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Lake Chelan ( ) is a narrow, long
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 ...
in Chelan County, north-central
Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
state, U.S. Before 1927, it was the largest natural lake in the state by any measure. Upon the completion of Lake Chelan Dam in 1927, the elevation of the lake was increased by to its present maximum-capacity elevation of . Two communities lie on the southern end of the lake, and a third sits at the far north end, providing a gateway to the
North Cascades National Park North Cascades National Park is an American national park in the state of Washington. At more than , it is the largest of the three National Park Service units that comprise the North Cascades National Park Complex. North Cascades National Par ...
.


Name

The name Chelan is a Salish Indigenous word, "''Tsi - Laan''," meaning 'Deep Water'.


Hydrology

On an annual basis, an average of flow into the lake. Approximately 75% of the water that flows into the lake comes from two tributaries. The
Stehekin River The Stehekin River is a river located in Washington state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. It is the main river flowing into Lake Chelan. Miners arrived in Stehekin River Valley in the late 19th century. They were followed by home ...
alone contributes 65% of all water to Lake Chelan, averaging annually. The other major tributary, Railroad Creek, averages annually. The remaining water is added via a number of smaller tributaries as well as direct rain and snowfall. With a maximum depth of , 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 below sea level. The total watershed of the lake is a modest 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%).


Geography


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 of the surface, at a point known as the narrows, at which the lake is only wide. The two basins were created by two independent glaciers that met and then formed the sill when they retreated. First, the Chelan glacier came down from the Stehekin valley and scoured the valley, potentially as far as the Columbia River. Later, the Okanogan lobe came up the Chelan Valley as far as Wapato Point. As the Okanogan lobe retreated, it left huge amounts of debris in the valley originally scoured by the Chelan glacier.


Wapato Basin

The lower basin, Wapato, is the shallower of the two, with a maximum depth of only . About of glacial sediment and rockslide deposits rest between the lake bottom and bedrock. This section of the lake is long, and has an average depth of . 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.


Lucerne Basin

Lucerne basin, long with an average depth of , is by far the larger of the two basins. It is in this part of the lake that the maximum depth of 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. The upper basin of Lake Chelan is surrounded by mountainous terrain, resulting in few beaches along the shoreline. Approximately of the shoreline of this basin are in National Forest lands, and in National Park lands.


Climate

The climate of Lake Chelan's watershed is varied. From the southern end of the lake in the
rain shadow A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side. Evaporated moisture from water bodies (such as oceans and large lakes) is ca ...
of the
Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...
, 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 of rain per year, along with of snow. Stehekin receives an average of of rain per year, and of snow. Other than precipitation trends, the climates are remarkably similar. Both locations average around for a high, and for a low throughout the course of the year.


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 3,918 residents at the 2010 census, 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 The Chelan River is a tributary of the Columbia River, in the U.S. state of Washington. Just long, it is the shortest river in Washington. Lake Chelan Dam is located at the river's source: the outlet of Lake Chelan. Nearly the entire river's fl ...
outflow. The
census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, suc ...
of
Manson Manson is a surname of Scottish origin.''Manson'' in the Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, p.508 It is an Anglicised version of the Scandinavian name Magnusson, meaning son of Magnus, and a Sept of Clan Gunn. It is part ...
, which had 1,418 residents in 2010, is also located at the southern end of the lake. The
unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...
of Stehekin, with approximately 75 residents, is located at the northern terminus of the lake, adjacent to the
Stehekin River The Stehekin River is a river located in Washington state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. It is the main river flowing into Lake Chelan. Miners arrived in Stehekin River Valley in the late 19th century. They were followed by home ...
inflow. At the mouth of the Railroad Creek sits
Lucerne Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label= Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital o ...
, a small community of private cabins served by commercial boats. Lucerne is also the primary gateway to the community of
Holden Village Holden Village is a year-round Lutheran Christian center in the North Cascade mountains of the U.S. state of Washington. Formerly the site of one of the largest copper mines in the United States, the Holden mine, Holden is accessible only by t ...
, a Lutheran retreat center located 11 miles 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.


