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Scott Lake
Scott Lake is located in Washington (state)
Scott Lake
Scott Lake
Location in Washington (state)
Location Thurston County, Washington
Coordinates 46°55′11″N 122°55′53″W / 46.91972°N 122.93139°W / 46.91972; -122.93139
Primary inflows Spruce Creek (5.08 cu ft/s)
Primary outflows Allen Creek (6.77 cu ft/s)
Catchment area 2.52 sq mi (6.5 km2)
Basin countries United States
Max. length 0.44 mi (0.71 km)
Max. width 0.40 mi (0.64 km)
Surface area 69 acres (28 ha)
Average depth 11 ft (3.4 m)
Max. depth 18 ft (5.5 m)
Water volume 760 acre⋅ft (940,000 m3)
Shore length1 6,700 ft (2,000 m)
Surface elevation 189 ft (58 m)
Frozen Lake freezes only during unusual cold snaps.
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.
Scott Lake Community
Country United States
State Washington
County Thurston
Area
 • Water 0.1 sq mi (0.3 km2)
Elevation
189-330 ft (58-100.5 m)
Population
 (2012)
 • Total +/- 1,400
Time zone UTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
 • Summer (DST) UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP codes
98512
Area code(s) 360

Scott Lake is a lake in Thurston County, Washington, United States. It is located 3.2 miles (5.1 km) south of the Tumwater city limits, 8.4 miles (13.5 km) south of the Olympia city limits, and 14.1 miles (22.7 km) north of the Centralia city limits. The location for Scott Lake is in Sections 33 and 34, Township 17N, Range 2W, Willamette Meridian.

The lake receives its water from a creek that comes out of Deep Lake. The creek is officially unnamed, but is referred to as Spruce Creek by the Millersylvania State Park.

The creek that flows out of Scott Lake is officially named Allen Creek. Allen Creek flows into Beaver Creek, a tributary of the Black River. Thus it is part of the Chehalis River watershed.

A nine-hole golf course that is opened to the public, and a private park opened only to residents of the Scott Lake Community are located next to the lake.

Eurasian water-milfoil (myriophyllum spicatum), an invasive species, was found in the lake in the spring of 1996.

The area is subject to occasional flooding in winter. Its causes are being studied.

Climate of Scott Lake

The climate of Scott Lake is cloudy and rainy during the fall, winter, and spring. Summers are generally warmer and sunnier. There is an average of 161.6 days of precipitation per year, and an average of 228.5 days of complete cloud cover per year. On December 21, there is 15 hours and 30 minutes of darkness. On June 21, there is 15 hours and 53 minutes of daylight. The highest temperature ever recorded was 104 °F on August 9, 1981 and July 29, 2009. The lowest temperature ever recorded was −8 °F on January 1, 1979. The most rain ever recorded in one day was 4.82 inches on January 7, 2009.

Climate data for Olympia Regional Airport, Washington (1981–2010 normals, extremes 1948–present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 64
(18)
73
(23)
79
(26)
88
(31)
96
(36)
98
(37)
104
(40)
104
(40)
98
(37)
90
(32)
74
(23)
64
(18)
104
(40)
Mean maximum °F (°C) 56.2
(13.4)
60.6
(15.9)
67.5
(19.7)
77.0
(25.0)
83.8
(28.8)
88.0
(31.1)
93.4
(34.1)
91.9
(33.3)
86.8
(30.4)
74.0
(23.3)
61.0
(16.1)
55.0
(12.8)
96.3
(35.7)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) 45.9
(7.7)
49.3
(9.6)
53.9
(12.2)
58.9
(14.9)
65.3
(18.5)
70.6
(21.4)
76.8
(24.9)
77.7
(25.4)
71.8
(22.1)
60.2
(15.7)
50.2
(10.1)
44.2
(6.8)
60.4
(15.8)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) 33.7
(0.9)
32.8
(0.4)
35.1
(1.7)
37.7
(3.2)
43.1
(6.2)
47.6
(8.7)
50.8
(10.4)
50.5
(10.3)
46.0
(7.8)
40.5
(4.7)
36.4
(2.4)
32.6
(0.3)
40.6
(4.8)
Mean minimum °F (°C) 18.8
(−7.3)
18.6
(−7.4)
23.8
(−4.6)
27.3
(−2.6)
32.1
(0.1)
38.2
(3.4)
42.2
(5.7)
41.1
(5.1)
35.1
(1.7)
27.3
(−2.6)
21.6
(−5.8)
16.8
(−8.4)
11.1
(−11.6)
Record low °F (°C) −8
(−22)
−1
(−18)
9
(−13)
23
(−5)
25
(−4)
30
(−1)
35
(2)
33
(1)
25
(−4)
14
(−10)
−1
(−18)
−7
(−22)
−8
(−22)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 7.84
(199)
5.27
(134)
5.29
(134)
3.54
(90)
2.33
(59)
1.76
(45)
0.63
(16)
0.94
(24)
1.71
(43)
4.60
(117)
8.63
(219)
7.46
(189)
50.00
(1,270)
Average snowfall inches (cm) 1.9
(4.8)
4.7
(12)
0.7
(1.8)
trace 0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0.9
(2.3)
2.6
(6.6)
10.8
(27)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) 20.0 15.8 18.5 15.7 12.5 9.1 4.6 4.9 7.8 14.2 20.1 19.6 162.8
Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) 1.1 2.2 0.3 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.5 2.0 6.3
Average relative humidity (%) 87.5 84.5 80.0 75.6 72.9 72.4 70.8 72.1 77.6 85.1 88.4 89.1 79.7
Source: NOAA (relative humidity 1961–1990)

