De Fuca, a Greek pilot originally named Apostolos Valerianos, was employed by the Spanish to sail from Mexico and look for a northern passage from the Pacific to the Atlantic. In 1592 his exploration took him into the body of water now named after him - the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

The Strait begins at Neah Bay and divides at its eastern end into the Georgia Strait, going north along Vancouver Island, and Puget Sound.