Lake Washington ( Lushootseed : x̌ačuʔ ) 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.
45-682: Lake Washington Floating Bridge may refer to the following crossings of Lake Washington between Seattle and its eastern suburbs: Lacey V. Murrow Memorial Bridge (opened 1940, rebuilt 1993), originally opened as the Lake Washington Floating Bridge, carries eastbound lanes of Interstate 90 Homer M. Hadley Memorial Bridge (opened 1989), carries westbound lanes of Interstate 90 Evergreen Point Floating Bridge (opened 2016), carries Washington State Route 520 Evergreen Point Floating Bridge (1963) (opened 1963, closed 2016),
90-536: A change in the use of coastal resources and advancements in marine technology. The reasons for these changes have not been confirmed; various triggering mechanisms have been theorized such as climate change , the arrival of new people, or the struggle for resources. The South American land mammal age , the Lujanian , corresponds with the late Pleistocene. The Lujanian is a geologic period from 0.8 - 0.11Ma specifically for prehistoric South American fauna. There
135-753: A return to glacial conditions until 11.7 ka. Paleoclimatology holds that there was a sequence of stadials and interstadials from about 16 ka until the end of the Pleistocene. These were the Oldest Dryas (stadial), the Bølling oscillation (interstadial), the Older Dryas (stadial), the Allerød oscillation (interstadial) and finally the Younger Dryas. The end of the Younger Dryas marks
180-576: A true domestic dog have been dated to 14,200 years ago. Domestication first happened in Eurasia but could have been anywhere from Western Europe to East Asia. Domestication of other animals such as cattle, goats, pigs, and sheep did not begin until the Holocene when settled farming communities became established in the Near East. The cat was probably not domesticated before c. 7500 BC at
225-503: Is conducive for preserving fossils . Neanderthal hominins ( Homo neanderthalensis ) inhabited Eurasia until becoming extinct between 40 and 30 ka, towards the end of the Pleistocene and possibly into the early Holocene and were replaced with modern humans ( Homo sapiens ) who emerged from East Africa about 195,000 years ago. Neanderthals co-existed with the Homo sapiens until they died out. In Eurasia, extinction happened throughout
270-523: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Lake Washington Lake Washington has been known to 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
315-610: Is due to the lack of chronological information. The resemblance of Late Pleistocene species in Northern Africa to modern animals is the same as in Southern Africa but it's extremely difficult to date when these fauna came into place because of the lack of reliable samples from the mid-Pleistocene. Most of the significant fossil records are from the Maghreb because of its geology which helps to create deep caves which
360-499: Is evidence of human habitation in mainland Australia , Indonesia , New Guinea and Tasmania from c. 45,000 BC. The finds include rock engravings, stone tools and evidence of cave habitation. In Australia, there are sites which show evidence of pollen records from the Late Pleistocene and they are mostly found in more temperate regions of the continent. Some megafauna decreased in size over time, while others remained
405-633: 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
450-545: Is still heavily debated what caused the extinctions. Bison occidentalis and Bison antiquus , an extinct subspecies of the smaller present-day bison, survived the late Pleistocene period, between about 12 and 11 ka ago. Clovis people depended on these bison as their major food source. Earlier kills of camels, horses, and muskoxen found at Wally's beach were dated to 13.1–13.3 ka B.P. Over 50 genera (~ 83%) of megafauna in South and North America went extinct during
495-479: 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 the new Washington Territory had been named
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#1732786863076540-727: The Great Lakes in North America. Sea levels fell and two land bridges were temporarily in existence that had significance for human migration : Doggerland , which connected Great Britain to mainland Europe; and the Bering land bridge which joined Alaska to Siberia . The last Ice Age was followed by the Late Glacial Interstadial , a period of global warming to 12.9 ka, and the Younger Dryas ,
585-693: The Japanese archipelago has been traced to prehistoric times between 40,000 BC and 30,000 BC. The earliest fossils are radiocarbon dated to c. 35,000 BC. An archeological record of Neanderthals has been found in Asia along with records of two other hominin populations, the Denisovans and Homo floresiensis . Japan was once linked to the Asian mainland by land bridges via Hokkaido and Sakhalin Island to
