On this Page
The College of the Environment
Part of the study of geography or environmental studies is location. But even something as basic as knowing where you are can be confusing at times. Indeed, below you will find more than 50 different ways of describing the location of the College of the Environment, along with a collection of other geographic trivia (like the antipode of the College of the Environment) and numerous map and history links.
Maps
- Interactive WWU Campus Web Map (maintained by the Spatial Institute)
- See also Campus Web Map Links
- Map & Directions to the College of the Environment
- Printable WWU Campus Map (produced by the Spatial Institute)
- See additional printable WWU Campus Maps
- The Salish Sea & Surrounding Basin
Addresses & Location Descriptions
- The College of the Environment is located on the Western Washington University main campus, in the Environmental Studies Building and the adjacent Arntzen Hall.
- Campus location / Mailing Address:
- College of the Environment main office, ES-539 (floor plan floor 4-5)
MS-9079, WWU, 516 High St, Bellingham, WA 98225-9079 - Dept. of Environmental Sciences, ES-522 (floor plan Floor 5-6)
MS-9181, WWU, 516 High St, Bellingham, WA 98225-9181 - Dept. of Environmental Studies, AH-217 (floor plan, 2nd floor)
MS-9085, WWU, 516 High St, Bellingham, WA 98225-9085
- College of the Environment main office, ES-539 (floor plan floor 4-5)
- If the College had a local street address it would be approximately:
- 156 East College Way, Bellingham, WA 98225
- Whatcom County Parcel ID (Assessor GeoCode):
- 38-03-31-010-125
- 38-03-31-010-125
- The College of the Environment is situated on the traditional lands of the Lummi Nation and the Nooksack Tribe
- The College is located on the Western Washington University main campus in Bellingham, WA (map, wiki)
- The College is adjacent to the 180 acre Sehome Arboretum
- The College of the Environment is approximately:
- 30 km (18.5 miles) south of the USA-Canada border
- 140 km (90 miles) north of Seattle, WA (map, wiki)
- 90 km (56 miles) south of Vancouver, BC (map, wiki)
- 1 km (.6 miles) from Bellingham Bay (part of the Salish Sea, wiki)
- 50 km (31 miles) west of Mt. Baker (wiki)
- 90 km (56 miles) by road to the Mt. Baker Ski Area
- 30 km (18 miles) northeast of the San Juan Islands (wiki)
- The College is located in the Puget Lowlands (level III ecoregion) and the Fraser Lowlands (level IV ecoregion), (US EPA)
- The College is within Cascadia bioregion (wiki)
- The College is located on the western edge of the North American Plate, just east of the Cascadia Subduction Zone (wiki)
- Political jurisdictions:
- WWU Neighborhood
- City of Bellingham (map, wiki) - Zoned Institutional
- Whatcom County (wiki)
- Washington State (wiki)
- 40th Legislative District
- United States of America
- 2nd Congressional District
- The College of the Environment is located on land that drains to Padden Creek, which drains to
- Harris Bay, which is a pat of
- Bellingham Bay, which is part of
- The Strait of Georgia, which connects to
- The Pacific Ocean (primarily) via the Strait of Juan de Fuca
- The Pacific Ocean (primarily) via the Strait of Juan de Fuca
