List of lakes of Washington explained

This is a list of natural lakes and reservoirs located fully or partially in the U.S. state of Washington. Natural lakes that have been altered with a dam, such as Lake Chelan, are included as lakes, not reservoirs. Swimming, fishing, and/or boating are permitted in some of these lakes, but not all.

Natural lakes

Currently included in this table are all natural and enhanced lakes with a surface area of more than 1,000 acres or a volume of more than 25,000 acre feet as well as smaller lakes (down to 100 acres) with a Wikipedia page.

Name	County(s)	Elev. (ft)	data-sort-type="number"	Area (acres)	data-sort-type="number"	Volume (acre ft)	data-sort-type="number"	Depth (max)(ft)	Outflow	Basin	Coordinates	Notes	Reference
Lake Chelan	Chelan	1,102	33,000	15,800,000	1,486	Chelan River	Columbia / Chelan	48.027°N -120.338°W	^[1]	^[2] ^[3] ^[4] ^[5]
Lake Washington	King	17	22,000	2,400,000	214	Lake Washington Ship Canal	Lake Washington	47.622°N -122.256°W	^[6]	^[7]
Lake Ozette	Clallam	33	7,400	960,000	331	Ozette River	Ozette River	48.095°N -124.637°W	^[8]	^[9]
Moses Lake	Grant	1,050	6,800	130,000	38	Crab Creek	Columbia / Crab Creek	47.124°N -119.339°W	^[10]
Osoyoos Lake	Okanogan / B.C.‡	911	5,800	270,000	208	Okanogan River	Columbia / Okanogan	49°N -119.444°W	^[11]	^[12]
Lake Crescent	Clallam	584	5,100	1,500,000	624	Lyre River	Lyre River	48.06°N -123.828°W	^[13]	^[14]
Lake Whatcom	Whatcom	312	4,900	770,000	328	Whatcom Creek	Bellingham Bay	48.734°N -122.331°W	^[15]
Lake Sammamish	King	30	4,900	284,000	105	Sammamish River	Lake Washington	47.594°N -122.098°W
Cle Elum Lake	Kittitas	2,227	4,800	520,000	260	Cle Elum River	Columbia / Yakima	47.267°N -121.094°W	^[16]	^[17]
Baker Lake	Whatcom	705	4,800	285,000		Baker River	Skagit River	48.765°N -121.5428°W
Kachess Lake	Kittitas	2,258	4,500	550,000	410	Kachess River	Columbia / Yakima	47.317°N -121.238°W	^[18]
Lake Cushman	Mason	739	4,010		115	Skokomish River		47°28′48″N 123°15′0″W
Lake Quinault	Grays Harbor	186	3,550	496,000	240	Quinault River	Quinault River	47.474°N -123.871°W
Omak Lake	Okanogan	958	3,250	700,000	325	None	Columbia Basin	48.277°N -119.399°W	^[19]
Keechelus Lake	Kittitas	2,521	2,600	250,000	310	Yakima River	Columbia / Yakima	47.327°N -121.352°W	^[20]	^[21]
Spirit Lake	Skamania	3,440	2,600	212,000	110	North Fork Toutle River	Columbia / Cowlitz	46.269°N -122.141°W	^[22]	^[23] ^[24]
Lake Wenatchee	Chelan	1,872	2,500	360,000	244	Wenatchee River	Columbia / Wenatchee	47.823°N -120.778°W		^[25]
Lake Tapps	Pierce	546	2,430	47,000 ^[26]	90	White River	Puyallup River	47.214°N -122.169°W	^[27]	^[28]
Silver Lake	Cowlitz	489	2,300	13,000	10	Outlet Creek	Columbia / Cowlitz	46.29°N -122.799°W	^[29]
Vancouver Lake	Clark	8	2,300	6,900	15	Lake River	Columbia Basin	45.674°N -122.718°W
Rock Lake	Whitman	1,728	2,200	380,000	350	Rock Creek	Columbia / Snake	47.182°N -117.68°W	^[30]	^[31]
Palmer Lake	Okanogan	1,150	2,100	110,000	79	Palmer Creek	Columbia / Okanogan	48.893°N -119.619°W
Twin Lakes	Ferry	2,572	1,900	33,000	50	Stranger Creek	Columbia Basin	48.276°N -118.38°W	^[32]	^[33]
Chester Morse Lake	King	1,562	1,830	94,000	130	Cedar River	Lake Washington	47.387°N -121.703°W	^[34]
Sprague Lake	Adams / Lincoln	1,882	1,800	19,000	20	Cow Creek	Columbia / Snake	47.26°N -118.066°W
Lenore Lake	Grant	1,078	1,400	20,000	27	Soap Lake	Columbia / Crab Creek	47.487°N -119.517°W
Deer Lake	Stevens	2,482	1,150	60,000	80	Sheep Creek	Columbia / Colville	48.112°N -117.587°W
American Lake	Pierce	238	1,100	60,000	90	Sequalitchew Creek	Sequalitchew Creek	47.125°N -122.562°W
Loon Lake	Stevens	2,385	1,100	51,000	105	Sheep Creek	Columbia / Colville	48.045°N -117.622°W		^[35]
Newman Lake	Spokane	2,130	1,100	23,000	30	Newman Lake Peat Dike	47.777°N -117.101°W		^[36]
Lake Stevens	Snohomish	214	1,000	65,000	160	Catherine Creek	Snohomish River	48.004°N -122.085°W		^[37]
Mason Lake	Mason	197	1,000	49,000	90	Sherwood Creek	Puget Sound	47.335°N -122.958°W
Curlew Lake	Ferry	2,354	920	40,000	130	Curlew Creek	Columbia / Kettle	48.734°N -118.666°W
Soap Lake	Grant	1,074	850	29,000	95	None	Columbia / Crab Creek	47.406°N -119.497°W