630-535: The Nile Valley as the Sahara was transformed from grassland to desert. The Nazlet Khater skeleton was found in 1980 and has been radiocarbon dated to between 30,360 and 35,100 years ago. Most of the knowledge of the Late Pleistocene is obtained from regions like Morocco , Algeria , Tunisia , some coastal regions of Maghreb , Libya and Egypt . The only issue with interpreting the data from this region
675-850: The North American land mammal age scale, the Rancholabrean spans the time from c. 240,000 years ago to c. 11,000 years ago. It is named after the Rancho La Brea fossil site in California , characterized by extinct forms of bison in association with other Pleistocene species such as the mammoth . During the Late Pleistocene about 35 genera of megafauna went extinct including species such as mastodons , saber-toothed cats and giant ground sloths . Some other species went extinct in North America but not globally. it
720-603: The Wisconsin glaciation (North America), though technically that began much later. The Last Glacial Maximum was reached during the later millennia of the Würm/Weichselian, estimated between 26 ka and 19 ka when deglaciation began in the Northern Hemisphere. The Würm/Weichselian endured until 16 ka with Northern Europe, including most of Great Britain , covered by an ice sheet. The glaciers reached
765-526: The mammoth , mastodon , and Irish elk became extinct. Upper Paleolithic people also made paintings and engravings on walls. Cave paintings have been found at Lascaux in the Dordogne which may be more than 17,000 years old. These are mainly buffalo , deer , and other animals hunted by humans. Later paintings occur in caves throughout the world, including Altamira , Spain, and in India, Australia, and
810-482: The Alps and interglacials (temperate phase). The evidence of the changes in climatic conditions was from fragmentary sequences in formerly glaciated areas in northern Europe . The only domesticated animal in the Pleistocene was the dog , which evolved from the grey wolf into its many modern breeds . It is believed that the grey wolf became associated with hunter-gatherer tribes around 15 Ka. The earliest remains of
855-732: 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
900-506: The Late Pleistocene as part of the Late Pleistocene extinctions , a trend that continued into the Holocene. In palaeoanthropology , the late Pleistocene contains the Upper Palaeolithic stage of human development, including the early human migrations of modern humans outside of Africa, and the extinction of all archaic human species. Paleolithic Epipalaeolithic Mesolithic Neolithic The proposed beginning of
945-603: The Late Pleistocene. Some species which went extinct at the end of the Late Pleistocene in Southern Africa are the giant warthog , long-horn buffalo, Southern springbok , etc. These species were common because their distribution changed in response to climatic influences on vegetation. Carnivores were more widespread due to their varying habitat requirements. In Egypt , the Late (or Upper) Palaeolithic began sometime after 30,000 BC. People in North Africa had relocated to
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#1732786863076990-673: The Pleistocene but those that happened during the Later Pleistocene were of megafauna and there were no replacements for the extinct species. Some Molluscan species went extinct but not on the same scale as the mammals living during the time. Some examples of species which extinct without replacements include the Straight-tusked elephant ( Palaeoloxodon antiquus ), Giant deer ( Megaloceros giganteus ), cave bear ( Ursus spelaeus ) and woolly rhinoceros ( Coelodonta antiquitatis ). Several large mammalian species including
1035-482: The Pleistocene. most mega mammals (>1000kg) and large mammals (>40kg) went extinct by the end of the Late Pleistocene. During this period there was a major cooling event called the Younger Dryas and the Clovis culture of capturing game became more prominent. Diverse factors such as climate change may have triggered this extinction but it's still in debate what the major factors were. The Late Pleistocene saw
1080-754: 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
1125-680: The Sahara. Magdalenian hunter-gatherers were widespread in western Europe about 20 -12.500 cal BP years ago until the end of the Pleistocene. An example of this is the antler-working done by the human groups who lived in the Santimamine cave in the Magdalenian. They invented the earliest known harpoons using reindeer horn. Climatic conditions during the Late Pleistocene in Eurasia were predominantly cold with glaciation events happening in northern Europe , northwest Siberia and
1170-526: 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
