Deception Pass is a strait separating Whidbey Island from Fidalgo Island, in the northwest part of the U. S. state of Washington.

George Vancouver gave it the name " Deception " because it had misled him into thinking Whidbey Island was a peninsula.

In May 1792, Vancouver was anchored near the southern end of Whidbey Island.

He sent Joseph Whidbey to explore the waters east of Whidbey Island, now known as Saratoga Passage, using small boats.

It appeared that Skagit Bay was a dead-end and that Whidbey Island and Fidalgo Island were a long peninsula attached to the mainland.

In June the expedition sailed north along the west coast of Whidbey Island.

This channel led to Skagit Bay, thus separating Whidbey Island from the mainland.

Vancouver wrote of Whidbey's efforts: " This determined shore they had been exploring to be an island, which, in consequence of Mr. Whidbey ’ s circumnavigation, I distinguished by the name of Whidbey ’ s Island: and this northern pass, leading into Bay, Deception Passage ".

Upon completion on July 31, 1935, the span Deception Pass Bridge connected Whidbey Island to the tiny Pass Island, and Pass Island to Fidalgo Island.

Deception Pass is a dramatic seascape where the tidal flow and whirlpools beneath the twin bridges connecting Fidalgo Island to Whidbey Island move quickly.

This swift current phenomenon can be viewed from the twin bridges ' pedestrian walkways or from the trail leading below the larger south bridge from the parking lot on the Whidbey Island side.

Whidbey Island ( historical spelling Whidby ) is the largest of nine islands located in Island County, Washington, in the United States.

It is home to Naval Air Station Whidbey Island.

Whidbey Island is home to 58, 211 residents ( according to the 2000 census ), also known as Whidbey Islanders.

Whidbey Island is approximately long ( from the extreme north to extreme south, and wide, with, making it the 40th largest island in the United States.

Whidbey is about north of Seattle, and lies between the Olympic Peninsula and the I-5 corridor of western Washington.

It lies between Whidbey Island and the northeastern part of the Olympic Peninsula.

To a lesser extent, this rain shadow extends to other parts of the eastern Olympic Peninsula, Whidbey Island, and parts of the San Juan Islands and southeastern Vancouver Island around Victoria, BC.

In Washington State, it grows on the west side of the Cascade Mountains, particularly in the Puget Sound lowlands, the northeastern Olympic Peninsula, Whidbey Island and the San Juan Islands.

Most of the community is on a hillside that faces north or west towards Whidbey Island.

) NAVFACs existed in the west at NAS Adak, Alaska ; Pacific Beach, Washington ; Coos Bay, Oregon ; NAVFAC Centerville Beach near Eel River, California ; NAVFAC Point Sur near Monterey, California ; Naval Outlying Field San Nicolas Island, California ; and Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington.

The first European to sight the channel was Joseph Whidbey early in August 1794, first from the south and later from the west.

From Fort Flagler, visitors can see Port Townsend to the northwest, the cranes at the Navy base on Indian Island to the west, and Whidbey Island eastward across Admiralty Inlet.

The property is west and south of the Washington State Ferries terminal with ferry service to Whidbey Island and is crossed by the Burlington Northern Mainline.

Whidbey is Oak Harbor ’ s largest employer ; thus, Oak Harbor has a predominantly service-based economy and several national chain stores have been attracted to the Oak Harbor area.

Whidbey Island has four lakes that are part of its interior hydrology: Cranberry Lake ( inside Deception Pass State Park ), Deer Lake ( inside Deer Lake Park ), Goss Lake and Lone Lake ( both near the town of Langley ).

Skagit Valley College has a campus located in Oak Harbor, and a limited service campus in South Whidbey.

Additionally, Clinton has a Dairy Queen, the only fast food restaurant on the south end of Whidbey Island.

Mukilteo has a car ferry terminal that connects to Clinton, on Whidbey Island.

Whidbey Watersheds, formerly known as The Maxwelton Salmon Adventure, is a non-profit group that has been working to restore salmon runs on Maxwelton and Quade Creeks.

( However, the leaking-roof scene has a basis in an incident occurring to Helen North while she still lived on Whidbey Island ; that incident prompted her to move to California.

Exhibits in the Center cover the history of Mendenhall Glacier showing how it covered the valley when Joseph Whidbey, master of the HMS Discovery during George Vancouver's 1791-95 expedition, toured the area in 1794 and what is happening due to climate change today.

* 1794 – Joseph Whidbey leads an expedition to search for the Northwest Passage near Juneau, Alaska.

A group of sailors led by Joseph Whidbey, part of the Vancouver Expedition, found and mapped Deception Pass on June 7, 1792.

Whidbey reached the northern end of Saratoga Passage and explored eastward into Skagit Bay, which is shallow and difficult to navigate.

Vancouver sent Joseph Whidbey to explore inlets leading to the east.

Vancouver apparently felt he and Joseph Whidbey had been deceived by the tricky strait.

Prior to the bridge, travellers and businessmen would use an inter-island ferry to commute between Fidalgo and Whidbey islands.

Vancouver went with Joseph Whidbey to.

The accomplished and politically well-connected naturalist Archibald Menzies complained that his servant had been pressed into service during a shipboard emergency ; sailing master Joseph Whidbey had a competing claim for pay as expedition astronomer ; and Thomas Pitt, 2nd Baron Camelford, whom Vancouver had disciplined for numerous infractions and eventually sent home in disgrace, proceeded to harass him publicly and privately.

The breakwater is around long, stands in around 11 metres / 36 feet of water and was built by John Rennie and Joseph Whidbey starting in 1812.

Joseph Whidbey supervised the building of the Breakwater from Bovisand Lodge, from which there is a view down the full length of the breakwater.