Lake Cavanaugh	Skagit	1,012	830	36,000	80	Lake Creek	Stillaguamish River	48.321°N -122.01°W
Lake Samish	Whatcom	274	810	33,100	160	Friday Creek	Bellingham Bay	48.665°N -122.385°W
Coldwater Lake	Cowlitz / Skamania	2,494	770	58,500	200	Coldwater Creek	Columbia / Cowlitz	46.303°N -122.24°W
Bead Lake	Pend Oreille	2,833	720	77,000	180	None	Columbia / Pend Oreille	48.298°N -117.113°W		^[38]
Lake Union	King	17	580	20,000	50	Fremont Cut	Lake Washington	47.641°N -122.335°W	^[39]	^[40]
Buffalo Lake	Okanogan	2,402	540	33,700	121	None	Columbia Basin	48.064°N -118.888°W
Lake Goodwin	Snohomish	328	540	13,000	50	Tulalip Creek	Puget Sound	48.142°N -122.296°W		^[41]
Summit Lake	Thurston	459	510	28,000	100	Kennedy Creek	Puget Sound	47.056°N -123.103°W		^[42]
Lake Kapowsin	Pierce	585	510	8,300	29	Kapowsin Creek	Puyallup River	46.973°N -122.227°W		^[43]
Lake Pleasant	Clallam	397	500	16,000	50	Lake Creek to Sol Duc River	Quillayute River	48.064°N -124.329°W
Packwood Lake	Lewis	2,857	450	28,000	120	Lake Creek	Columbia / Cowlitz	46.587°N -121.558°W		^[44]
Walupt Lake	Lewis	3,930	380	62,000	300	Walupt Creek	Columbia / Cowlitz	46.417°N -121.463°W
Lake Sutherland	Clallam	528	360	21,000	86	Indian Creek	Elwha River	48.079°N -123.715°W		^[45]
Lake Lawrence	Thurston	429	330	4,400	26	Deschutes River	Puget Sound	46.852°N -122.571°W		^[46]
Long Lake	Thurston	160	310	3,900	21	Woodland Creek	Puget Sound	47.02°N -122.775°W
Conconully Lake	Okanogan	2323	293		110	Salmon Creek	Okanogan River	48.5635°N -119.7198°W		^[47]
Lacamas Lake	Clark	182	290	7,500	65	Lacamas Creek	Columbia / Washougal	45.617°N -122.426°W	^[48]
Lake Sawyer	King	498	286		58	Covington Creek	Duwamish	47.333°N -122.0377°W		^[49]
Nahwatzel Lake	Mason	456	270	4,600	25	Outlet Creek -> Satsop River	Chehalis River	47.242°N -123.333°W
Capitol Lake	Thurston	3	270	2,400	20	Budd Inlet	Puget Sound	47.033°N -122.909°W	^[50]
Lake Dorothy	King	3,062	260	align=right data-sort-value="15000"	ca 15,000?	160	Miller River	Snohomish River	47.58°N -121.386°W		^[51]
Green Lake	King	164	250	3,400	30	Bef. 1916: Ravenna Creek	Lake Washington	47.678°N -122.338°W
Lake Easton	Kittitas	2,184	205	4,000	85	Kachess River	Columbia / Yakima	47.25°N -121.199°W
Angeline Lake	King	4,613	184	align=right data-sort-value="24000"	>20,000	412	Angeline Falls, Foss River	Snohomish River	47.571°N -121.307°W		^[52]
Big Heart Lake	King	4,549	176	align=right data-sort-value="24000"	>20,000	449	Big Heart Falls, Foss River	Snohomish River	47.579°N -121.325°W
Silver Lake	Whatcom	6,768	162	align=right data-sort-value="25000"	ca 25,000?	522	Silver Creek	Skagit River	48.988°N -121.232°W		^[53]
Blanca Lake	Snohomish	3,976	160	25,000	250	Troublesome Creek	Snohomish River	47.941°N -121.341°W		^[54]
Snow Lake	King	4,019	153	16,500	400	Rock Creek	Snoqualmie River	47.468°N -121.456°W		^[55]
Lake Meridian	King	372	150	6,100	90	Big Soos Creek	Duwamish River	47.363°N -122.153°W
Lake Padden	Whatcom	450	149	4,300	59	Padden Creek	Bellingham Bay	48.703°N -122.454°W
Gravelly Lake	Pierce	220	147	6,000	57	None	Chambers Creek	47.148°N -122.531°W
Chopaka Lake	Okanogan	2,911	140	3,700	73	Chopaka Creek	Columbia / Okanogan	48.918°N -119.7°W
Snoqualmie Lake	King	3,151	130	align=right data-sort-value="1,000"	?	align=right data-sort-value="0"	?	Taylor River	Snoqualmie River	47.567°N -121.413°W		^[56]
Berdeen Lake	Whatcom	5,018	126	align=right data-sort-value="10000"	ca 10,000?	212	Berdeen Falls, Bacon Creek	Skagit River	48.716°N -121.465°W		^[57] ^[58]
Mowich Lake	Pierce	4,929	120	align=right data-sort-value="4000"	ca 4,000?	90	Crater Creek	Puyallup River	46.938°N -121.862°W
Rattlesnake Lake	King	911	108	2,700	54	None	Lake Washington	47.43°N -121.775°W
Angle Lake	King	351	103	2,600	52	None	Duwamish River	47.428°N -122.287°W
Lake Ballinger	Snohomish	282	101	1,500	35	McAleer Creek	Lake Washington	47.782°N -122.327°W
Horseshoe Lake	Kitsap	273	41		30	Burley Creek	Puget Sound	47.4082°N -122.6643°W		^[59]
Battle Ground Lake	Clark	509	25		60	Salmon Creek	Columbia / Salmon Creek	45.8045°N -122.4945°W		^[60]
Round Lake	Clark					Lacamas Creek	Columbia / Washougal	45.602°N -122.4032°W
Doubtful Lake	Chelan
Dagger Lake	Chelan
Howard Lake	Chelan
Green View Lake	Chelan

