Cle Elum Lake facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Cle Elum Lake
Cle Elum Lake Location in Washington (state) Show map of Washington (state) Cle Elum Lake Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Location	Kittitas County, Washington
Coordinates	47°16′55″N 121°06′27″W / 47.2820°N 121.1075°W / 47.2820; -121.1075
Type	natural lake, reservoir
Primary inflows	Cle Elum River
Primary outflows	Cle Elum River
Catchment area	260 mi² (673 km²)
Basin countries	United States
Max. length	7.4 mi (11.9 km)
Max. width	1 mi (1.6 km)
Water volume	436,900 acre-feet (538,900,000 m3)
Surface elevation	2,223 ft (678 m)

Cle Elum Lake is a beautiful lake and reservoir located in Washington state, USA. It sits along the Cle Elum River. This lake is the easternmost of three big lakes in the Cascade Range. The other two are Kachess Lake and Keechelus Lake.

Cle Elum Lake is part of a much larger water system. Its water flows into the Cle Elum River. This river then joins the Yakima River. Finally, the Yakima River flows into the mighty Columbia River. This means Cle Elum Lake is connected to the huge Columbia River basin.

A Lake and a Reservoir

Cle Elum Lake is special because it's both a natural lake and a reservoir. A reservoir is like a giant storage tank for water. The lake's water is used for the Yakima Project. This project helps bring water to farms for irrigation. It is managed by the United States Bureau of Reclamation.

Controlling the Water

Even though Cle Elum Lake is a natural lake, its water level is controlled. This is done by the Cle Elum Dam. The dam is a large structure built in 1933. It is 165 feet (50 meters) tall. The dam helps store a lot of water. It can hold about 436,900 acre-feet of water. That's a huge amount! This stored water is very important for people and farms in the area.

Aerial view of Cle Elum Lake (2009). This view is roughly from the north.

Fun Fact

In 1994, a TV show called Northern Exposure filmed a fictional village on Cle Elum Lake.