- Panthalassa (Wikipedia)
Panthalassa, also known as the Panthalassic Ocean or Panthalassan Ocean (from Greek πᾶν “all” and θάλασσα “sea”), was the superocean that surrounded the supercontinent Pangaea, the latest in a series of supercontinents in the history of Earth. During the Paleozoic–Mesozoic transition c. 250 Ma it occupied almost 70% of Earth’s surface. Its ocean floor has completely disappeared because of the continuous subduction along the continental margins on its circumference. Panthalassa is also referred to as the Paleo-Pacific (“old Pacific”) or Proto-Pacific because the Pacific Ocean is a direct continuation of Panthalassa.
- Fort Steilacoom (1849-1868) (historylink.org)
Fort Steilacoom, located in south Puget Sound near Lake Steilacoom, was established by the United States Army in 1849. Protection of settlers in the area had become an issue. As well, the United States was anxious to plant the flag on land claimed by Britain. (Britain had ceded the territory south of the 49th parallel in 1846, but claimed this land as a commercial enterprise. Fort Steilacoom was established in what was then Oregon Territory. Congress would create Washington Territory in 1853.) In August 1849 the U.S. Army moved onto the Joseph Heath farm to establish the fort, leasing the land from the British Hudson’s Bay Company. The fort served as a headquarters in the 1855-1856 Indian Wars, but there were no hostile actions here. A major event was the incarceration of Nisqually Chief Leschi (1808-1858) in the fort guardhouse. The post commander and other officers protested his trial and murder conviction, arguing that he was probably not guilty, as a state of war had existed. Fort Steilacoom was closed in 1868 and became the site of the Western State Hospital, a psychiatric facility. Today (2012) the Fort Steilacoom Museum is also located on the site.