The closest weather station to Scott Lake is located at Webster Nursery near Tumwater. The closest weather station to Scott Lake that has a long history of weather records is located at the Olympia Regional Airport in Tumwater.

For the weather forecast for Scott Lake go to: http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?CityName=Olympia&state=WA&site=SEW&lat=46.92&lon=-122.93

For the current conditions at Webster Nursery (the closest weather station to Scott Lake) go to: http://weather.wsu.edu/awn.php?page=station_details&UNIT_ID=330153

The Scott Lake Community

The Scott Lake Community is the community next to Scott Lake. Its location is Section 33, Township 17N, Range 2W, Willamette Meridian and Section 4, Township 16N, Range 2W, Willamette Meridian. It is an unincorporated community that began as a housing development. The Scott Lake Community had 581 houses as of March 9, 2009, which would likely place the population around 1,505 people based on the average number of people per household in the United States. There are 38 streets in the Scott Lake Community. The Scott Lake Community forms two voter precincts, Scott Lake North and Scott Lake South.

The Scott Lake Community Center is a building owned by the Scott Lake Maintenance Company, a non-profit community owned organization. The Scott Lake Community Center is where decisions are made for the community by the Scott Lake Board of Trustees. The community center is used to hold an annual community garage sale. The community center is also rented out for private events as well.

Scott Lake Grocery is a store located at the entrance of the Scott Lake Community. It is a gas station and grocery store. It has been in existence since 1962.

Scott Lake Golf Course is a nine-hole golf course located next to the lake. As of 2009, it was owned and operated by Joel Boede. The Scott Lake Golf Course has been in existence since 1964.

The highest point in the Scott Lake Community is the top of Champion Hill, which sits at an elevation of 100.5 m (330 ft). The lowest point in the Scott Lake Community is the surface of Scott Lake, which sits at an elevation of 189 ft (58 m).

The official website for the Scott Lake Community is http://www.scottlake.net

History of Scott Lake and the community

Scott Lake was originally called Scott's Lake. It was likely named after Joseph M. Scott who homesteaded a property in 1869. The corner of the property came close the lake.

The official name today is Scott Lake, and has been so since at least 1947. However, the name Scotts Lake without the apostrophe is still officially listed as a variant name.

In September 1961, a trust agreement between E. Clifford, J. Clifford, Richard A. Clifford, Edward A. Clifford, B. Clifford, Josephine Clifford, Charles B. Jennings, P. Jennings, J. Swanson, V. Swanson, Paul O. O’ Reilly, and June O’ Reilly was made to form the Scott Lake Development Company. The Scott Lake Development Company bought the farm next to Scott Lake to turn it into a housing development. The land was surveyed and platted by Hugh G. Goldsmith. The first building in the Scott Lake Community was a real-estate office, built in 1961. On February 21, 1962, all roads in the Scott Lake Community were dedicated to the public. On March 29, 1962, the Scott Lake Development Company filed with the state as a corporation. During the early years of this development, the Scott Lake Community was accessible from Interstate 5. McCorckle Rd. (now called 113th Ave.) used to be a crossroad that intersected the freeway.

The Scott Lake Store was built in 1962. The store has been called Scott Lake Grocery since before 1984, and has sold gas for many years. As of 2009, Scott Lake Grocery was on its eighth owner.

The Scott Lake Park, a private park by the lake opened to community residents was built in 1963.

The Scott Lake Country Club (now called the Scott Lake Golf Course) officially opened on April 30, 1965, and the official opening lasted until May 9. It started out as a nine-hole golf course. In the 1970s, it was expanded to an 18-hole golf course. Half of the golf course could only be used during the summer dry months. The ground was too wet and muddy to use that half during the rest of the year. The cost to maintain it was too expensive, and the golf course was reduced back to a nine-hole golf course.

The Scott Lake Maintenance Company, a non-profit community-owned organization, formed on July 5, 1973. The water system was turned over to the board of directors that day; it was the formation of Scott Lake Water. The Scott Lake Community Center was built in 1973.

In 1975, Thurston County changed the names of 27 roads in the Scott Lake Community during a county-wide change.

On August 4, 1991, a 1947 single-engine RC-3 Republic CB airplane crashed into the waters of Scott Lake.

On June 29, 2003, a large fire broke out on the side of Champion Hill. Seven fire departments worked over three hours putting out the fire. Due to the winds, the fire burned up over 4 acres (16,000 m2).

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