1215-470: The boundary between the Pleistocene and Holocene Epochs. Hominids in all parts of the world were still culturally and technologically in the Palaeolithic (Old Stone) Age . Tools and weapons were basic stone or wooden implements. Nomadic tribes followed moving herds. Non-nomadics acquired their food by gathering and hunting . Its present physical geography and climate have changed over time caused by
1260-640: 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
1305-490: The brief Last Interglacial warm period (~130–115,000 years ago), where temperatures were comparable to or warmer than the Holocene, the Late Pleistocene was dominated by the cool Last Glacial Period , with temperatures gradually lowering throughout the period, reaching their lowest during the Last Glacial Maximum around 26-20,000 years ago. Most of the world's large ( megafaunal ) animals became extinct during
1350-543: 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
1395-682: The earliest, again in the Near East . A butchered brown bear patella found in Alice and Gwendoline Cave in County Clare and dated to 10,860 to 10,641 BC indicates the first known human activity in Ireland . The topography and geography of Asia were subject to frequent changes such as the creation of land bridges when sea levels dropped which helped with the expansion and migration of human populations . The first human habitation in
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1440-494: 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
1485-515: 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,
1530-685: 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
1575-770: The late Pleistocene is the end of the Penultimate Glacial Period (PGP) 126 ka when the Riß glaciation (Alpine) was being succeeded by the Eemian (Riß-Würm) interglacial period . The Riß-Würm ended 115 ka with the onset of the Last Glacial Period (LGP) which is known in Europe as the Würm (Alpine) or Devensian (Great Britain) or Weichselian glaciation (northern Europe); these are broadly equated with
1620-536: 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
1665-479: 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
1710-408: The movement of tectonic plates and volcanoes but glacial cycles and sea level variation have a more significant effect on the vertebrate communities during the Late Pleistocene. The Late Pleistocene was the time when most animals evolved to resemble modern-day animals and they managed to live through the Late mid-Pleistocene since there were no extinction events of megafauna until the end of
1755-569: The north but was unconnected at this time when the main islands of Hokkaido, Honshu , Kyushu and Shikoku were all separate entities. Human migrations happened during this time with people coming in from Eurasia . From about 28 ka, there were migrations across the Bering land bridge from Siberia to Alaska . The people became the Native Americans . It is believed that the original tribes subsequently moved down to Central and South America under pressure from later migrations. In
1800-520: The original Washington State Route 520 crossing [REDACTED] Topics referred to by the same term This disambiguation page lists articles about roads and streets with the same name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lake_Washington_Floating_Bridge&oldid=1249945694 " Category : Road disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
1845-561: The proposed Tarantian Age of the geologic time scale , preceded by the officially ratified Chibanian (commonly known as the Middle Pleistocene). The beginning of the Late Pleistocene is the transition between the end of the Penultimate Glacial Period and the beginning of the Last Interglacial around 130,000 years ago (corresponding with the beginning of Marine Isotope Stage 5 ). The Late Pleistocene ends with
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1890-753: The termination of the Younger Dryas , some 11,700 years ago when the Holocene Epoch began. The term Upper Pleistocene is currently in use as a provisional or "quasi-formal" designation by the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS). Although the three oldest ages of the Pleistocene (the Gelasian , the Calabrian and the Chibanian ) have been officially defined, the late Pleistocene has yet to be formally defined. Following
1935-507: 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
1980-482: 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
2025-585: Was in 1950. Late Pleistocene The Late Pleistocene is an unofficial age in the international geologic timescale in chronostratigraphy , also known as the Upper Pleistocene from a stratigraphic perspective. It is intended to be the fourth division of the Pleistocene Epoch within the ongoing Quaternary Period. It is currently defined as the time between c. 129,000 and c. 11,700 years ago. The late Pleistocene equates to
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