Lake Washington
Lake Washington is the second largest natural lake in
Washington state, behind Lake Chelan, and the largest lake in
King County. It is situated between
Seattle to the west,
Bellevue to the east,
Renton to the south, and
Kenmore to the north, and surrounds
Mercer Island. It is fed by the Sammamish River at its north end and the Cedar River at its south, as well as a number of creeks, including Ravenna Creek/
University Slough and Thornton Creek on the west and Kelsey Creek, Juanita Creek, and Coal Creek on the east.
Before construction of the Lake Washington Ship Canal in 1916, Lake Washington's outlet was the Black River, which joined the Duwamish River and emptied into Elliott Bay. When the canal was opened, the level of the lake dropped nearly nine feet. The canal to Puget Sound became the lake's sole outlet, causing the Black River to dry up and disappear, as a few years earlier, the Cedar River had been diverted to empty into Lake Washington instead of the Black.
Shoreline cities and towns: (clockwise)
Seattle, Lake Forest Park, Kenmore, Kirkland, Yarrow Point, Clyde Hill, Hunts Point, Medina, Bellevue, Beaux Arts Village, Mercer Island, Newcastle, Renton
Bridges:
- Washington State Route 520, Evergreen Point Floating Bridge, officially Governor Albert D. Rosselini Bridge--Evergreen Point. Seattle to Medina.
- Interstate 90, Lacey V. Murrow Memorial Bridge and Third Lake Washington Bridge, officially Homer M. Hadley Memorial Bridge. Seattle to Mercer Island.
- Interstate 90, East Channel Bridge. Mercer Island to Bellevue.
Statistics:
| Area of lake |
21,500 acres |
87.6 sq km |
| Area of drainage basin |
300,000 acres |
1,274 sq km |
| Volume |
2,350,000 acre-feet |
2,900,000,000 cu m |
| Depth (mean) |
108 feet |
32.9 m |
| Depth (max) |
214 feet |
65.2 m |
| Length |
13 miles |
21 km |
| Height* |
20.6 feet |
6.3 m |
* Above Puget Sound mean lower low tide