Lake Crescent
Encyclopedia
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
located entirely within Olympic National Park
Olympic National Park
Olympic National Park is located in the U.S. state of Washington, in the Olympic Peninsula. The park can be divided into four basic regions: the Pacific coastline, alpine areas, the west side temperate rainforest and the forests of the drier east side. U.S...
in Clallam County, Washington, United States, approximately 17 miles (27.4 km) west of Port Angeles, Washington
Port Angeles, Washington
Port Angeles is a city in and the county seat of Clallam County, Washington, United States. The population was 19,038 at the 2010 census. The area's harbor was dubbed Puerto de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles by Spanish explorer Francisco de Eliza in 1791, but by the mid-19th century the name had...
on U.S. Route 101
U.S. Route 101 in Washington
In the U.S. state of Washington, U.S. Route 101 is the westernmost state highway, serving the Olympic Peninsula. It runs from the Astoria-Megler Bridge north to the cities of Raymond, Aberdeen, Hoquiam, and Forks before turning east at the small community of Beaver to the most northern point of the...
and nearby to the small community of Piedmont
Piedmont, Washington
Piedmont is a small unincorporated community in Clallam County, Washington, United States. It is located on Lake Crescent in the northwestern corner of the Olympic National Park. Because of its convenient location near Port Angeles, Piedmont has become an important recreational area.Settler John...
. At an official maximum depth of 624 feet (190.2 m), it is officially the second deepest lake in Washington, although unofficial depth measurements of more than 1000 feet (304.8 m) have been recorded.
Lake Crescent is known for its brilliant blue waters and exceptional clarity, caused by a lack of nitrogen
Nitrogen
Nitrogen is a chemical element that has the symbol N, atomic number of 7 and atomic mass 14.00674 u. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78.08% by volume of Earth's atmosphere...
in the water which inhibits the growth of algae
Algae
Algae are a large and diverse group of simple, typically autotrophic organisms, ranging from unicellular to multicellular forms, such as the giant kelps that grow to 65 meters in length. They are photosynthetic like plants, and "simple" because their tissues are not organized into the many...
. It is located in a popular recreational area which is home to a number of trails, including the Spruce Railroad Trail
Spruce Railroad Trail
The Spruce Railroad Trail is a rail trail located on the shores of Lake Crescent about west of Port Angeles, Washington. The trail follows the former Port Angeles Western Railroad grade along the shores of Lake Crescent...
, Pyramid Mountain trail, and the Barnes Creek
Barnes Creek (Washington)
Barnes Creek is a small stream that flows in the U.S. state of Washington from the base of Mount Storm King and Aurora Ridge into Lake Crescent. Barnes Creek is also fed by Marymere Falls. Barnes Creek sustains the spawning habitat for the endemic Crescenti cutthroat trout...
trail to Marymere Falls
Marymere Falls
Marymere Falls is located in Olympic National Park near Lake Crescent in Washington, United States. The falls are accessed by a one-mile trail. Falls creek descends from Aurora Ridge and tumbles over Marymere Falls and then flows into Barnes Creek. It has a height of 90 feet. The falls is one of...
. The Spruce Railroad Trail follows the grade of what was once the tracks of a logging
Logging
Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...
railroad 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 as well as "Devils Punch Bowl", a popular swimming and diving area.
Origins
The lake was formed when glacierGlacier
A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
s carved out deep valley
Valley
In geology, a valley or dale is a depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge.The terms U-shaped and V-shaped are descriptive terms of geography to characterize the form of valleys...
s during the last Ice Age. Initially, the Lake Crescent valley drained into the Indian Creek
Indian Creek (Elwha River)
Indian Creek is a tributary of the Elwha River located in Washington in the United States.Indian Creek flows from Lake Sutherland into Lake Aldwell. Historically, Indian Creek supported runs of several anadromous salmon and trout species, including all five species of Pacific Salmon...
valley and then into Elwha River
Elwha River
The Elwha River is a -long river located on the Olympic Peninsula in the U.S. state of Washington. From its source at Elwha snowfinger in the Olympic Range of Olympic National Park it flows generally north to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Most of the river is contained within Olympic National Park...
. Anadromous fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate 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...
such as steelhead and coastal cutthroat trout
Coastal cutthroat trout
The coastal cutthroat trout also known as the sea run cutthroat, or harvest trout are a subspecies of cutthroat trout with an anadromous life history....
migrated into the valley from lower waters.
