Part of the Puget Sound includes Elliott Bay, and it is in this bay that Seattle is located. The bay is easily defined, and extends southeastward between West Point in the north and Alki Point in the south. The Bay is fed by the Duwamish River, found at the southern end of the bay. Viewing from downtown, the river is obscured a bit by Harbor Island.

No one knows for certain for whom Elliott Bay was named. We do know that it was named by Lt. Charles Wilkes during the United States Exploring Expedition that took place between 1838 and 1842. Wilkes had the command of the expedition and had several ships under his command. However, there were three Elliotts under his purview. Jared Elliott, ship's chaplain, was disliked by most of the crew, including Wilkes. George Elliott, a ship's boy, had little stature in the crew, and had been recently in trouble for insubordination when Wilkes had named the bay. Midshipman Samuel Elliott was a member of the USS Porpoise survey crew that charted the bay. Considering Wilkes’ opinion on the former two candidates, it seems probable that Elliott Bay was named for Samuel, but there’s little in the way of objective evidence supporting this.