Lake Sutherland is located on the
Olympic Peninsula
The Olympic Peninsula is a large arm of land in western Washington that lies across Puget Sound from Seattle, and contains Olympic National Park. It is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the north by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and th ...
about west of
Port Angeles, Washington
Port Angeles ( ) is a city and county seat of Clallam County, Washington, United States. With a population of 19,960 as of the 2020 census, it is the largest city in the county. The population was estimated at 20,134 in 2021.
The city's har ...
. The
lake
A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...
is located just to the east of
Lake Crescent
Lake Crescent is a deep lake located entirely within Olympic National Park in Clallam County, Washington, United States, approximately west of Port Angeles on U.S. Route 101 and nearby to the small community of Piedmont. At an official ma ...
. Lake Sutherland drains into
Indian Creek, which is a tributary of the
Elwha River
The Elwha River is a river on the Olympic Peninsula in the U.S. state of Washington. From its source at Elwha snowfinger in the Olympic Mountains, it flows generally north to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Most of the river's course is within the O ...
.
Lake Sutherland is named for the Canadian fur trapper John Sutherland who, with John Everett, explored the lake around 1865.
Lake Sutherland and Indian Creek once sustained
anadromous fish populations, but construction of the
Elwha Dam in 1913 blocked access to the ocean, eliminating several salmon species from Indian Creek and landlocking others.
The lake contains a population of kokanee
sockeye salmon, which spawn in Lake Sutherland and until
the removal of the Elwha Dam in 2012 migrated to
Lake Aldwell.
Lake Sutherland lies just outside Olympic National Park and is private land. The lake is surrounded by houses, many of which are vacation homes inhabited only seasonally. Boating and fishing on the lake are very popular.
There is also a reservoir in San Diego County, Situated between Ramona and Julian, with the same name.
References
External links
*
Lakes of Washington (state)
Lakes of Clallam County, Washington
{{ClallamCountyWA-geo-stub