Approximately 8,000 years ago, a great landslide
Landslide
A landslide or landslip is a geological phenomenon which includes a wide range of ground movement, such as rockfalls, deep failure of slopes and shallow debris flows, which can occur in offshore, coastal and onshore environments...
from one of the Olympic Mountains
Olympic Mountains
The Olympic Mountains is a mountain range on the Olympic Peninsula of western Washington in the United States. The mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are not especially high - Mount Olympus is the highest at - but the western slopes of the Olympics rise directly out of the Pacific...
dammed Indian Creek and the deep valley filled with water. Many geologists
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
believe that Lake Crescent and nearby Lake Sutherland
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....
formed at the same time, but became separated by the landslide. The results of the landslide are easily visible from the summit of Pyramid Mountain. Eventually, the water found an alternative route out of the valley, spilling into the Lyre River
Lyre River
The Lyre River is a river in Washington, USA that 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 Cuesta by Europeans in 1790 by Gonzalo López de...
, over the Lyre River Falls, and out to the Strait of Juan de Fuca
Strait of Juan de Fuca
The Strait of Juan de Fuca is a large body of water about long that is the Salish Sea outlet to the Pacific Ocean...
.
Ecology
The anadromous 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 unique subspecies of fish evolved in the lake: the endemic Beardslee troutBeardslee trout
Beardslee trout are a local form of Rainbow trout endemic to Lake Crescent in Washington. By some sources, they are treated as a subspecies....
, a relative of rainbow trout
Rainbow trout
The rainbow trout is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is a sea run rainbow trout usually returning to freshwater to spawn after 2 to 3 years at sea. In other words, rainbow trout and steelhead trout are the same species....
, spawns in the Lyre River above the falls, while the Crescenti Cutthroat Trout spawns in Barnes Creek
Barnes Creek (Washington)
Barnes Creek is a small stream that flows in the U.S. state of Washington from the base of Mount Storm King and Aurora Ridge into Lake Crescent. Barnes Creek is also fed by Marymere Falls. Barnes Creek sustains the spawning habitat for the endemic Crescenti cutthroat trout...
.
Depth
In the early 1960s, the U.S. NavyUnited States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
did a survey of the lake using a Furuno
Furuno
The Furuno Electric Company was founded in Nagasaki, Japan in 1938. The company sells marine electronics and has subsidiaries in the USA, Europe and China.-1940s:...
depth sounder
Sonar
Sonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect other vessels...
. They were not able to verify the maximum depth on their equipment. During a 1970 depth survey conducted by the students of the fisheries program at Peninsula College
Peninsula College
Peninsula College is a community college located in Port Angeles, Washington with satellite operations in Forks and Port Townsend. Founded in 1961, it serves the Olympic Peninsula. Peninsula College has approximately 10,000 students, two-thirds of whom attend part-time.-External...
in Port Angeles, Washington
Port Angeles, Washington
Port Angeles is a city in and the county seat of Clallam County, Washington, United States. The population was 19,038 at the 2010 census. The area's harbor was dubbed Puerto de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles by Spanish explorer Francisco de Eliza in 1791, but by the mid-19th century the name had...
, students used instruments that could not record measurements beyond a depth of 624 feet, which thus became the "official" depth of the lake as recorded by the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
. However, when power cable was being laid in the lake, instruments showed depths in excess of 1000 feet, the maximum range of the equipment used. The actual maximum depth of Lake Crescent remains unknown.
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 KellettHenry Kellett
Vice Admiral Sir Henry Kellett KCB was a British naval officer and explorer.-Naval career:Kellett joined the Royal Navy in 1822...
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 Lake Sutherland
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....
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.
Sources
- Williams, Hill. The Restless Northwest: A Geological Story, Washington State University Press, 2002, ISBN 0-87422-250-8.
External links
- Olympic National Park (National Park Service)
- The allure of Lake Crescent never grows old Article from the Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle Post-IntelligencerThe Seattle Post-Intelligencer is an online newspaper and former print newspaper covering Seattle, Washington, United States, and the surrounding metropolitan area...
. - 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.
- History Around Lake Crescent, Clallam County, Washington By Andrew Craig Magnuson.