Orcas in Haro Strait

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

Lime Kiln Point State Park on the west side of San Juan Island, often called Whale Watch Park. The cliffs sit directly above the strait at a point the Southern Resident pods often travel close to shore. June and July are the most reliable months, with sightings possible from late spring through early autumn.

The Southern Resident killer whales, three pods designated J, K, and L. They are a distinct population that feeds primarily on Chinook salmon and is genetically and acoustically separate from the transient Bigg's orcas that also visit the area. The last NOAA census counted 73 individuals across all three pods.

It is a travel corridor for Chinook salmon returning to the Fraser River, the Southern Residents' primary food source. The strait's depth and the strong tidal currents through nearby Boundary Pass concentrate salmon at predictable points, making it the most consistent feeding ground for the population from late spring through summer.

The strait reaches depths greater than 300 metres in places, one of the deepest channels in the Salish Sea. It forms part of the international boundary between Washington and British Columbia, separating San Juan Island from Vancouver Island. Shipping traffic to and from the Port of Vancouver passes through the same water.

Yes. The Southern Resident killer whales were listed as endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act in 2005. The Center for Whale Research, based on San Juan Island, has tracked every individual in the population since 1976. Vessel noise, contaminants, and Chinook salmon decline are the three primary threats identified by NOAA.

Yes. A hydrophone in the strait feeds a public listening station at the park, operated with the Center for Whale Research. On quiet days the pods can be heard vocalising underwater before they appear on the surface. Each pod has a distinct call dialect catalogued for over fifty years.

It carries well for someone who has lived on San Juan or who knows the west-side road. The Southern Resident pods are part of local identity, and most longtime residents have a name for the first individual they recognised. A Small or Medium with a handwritten card from the studio reads as a real gift, not a generic whale print.

Coastal-modern interiors with deep blues and slate greys read it cleanly. It also sits well in Pacific Northwest cabin rooms with cedar and steel, and in jewel-tone maximalist walls where the stained-glass linework becomes a focal piece. Rooms that lean toward beige and warm wood tend to mute the colour of the water.

Yes. Pacific Northwest coastal-modern has moved toward darker, moodier palettes over the last few years, away from the white-and-driftwood look. A piece in deep marine blues and slate, with stained-glass linework, sits inside that direction. The Large or a 4-tile Mural reads as a focal piece in a living room.

Above a standard sofa the single Large reads as a focal piece. A 4-tile Mural carries the strait across a wider wall, and a 9-tile Mural is the right scale for great rooms or above a fireplace. A Medium suits a console; a Small suits a desk or a narrow shelf.

Yes, in the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are soft-sheen, scratch-resistant, and rated for vertical installation in showers, kitchen backsplashes, and powder rooms. The Glossy finish is reserved for framed wall pieces in dry rooms.

A soft microfibre cloth with plain water is enough for everyday dust. For a kitchen or bath installation, a damp cloth with a drop of mild dish soap is safe on the Dura Satin and Matte finishes. No abrasive pads, no scouring powders, no bleach.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original work from the studio in Knoxville, Tennessee, with Reid Wender as the curating eye. The art is not licensed from stock libraries and is not produced by other studios under our name.