Lake Chelan

Lake Chelan ( shə-LAN) is a narrow, 50.5 mi (81.3 km) long lake in Chelan County, north-central Washington state, U.S. It is an overdeepened lake and resembles a fjord, with an average width of 1.3 mi (2.1 km). Near its upper end, the lake surface lies more than 6,600 ft (2,000 m) below peaks less than 3 mi (4.8 km) away. Before 1927, Lake Chelan was the largest natural lake in the state, in terms of both surface area and water volume. Upon the completion of Lake Chelan Dam in 1927, the elevation of the lake was increased by 21 ft (6.4 m) to its present maximum-capacity elevation of 1,100 ft (340 m). With a maximum depth of 1,486 ft (453 m), Lake Chelan is the third deepest lake in the United States behind Crater Lake, the deepest, and Lake Tahoe, the second deepest. Because of overdeepening, the sides of this lake drop steeply to its bottom. The deepest part of Lake Chelan lies as much as 436 ft (133 m) below sea level. In places, the bedrock floor of the valley occupied by Lake Chelan, which is buried by Pleistocene glacial and lacustrine sediments, lies at least 1,529 ft (466 m) below sea level. Two communities lie on the southern end of the lake, and a third sits at the far north end, providing a gateway to North Cascades National Park.