Kelsey Creek | |
---|---|
Location | |
Country | United States |
State | Washington |
Region | King County |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | Lake Hills Greenbelt |
• location | Bellevue, Washington |
• coordinates | [1] |
Mouth | |
• location | Lake Washington |
• coordinates | 47°36′01″N122°09′58″W / 47.60028°N 122.16611°W |
• elevation | 16 ft (4.9 m) |
Basin size | 17.0 sq mi (44 km2) [2] |
Discharge | |
• average | 22.5 cu ft/s (0.64 m3/s) [3] |
• minimum | 1.9 cu ft/s (0.054 m3/s) |
• maximum | 832 cu ft/s (23.6 m3/s) |
Kelsey Creek is a creek in Bellevue, Washington on Seattle's Eastside. Originating in the wetlands in the Lake Hills greenbelt between Phantom Lake and Larsen Lake, it flows north and west through the Crossroads neighborhood and then south to Kelsey Creek Park where it turns west and becomes the Mercer Slough just west of Interstate 405. The centerpiece of the largest wetland adjacent to Lake Washington at 367 acres (149 ha), the slough empties into the East Channel of Lake Washington at Interstate 90.
The Kelsey Creek drainage basin is about 10,870 acres (4,400 ha), [2] including about 75% of the city of Bellevue in addition to a portion of Redmond. [4] Tributaries include Valley Creek, Goff Creek, the West Tributary, Sturtevant Creek, Richards Creek, East Creek, and Sunset Creek. [2] Kelsey Creek flows into the head of the Mercer Slough through a large concrete culvert which has been built to allow salmon to ascend easily via a few short drops of the creek. [4]
The Duwamish, whose main settlements were located in what is present day Renton and Seattle, maintained a small outpost settlement called Satskal along the Mercer Slough. [5]
Originally the Kelsey Creek drainage basin included what is now Phantom Lake. In the late 1800s, however, farmer Henry Thode redirected the Phantom Lake outlet to Lake Sammamish, resulting in a reduced water flow to Kelsey Creek. [6]
For centuries, the Mercer Slough wetlands had been a swamp, marsh, and shallow water area, with the Mercer Slough itself being effectively a shallow inlet of Lake Washington. In 1894, a small sawmill operated at the upper end of the slough and both logs and processed timber would be floated down the slough to Lake Washington. At the time, the slough was both wide enough and deep enough to accommodate log rafts, launches, tugs, small steamers, and stern-wheelers. [7]
Following the completion of the Lake Washington Ship Canal and Hiram M. Chittenden Locks in 1917, the water level of Lake Washington was lowered 8.8 feet (2.7 m) exposing the lake bed along the course of the present-day slough. The Mercer Slough was partially dredged in the 1920s to make it navigable to small watercraft. Today, canoes can be rented to explore the lower waterway. [4]
The King County government and City of Bellevue began acquiring parcels in the Mercer Slough in 1957 for preservation of the wetlands and surrounding natural areas. By 1990, 311 acres (126 ha) had been purchased. [8]
Lake Washington is a large freshwater lake adjacent to the city of Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the largest lake in King County and the second largest natural lake in the state of Washington, after Lake Chelan. It borders the cities of Seattle on the west, Bellevue and Kirkland on the east, Renton on the south, and Kenmore on the north, and encloses Mercer Island. The lake is fed by the Sammamish River at its north end and the Cedar River at its south.
The San Joaquin River is the longest river of Central California. The 366-mile (589 km) long river starts in the high Sierra Nevada, and flows through the rich agricultural region of the northern San Joaquin Valley before reaching Suisun Bay, San Francisco Bay, and the Pacific Ocean. An important source of irrigation water as well as a wildlife corridor, the San Joaquin is among the most heavily dammed and diverted of California's rivers.
Clear Lake is a natural freshwater lake in Lake County in the U.S. state of California, north of Napa County and San Francisco. It is the largest natural freshwater lake wholly within the state, with 68 square miles (180 km2) of surface area. At an age of 0.5 million years, it is the oldest lake in North America. It is the latest lake to occupy a site with a history of lakes stretching back at least 2,500,000 years.
The Sammamish River flows through north King County, Washington for about 14 miles (23 km), draining Lake Sammamish into Lake Washington. Along its course, the Sammamish River flows through Redmond, Woodinville, Bothell, and Kenmore.
Ravenna Park and Cowen Park comprise a single contiguous recreation and green space in the Ravenna neighborhood of Seattle, Washington in the United States. These public parks encompass the ravine with a maximum depth of 115 feet (35 m) through which Ravenna Creek flows.
The Laguna de Santa Rosa is a 22-mile-long (35 km) wetland complex that drains a 254-square-mile (660 km2) watershed encompassing most of the Santa Rosa Plain in Sonoma County, California, United States.
Phantom Lake is a small lake inside the city limits of Bellevue, Washington, east of Seattle. A 2.6-mile (4.2 km) pedestrian trail circles the lake, and according to the city government, Bellevue's oldest and largest trees are there. Located about a mile (1.6 km) north of Interstate 90 and west of nearby Lake Sammamish, its surface elevation is approximately 250 feet (76 m) above sea level.