Reservoirs

Name	County(s)	Coordinates	data-sort-type="number"	Total storage (acre feet)	data-sort-type="number"	Surface area (acres)	data-sort-type="number"	Max depth (feet)	Outflow
Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake	Douglas, Ferry, Stevens, Lincoln, Grant, Okanogan^[61]	47.9462°N -118.9322°W^[62]	9,386,000 ^[63]	79,400 ^[64]	400	Columbia River
Lake Umatilla	Klickitat, Sherman (OR), Gilliam (OR), Morrow (OR), Benton, Umatilla (OR)	45.7256°N -120.2122°W^[65]		48,738		Columbia River
Riffe Lake	Lewis	46.4664°N -122.2678°W^[66]	1,686,300 ^[67]	11,830	360	Cowlitz River
Alder Lake	Pierce, Thurston	46.7708°N -122.2722°W^[68]		3065	290	Nisqually River
Ross Lake	Whatcom, British Columbia	48.8683°N -121.0297°W^[69]	1,435,000	11,700		Skagit River
Lake Wallula	Benton, Walla Walla, Umatilla (OR)	45.9547°N -119.0647°W^[70]	1,350,000	42,500		Columbia River
Banks Lake	Grant, Douglas	47.8058°N -119.1919°W^[71]	1,275,000 ^[72]	26,877 ^[73]	177 ^[74]
Swift Reservoir	Skamania	46.0556°N -122.1142°W^[75]	755,600	4,585 ^[76]		Lewis River
Wanapum Lake	Kittitas, Grant	46.9322°N -119.9733°W^[77]	669,700	14,590 ^[78]		Columbia River
Rufus Woods Lake	Douglas, Chelan	47.9964°N -119.6206°W^[79]	590,199 ^[80]	7,800		Columbia River
Lake Herbert G. West	Walla Walla, Columbia, Whitman, Franklin	46.5717°N -118.5183°W^[81]	432,000	6,590 ^[82]		Snake River
Merwin Lake	Clark, Cowlitz	45.9764°N -122.5264°W^[83]	416,000 ^[84]	3,836 ^[85]	190	Lewis River
Yale Lake	Clark, Cowlitz	46.0119°N -122.3122°W^[86]	401,760	3,612		Lewis River
Potholes Reservoir	Grant	46.9997°N -119.285°W^[87]	332,200 ^[88]	27,800 ^[89]

