Welcome to Orcas ...

Orcas is located on Orca Island.

Orcas is located in San Juan County<1>.

The pronunciation of Orcas: OR-kuhs<2>

While we don't have a date for the founding of Orcas, you might consider that their post office opened  in 1898.

Orcas is 40 feet [12 m] above sea level.<3>.

Time Zone: Orcas lies in the Pacific Time Zone (PST/PDT) and observes daylight saving time

The telephone area code for Orcas: (360)

Communities near Orcas ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Orcas.

• Anacortes
  (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anacortes
  • Anacortes is located in Skagit County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,715 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Anacortes <4>
• Friday Harbor
  (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friday Harbor
  • Friday Harbor is located in San Juan County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,544 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Friday Harbor <4>
• Lopez
  (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lopez
  • Lopez is located in San Juan County
• Olga
  (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olga
  • Olga is located in San Juan County
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Olga <4>
• Argyle
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argyle
  • Argyle is located in San Juan County
• Lopez Island
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lopez Island
  • Lopez Island is located in San Juan County
• Eastsound
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastsound
  • Eastsound is located in San Juan County
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eastsound <4>
• Waldron
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldron
  • Waldron is located in San Juan County
• Decatur Island
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decatur Island
  • Decatur Island is located in San Juan County
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Decatur Island <4>
• False Bay
  (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for False Bay
  • False Bay is located in San Juan County
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for False Bay <4>

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Orcas. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Orcas.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Orcas. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Orcas.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Orcas. See our Newspapers Page for Orcas.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Orcas ...

Looking for more information about Orcas? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

In addition to the Tourism page for Orcas, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Orcas.

Adding Orcas to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Orcas in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Orcas was in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).

We also found Orcas in the book titled .<5> From that list, the Orcas post office opened in 1898.

For more details, see References and Mentions for Orcas.

Off-the-Road Links ...

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Orcas. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for San Juan County: www.co.san-juan.wa.us/

The official website for State of Washington: https://access.wa.gov/