Lake Chelan
Template:Short description Template:For Template:Use American English Template:Infobox body of water Lake Chelan (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell) is a narrow, Template:Convert long lake in Chelan County, north-central Washington state, U.S.<ref name=EPA_1994 /> It is an overdeepened lake and resembles a fjord, with an average width of Template:Convert. Near its upper end, the lake surface lies more than Template:Convert below peaks less than Template:Convert away.<ref name="Whetten1967a"/><ref name="Lillquist2016a"/> Before 1927, Lake Chelan was the largest natural lake in the state, in terms of both surface area and water volume.<ref name=Ecology/><ref name= BortlesonOthers1976a>Template:Cite web</ref> Upon the completion of Lake Chelan Dam in 1927, the elevation of the lake was increased by Template:Convert to its present maximum-capacity elevation of Template:Convert.<ref name=Ecology/>
With a maximum depth of Template:Convert, Lake Chelan is the third deepest lake in the United States behind Crater Lake, the deepest, and Lake Tahoe, the second deepest. Because of overdeepening, the sides of this lake drop steeply to its bottom. The deepest part of Lake Chelan lies as much as Template:Convert below sea level. In places, the bedrock floor of the valley occupied by Lake Chelan, which is buried by Pleistocene glacial and lacustrine sediments, lies at least Template:Convert below sea level. Two communities lie on the southern end of the lake, and a third sits at the far north end, providing a gateway to North Cascades National Park.<ref name="Whetten1967a">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Lillquist2016a">Template:Cite book</ref>
Hydrology
On an annual basis, an average of Template:Convert flow into the lake.<ref name=watershed>Template:Cite web</ref> Approximately 75% of the water that flows into the lake comes from two tributaries.<ref name=BioAnalysts>Template:Cite web</ref> The Stehekin River alone contributes 65% of all water to Lake Chelan, averaging Template:Convert annually.<ref name=ddt>Template:Cite web</ref> The other major tributary, Railroad Creek, averages Template:Convert annually.<ref name=watershed /> The remaining water is added via a number of smaller tributaries as well as direct rain and snowfall.
With a maximum depth of Template:Convert,<ref name=watershed /> Lake Chelan is the third deepest lake in the United States, and the 25th deepest in the world. At its deepest, the lake bottom is Template:Convert below sea level.<ref name=Wapato>Template:Cite web</ref> The total watershed of the lake is Template:Convert<ref name=BioAnalysts /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> More than 90% of the watershed is forested land. The remainder of the basin is composed of the lake itself (5.6%) and agriculture (3.5%).<ref name=program>Template:Cite web</ref>
Geology
The fjord-like topography of the Lake Chelan valley results from repeated glacial erosion and deposition (maybe nine or ten times) during the Pleistocene Period.<ref name="Lillquist2016a"/><ref name="Freeman1944a">Template:Cite journal</ref> The last episode of glacial erosion and deposition in the basin occurred during the Last Glacial Maximum about 21,000 years ago. At that time, in the upper Similkameen River valley of British Columbia, the Skagit Lobe split from the Okanogan Lobe of the Cordilleran ice sheet and advanced south into the Skagit River drainage.<ref name=" Riedel2017a">Template:Cite journal</ref> Skagit ice passed through Fisher and Rainy passes, and down Bridge Creek into the Lake Chelan valley. The glacial lobe flowed down the Lake Chelan valley until meeting glacial ice of the main Okanogan Lobe advancing up the valley from the Columbia River drainage near Manson. The deposits of the northwestward advancing Okanagan lobe are characterized by large, basalt glacial erratics.<ref name="Lillquist2016a"/> As the Skagit Lobe during the Last Glacial Maximum and glacial lobes during older glaciations flowed to the southeast down the Lake Chelan valley, they excavated the deep glacial trough that is now occupied by Lake Chelan.<ref name=" Riedel2017a"/> The depth of the Lucerne Basin and the elevation of glacial till and moraines and glacier-scoured bedrock on the walls of the overdeepened Lake Chelan valley indicates that the thickness of the Skagit Lobe was over Template:Convert.<ref name="Whetten1967a"/><ref name="Lillquist2016a"/>
Basins
Lake Chelan is composed of two basins. The lower basin, Wapato, is shallower and approximately a fourth the total length of the lake. The upper basin, Lucerne, is much deeper and extends for the remainder of the length of the lake. The two basins are separated by a sill rising to within Template:Convert of the surface, at a point known as the narrows, at which the lake is only Template:Convert wide.<ref name=Wapato />
