Lake Crescent is a deep

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 ...

located entirely within

Olympic National Park Olympic National Park is a United States national park located in the State of Washington, on the Olympic Peninsula. The park has four regions: the Pacific coastline, alpine areas, the west-side temperate rainforest, and the forests of the drier ...

Clallam County Clallam County is a county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 77,155, with an estimated population of 78,209 in 2021. The county seat and largest city is Port Angeles; the county as a whole comprises the ...

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 on ...

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 primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, approximately west of

Port Angeles 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 ...

U.S. Route 101 U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington, on the West Coast of the United States. It is also known as (The Royal Roa ...

and nearby to the small community of

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

. At an official maximum depth of it is officially the second deepest lake in Washington (after

Lake Chelan Lake Chelan ( ) is a narrow, long lake in Chelan County, north-central Washington 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 ...

). Unofficial depth measurements of more than have been rumored in the region for years, although this figure has recently been proven false after a lake-wide bathymetric survey was performed from 2013 to 2014 by Eian Ray and Jeff Enge. The results of this survey showed the maximum depth as being 596 feet. Using GIS statistical analysis, this survey also showed the lake contains approximately 0.5 cubic miles of fresh water. Lake Crescent is known for its brilliant blue waters and exceptional clarity, caused by a lack of

nitrogen Nitrogen is the chemical element with the symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a nonmetal and the lightest member of group 15 of the periodic table, often called the pnictogens. It is a common element in the universe, estimated at se ...

in the water which inhibits the growth of

algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular mic ...

. It is located in a popular recreational area that is home to several trails, including the Spruce Railroad Trail,

Pyramid Mountain Pyramid Mountain can refer to: ;Antarctica * Pyramid Mountain (Antarctica), in the Quartermain Mountains ;Canada *Pyramid Mountain (Alberta) in Jasper National Park, Alberta * Pyramid Mountain (Garibaldi Provincial Park) in Garibaldi Provincial P ...

trail, and the Barnes Creek trail to Marymere Falls. The Spruce Railroad Trail follows the grade of what was once the tracks of a

logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

along the shores of the lake. Following this trail on the north side of the lake, one can find the entrance to an old

railroad tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube constr ...

as well as "Devils Punch Bowl", a popular swimming and diving area.

Origins

The lake was formed when

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its Ablation#Glaciology, ablation over many years, often Century, centuries. It acquires dis ...

s carved out deep

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between Hill, hills or Mountain, mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers ...

s during the last Ice Age. Initially, the Lake Crescent valley drained into the

Indian Creek Indian Creek may refer to the following: Communities * Indian Creek, Orange Walk District, Belize, a village in Belize * Indian Creek, Toledo, a village in Belize * Indian Creek, Florida, U.S. * Indian Creek, Illinois, U.S. * Indian Creek No. 7 Pr ...

valley and then into

Elwha River The Elwha River is a river on the Olympic Peninsula in the U.S. state of Washington (state), 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 cou ...

Anadromous Fish migration is mass relocation by fish from one area or body of water to another. Many types of fish migrate on a regular basis, on time scales ranging from daily to annually or longer, and over distances ranging from a few metres to thousan ...

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

such as

steelhead Steelhead, or occasionally steelhead trout, is the common name of the anadromous form of the coastal rainbow trout or redband trout (O. m. gairdneri). Steelhead are native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific basin in Northeast Asia and N ...

and

coastal cutthroat trout The coastal cutthroat trout (''Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii''), also known as the sea-run cutthroat trout, blue-back trout or harvest trout, is one of the several subspecies of cutthroat trout found in Western North America. The coastal cutthroa ...

migrated into the valley from lower waters. Approximately 8,000 years ago, a great

landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated grade (slope), slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of ...

from one of the

Olympic Mountains The Olympic Mountains are a mountain range on the Olympic Peninsula of the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are not especially high – Mount Olympus is the highest at ; however, the easter ...

dammed Indian Creek, and the deep valley filled with water. Many

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...

s believe that Lake Crescent and nearby

Lake Sutherland Lake Sutherland is located on the Olympic Peninsula about west of Port Angeles, Washington. The lake is located just to the east of Lake Crescent. Lake Sutherland drains into Indian Creek, which is a tributary of the Elwha River The Elwha River ...

formed at the same time, but became separated by the landslide. This theory is supported by Klallum tribe legend which tells a story of Mount Storm King being angered by warring tribes and throwing a boulder to cut

in two, resulting in Lake Crescent. The results of the landslide are easily visible from the summit of

. Eventually, the water found an alternative route out of the valley, spilling into the

Lyre River The Lyre River in the U.S. state of Washington flows out of Lake Crescent in the Olympic National Park and into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Originally referred to as "singing waters" by the indians living near it, the river was first named Rio de ...

, over the Lyre River Falls, and out to the

Strait of Juan de Fuca The Strait of Juan de Fuca (officially named Juan de Fuca Strait in Canada) is a body of water about long that is the Salish Sea's outlet to the Pacific Ocean. The international boundary between Canada and the United States runs down the centre ...

Ecology

The

anadromous Fish migration is mass relocation by fish from one area or body of water to another. Many types of fish migrate on a regular basis, on time scales ranging from daily to annually or longer, and over distances ranging from a few metres to thousan ...

fish populations in the lake became landlocked, because those fish could not ascend Lyre River Falls, making a barrier in that direction. Over time, two different subspecies of fish evolved in the lake: the

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Beardslee trout The Beardslee trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss irideus'' f. ''beardsleei''), formerly ''Salmo gairdneri beardsleei'') is a local form of rainbow trout endemic to Lake Crescent in Washington. Some sources treat them as a subspecies. Known to locals a ...

