Anacortes WA (Washington)

Anacortes WA is a city on Fidalgo Island (Skagit County, WA USA) with population around 16,000. The name of the city is a consolidation of the name Anna Curtis, the wife of Amos Bowman, early Fidalgo Island settler. Anacortes is also one of 2 principal cities of and included in Mount Vernon-Anacortes Metropolitan Statistical Area.

The city is famous for its Washington State Ferries dock and terminal which serves Lopez Island, Orcas Island, Shaw Island and San Juan Island, as well as Victoria BC (via Sidney BC) on Vancouver Island. There is a Skagit County-operated ferry serving Guemes Island, a residential island north of Anacortes, situated across Guemes Channel.

Anacortes is surrounded by the North San Juan and Puget Sound Islands on three sides, as well as by Swinomish Channel and the Skagit Valley's flats to the east. The weather is milder than other regions of the Pacific Northwest, as it lies within the Olympic Mountain rain shadow. 

Anacortes city is a popular destination for boaters and travellers to the San Juan Islands. It maintains a 0.89 km2 (220-acre) city park on Fidalgo Island's northwestern end named "Washington Park". The park features boat launching, camping, and majestic views of San Juan Islands. The most beautiful view is of Cypress Island. As a result of the proximity to Strait of Juan de Fuca, the region provides whale-watching opportunities. The waters off of Fidalgo and Anacortes Island offer varieties of marine life, including 3 resident Orca pods.