One of many islands located in North Puget Sound, San Juan Island is the largest in the San Juan archipelago - a chain of 172 islands. While many of the surrounding islands are largely pastoral, San Juan Island has a varied landscape with oceanside beaches, rocky cliffs, valleys, forests and even small mountains near the northwestern tip. Also known as the Pig War Island, the conflict over ownership of the island between the United States and Britain was a fierce one, resulting in a joint-military occupation that lasted 12 years. This conflict began with the killing of a British-owned hog by an American settler. The matter was finally resolved in 1972 effectively ending the last territorial dispute between America and Britain!