Lake Sacajawea is a man-made lake in Longview, Washington. It is named after the

Shoshone The Shoshone or Shoshoni ( or ) are a Native American tribe with four large cultural/linguistic divisions: * Eastern Shoshone: Wyoming * Northern Shoshone: southern Idaho * Western Shoshone: Nevada, northern Utah * Goshute: western Utah, easter ...

woman named Sacajawea who guided

Meriwether Lewis Meriwether Lewis (August 18, 1774 – October 11, 1809) was an American explorer, soldier, politician, and public administrator, best known for his role as the leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery, with ...

and William Clark during their expedition to the Pacific Ocean. The lake is made up of four sections, each separated by a bridged road. Several small parks are part of the larger Lake Sacajawea Park. Lake Sacajawea Park is a 67-acre (27 ha) park in the middle of the city. The lake's water is pumped into the north end from the Cowlitz River and flows to the south end where it exits into 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 ...

Construction

The lake was constructed in 1924 when what was then known as Fowler's Slough was dredged. Prior to dredging, Fowler's Slough was a channel of the Cowlitz River. This project was part of the larger project of founding the town of Longview by

Robert A. Long Robert Alexander Long (December 17, 1850 – March 15, 1934) was an American lumber baron, developer, investor, newspaper owner, and philanthropist. He lived most of his life in Kansas City, Missouri and founded Longview, Washington and Longv ...

Japanese garden

In 1990, the idea was conceived to create a Japanese garden on one of the lake's islands. Over the following years and with help from the community, the garden was developed. The idea and design for the garden came from then Longview Parks Superintendent Al George. He had the idea from seeing gardens while stationed in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

during his time in the navy.

Go 4th Festival

During the week of July 4th, Lake Sacajawea hosts an annual festival which includes a

flea market A flea market (or swap meet) is a type of street market that provides space for vendors to sell previously-owned (second-hand) goods. This type of market is often seasonal. However, in recent years there has been the development of 'formal' ...

, a

parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, float (parade), floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually ce ...

, concerts, and a fireworks show. The festival began in the 1960s and attracts more than 30,000 people per year.

Solar system walk

In 2001, the Friends of Galileo Astronomy Club installed plaques along the lake's trail. These plaques make up a scale model of the solar system which can be followed by walking along the west side of the lake. Each plaque provides details about the planet it represents.

References

{{reflist 1924 establishments in Washington (state) Lakes of Cowlitz County, Washington