, a relative of

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 coasta ...

, spawns in the Lyre River above the falls, while the

Crescenti Cutthroat Trout The Crescenti cutthroat trout or the Lake Crescent cutthroat trout is a North American freshwater fish, a local form (f. loc.) of the coastal cutthroat trout (''Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii'') isolated in Lake Crescent in Washington. While previo ...

spawns in Barnes Creek.

Depth

In the early 1960s, the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

surveyed the lake using a

Furuno (commonly known as Furuno) is a Japanese electronics company whose main products are marine electronics, including marine radar systems, fish finders, and navigational instruments. The company also manufactures global positioning systems an ...

depth sounder Echo sounding or depth sounding is the use of sonar for ranging, normally to determine the depth of water (bathymetry). It involves transmitting acoustic waves into water and recording the time interval between emission and return of a pulse; ...

. They were not able to verify the maximum depth of their equipment. During a 1970 depth survey conducted by the students of the fisheries program at

Peninsula College Peninsula College is a public community college in Port Angeles, Washington, on the Olympic Peninsula. It is part of the Washington Community and Technical Colleges system and offers a Bachelor of Applied Science in Applied Management degree, tr ...

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 ...

, students used instruments that could not record measurements beyond a depth of , which thus became the "official" depth of the lake as recorded by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

. However, when power cable was being laid in the lake in the 1980s, instruments showed depths over , the maximum range of the equipment used. The Lake Crescent Bathymetric Survey: In 2013 and 2014, geographic data scientists Eian Ray and Jeff Enge performed a lake-wide bathymetric survey, taking over 5,000 depth soundings. GIS statistical analysis showed the lake contains approximately of freshwater. The deepest spot was shown to be deep. Much of the shoreline of the lake drops off steeply, in many cases a sheer underwater cliff face. During the Lake Crescent Bathymetric Survey, it was speculated that the erroneous depth record of from the 1980s was a result of the sonar signal reflecting off the steep underwater slopes near the shore. LakeCrescentContour

History

It is not certain whether the lake was named for its crescent shape or for its proximity to Crescent Bay, which was named by

Henry Kellett Vice Admiral Sir Henry Kellett, (2 November 1806 – 1 March 1875) was a British naval officer and explorer. Career Born at Clonacody in Tipperary County, Ireland, on 2 November 1806, Kellett joined the Royal Navy in 1822. He spent three yea ...

in 1846. In 1849 two British–Canadian fur trappers, John Sutherland and John Everett forged inland from Crescent Bay. The two lakes they found became known as

and Everett Lake. Later, Everett Lake was renamed Lake Crescent. It has also been known as Big Lake and Elk Lake. In 1890, while the Port Crescent Improvement Company was promoting its townsite near the lake, M.J. Carrigan started the ''Port Crescent Leader'' to help boost the town. He wrote of the beautiful lake, which he called Lake Crescent, and the name soon became well-established. The lake was included in the

Olympic Forest Reserve Olympic National Forest is a United States National Forest, U.S. National Forest located in Washington (state), Washington, USA. With an area of , it nearly surrounds Olympic National Park and the Olympic Mountains, Olympic Mountain range. Olymp ...

in 1897, designated as a recreation area in 1921, and finally included in

in 1938.

Notable incidents

In 1929, Russell and Blanch Warren disappeared while driving in the vicinity of Lake Crescent. Their whereabouts remained unknown until 2002 when their 1927 Chevrolet automobile was found over beneath the surface of Lake Crescent. Also, in 1937, a waitress named Hallie Illingworth went missing and was found three years later by local fishermen. She was apparently weighted down, and over time her restraints had decayed, allowing her corpse to float to the surface. The corpse was completely preserved by the near-freezing lake temperature. Her skin had turned into a substance described as "ivory soap," which was caused by minerals in the lake water interacting with Illingworth's body fat in a process called

saponification Saponification is a process of converting esters into soaps and alcohols by the action of aqueous alkali (for example, aqueous sodium hydroxide solutions). Soaps are salts of fatty acids, which in turn are carboxylic acids with long carbon chains. ...

. Her husband, Montgomery J. "Monty" Illingworth, was later convicted of the murder. He served nine years in prison until he was paroled in 1951.

References

Sources

* * * * *

External links

Olympic National Park (National Park Service)

''The allure of Lake Crescent never grows old''
Article from the

Seattle Post-Intelligencer The ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' (popularly known as the ''Seattle P-I'', the ''Post-Intelligencer'', or simply the ''P-I'') is an online newspaper and former print newspaper based in Seattle, Washington, United States. The newspaper was foun ...

.
''The Evergreen Playground''
University of Washington Libraries Digital Collections. Online museum exhibit that highlights the history of tourism on the Olympic Peninsula, including the development of the Olympic Loop Highway (U.S. Highway 101) and the Olympic National Park. Includes many images of Lake Crescent.

By Andrew Craig Magnuson. {{authority control

Crescent A crescent shape (, ) is a symbol or emblem used to represent the lunar phase in the first quarter (the "sickle moon"), or by extension a symbol representing the Moon itself. In Hinduism, Lord Shiva is often shown wearing a crescent moon on his ...

Landforms of Olympic National Park Protected areas of Clallam County, Washington