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25-587: Evergreen Point is the westernmost of a group of three small peninsulas on the east side of Lake Washington , King County, Washington . It is situated between the main body of the lake and Fairweather Bay. Most notable for being the namesake of the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge , it is part of the city of Medina . This King County, Washington state location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Lake Washington Lake Washington has been known to

50-543: A connection between Union Bay , part of Lake Washington, to the east and Portage Bay , an arm of Lake Union , to the west. It is spanned by the Montlake Bridge , a bascule drawbridge carrying Montlake Boulevard ( State Route 513 ). Most of the land on the north shore of the cut is occupied by the University of Washington , its medical school to the west and its stadium parking lot to the east; residences and

75-553: A great reduction of the salmon population in the lake. The Black River gave the Duwamish people salmon, which was an important part of their diet and a major part of their spirituality. Although the ecosystem of the Montlake Cut has since recovered, the damages were major at the time. The industrial uses of the Montlake Cut have since decreased, and it is now primarily used for leisure boating and recreational uses. The cut

100-407: A larger-scale version of the black river that would link Lake Washington and Lake Union with Puget Sound, an idea that would benefit King County economically, allowing it to become a large shipping harbor. Local landowners began digging a canal on their land, following the trail that the Duwamish tribe had created between the two lakes. However in 1903, after 30 years of discussion, it was decided by

125-550: A recreational trail occupy the south bank, which is part of the Montlake neighborhood. Before the creation of the Montlake Cut, the land was regularly used by the Duwamish tribe and the holds important history within the tribe, that is commonly overlooked. Before the construction of the Montlake Cut, it was known by the Duwamish as "Carry a Canoe" ( Lushootseed : sxWátSadweehL). Indigenous people had been portaging between

150-474: Is a popular location of recreational swimming and sunbathing for University of Washington students during the spring and summer. The cut is home to the University of Washington rowing team , serving as the final 500 meters of the 2,000-meter racecourse. It is the site of the annual Windermere Cup crew regatta and the Seattle Yacht Club 's Opening Day Boat Parade, both of which take place on

175-633: Is long, narrow and finger-like. Ribbon lakes are excavated by glaciers. As the Puget lobe of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet flowed south near the end of the Late Pleistocene , it met bands of harder and softer rock. Erosion of the softer rock was faster and a linear depression was created in the flow direction. When the glacier melted, the lake filled with the meltwater, which was retained by moraine deposits. A dam can also be created by

200-741: The Duwamish and other Indigenous peoples living on the lake for millennia as x̌ačuʔ (lit. "lake" in Lushootseed ). At the time of European settlement, it was recorded as At-sar-kal in a map sketched by engineer Abiel W. Tinkham ; and the Chinook Jargon name, Hyas Chuck ("great/large water"), was also used. Other English names historically used for the lake include Lake Geneva by Isaac N. Ebey ; and Lake Duwamish in railroad surveys under Governor Isaac Stevens . Lake Washington received its present name in 1854 after Thomas Mercer suggested it be named after George Washington , as

225-522: The Army Corps of Engineers that this plan would not be feasible because there would be a need for two locks to maintain the height of Lake Washington and Lake Union. Ten years later, Major C. W. Kutz of the Army Corps of Engineers wished to move forward with the plan but with only one lock in Ballard. This resulted in great upset and lawsuits over the lowering of Lake Washington that would result from

250-732: The Cedar supplying most of the water. Seasonal changes in the flow of the Sammamish are moderated by a weir at the Lake Sammamish inlet. The lake is drained by the Lake Washington Ship Canal . In addition, there are numerous small creeks and rivers which feed the lake, including: Historically, construction of the Lake Washington Ship Canal drastically changed the inflow and outflow of

275-754: The SR 520 Albert D. Rosellini Evergreen Point Floating Bridge) carries State Route 520 from Seattle's Montlake neighborhood to Medina while the Lacey V. Murrow Memorial Bridge and the Third Lake Washington Bridge (officially the Homer M. Hadley Memorial Bridge) carry Interstate 90 from Seattle's Mount Baker neighborhood to Mercer Island . The East Channel Bridge carries Interstate 90 from Mercer Island to Bellevue . The Evergreen Point, Lacey V. Murrow, and Third Lake Washington bridges are

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300-526: The bands of harder rock either side of the softer rock. There is usually a river at both ends of a ribbon lake, one being the inlet, and the other the outlet, but in the case of present-day Lake Washington, inlet rivers are at both ends, and a man-made outlet is in the middle. The lake was previously drained by the Black river to the south. The main inflowing rivers are the Sammamish and Cedar Rivers, with

