Introduction:

Quartermaster Harbor (QMH) is a bay of Puget Sound, Washington surrounded by the landmasses of the southern portion of Vashon Island to the west, and Maury Island to the east. It can be found on just north of the city of Tacoma. A penninsula sticking out from Vashon Island separates QMH into two sections, inner QMH and outer QMH. Quartermaster Harbor is located in the southern part of the main basin in Puget Sound.

As shown by the chart below, the inner section of QMH is to a large extent, surrounded by land. Because of its secluded location relative to the Puget Sound, the inner QMH region is influenced by tidal currents or wind driven currents alone. These currents average 1 knot, and are considered relatively weaker than some of the stronger currents found in the Puget Sound such as the 6 knot currents found at Tacoma Narrows. The sediment at the bottom of this region is mud

The point at which the inner QMH and outer QMH are separated is defined as the section between Burton Peninsula and Raab's Lagoon. The outer QMH region which has an opening to the greater Puget Sound in the south, is much more influenced by wave exposure, currents, and water circulation relative to inner QMH. The characteristics of the water of Quartermaster Harbor as a whole are warmer, less saline, and have a greater residency time than that of the Puget Sound main basin.

Quartermaster harbor covers roughly 1,234 ha. The inner portion of QMH has an average depth of 5 meters, and the outer QMH is much deeper averaging 22 meters depth. Quartermaster harbor's saltwater input comes from its opening to the south while its freshwater inputs come from Judd Creek and Fisher Creek.

Quartermaster Harbor is enjoyed for a place of boating, water skiing, and fishing, and commercial use. QMH also has its own yatch club, Quartermaster Harbor Yatch Club QMH is also a place of high biological productivity, and is valued a herring spawning area. In Fact, the Washington Department of Natural Resources has created an Environmental Aquatic Reserve to protect a herring spawning habitat, Chinook salmon migration, and bottom fish habitats (WSDNR 2004).

On May 5, 2006 the spring TESC431A class of University of Washington divided into two groups, each on separate boats, to collect data on the biological, chemical, and physical characteristics of Quartermaster Harbor. Located at the bottom of this webpage are the station numbers and locations for each group.

Data Stations 1-5

Links
NOAA
Maury Island Aquatic Reserve Hompage

Acknowledgements

Thanks to our boat drivers Mike from City of Tacoma and Joe Chynoweth and also Professor Cheryl Greengrove for coordinating the project

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