Lake River is a tributary, about long, of the
Columbia River
The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...
in the
U.S. state of
Washington.
[ River miles are marked and numbered on the relevant map quadrangles: Vancouver, Ridgefield, and St. Helens.] It flows north from
Vancouver Lake in
Vancouver to meet the larger river near
Ridgefield and the northern tip of
Bachelor Island.
The
Wilkes Expedition of 1841 referred to Lake River as ''Calipaya Inlet''.
The river is part of the
Lewis River – Vancouver Lake Water Trail linking Vancouver Lake to
Woodland by waters suitable for
kayak
A kayak is a small, narrow watercraft which is typically propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Greenlandic word ''qajaq'' ().
The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each se ...
s and other boats.
Portions of the
Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge border the river.
Course
Lake River, a "slow, flat slough of the Columbia River",
loses only in elevation over its entire course. It flows north, roughly parallel to the Columbia until curving slightly northwest to join it. At times, tidal fluctuations and high flows along the Columbia cause Lake River to flow backwards into the lake, sometimes for long periods.
Flowing out of the lake and Vancouver Lake Park, the river receives Buckmire Slough from the
left
Left may refer to:
Music
* ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006
* ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016
* "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album ''Curb'', 1996
Direction
* Left (direction), the relative direction opposite of right
* L ...
. Beyond the confluence, Shillapoo Wildlife Area is to the left, and the unincorporated community of
Felida is to the
right. About further downstream,
Salmon Creek enters from the right.
Over the next , the river passes between
Curtis Lake on the right and Round Lake on the left. About from the
mouth
In animal anatomy, the mouth, also known as the oral cavity, or in Latin cavum oris, is the opening through which many animals take in food and issue vocal sounds. It is also the cavity lying at the upper end of the alimentary canal, bounded on ...
, Lake River enters Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge and passes between Green Lake on the right and Post Office Lake on the left. Whipple Creek enters from the right at RM 7 (RK 11). Over the next , Campbell Lake is on the left. Flume Creek enters from the right about from the mouth.
The river exits the wildlife refuge, and about from the mouth, the stream curves to the northwest and enters Ridgefield, which is on the right. A mile or so later, Bachelor Island Slough enters from the left, and Carty Lake is on the right as the stream re-enters the wildlife refuge. Lake River enters the Columbia River at the north tip of Bachelor Island, about upstream of the mouth of the Lewis River and about from the Columbia's mouth on the Pacific Ocean.
Watershed and water quality
Lake River drains more than .
The watershed includes the mostly urban catchment of
Burnt Bridge Creek
Burnt Bridge Creek is a stream flowing for most of its length within the city of Vancouver in the U.S. state of Washington. It begins as drainage from field ditches near the unincorporated community of Orchards, east of the city. The creek f ...
, which empties into Vancouver Lake.
Also parts of the watershed are the lake and its surrounds, land along the
main stem, and the urban, suburban, rural lands along tributary streams, principally Salmon, Whipple, and Flume creeks. The water quality of all these water bodies is relatively poor.
See also
*
List of rivers of Washington
*
List of tributaries of the Columbia River
References
{{authority control
Rivers of Washington (state)
Rivers of Clark County, Washington
Tributaries of the Columbia River