The harbor of
Tacoma, Commencement Bay is part of
Puget Sound. Although the first European explorer to reach Commencement Bay was Captain George Vancouver in 1792, it was not named until an expedition of Americans visited it in 1841 and named it Commencement Bay because that was where they commenced their survey of Puget Sound. The mouth of the
Puyallup River is at the east end of the bay.
