Puget Sound Regional Council major cities are Seattle, Bellevue in King County, Tacoma in Pierce County, Everett in Snohomish County, and Bremerton in Kitsap County. The region's population was estimated to be over 3.8 million as of April 2014. In 1956 the four counties of the Puget Sound region established the Puget Sound Regional Planning Conference, which changed its name to the Puget Sound Governmental Conference (PSGC) in 1958. It launched the Puget Sound Regional Transportation Study (PSRTS) in 1962 with support from the Washington State Highway Commission, the U.S. Bureau of Public Roads (predecessor of the Federal Highway Administration), and the U.S. Department
Puget Sound The maximum tidal currents, in the range of 9 to 10 knots, occurs at Deception Pass. The size of Puget Sound's watershed is . "Northern Puget Sound" is frequently considered part of the Puget Sound watershed, which enlarges its size to . The USGS uses the name "Puget Sound" for its hydrologic unit subregion 1711, which includes areas draining to Puget Sound proper as well as the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the Strait of Georgia, and the Fraser River. Significant rivers that drain to "Northern Puget Sound" include the Nooksack, Dungeness, and Elwha Rivers. The Nooksack empties into Bellingham