The lower basin, Wapato, reaches a maximum depth of only Template:Convert. About Template:Convert of glacial sediment and rockslide deposits rest on top of the bedrock.<ref name=basins>Template:Cite web</ref> This section of the lake is Template:Convert long, and has an average depth of Template:Convert.<ref name=project /> Due to the relatively modest size of this basin, water resides in this basin for only 0.8 years, compared to 10 for Lucerne Basin.<ref name=quality>Template:Cite web</ref> The upper Lucerne basin is Template:Convert long with an average depth of Template:Convert and thus by far the larger of the two basins.<ref name=project>Template:Cite web</ref> It is in this part of the lake that the maximum depth of Template:Convert is found. Lucerne basin contains 92% of the water in Lake Chelan and 74% of the surface area, leaving Wapato with only 8% of the total volume of water and 26% of the surface area.<ref name=ddt /><ref name=Wapato /><ref name=basins /> The upper basin of Lake Chelan is surrounded by more mountainous terrain, resulting in few beaches along the shoreline. Approximately Template:Convert of the shoreline of this basin are in National Forest lands, and Template:Convert in National Park lands.<ref name=ddt />
Natural history
Climate
The climate of Lake Chelan's watershed is varied. From the southern end of the lake in the rain shadow of the Cascade Range, to the northern tip of the lake located in the eastern Cascades, the climate of Lake Chelan's watershed is as diverse as the lake is long. The south end's weather is notably dry, with Chelan averaging only Template:Convert of rain per year, along with Template:Convert of snow. Stehekin receives an average of Template:Convert of rain per year, and Template:Convert of snow. Other than precipitation trends, the climates are remarkably similar. Both locations average around Template:Convert for a high, and Template:Convert for a low throughout the course of the year.Template:Cn Template:Weather box Template:Weather box
History
Etymology
The name Chelan is a Salish Indigenous word, "Tsi - Laan," meaning 'Deep Water'.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Cities
Due to the isolated nature of Lake Chelan, especially at its northern reaches, there is not a large population that resides along the shore. Chelan, which had 4,222 residents at the 2020 census,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> is currently the only incorporated city situated along the lake shore. The city is located at the southern terminus of the lake, adjacent to the Lake Chelan Dam and the Chelan River outflow. The census-designated place of Manson, which had 1,523 residents in 2020,<ref name="Census 2010">Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref> is also located at the southern end of the lake. The unincorporated community of Stehekin,<ref name=inventory /> with approximately 75 residents,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> is located at the northern terminus of the lake, adjacent to the Stehekin River inflow. At the mouth of the Railroad Creek sits Lucerne, a small community of private cabins served by commercial boats.<ref name=inventory>Template:Cite web</ref> Lucerne is also the primary gateway to the community of Holden Village, a Lutheran retreat center located Template:Convert inland from the lake. With approximately 50 long-term residents, Holden includes one of the few remaining public K-12 two-room schools in the contiguous United States.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Economy
Fishing
Fishing is a popular recreating activity on Lake Chelan. The following fish are or were native to the lake: Bull Trout, Westslope cutthroat trout, Largescale sucker, Longnose sucker, Bridgelip sucker, Northern pikeminnow, Peamouth, Redside shiner, Mountain whitefish, Pygmy whitefish.<ref name=fish>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=fish2>Template:Cite web</ref>
In addition to these native species, six species have been introduced to the lake, primarily for sport fishing purposes: Yellowstone cutthroat trout, Rainbow trout, Kokanee, Brook trout, Chinook salmon, Lake trout<ref name=fish /><ref name=fish2 />
State records
In 2013, a Template:Convert Lake Trout was caught, setting the state record.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Winemaking
The Lake Chelan AVA surrounds the southernmost 12 miles of Lake Chelan.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A subzone of the larger Columbia Valley AVA, the Lake Chelan AVA is home to 31 tasting rooms.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Protected lands
At the north end of the lake, surrounding the town of Stehekin, is Lake Chelan National Recreation Area (NRA). Bordering the Lake Chelan NRA is the Lake Chelan-Sawtooth Wilderness. The Wenatchee National Forest surrounds much of the lake on either side. Two state parks are located on the southern edge, not far from the city of Chelan. These state parks are Twenty-Five Mile Creek State Park and Lake Chelan State Park.<ref name=StateParks>Template:Cite web</ref>
In addition to the protected land located directly on the shores of Lake Chelan, Stehekin serves not only as a gateway to the Lake Chelan NRA, but also to the rest of the North Cascades National Park Complex, Stephen Mather Wilderness, and adjacent National Forest Wilderness Areas.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Approximately 87% of the Lake Chelan watershed is owned by either federal, state, or local entities, with the rest in private ownership.<ref name=program />
Gallery
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See also
References
External links
- Geology Tour of Lake Chelan by Ralph and Cheryl Dawes, Wenatchee Valley college.
- Lake Chelan Geology hour-long lecture by Nick Zenter, Central Washington University.
- National Park Service, Lake Chelan, Washington Geotourism, Washington.
- University of Washington Libraries Digital Collections – Lawrence Denny Lindsley Photographs Includes 66 images (ca. 1907–1950) of Lake Chelan and nearby settlements.