the Puget Sound

[Baker, John]

        Physical geography seems to vary in its use of "the."  At least in my case, "the" is always used for oceans and seas:  the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea.  I rarely use it for lakes:  Lake Michigan, Moosehead Lake (but compare the Great Salt Lake, its salinity perhaps conferring sea-like attributes).  I don't refer to sounds very often, so I don't have an established practice.  Rivers seem to go either way:  either Mississippi River or the Mississippi River is fine with me.  There does seem to be some difference between the two, but I can't articulate quite what it is.

John Baker