Key
denotes that body of water crosses state border
denotes that body of water crosses international border

See also

• List of dams in the Columbia River watershed
• List of dams and reservoirs in the United States#Washington

External links

• Water Supply Bulletins - index to bulletins focused on lakes.

Notes and References

1. Enhanced with a dam in 1927.
2. Bortleson, G.C., Dion, N.P., McConnell, J.B., and Nelson, L.M. Reconnaissance data on lakes in Washington, State of Washington, Department of Ecology Water-Supply Bulletin, No. 43, v. 1-7, 1976
3. https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/publications/publications/871.pdf Morphometry of Lake Chelan
4. Bahls, Kindberg, Wait & Glasgow An assessment of error in state shoreline designation for lakes of Washington, 2006
5. http://www.lakelubbers.com/washington-largest-lakes-in-washington-acres-L58-C1/ Lakes in Washington
6. Excluding Lake Union and connected waters.
7. http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/washington/ Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife website
8. Largest unaltered lake in Washington State
9. http://northwestfishingreports.com/LakeIndex.aspx Lakes in Washington
10. Enhanced with dams in the early 1900s, 1928 and 1941 for irrigation purposes.
11. The Zosel Dam, when built in 1927, unintentionally influenced and now regulates Osoyoos Lake levels.
12. http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/eap/lakes/wq/docs/lkosook1.html Osoyoos Lake
13. Most voluminous unaltered lake in Washington State
14. Ron Judd, Our deep lakes incite curiosity and conjure legends, Seattle Times, August 8, 2014
15. Enhanced with dams in 1937.
16. Enhanced with a dam in 1933 for irrigation purposes. Active capacity is 437,000 acre feet.
17. http://www.usbr.gov/projects/Facility.jsp?fac_Name=Cle+Elum+Dam Cle Elum Dam
18. Enhanced with a dam in 1912 for irrigation purposes. Active capacity is 239,000 acre feet.
19. Saline lake.
20. Enhanced with a dam in 1917 for irrigation purposes. Active capacity is 158,000 acre feet.
21. http://www.usbr.gov/projects/Facility.jsp?fac_Name=Keechelus+Dam Keechelus Dam
22. The 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens relocated the lake 300 feet higher. A drainage tunnel was built to prevent a catastrophic breach of the new natural dam.
23. Lucas and Weinheimer, Recovery of Fish Populations in Lakes Affected by the May 18, 1980 Eruption of Mount St. Helens, Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife
24. Conflicting surface area data resolved with area calculator
25. http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/eap/lakes/wq/docs/lkpalok1.html Palmer Lake
26. Number represents usable storage (between 515 and 543 ft elevation); dead storage (and therefore volume) between 455 and 515 feet is unknown.
27. Natural lake that was diked in 1911. With islands the surface area is about 2,800 acres.
28. Wells & Wells, Water Quality and Fish-bioenergetics Model of Chester Morse Lake and the Cedar River, 2012
29. Natural lake, but dammed to prevent flooding.
30. Largest natural lake in South East Washington.
31. http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/eap/lakes/wq/docs/lklengr1.html Lenore Lake
32. North and South Twin Lakes combined. Used as a reservoir for irrigation purposes since 1930.
33. https://old-www.wsu.edu/cctfish/owhi.html Owhi Lake
34. Before it was expanded with the Masonry Dam in 1911, this lake was known as "Cedar Lake".
35. http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/eap/lakes/wq/docs/lkcurfe1.html Curlew Lake
36. http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/eap/lakes/wq/docs/lkmasma1.html Mason Lake
37. http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/eap/lakes/wq/docs/lksamwh1.html Lake Samish
38. http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/eap/lakes/wq/docs/lksumth1.html Summit Lake
39. Surface area and volume exclude the 150 acre Portage Bay as well as the Fremont Cut and Salmon Bay.
40. http://green2.kingcounty.gov/lakes/LakeUnion.aspx Lake Union
41. http://www.energy-northwest.com/ourenergyprojects/packwood/Documents/FinalDrawdownReportJuly2007.pdf Packwood Lake Drawdown Study Report
42. http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/eap/fw_lakes/spsutcl1.pdf Lake Sutherland
43. http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/washington/highlakes/1212 Walupt Lake
