Wayne Weber writes:

"Viti Rocks are undoubtedly in Skagit County (as is Eliza Rock and the very
southern tip of Lummi Island.) The county boundary across the water is a
straight east-west line at latitude 48.645 degrees, as shown on both the
USGS topographic maps and the DeLorme Atlas. The USGS maps are more
authoritative than anything that would be published by counties themselves,
and that's good enough for me. Counties do not determine their own
boundaries; the boundaries are determined for them by higher authorities.

Gary, perhaps this should be a lesson for you. Don't believe something just
because "the locals said it was so"!"

But, the problem is that the older USGS maps DO show a half circle diversion
in the otherwise straight boundary so that Whatcom County encompasses Viti
Rocks. So, the question is, was the boundary truly changed or did some
mapmaker at the USGS make a mistake?

The 1951 USGS topo we have at the Conner Museum shows Viti Rocks in Whatcom
Co. This discussion caught my eye because George Hudson (Conner Museum
director/curator from 1938 to 1972) collected several bird specimens from
Viti Rocks. The museum tags on those specimens say they are from Whatcom
County. In our computerized database, we have a field for verbatim location
and a separate field for county. When I entered those birds, I put Whatcom
Co in the verbatim location and Skagit in the county field, with the remark
that Viti Rocks used to be in Whatcom Co. I assumed that the change in the
county line on USGS maps was not a mistake, but I don't actually know that.
I didn't have much success Googling about the topic.

If anyone is successful in finding out when/if the county boundary changed,
please post.

Kelly Cassidy
Pullman, WA