Lake Puyallup

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Lake Puyallup
01 Lake Puyallup & Early Lake Russell.jpg
Glacial lakes Lake Puyallup & Early Lake Russell
USA Washington relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Lake Puyallup
Location Puyallup River
Pierce County, Washington
Coordinates 47°13′25″N122°20′40″W / 47.223655°N 122.344414°W / 47.223655; -122.344414 Coordinates: 47°13′25″N122°20′40″W / 47.223655°N 122.344414°W / 47.223655; -122.344414
Lake type Glacial lake (former)
Primary inflows Vashon Glacier
Primary outflows Ohop channel
Basin  countries United States
Max. length17 miles (27 km)
Max. width9 miles (14 km)
Max. depth595 feet (181 m)
Residence time less than 200 years
Surface elevation350 m (1,150 ft)
References [1]

Lake Puyallup developed along the south edge of the Puget Sound Glacier. The glacier was in retreat northward after having reached its most southerly point. Drainage off the north face of Mount Rainier and the melting ice of the glacier was trapped in the valley of the Puyallup River. As the glacier moved north, the lake grew until it reached its largest capacity with the glacier at the glacial front across the Puyallup valley just south of Commencement Bay at Tacoma and northern bend of the White River at Auburn. When the ice retreated further north, it was reduced in depth and volume and takes on the name of Lake Tacoma. [1]

Contents

The Ohop Channel

Lake Puyallup initial drain was south through the Ohop channel. The Ohop served as the drain for the Carbon and Puyallup rivers to the Nisqually. The divide between the future north-flowing rivers and the Nisqually was Lake Kapowsin at 595 feet (181 m) above sea level. From Lake Kapowsin, the valley of Ohop Creek, through Ohop Lake to the Nisqually. [1] The pass between the Puyallup River and Lake Kapowsin is 500 feet (150 m) wide and 340 feet (100 m) deep. At Eatonville, it is 200 feet (61 m) deep and perhaps 2,000 feet (610 m) wide. Between the pass and Eatonville, the valley descends about 14 feet (4.3 m) to the mile (0.6 km). Beyond Eatonville the grade is about 10 feet (3.0 m) to the mile (0.6 km). [1] The west side of the Puyallup trough stands about 550 feet (170 m) above sea level south of Orting to a 3 miles (4.8 km) north. West of this was the low land draining towards Lake Russell, thus blocking this westward drain. This remained the outflow until the glacier retreated further north, opening a new lower channel at Clover Creek. [1]

See also

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Chester Morse Lake

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Tolmie Peak

Tolmie Peak is a 5,920+ -foot peak in the Mount Rainier area of the Cascade Range, in the U.S. state of Washington. It is located 2 miles (3.2 km) northwest of Mowich Lake, in the northwest part of Mount Rainier National Park.

Kankakee Outwash Plain

The Kankakee Outwash Plain is a flat plain interspersed with sand dunes in the Kankakee River valley in northwestern Indiana and northeastern Illinois of the United States. It is just south of the Valparaiso Moraine and was formed during the Wisconsin Glaciation. As the glacier, stopped at the Valparaiso Moraine, melted, the meltwater was carried away to the outwash plain. On the south side of the moraine, where the elevation drops, the meltwaters eroded away valleys, carrying sand and mud with them. As the muddy meltwater reached the valley where the slope lessened, the water slowed, depositing the sand on the outwash plain. This created a smooth, flat, and sandy plain. Before its draining, the Kankakee Marsh, located on the outwash plain, was one of the largest freshwater marshes in the United States.

Kautz Creek

Kautz Creek is a tributary of the Nisqually River, flowing from the Kautz Glacier, with its watershed in the Mount Rainier National Park of Washington. It drains southwest from Mount Rainier for about 6 miles (9.7 km) before it joins the Nisqually River near Mount Rainier Highway. It is notable for being a severe flooding hazard due to the volume of summer glacier melt and its frequently changing course. The 400-foot (120 m) Kautz Creek Falls on the headwaters of the creek was formed by the retreat of the Kautz Glacier in the past 50 years.

