Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1879-02-22
The Future Metropolis.

Olympia harbor has a length of
five or six miles, with an average
width of one and one-half miles. Its
depth is from five to ten fathoms,
with firm holding ground. Should
the inlet ever be found too small to
satisfy the needs of commerce,
South Bay on the east, and Mud
Bay on the west, will furnish room.
Nor is there any prospect that it's
limits will be materially circumscribed
by alluvial deposits within the
lifetime of several generations. Geo.
logically considered, the harbors
of the Sound are of the same age,
but while the Nisqually river bed has
filled up about ten miles, the puy-
allup and White rivers have deposit
ted flats some twenty or thirty miles
in extent, the Sonomish 10, the
Sagit 60, and other streams in pro-
portion. While this has been form
ing, the mud flats in South Bay,
Budd's Inlet and Mud and Oyster
Bays have only extended out about
three miles at low tide, and at high
water it would lie difficult to discover
any mud-fats in Olympia harbor,
the largest ships finding plenty of
water to come to the Second street
wharf, within q stones throw of the
business center of the town.
But why, it may be asked, is our
harbor an exception to others, in
some respects as favorably situated .
Why is it that the ratio Of deposit is
less here than elsewhere? We ap-
prehen2 that the cause may be found
in the nature of the streams and the
character of the soil through which
they flow, that empty into the sew
eral harbors under consideration?
Most of these are the outlets of small
streams, subject to freshets and
overflow. Our Deschuttes is of mod
crate size, flowing through a gravelly
district, and, probably, like Green
river, comes from the swamps
along the foot-hill, and so brings no
sediment down during the Summer,
and during the Winter, the amount is
SO trifing, that but serves to reduce
the depth of our bay to a convenient
anchorage. The currents flow in
regular channels, thus allowing an
even distribution over the whole sur
face, and correspondingly slow in
crease Of volume.
A few words as to the relative ca
pacity of the several hafbors on the
east side of the Sound, are neces-
sary to complete the view we have
taken of the present situation and
future prospects of the commercial
center of the State of Washington.
The first desideratum is o water
front extensive enough to, meet the
wants of commerce How many
miles will be needed for the docks
OF large city, to accommodate her
immense shipping? Forty years
ago New York had from six to eight
miles of business front; while now,
including the supurbs, there cannot
be less than thirty or forty miles of
wharves. Now how much of moder-
ately good frontage could either
Seattle or Tacoma afford? Probab-
ly each might claim two miles, with
limited anchorage adjacent. The
water on the west shores of both
bays is altogether too deep for Sc
cure harborage. Contrast this with
Bndd's Inlet. Within the radius of
q circle five miles in diameter, from
Mud Bay Point, thirty or forty miles
OF well-protected shore-line, with
anchorage ranging from five to if
teen fathoms in depth. is to be
obtained. The bluffs along this
shore-line are low as compared with
those of either Seattle or Tacona
bays. The intervening peninsulas
are level or gently undulating, free
from broken mountain surface, and
admirably adapted for the site of
such city as the future will de-
mand.
Another quite important advan-
tage Olympia possesses, and one
that will 60 far towards determining
the drift of trade, is its unrivalel.
water-power and facilities for cheap
manufacture. Large cities are some