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Camano Island
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Camano Island
Camano Island /kəˈmeɪnoʊ/ is a large island in Possession Sound, a section of Puget Sound. It is part of Island County, Washington, and is located between Whidbey Island and the mainland (Snohomish County) by the Saratoga Passage to the west and Port Susan and Davis Slough to the east. The island has one road connection to the mainland, via State Route 532 over the Camano Gateway Bridge at the northeast end of the island, connecting to the city of Stanwood.
The island has a total area of 39.77 square miles (103.0 km2), making it one of the largest in the state of Washington. It has a year-round population of 15,661 as of the 2010 census. The population peaks at over 17,000 during the summer months due to part-time residents with vacation homes on the island. It is an unincorporated area with several small communities and shares civic facilities with nearby Stanwood, including its school district, and post office.
Camano Island is home to two state parks, Cama Beach and Camano Island State Park, and several county and local parks.
One recorded name of Camano Island in Lushootseed, collected by ethnologist Colin E. Tweddell, is ʔəw̓alus. This name has also been given as the name for the settlement of Camano rather than the whole island. However, other sources agree with Tweddell that dəxʷxʷit̕xʷit̕əb or ʔəw̓ʔəw̓alus is the name of Camano City.
In English, the island was named for 18th century Spanish explorer Jacinto Caamaño. American explorer Charles Wilkes, during the Wilkes Expedition of 1838–1842, named it Macdonough Island in honor of Thomas Macdonough for his victory of the Battle of Lake Champlain during the War of 1812. Following this theme, Wilkes named the body of water between Camano and Whidbey Island after Macdonough's flagship the Saratoga. When Henry Kellett reorganized the official British Admiralty charts in 1847, he removed Wilkes' name Macdonough and bestowed the name Camano, which the Spanish explorer Francisco de Eliza had originally given to Admiralty Inlet in 1790. Wilkes' name Saratoga Passage was retained.
The island was known as Perry Island after the 1855 Treaty of Point Elliott between several Indigenous peoples and the United States. The island was also called Crow Island during the early 20th century.
Prior to American settlement, Camano Island was within the territory of both the Kikiallus and the Snohomish peoples. The Kikiallus controlled the northern parts of the island around modern-day Utsalady, while the Snohomish controlled the areas of the island south of Point Demock (Lushootseed: duʔdukʷšəd). Other tribes also used the island, such as the Lower Skagit, Stillaguamish, Snoqualmie, and Sauk-Suiattle. The island may have been a "free-use" area where usage was not strictly restricted like other places.
Prior to the population decline due to smallpox, there were likely many villages all along the island, and the Kikiallus were said to have 6 villages. Artifacts and human remains attributed to an old village were discovered by archaeologists at Cama Beach which were dated to 1,600 years before present. By the beginning of the 19th century, there were two known villages: a Kikiallus village at Utsalady (Lushootseed: ʔəcəladiʔ), and a Snohomish village at Camano Head (Lushootseed: x̌ʷuyšəd).
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Camano Island AI simulator
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Camano Island
Camano Island /kəˈmeɪnoʊ/ is a large island in Possession Sound, a section of Puget Sound. It is part of Island County, Washington, and is located between Whidbey Island and the mainland (Snohomish County) by the Saratoga Passage to the west and Port Susan and Davis Slough to the east. The island has one road connection to the mainland, via State Route 532 over the Camano Gateway Bridge at the northeast end of the island, connecting to the city of Stanwood.
The island has a total area of 39.77 square miles (103.0 km2), making it one of the largest in the state of Washington. It has a year-round population of 15,661 as of the 2010 census. The population peaks at over 17,000 during the summer months due to part-time residents with vacation homes on the island. It is an unincorporated area with several small communities and shares civic facilities with nearby Stanwood, including its school district, and post office.
Camano Island is home to two state parks, Cama Beach and Camano Island State Park, and several county and local parks.
One recorded name of Camano Island in Lushootseed, collected by ethnologist Colin E. Tweddell, is ʔəw̓alus. This name has also been given as the name for the settlement of Camano rather than the whole island. However, other sources agree with Tweddell that dəxʷxʷit̕xʷit̕əb or ʔəw̓ʔəw̓alus is the name of Camano City.
In English, the island was named for 18th century Spanish explorer Jacinto Caamaño. American explorer Charles Wilkes, during the Wilkes Expedition of 1838–1842, named it Macdonough Island in honor of Thomas Macdonough for his victory of the Battle of Lake Champlain during the War of 1812. Following this theme, Wilkes named the body of water between Camano and Whidbey Island after Macdonough's flagship the Saratoga. When Henry Kellett reorganized the official British Admiralty charts in 1847, he removed Wilkes' name Macdonough and bestowed the name Camano, which the Spanish explorer Francisco de Eliza had originally given to Admiralty Inlet in 1790. Wilkes' name Saratoga Passage was retained.
The island was known as Perry Island after the 1855 Treaty of Point Elliott between several Indigenous peoples and the United States. The island was also called Crow Island during the early 20th century.
Prior to American settlement, Camano Island was within the territory of both the Kikiallus and the Snohomish peoples. The Kikiallus controlled the northern parts of the island around modern-day Utsalady, while the Snohomish controlled the areas of the island south of Point Demock (Lushootseed: duʔdukʷšəd). Other tribes also used the island, such as the Lower Skagit, Stillaguamish, Snoqualmie, and Sauk-Suiattle. The island may have been a "free-use" area where usage was not strictly restricted like other places.
Prior to the population decline due to smallpox, there were likely many villages all along the island, and the Kikiallus were said to have 6 villages. Artifacts and human remains attributed to an old village were discovered by archaeologists at Cama Beach which were dated to 1,600 years before present. By the beginning of the 19th century, there were two known villages: a Kikiallus village at Utsalady (Lushootseed: ʔəcəladiʔ), and a Snohomish village at Camano Head (Lushootseed: x̌ʷuyšəd).
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