- The Strait of Georgia, which connects to
- Bellingham Bay, which is part of
- Harris Bay, which is a pat of
- Watersheds / Drainages:
- The College is in the Padden Creek watershed (see also NSEA)
- The College is in Washington State's Nooksack River (WRIA # 1) (see Water Resource Inventory Area)
- The College is in the USGS HUC # 17110004 (see Hydrologic Unit Codes)
- The College is within the surrounding basin / watershed of the Salish Sea
Coordinates for the College of the Environment
Spatial coordinates (common coordinate systems):
Lat-Long (WGS-84) | 48° 44' 2'' North, 122° 29' 8'' West |
Decimal Minutes | 48° 44.0400' (N), -122° 29.1360' (W) |
Decimal Degrees): | 48.73400, -122.48560 |
Lat-Long (NAD-27) | 48° 44' 3'' North, 122° 29' 4'' West |
Decimal Minutes | 48° 44.0503' (N), -122° 29.0606' (W) |
Decimal Degrees | 48.73417 -122.48434 |
UTM (NAD-83) | Zone 10 N 537,824 E 5,398,014 N |
NAD-27 | Zone 10 N 537,918 E 5,397,815 N |
State Plane (NAD-83) | |
Wa N, meters | Zone 4601 378,467 m E 194,102 m N |
Wa N, feet | Zone 4601 1,241,689 ft E 636,817 ft N |
State Plane (NAD-83) | |
Wa S, meters | Zone 4602 353,862 m E 379,932 m N |
Wa S, feet | Zone 4602 1,160.962 ft E 1,246,493 ft N |
Spatial coordinates for the College of the Environment (less common coordinate systems):
GARS | 116MP31 |
---|---|
Geohash | c28vhzb8n |
Georef | DKND30864404 |
Global Position System (GPS) | 48.73400, -122.48560 |
Maidenhead | CN88SR16RD48 |
Makaney Code | GDQY-BBOY6 |
MapCode | V4YZP.W2LV |
Military Grid Reference System (MRGS) | 10UEU 37824 98014 |
Natural Area Code (NAC) | 4RRKD R3N07 |
Open Location Code | 84WVPGM7+JQ |
Plus Code | 84WVPGM7+JQ |
Public Land Survey System (PLSS) | W1/2, SW1/4, Section 31, T38N, R3E, Willamette Principal Meridian |
Township-Section-Range (T-R-S) | 38 N - 3 E - Section 31 |
United States National Grid (USNG) | 10UEU 37824 98014 |
Web Mercator | 13,635,035, 6,229,847 |
What 3 Words* | clouds.scouts.middle |
WWU History
The College of the Environment (formerly Huxley College of the Environment) was established as part of Western Washington State College in 1967 and is the oldest dedicated environmental college in the United States.
Prior to becoming "Western Washington University" the school has had seven different names, having been in two locations and four different towns:
- 1886 Northwest Normal School (located in Lynden, WA)
- 1893 New Whatcom Normal School (moved to its present location in what was then New Whatcom (now Bellingham), WA)
- 1901 State Normal School at Whatcom (name changed to reflect the change in the name of the town to Whatcom, WA)
- 1904 Washington State Normal School at Bellingham (name changed to reflect the change in the name of the town to Bellingham, WA)
- 1937 Western Washington College of Education (four year college)
- 1961 Western Washington State College
- 1967 Fairhaven College
- 1969 Huxley College of the Environment (named for Thomas Henry Huxley)
- 2021 College of the Environment (renamed)
- 1977 Western Washington University (university status)
Historical Geography
The College of the Environment is situated on the traditional lands of the Lummi Nation and the Nooksack Tribe.