Recreation


Fishing

Fishing is a popular recreating activity on Lake Chelan. The following fish are or were native to the lake:
Bull Trout The bull trout (''Salvelinus confluentus'') is a char of the family Salmonidae native to northwestern North America. Historically, ''S. confluentus'' has been known as the " Dolly Varden" (''S. malma''), but was reclassified as a separate speci ...
,
Westslope cutthroat trout The westslope cutthroat trout (''Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisi''), also known as the black-spotted trout, common cutthroat trout and red-throated trout is a subspecies of the cutthroat trout (''Oncorhynchus clarkii'') and is a freshwater fish in t ...
,
Largescale sucker The largescale sucker (''Catostomus macrocheilus'') is a species of sucker, a type of freshwater fish, found in western North America. Description It has a rounded snout with a downturned mouth on its underside (as opposed to a mouth at end of ...
, Longnose sucker,
Bridgelip sucker The bridgelip sucker (''Catostomus columbianus'') is a fish in the family Catostomidae that occupies the Columbia River system. Like all sucker fish, they live only in fresh water. Bridgelip suckers have a tendency to live in deeper waters durin ...
,
Northern pikeminnow The Northern pikeminnow, Columbia River dace or formerly Squawfish (''Ptychocheilus oregonensis'') is a large member of the minnow family, Leuciscidae. This predatory freshwater fish is native to northwestern North America, ranging from the Na ...
, Peamouth,
Redside shiner The redside shiner (''Richardsonius balteatus'') is a species of cyprinid fish found in the western United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country pr ...
, Mountain whitefish,
Pygmy whitefish The pygmy whitefish (''Prosopium coulterii'') is a freshwater whitefish of the genus ''Prosopium'' in the family Salmonidae. Found in the mountain streams and lakes in western North America, it also has isolated populations in Lake Superior and i ...
. In addition to these native species, six species have been introduced to the lake, primarily for sport fishing purposes:
Yellowstone cutthroat trout The Yellowstone cutthroat trout (''Oncorhynchus clarkii bouvieri'') is a subspecies of the cutthroat trout (''Oncorhynchus clarkii''). It is a freshwater fish in the salmon family (family Salmonidae). Native only to a few U.S. states, their ...
,
Rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead (sometimes called "steelhead trout") is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coast ...
, Kokanee,
Brook trout The brook trout (''Salvelinus fontinalis'') is a species of freshwater fish in the char genus ''Salvelinus'' of the salmon family Salmonidae. It is native to Eastern North America in the United States and Canada, but has been introduced elsewhere ...
,
Chinook salmon The Chinook salmon (''Oncorhynchus tshawytscha'') is the largest and most valuable species of Pacific salmon in North America, as well as the largest in the genus '' Oncorhynchus''. Its common name is derived from the Chinookan peoples. Other ...
,
Lake trout The lake trout (''Salvelinus namaycush'') is a freshwater char living mainly in lakes in northern North America. Other names for it include mackinaw, namaycush, lake char (or charr), touladi, togue, and grey trout. In Lake Superior, it can also ...


State records

In 2013, a
Lake Trout The lake trout (''Salvelinus namaycush'') is a freshwater char living mainly in lakes in northern North America. Other names for it include mackinaw, namaycush, lake char (or charr), touladi, togue, and grey trout. In Lake Superior, it can also ...
was caught, setting the state record.


Protected lands

At the north end of the lake, surrounding the town of Stehekin, is Lake Chelan National Recreation Area. Surrounding much of the lake on either side is Wenatchee National Forest. 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. 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 North Cascades National Park is an American national park in the state of Washington. At more than , it is the largest of the three National Park Service units that comprise the North Cascades National Park Complex. North Cascades National Par ...
Complex,
Stephen Mather Wilderness The Stephen Mather Wilderness is a wilderness area honoring Stephen Mather, the first director of the National Park Service. It is located within North Cascades National Park, Lake Chelan National Recreation Area, and Ross Lake National Rec ...
, and adjacent National Forest Wilderness Areas. Approximately 87% of the Lake Chelan watershed is owned by either federal, state, or local entities, with the rest in private ownership.


Gallery


See also

* Uno Peak Fire


References


External links


National Park Service Lake Chelan

University of Washington Libraries Digital Collections – Lawrence Denny Lindsley Photographs
Includes 66 images (ca. 1907–1950) of Lake Chelan and nearby settlements. {{authority control Chelan Chelan North Cascades of Washington (state) Tourist attractions in Chelan County, Washington