Sequalitchew Creek

Sequalitchew Creek, located in DuPont, Washington emanates from Sequalitchew Lake, Fort Lewis, Washington, was the location of the original Fort Nisqually trading post established in 1833 by the Hudson's Bay Company. The historic, natural flow of Sequalitchew Creek runs from Sequalitchew Lake, through Edmonds Marsh, down the canyon and out to the Puget Sound.

Ohop Valley is an agricultural region in Pierce County, Washington, United States. It is located between Roy and Eatonville, and contains the unincorporated settlement of Ohop. Ohop Creek, which runs through the valley, feeds into Ohop Lake and its waters eventually join the Puyallup River.

Lake Kapowsin

Lake Kapowsin is a lake in Pierce County, Washington, about halfway between Tacoma on Puget Sound, and Mount Rainier in the Cascade Mountains. The lake is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long and 0.15–0.5 miles (0.24–0.80 km) wide, lying in a channel formed by meltwater from the Puget lobe of the Vashon glacier during the Pleistocene glaciation. A small island, Jaybird island, lies in the northern half of the lake. As indicated by a drowned forest in the lake and other evidence, the Puyallup River was inundated about 550 years ago by a lahar from Mount Rainier called the Electron Mudflow. The mudflow partially filled the channel and blocked Ohop Creek's outlet, forming present-day Lake Kapowsin.

Lake Nisqually

Lake Nisqually is used to identify the freshwater lake formed in the Puget Sound trough, west of Tacoma. It is sometime confused with Early Lake Russell which covered the same area during a previous northward retreat of the glacier. The glacier returned southward, then on its final retreat northward, the waters filing this basin are referred to as Lake Nisqually. Its discharge was across the Black Lake channel at 160 feet (49 m) above sea level. Two deltas formed along the eastern margin of the lake from the outflow of Lake Tacoma in the Puyallup River valley. Both the Steilacoom and Sequalichew deltas, at 160 feet (49 m). A rise in level to 180 to 200 feet reflects the closure of the Black Lake outlet while the two deltas were still growing.

Glacial Lake Russell

During the Vashon Glaciation a series of lakes formed along the southern margin of the Cordilleran Ice Cap. In the Puget Sound depression, a series of lakes developed, of which Lake Russell was the largest and the longest lasting. Early Lake Russell’s surface was at 160 ft (49 m) above sea level, draining across the divide at Shelton, Washington into early Glacial Lake Russell. When the ice margin receded northward, the lake expanded. When it reached the Clifton channel outlet, the water levels dropped to 120 ft (37 m) above sea level. The new longer and lower level lake is referred to as Lake Hood. The glacier continued to retreat until the northern outlet of the Hood Canal was reached as the water level equalized with Glacial Lake Russell becoming part of that body of water.

Lake Skokomish

During the Vashon Glaciation a series of lakes formed along the southern margin of the Cordilleran Ice Cap. In the Hood Canal depression, two significant lake stages existed, Lake Skokomish and Lake Hood. Early Lake Skokomish’s surface was at 350 ft (110 m) above sea level, draining across the divide at Shelton, Washington into early Glacial Lake Russell. As the glacier receded northward, this freshwater lake grew in size, until the ice was north of the Clifton channel. With the opening of the Clifton channel, the water dropped to 160 m (520 ft) above sea level. This longer and lower level lake is referred to as Lake Hood. The glacier continued to recede northward until it reached the Poulsbo channel. Here, the water level equalized to Glacial Lake Russell nolonger having a separate identify.

Lake Cut Bank

Lake Cut Bank was a glacial lake formed during the late Pleistocene along the Missouri and Sun Rivers. After the Laurentide Ice Sheet retreated, water melting off the glacier accumulated between the Rocky Mountinas and the ice sheet. The lake drained along the front of the ice sheet, eastward towards the Judith River and the Missouri River.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Washington Geological Survey, Bulletin No. 8; Glaciation of the Puget Sound Region; J. Harlen Bretz; Olympia, Wash, Frank M. Lamborn Public Printer; 1913