325-640: The bridge's concept or design. Concrete floating bridges continue to remain a viable means for the conveyance of vehicle traffic over Lake Washington. In 1950, approximately one year after the tolls were removed from the Murrow bridge, the inland ferry system on the lake came to an end, having operated since the 1880s. The cities and towns bordering the lake, going clockwise from the west, are Seattle , Lake Forest Park , Kenmore , Kirkland , Yarrow Point , Hunts Point , Medina , Bellevue , Beaux Arts Village , and Renton . The city of Mercer Island occupies

350-550: The ceremony were Judge Roger S. Greene, Judge Thomas Burke, J. S. Brace and John H. McGraw, who turned the first shovel of dirt that day. The creation of the cut lowered the water level of Lake Washington by 8.8 feet (2.7 m), drained the wetlands around the lake, and lowered the lake below the outflow at the Black River , leaving the Black River dry. The effects on the water level of Lake Washington also resulted in

375-543: The desirable fish populations declined, and masses of dead algae accumulated on the shores of the lake. After significant pollution, the October 5, 1963 issue of the Post Intelligencer referred to the lake as "Lake Stinko". Citizen concern led to the creation of a system that diverted the treatment-plant effluents into nearby Puget Sound, where tidal flushing would mix them with open-ocean water. The diversion

400-408: The emplacement of the pilings or towers necessary for the construction of a causeway or suspension bridge . The bridges consist of hollow concrete pontoons that float atop the lake, anchored with cables to each other and to weights on the lake bottom. The roadway is constructed atop these concrete pontoons. Three floating bridges cross Lake Washington: the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge (officially

425-507: The excavation of the cut. On October 26, 1910, Kutz sent his assistant to set off dynamite at the head of the cut, forcing Lake Washington to be lowered. The Montlake Cut's original name was Erickson Cut. Contractor C. J. Erickson commenced the big project in turning on his big steam shovel in celebration of the October 27, 1909, post A-Y-P Exposition era, in the final push to complete the Lake Washington Canal project. At

450-515: The island of the same name, in the southern half of the lake. Around 1900, Seattle began discharging sewage into Lake Washington. During the 1940s and 1950s, eleven sewage treatment plants were sending state-of-the-art treated water into the lake at a rate of 20 million gallons per day. At the same time, phosphate-based detergents came into wide use. The lake responded to the massive input of nutrients by developing unpleasant blooms of noxious blue-green algae ( cyanobacteria ). The water lost its clarity,

475-566: The lake. Before construction of the canal in 1916, Lake Washington's outlet was the Black River , which joined the Duwamish River and emptied into Elliott Bay . When the canal was opened the level of the lake dropped nearly nine feet (2.7 m). The canal became the lake's sole outlet, causing the Black River to dry up and disappear. Before construction, the Sammamish River was the primary source of water for Lake Washington, and

500-436: The lakes for centuries, either carrying canoes or shoving them along an intermittent creek that appeared when Lake Washington overflowed. This creek was known as the black river and was a large source of food and transportation for the Duwamish tribe. The black river often flooded and destroyed the crops nearby; however, it was clear that its use for transportation was very advantageous. This utility sparked inspiration to create

525-536: The longest, second longest, and fifth longest floating bridges in the world, respectively. Many questioned the wisdom of concrete floating bridge technology after the sinking of a portion of the Lacey V. Murrow bridge on November 25, 1990. However, a Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) investigation revealed that the incident resulted from the improper handling of hydrodemolition water being used during bridge renovations, rather than in any basic flaw in

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550-479: The lowering of the lake slightly increased its flow. As part of the ship canal project, the Cedar River was diverted into Lake Washington to become the lake's primary source. The Montlake Cut , part of the Lake Washington Ship Canal , connects the lake to Lake Union and ultimately Puget Sound . Concrete floating bridges are employed to span the lake because Lake Washington's depth and muddy bottom prevented

575-553: The new Washington Territory had been named the year before. The lake provides boating and sport fishing opportunities. Some fish species found in its waters include sockeye salmon , coho salmon , Chinook salmon , rainbow trout , largemouth bass , smallmouth bass , yellow perch , and black crappie . Lake Washington has two passenger seaplane bases : Kenmore Air Harbor on its north end; and Will Rogers – Wiley Post Memorial Seaplane Base on its south end, adjacent to Renton Municipal Airport . A ribbon lake , Lake Washington

600-424: Was completed in 1968, and the lake responded quickly. The algal blooms diminished, the water regained its clarity, and by 1975, recovery was complete. Careful studies by a group of limnologists from the University of Washington showed that phosphate was the culprit. Since then, Lake Washington has undergone major improvements, drastically improving the ecology and water quality, making the water twice as clear as it

625-441: Was in 1950. Montlake Cut The Montlake Cut is the easternmost section of the Lake Washington Ship Canal , which passes through the city of Seattle , linking Lake Washington to Puget Sound . It opened in 1916 after 56 years of conversation and construction to create the manmade canal. The path along the cut was designated a National Recreation Trail as Montlake Cut National Waterside in 1971. The cut provides

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