Spirit Lake (Washington)

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Spirit Lake is a lake in Skamania County, Washington, United States, located north of Mount St. Helens. It was a popular tourist destination for many years until Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980. Previously there had been six camps on the shore of Spirit Lake: Boy Scout (Camp Spirit Lake),<ref name="CPC">Template:Cite web</ref> the Girl Scout Camp at Spirit Lake, two YMCA camps<ref name="loowit">Template:Cite web</ref> (Camp Loowit, and Portland YMCA camp), Harmony Fall Lodge, and another for the general public. There were also several lodges accessible to visitors, including Spirit Lake Lodge and Mt. St. Helens Lodge. The latter was owned and operated by Harry R. Truman, a noted victim of the volcano's 1980 eruption.<ref name="Anderson2013a">Template:Cite book</ref>

Human history

The body of water was named "Spirit" by settlers after histories from Native American people in the area spoke of haunting spirits at the lake. The spirits, telling a story of life and death, formed out of the mists into various shapes of trees and animals, foretelling impending doom but good fortune in the afterlife. Any person who saw the apparitions was dead within a week.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

A post office named Spirit Lake existed for a brief time, renamed to "Lange" in 1910 after the postmaster.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Early mining around the lake began at the turn of the 20th century and necessitated the first road to the area in 1901, replacing a treacherous trail considered unfit for wagons.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Geologic history

Prior to 1980, Spirit Lake consisted of two arms that occupied what had been the valleys of the North Fork Toutle River and a tributary. About 4,000 years ago, these valleys were blocked by lahars and pyroclastic flow deposits from Mount St. Helens to form the pre-1980 Spirit Lake. The longest branch of Spirit Lake was about Template:Convert long. A stable outlet channel flowed from the lake to the North Fork Toutle River across a natural dam composed of volcanic material. The level of Spirit Lake remained basically stable, at an altitude of about Template:Convert.<ref name="MeyerOthers1983a"/><ref name="Hopson">Hopson, CA (2008) Geologic Map of Mount St. Helens, Washington Prior to the 1980 Eruption. Scale 1:62,500, Open-File Report no. 2002-468. U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia.</ref><ref name="LipmanOthers1981a">Lipman, PW., and DR Mullineaux, eds. (1981) The 1980 eruptions of Mount St. Helens, Washington. Professional Paper no. 1250. U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia. 844 pp.</ref>

1980 Mount St. Helens eruption

During the May 18, 1980, eruption of Mount St. Helens, Spirit Lake received the full impact of the lateral blast from the volcano. The blast and the debris avalanche associated with this eruption temporarily displaced much of the lake from its bed and forced lake waters as a wave as much as Template:Convert above lake level on the mountain slopes along the north shoreline of the lake. The debris avalanche deposited about Template:Convert of pyrolized trees, other plant material, volcanic ash, and volcanic debris of various origins into Spirit Lake. The deposition of this volcanic material decreased the lake volume by approximately Template:Convert.

Lahar and pyroclastic-flow deposits from the eruption blocked its natural pre-eruption outlet to the North Fork Toutle River valley at its outlet, raising the surface elevation of the lake by between Template:Convert and Template:Convert. The surface area of the lake was increased from Template:Convert to about Template:Convert and its maximum depth decreased from Template:Convert to Template:Convert. The eruption tore thousands of trees from the surrounding hillsides and swept them into Spirit Lake. These thousands of shattered trees formed a floating log raft on the lake surface that covered about 40% of the lake's surface after the eruption.<ref name="MeyerOthers1983a" /><ref name="Lee1993a">Lee DB (1993) Effects of the Eruptions of Mount St. Helens on Physical, Chemical, and Biological Characteristics of Surface Water, Ground Water, and Precipitation in the Western United States. Water-Supply Paper no. 2438. U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia.</ref>

After the eruption, Spirit Lake contained highly toxic water with volcanic gases seeping up from the lake bed. A month after the eruption, the bacteria-carrying water was devoid of oxygen. Scientists predicted that the lake would not recover quickly, but the reemergence of phytoplankton starting in 1983 began to restore oxygen levels. Amphibians such as frogs and salamanders recolonized the lake, and fish (reintroduced by fishermen) thrived.<ref name="DaleOthers2005a">Dale, VH, FJ Swanson, and CM Crisafulli, eds. (2005) Ecological Responses to the 1980 Eruption of Mount St. Helens. Springer Science+Business Media, Inc., New York, New York, 342 pp. Template:ISBN</ref><ref name="Larson1993a">Larson, D (1993) The Recovery of Spirit Lake. American Scientist. 81(2):166-177.</ref>

Water levels

Template:AnchorThe water level of Spirit Lake is maintained at about Template:Convert by draining water through Spirit Lake Outlet Tunnel, a gravity-feed tunnel completed in 1985. The Template:Convert tunnel was cut through Harrys Ridge to South Coldwater Creek, which flows to Coldwater Lake and into the North Fork of the Toutle River.<ref name="USGS2013a"/><ref name="Larson1993a"/> Had the lake level not been stabilized, the dam, which was composed of volcanic avalanche debris created by the 1980 eruption, would have been breached and caused catastrophic flooding within the Toutle River Valley.<ref name="SwiftOthers1983a">Swift, CH, and DL Kresch (1983) Mudflow hazards along the Toutle and Cowlitz Rivers from a hypothetical failure of Spirit Lake blockage. Water-Resources Investigations Report no. 82-4125. U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia.</ref><ref name="Kresh1992a">Kresch, DL (1992) Development and routing of mudflow resulting from hypothetical failure of Spirit Lake debris dam, Washington. Water-Resources Investigations Report no. 91-4028. U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia.</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

An attempt to upgrade and repair the 1985 tunnel began in 2021 but was halted due to concerns over damages to the pumice plain. The project restarted in 2024 and a temporary road, following the prior access path to the lake, will be rebuilt with future work to involve the installation of gates to the tunnel and dredging to prevent the buildup of logs. During the efforts planned through 2027, several trails surrounding the area will no longer be accessible during weekdays.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Climate

Pre-eruption weather data from the Spirit Lake Ranger Station indicates the area either had the rare dry-summer variant of the subarctic climate (Köppen climate classification: Dsc), or the rare cold-summer mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification: Csc), both of which are found only in small areas across the world. Recent climate data for the area is not available to confirm whether the post-eruption site still has either one of these rare climate types.

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Gallery

Spirit Lake prior to 1980
Spirit Lake filled with debris from the eruption. October 4, 1980
Logs covering Spirit Lake, 2009
Spirit Lake
Tree mats on Spirit Lake, 2012
Spirit Lake with tree mats and Mount St. Helens
Shows the major changes in hydrology of Mount St. Helens after its 1980 eruption, including artificial modifications designed to mitigate sediment and water flow.
View above Spirit Lake