lopez Island.
  • The area is part of a partially submerged mountain chain in upper Puget Sound, very close to the Canadian border.

If you picture the map of the Pacific Northwest, the San Juan Islands sit in the inland waters between mainland Washington and Vancouver Island, right where the U.S.–Canada maritime border weaves through the Salish Sea.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.