The land where the College is located was a part of:
- The traditional lands of the Coast Salish Peoples
- 1818 - joint occupancy of United States and Britain
- 1846 - the Treaty of Oregon
- Signed by the United States and Britain
- Established the 49th parallel as the international border (and what is now WWU as in the United States)
- 1848 - the Oregon Territory (wiki)
- Included all of what is now WA, OR, ID and parts of MT and WY
- 1855 - the Treaty of Point Elliot Treaty (wiki)
- Signed by the United States and numerous Native American tribes
- Ceded traditional indigenous lands to the United States
- 1853 - the Washington Territory (wiki)
- 1854 - Lysle's Donation Claim
- 1889 - Washington State
- 1890 - the Town of Fairhaven (following the merger of Fairhaven and the town of Bellingham)
- 1903 - the City of Bellingham (following the merger of Fairhaven and New Whatcom)
Geographical Trivia for the College of the Environment
ANTIPODE
The antipode of the College of the Environment is -48.73400, 57.5144
- In the Southern Indian Ocean between Madagascar and Antarctica, approximately 460 km southeast of the Crozet Islands
- An Antipode is the exact opposite spot on the earth (find the antipode of anywhere on earth here)
The College of the Environment is NORTH OF:
- Every other university in the contiguous United States (WWU is the northernmost University in the contiguous USA)
- Every city with a population greater than 50,000 in the contiguous United States (Bellingham is the northernmost city in the contiguous USA)
- Over 99.7% of the population of USA (based on 2010 census block groups that are entirely south of the College)
- Over 70% of the population of Canada, including:
- Victoria, BC, Toronto, Ottawa, Quebec and Montreal are all south of the College
- New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia are all south of the College
- All of the Olympic Peninsula
- Most of the San Juan Islands
- Only Patos, Sucia and Matia Islands are further north than the College
- Lakes Michigan, Ontario, Huron and Erie and 98% of Lake Superior
- All of Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, Vermont and Maine
- All of New England
- All of Japan
- Most of France
- The Black Sea and The Caspian Sea
The College of the Environment is SOUTH OF:
- The Aleutian Islands (but only by 276 km)
- England
- Most of Germany
- Poland
- Most of Russia
The College of the Environment is EAST OF:
- Olympia, WA
- Portland, OR
- Eugene, OR
The College of the Environment is WEST OF:
- Seattle, WA
- Sacramento, CA
- Los Angles, CA
- All of Mexico
- All of South America
The College of the Environment is at approximately the SAME LONGITUDE AS:
- Great Bear Lake, NWT (3,700 km north of the College)
- The Aldergrove Border Crossing
- Guide Meridian, WA (5 km north)
- Aroyo Park, WA (5.5 km south of the College))
- The northern end of Clayton Beach, WA (15.5 km south)
- Bay View State Park on Padilla Bay, WA (41 km south)
- Vashon Island, WA (215 km south)
- Tacoma, WA (245 km south)
- The Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Park ( 1,675 km / 1,683 km south)
- San Francisco, CA (1,683 km south)
The College of the Environment is at approximately the SAME LATITUDE AS:
- Saltspring Island, BC (110 km west of the College)
- Goosberry Pt. Ferry Dock (20.5 km west)
- North Lake Whatcom Park, WA (19 km east of the College)
- The northern end of Baker Lake, WA (100 km east)
- The southern end of Ross Lake, WA (160 km east)
- The northern shore of Lake Superior (3,850 km east )
- Newfoundland, Canada (7,400 km east)
- The English Channel (13,000 km east)
- Ukraine (17,000 east or 23,000 west of the College)
- Kazakhstan (19.000 km west)
- Mongolia (15.000 km west)
Elevation
The elevation of the College is 99 m (326')
Approximate POPULATIONS:
Location | Estimate: |
---|---|
The College of the Environment |
1,037 students (2019) |
WWU | 16,000 (2019) |
Bellingham | 90,665 (2018) |
Whatcom County | 229,247 (2019) |
Washington State | 7,614,893 (2019) |
NEW YORK CITY STREET GRID
New York City established an orthogonal grid of streets and avenues in 1811 beginning at the intersection of 1st Avenue and Houston St. (with numerical Street names increasing to the north and numerical Avenue names increasing to the west). This grid was intended to cover the entire island of Manhattan but can be extended beyond the city as far as one might like... If extended far enough to include Washington State, the College of the Environment would be near the intersection of 919th Street & 15,444th Ave.
Find the NYC street grid for any location on earth here: http://extendny.com/
* WHAT 3 WORDS
One of the problems with almost all address and coordinate systems is the difficulty in communicating a location without confusion. Most systems are prone to a wide range of human errors, and humans are notoriously poor at remembering strings of numbers (see list of coordinate systems above). Postal addresses, in particular, are highly variable from one country to another, and much of the world is not, or is poorly, addressed. As a solution, What3Words has designed a novel system for addressing the entire world using a unique 3-word combination for each 3 x 3 m. square on earth.
Using this system, the College of the Environment is located at clouds.scouts.middle.
- Old Main: field.candy.nets
- PAC: figure.bravo.magic