A rare and coveted anchorage on Labor Day
This year we made it a point to re-visit Patos Island. This jewel has only two mooring balls, tight anchoring, and a bottom of mostly small rocks that requires a decent set. There is a strong current that flows in the passage between Little Patos and the main island that (I believe) only flows NE, often dislodging poorly anchored boats. The Parks Department say not to anchor in wind over 12 knots. That's good advice as anchoring is definitely sketchy in anthing but settled weather.
We swing in to Patos every year hoping for a spot. Usually we give it a pass due to crowds, so this was only our third time anchoring athere. The weather was perfect. The bouys were taken but we tucked in tight and stern tied to Little Patos Island in two fathoms. This put us away from steady parade of day visitors, and out of the main current in the center. I imagine the steady current is the reason for naming this Active Cove.
Patos Island is small, just a little over 200 acres, and beside it to the south is Little Patos Island. Both of these islands are administered by the Bureau of Land Management as public land. Patos is leased to the Washington State Parks and is administered by the San Juan Marine Parks. Only Patos is open to the public. Little Patos os off limits. The entrance is Active Cove, a point of water between the two islands. At the head of the Cove is a rounded cobble beach that serves as a pull-up and take-out place. The original wharf at Patos was destroyed in a storm many years ago, and today there are two tie-up buoys in the cove. The island has a couple of miles of trail, 8 campgrounds, and 3 composting toilets. There is no fresh water, no electricity, no food service and no cell phone tower. The nearest towers are in British Columbia and on Orcas Island, WA. If you have a phone there, be aware that you may incur roaming charges. Patos is a “Leave No Trace” area. There are no garbage cans.
Alden Point at the western end, named for an American cartographer, is the location of the Patos Island lighthouse. On June 24, 1974, the Patos Island Light was automated. The light in the tower is automated, and runs on a solar battery supplied and administered by the US Coast Guard. Their equipment is housed in the south western room of the lighthouse. In 2008 the Bureau of Land Management restored this National Register of Historic Places building. Today it stands as the northern-most island in the San Juan Islands National Monument. The Bureau of Land Management continues to care for this building, with members of the public who volunteer their services here and through-out the island. Exhibits on the history and use of the island are featured in the lighthouse.
San Juan Islands National Monument
In 2011, a group of leaders from San Juan County began advocating for the establishment of a protected area made up of the remaining federal public domain lands located in the San Juan Archipelago, including Patos Island. In response, US Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar directed the manager of the BLM Wenatchee Field Office, Karen Kelleher, to coordinate development of a proposal to designate the lands as a National Conservation Area. On November 10, 2011, Salazar forwarded a report to Congress outlining a proposal for the protected area.
Senator Maria Cantwell introduced legislation in the US Senate to accomplish the task, and a hearing was held on the legislation on March 22, 2012. However, opposition to the proposal was voiced by Representative Doc Hastings, who stated that “the country can’t afford any more public land,” and refused to advance the proposal in the US House of Representatives. On March 25, 2013, President Barack Obama issued Presidential Proclamation 8947, designating the 1,021-acre San Juan Islands National Monument to protect the federal lands, including Patos and another BLM property leased by the WSPRC at Blind Island Marine State Park.
The history of Patos is facinating. Support for the lighthouse comes from a book on Patos Island. Copies are for sale in the lighthouse. You can even contribute by becoming a member of the Keepers of the Patos Lighthouse.
The older 75 million year old Nanaimo Group thrust fault that collided with the 50 million year old Chuckanut Formation is in full view on this beautiful island showcasing a truly amazing collection of rock formations. The Nanaimo Group is like a stack of pancakes slowly shoving the softer Chuckanut Formation upwards.
If you want to see a fantastic example of this collision, check out the Fox Cove Fault (my unofficiaL name). This is where you can view literally hundreds of fossils from the SW side of Fossil Bay west to Little Sucia Island.
The San Juan Islands are located in a complex tectonic zone where the Juan de Fuca Plate is slowly diving (subducting) under the North American Plate at the Cascadia Subduction Zone, causing uplift, faulting, and the creation of island arcs, with smaller plates like the Explorer plate also involved, leading to earthquakes and shaping the unique geology of the archipelago through the collision and accretion of crustal fragments.
