A narrow spit of land that connects Vashon with Maury Island, which is not an island but a mile-wide peninsula that parallels Vashon Island for five miles along its southeastern border. An alternate name used on some maps is Portage Landing.
Lying between the two insular bodies is the picturesque bay of Quartermaster Harbor, a long, slim, twisting body of water. Portage received its name from the early settlers who carried their small boats from Quartermaster Harbor across the low strip of land at this point to Tramp Harbor on East Passage.