The Little River is a tributary of the Red River, with a total length of 217 miles (349 km), 130 miles (210 km) within the Choctaw Indian Reservation in southeastern Oklahoma and 87 miles (140 km) in southwestern Arkansas in the United States. Via the Red, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River. Six large reservoirs impound the Little River and its tributaries. The drainage basin of the river totals 4,204 square miles (10,890 km2), 2,204 square miles (5,710 km2) in Oklahoma and 2,036 square miles (5,270 km2) in Arkansas. The Little River and its upper tributaries are popular for recreational canoeing and kayaking.
The Columbia Slough is a narrow waterway, about 19 miles (31 km) long, in the floodplain of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Oregon. From its source in the Portland suburb of Fairview, the Columbia Slough meanders west through Gresham and Portland to the Willamette River, about 1 mile (1.6 km) from the Willamette's confluence with the Columbia. It is a remnant of the historic wetlands between the mouths of the Sandy River to the east and the Willamette River to the west. Levees surround much of the main slough as well as many side sloughs, detached sloughs, and nearby lakes. Drainage district employees control water flows with pumps and floodgates. Tidal fluctuations cause reverse flow on the lower slough.
The Warner Lakes are a chain of shallow lakes and marshes in the Warner Valley of eastern Lake County, Oregon, United States. The lakes extend the length of the valley, covering approximately 90,000 acres (360 km2).
Chino Creek is a major stream of the Pomona Valley, in the western Inland Empire region of Southern California. It is a tributary of the Santa Ana River.
Buttermilk Creek is a tributary of the Susquehanna River in Lackawanna County and Wyoming County, in Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately 6.8 miles (10.9 km) long and flows through Newton Township in Lackawanna County and Falls Township in Wyoming County. The watershed of the creek has an area of 26.1 square miles (68 km2). The creek is a perennial stream and is not designated as an impaired waterbody. Major geographical features in its watershed include the Buttermilk Falls in its lower reaches, as well as Fords Lake and Lake Winola.
Nine Partners Creek is a tributary of Tunkhannock Creek in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately 10 miles (16 km) long and flows through New Milford Township, Harford Township, and Lenox Township. The watershed of the creek has an area of 38.6 square miles (100 km2). The creek has two named tributaries: Butler Creek and Leslie Creek. The surficial geology in the vicinity of Nine Partners Creek includes Wisconsinan Till, alluvium, bedrock, alluvial fan, and wetlands. The creek's drainage basin is designated as a Coldwater Fishery and a Migratory Fishery.
Forbes Creek is a small, moderately sloping creek wholly within the city of Kirkland, Washington. From its headwaters on the Rose Hill moraine to its outlet at Juanita Bay is c. 2 miles (3.2 km) as the crow flies. The northern extent of its basin is a nearly east–west line at NE 116th Street; the eastern boundary is at the Rose Hill ridgeline, roughly north–south at 132nd Avenue NE. The southern extent is irregular trending roughly from Kirkland's high point at the northeast corner of Bridle Trails State Park through South Rose Hill Park, to Lake Washington at 16 feet (4.9 m) above sea level.
Bontecou Lake, also known as Tamarack Swamp, is a shallow, man-made bifurcation lake in the towns of Stanford and Washington, in Dutchess County, New York, less than 5 mi (8 km) from the Village of Millbrook. Bontecou Lake straddles the drainage divide between the Wappinger Creek watershed to the west and the Tenmile River. Published estimates of its area vary between 113 acres (46 ha) and 135 acres (55 ha), placing it among the largest lakes in Dutchess County. The lake and surrounding land were protected as a nature preserve in 2022.
Lake Bellevue, also called Lake Sturtevant, is a small lake inside the city limits of Bellevue, Washington. Along with Phantom Lake and Larsen Lake, it is one of three small lakes inside the city, which also borders Lake Washington and Lake Sammamish. Sturtevant Creek, a tributary of Kelsey Creek, has its origin at Lake Bellevue and contains Chinook, Sockeye and Coho salmon. In the 773-acre (313 ha) creek basin, 71% of the land has an impervious surface.
Scotts Creek is a stream in Lake County, California, the largest tributary of Clear Lake. It rises to the south of Cow Mountain in the Mayacamas Mountains, then flows southeast towards Clear Lake, running through the fertile Scotts Valley and the seasonal Tule Lake before joining Middle Creek and flowing into the lake via Rodman Slough.
Middle Creek is a creek that drains through Rodman Slough into Clear Lake in Lake County, California. It supplies 21% of the streamflow to Clear Lake. The watershed vegetation has been drastically modified by European settlers through sheep and cattle grazing, logging and farming in the valley floors. The creek once flowed through extensive wetlands at its mouth, but these were mainly drained to create farmland, apart from Rodman Slough on the west side. There are now projects to restore the drained land to its original condition.
Rivers and creeks in Lake County, California are listed below by river basin and alphabetically. Unless otherwise stated, the information is taken from the Geographic Names Information System maintained by the United States Geological Survey. Coordinates, elevations and lengths from this source are approximate.
Larsen Lake, also known as Blueberry Lake is a small lake inside the city limits of Bellevue, Washington, east of Seattle. A blueberry farm surrounds the lake. Larsen Lake is the headwaters of Kelsey Creek.