44. http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/eap/lakes/wq/docs/lklonth1.html Long Lake
45. http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/eap/lakes/wq/docs/lknahma1.html Nahwatzel Lake
46. http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/washington/highlakes/1170 Dorothy Lake
47. Web site: Conconully Lake . . wdfw.wa.gov. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife . 3 September 2023.
48. Natural reservoir
49. Web site: Lake Sawyer: King County, Washington . 2019-07-24.
50. Tidal flats and estuary dammed in 1951. Reduced from an original 320 acres surface area by sedimentation.
51. http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/washington/highlakes/stocking/675/ Chopaka Lake
52. http://www.nwhikers.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=16190 Deepest alpine lakes in Washington
53. https://books.google.com/books?id=kzY3AQAAMAAJ North Cascades National Park (N.P.), Mountain Lakes Fishery Management Plan
54. http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/washington/highlakes/1107 Blanca Lake
55. http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/washington/highlakes/1200 Snow Lake
56. http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/washington/highlakes/1199 Snoqualmie Lake
57. http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/washington/highlakes/stocking/1100/ Berdeen Lake
58. http://www.watrailblazers.org/issues/tb_eis_response_appendixB.pdf
59. Web site: Horseshoe Lake (Kitsap County) . . wdfw.wa.gov . Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife . 3 September 2023 .
60. Web site: Battle Ground Lake . Fishing and Shellfishing: Lowland Lakes . Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife . February 27, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150118050152/http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/washington/727/ . January 18, 2015 .
61. Web site: Geography and Community. 2014-04-10.
62. 1534225. Franklin D Roosevelt Lake. 1992-12-31. 2014-04-10.
63. Web site: Grand Coulee Dam Statistics and Facts. USBR. 2012. 2014-10-31. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20080509104244/http://www.usbr.gov/pn/grandcoulee/pubs/factsheet.pdf. 2008-05-09.
64. Web site: Reservoirs in the United States. United States Geological Survey. 1966. 2014-12-20.
65. 1513298. Lake Umatilla. 1979-09-10. 2014-04-11.
66. 1528606. Riffe Lake. 1990-07-01. 2014-04-11.
67. Web site: Cowlitz River Basin. United States Geological Survey. 2014-04-11.
68. 1515791. Alder Lake. 1979-09-10. 2016-09-06.
69. 1525222. Ross Lake. 1979-09-10. 2014-04-11.
70. 1513411. Lake Wallula. 1979-09-10. 2014-04-10.
71. 1513891. Banks Lake. 1979-09-10. 2014-04-11.
72. Web site: The Story of the Columbia Basin Project. National Park Service. 2008-02-01. 2014-04-11.
73. Web site: Warmwater Fishing Opportunitues in Central Washington 2014-15. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. 2014-04-11.
74. Web site: Banks Lake Fish Survey, September 2000. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. July 2004. 2014-04-11.
75. 1526865. Swift Reservoir. 1979-09-10. 2014-04-15.
76. Web site: Swift Reservoir. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. 2014-04-15.
77. 1509280. Wanapum Lake. 1979-09-10. 2014-04-11.
78. Web site: Assessing Native and Introduced Fish Predation on Migrating Juvenile Salmon. U.S. Geological Survey. 2012-11-30. 2014-04-11.
79. 1507959. Rufus Woods Lake. 1992-12-31. 2014-04-14.
80. Web site: Sediment Quality Assessment of Lake Rufus Woods and Chief Joseph Dam, 2004. US Army Corps of Engineers. June 2009. 2014-04-14.
81. 1531463. Lake Herbert G. West. 1992-12-31. 2014-04-11.
82. Web site: Lower Monumental Lock and Dam. US Army Corps of Engineers. 2014-04-11.
83. 1523015. Merwin Lake. 1979-09-10. 2014-04-15.
84. Web site: Merwin Lake -- Clark County: 1995. State of Washington Department of Ecology. 2014-04-15.
85. Web site: Lake Merwin. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. 2014. 2014-04-15.
86. 1528347. Yale Lake. 1979-09-10. 2014-04-15.
87. 1513187. Banks Lake. 1979-09-10. 2014-04-11.
88. Web site: O'Sullivan Dam Details. USBR. 2012-05-17. 2014-04-11.
89. Web site: Columbia Basin Project Details. USBR. 2013-12-04. 2014-04-11. https://web.archive.org/web/20150215125327/http://www.usbr.gov/projects/Project.jsp?proj_Name=Columbia%20Basin%20Project. 2015-02-15. dead.