Lake Chelan

Lake Chelan is a narrow, 81 km-long lake in Chelan County in the northern part of the U.S. state of Washington. It is the largest natural lake in the state. The name comes from the Indian tribe of Chelan.

Lake Chelan is fed by tributaries from the Cascade Range and has a maximum depth of 453 m (some sources give also 432 m to ), so he is in the United States ranked third and ninth worldwide. The water surface is 335 m above sea level and the average width is about 1.5 km.

At the southeast end of the lake is the town of Chelan, where the lake water pours through the hydroelectric plant of the Lake Chelan Dam in the Chelan River. Is the town of Stehekin At its northwestern end. Access to the end of the lake is only possible by boat, float plane or on foot. The Lake Chelan State Park, a designated from Washington State State Park extends along the south shore and is accessible by a road.

The northern part of the lake was designated in 1968 as a nature reserve and recreation area Lake Chelan National Recreation Area type a National Recreation Area ( recreation area of National Importance ) and the National Park Service handed over to the administration. It goes north to the North Cascades National Park. The NRA is an excellent fishing area and serves many other forms of water sports and relaxing on the water. The area is accessible by a ferry service from Chelan and is traversed by the long-distance hiking Pacific Crest Trail. A visitor center and a rustic hotel located at the ferry terminal, five campsites are on foot, three more only accessible from the water.