Matia Island
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Matia Island is an island in the San Juan Islands of the U.S. state of Washington. The island's entire 145 acres (58.68 ha) comes under the protection of Matia Island State Park.
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[edit] History
It was named in 1792 by the Spanish explorer Francisco de Eliza as Isla de Mata, meaning "no protection".[1]
Elvin H. Smith, the "Hermit of Matia Island", settled on Matia Island in April of 1892 and remained until his supply laden rowboat vanished on February 23, 1921.
With the proliferation of private boats in the years following World War II, the Parks Commission began using Matia and other local islands as informal parks before acquiring the Matia in June of 1959.
[edit] Shoreline
Matia has 20,000 feet (6,096 m) of rocky cold saltwater shoreline on the Strait of Georgia. The tide varies by 14 feet (4 m).
[edit] Access
Only 5 acres (2.0 ha) of the park with 680 feet (210 m) of waterfront are developed for public use. Boating facilities include a 116-foot (35 m) pier, one 45-foot (14 m) ramp, a 12x60 foot moorage float and two buoys. Facility use is first come, first served, with continuous moorage limited to three consecutive nights. Fees are charged year around.
[edit] Facilities
Park facilities include a 1 mile (2 km) loop trail, 6 campsites, 1 picnic site and 1 composting toilet. There is no drinking water in the park and you must pack out your garbage.
[edit] Activities
Matia offers primitive camping, picnicking, saltwater fishing, scuba diving, hiking and clam digging.
[edit] Climate
Matia's temperatures are, like much of the Puget Sound area, heavily moderated by the abundance of water around it. Typically, the temperature rarely goes above 80F/26C or below 30F/-1C. Snow happens occasionally but is rarely of much account. Matia gets about 29in/73cm of rain a year or about 78% of the rain Seattle gets. Late summer is the local dry season.
[edit] References
- ^ Phillips, James W. (1971). Washington State Place Names. University of Washington Press. ISBN 0-295-95158-3.
[edit] External links
- Matia Sate Park, StateParks.com
- Matia Island is at coordinates Coordinates:
- Matia Sate Park moorage, Washington State Parks
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