Tacoma Daily Index, October 19, 2015

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1712 6TH 1019 Pacific AVE., Avenue, SUITE Suite 3001216 PO Box 1303, TACOMA, WA TACOMA, 98405 WA 98401 PHONE (253) 627-4853 FAX (253) 627-2253

MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2015

Vol. CXXIV, No. 202

OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE CITY OF TACOMA Devoted to the Courts, Real Estate, Finance, Industrial Activities, and Publication of Legal Notices

Published Published Since Since 1890 1890

Vancouver Notch

Panel to consider proposal to name Mount Rainier foothills feature By Todd Matthews, Editor A Pierce County resident's proposal to name an area of the Mount Rainier foothills in honor of the late explorer George Vancouver could move closer this week to a final approval. In the spring of 1792, British Navy Captain George Vancouver was aboard the H.M.S. Discovery in Puget Sound and surveying the natural environment when he noticed a large, v-shaped notch in the foothills of Mount Rainier (pictured above). Vancouver, whose ship was anchored at Restoration Point on the southern end of Bainbridge Island, noted the feature in his journal—"The appearance of a very abrupt division in the snowy range of mountains immediately to the south of Mount Rainier, which was very conspicuous from the ship, and the main arm of the inlet appearing to stretch in that direction from the point we were RIGHT: "It's really worth the effort to get this named to honor [Captain George Vancouver]," says Puyallup resident Barbara Reid. She submitted an application to name a feature of the Mount Rainier foothills Vancouver Notch in honor of the late explorer. "I think it's important. It's part of the landscape that we see everyday." (FILE PHOTO BY TODD MATTHEWS)

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then upon"—and boarded one of two smaller boats that headed south, past Vashon Island, and into Commencement Bay, only to find what he believed to be a dead end. Vancouver noted, "We were excessively anxious to ascertain the truth, of which we were not long held in suspense. We found the inlet to terminate here in an extensive circular compact bay, whose waters washed the base of mount Rainier." Vancouver would go on to name dozens of mountains, waterways, and islands in the Puget Sound area—but the v-shaped notch remained nameless and largely elusive. That changed several years ago when a Puyallup resident named Barbara Reid (pictured below) started to explore Puget Sound in her own boat. Three years ago, Reid was reading Vancouver's journal when she came across his note about the v-shaped notch. She could see it, too. Reid's observation set in motion a plan

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ABOVE: The Murray Morgan Bridge in downtown Tacoma frames Mount Rainier and the proposed Vancouver Notch. (PHOTO BY TERRY RISHEL / COURTESY BARBARA REID to name this feature Vancouver Notch. She shared her idea with local historical societies, museums, yacht clubs, governments, and elected officials. She submitted a 24-page application (with six letters off support) to the Washington State Department of Natural Resources to formally name Vancouver Notch. The Tacoma Daily Index interviewed Reid and discussed her proposal in a feature article this summer (see "Vancouver Notch: Mount Rainier foothills could soon honor the late explorer," Tacoma Daily Index, July 31, 2015; and "Tacoma Daily Index Top Stories — August 2015," Tacoma Daily Index, Sept. 1, 2015). The Washington State Department of Natural Resources and the Washington State Committee on Geographic Names accepted public input on Reid's proposal earlier this year. The committee is scheduled to consider the proposal during a public meeting on Fri., Oct. 23, at 10 a.m., at the Department of Natural Resources (Room 172), located at 1111 Washington St. SE, in Olympia. A copy of the agenda is available online at tacomadailyindex.com. A copy of the proposal summary and application is available online at tacomadailyindex.com. Information about Reid and her proposal is available online at pugetmemorial.blogspot. com. If the proposal is approved, it will bump up to the federal level and the United States Board on Geographic names. In the end, the name Vancouver Notch will be entered into a database maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey and used by cartographers to create maps.


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