A pod of orca whales enjoy the waters of the San Juan Islands

ID: 351 ~ Source: From Explorer Chick. “San Juan Islands Sea Kayaking and Camping,” available at https://explorerchick.com/adventures/san-juan-islands-kayaking-and-camping-womens-adventure-travel-tour/.

This file appears in: The Naming of Orcas Island

The resident orca whales around the San Juan Islands are known as the Southern Resident Killer Whales and the group is comprised of 3 different pods, containing around 80 whales total.

This file appears in: The Naming of Orcas Island

The Naming of Orcas Island – Contrary to what one might think, the island isn’t named after whales!

By Rachel Baker

Spanish naval officer Francisco de Eliza led several expeditions through the Pacific Northwest in the late 1700s to explore the area’s rich ecosystems, and visited the San Juan island chain in 1791. The Viceroy of Mexico commissioned this particular…