Melakwa Lake is a lake in
King County,
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 ...
. The name Melakwa comes from a
Chinook term for "mosquito". It is located along the
Pratt River
The Pratt River is a river in King County in Washington. It is a tributary of the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River. It was named for prospector George A Pratt, who discovered nearby iron deposits in 1887.
The river has its headwaters in tiny Uppe ...
just below the river's true source.
Access
It is off of
I-90 and can be accessed from the Denny Creek trail head. It is accessible via a moderate, all-day hike from Denny Creek to Melakwa Lake.
[Spring, Ira, Vicky Spring and Harvey Manning (2000). 100 Hikes in Washington's Alpine Lakes, 3rd ed. The Mountaineers, 202. ]
Characteristics
The lake is located in a narrow valley, with
Chair Peak to the east and
Kaleetan Peak to the west, and is usually accessible by late June. It is known for its clear water and beautiful blue-green color. A short scramble up the talus slope on the north end of the lake leads to Melakwa Pass, where views of Gem Lake,
Glacier Peak
Glacier Peak or Dakobed (known in the Sauk-Suiattle dialect of the Lushootseed language as "Tda-ko-buh-ba" or "Takobia") is the most isolated of the five major stratovolcanoes (composite volcanoes) of the Cascade Volcanic Arc in the U.S state ...
, and the
North Cascades
The North Cascades are a section of the Cascade Range of western North America. They span the border between the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. state of Washington and are officially named in the U.S. and Canada as the Casca ...
are visible on clear days.
See also
*
Upper Melakwa Lake
Upper Melakwa Lake is a tiny lake located in King County in Washington. It is the source of the Pratt River
The Pratt River is a river in King County in Washington. It is a tributary of the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River. It was named for pros ...
References
External links
Hiking Melakwa Lake from OutdoorDB.org*
Lakes of King County, Washington
Lakes of Washington (state)
Chinook Jargon place names
Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest
Protected areas of King County, Washington
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