LAKE UNION

'Lake Union' is a freshwater lake completely within the Seattle, Washington city limits.

Contents

Origins

Name

Industry

Recreation

Parks

Seaplanes

Floating Homes

Connections to other bodies of water

Salinity

Geography

References

Origins

A glacial lake, its basin was dug 12,000 years ago by the Vashon glacier, which also created Lake Washington, and Seattle's Green, Bitter, and Haller Lakes.

Name

Lake Union received its present name from Thomas Mercer, who in 1854 predicted that canals would someday join Lake Washington to Puget Sound in a union of waters.^[1] The Duwamish called it "Small Lake" (Lushootseed: XáXu7cHoo, literally ''small great-amount-of-water'', the diminutive form of the word used for Lake Washington).^[2]

Industry

Boeing Airplane began production on Lake Union in 1916. There is a Coast Guard Base there as well.
Shipyards, wharves and sawmills have also dotted the shore. Since 1882 lumber mills such as Lake Union and Lumber Manufacturing Co, Western Mill Co., Brace & Hergert Mill Co. and Stimson Timber Co. supported the lumber industry on South Lake Union until 1937. These mills employed up to 200 employees at times and were the life blood of the Cascade neighborhood in the past.

Recreation

Lake Union's proximity to and scenic views of Seattle make it a popular recreational spot. Kayaking is popular in the warmer months. Seaplanes operated by Kenmore Air land on and take off from the lake several times a day during the summer. Pleasure boats from Lake Washington pass through on their way to Puget Sound. The Center for Wooden Boats holds a yearly tall ship festival.

Parks

Gas Works Park is the largest park on Lake Union and the most popular for Seattleites and visitors. It is the venue for summer concerts and one of the two major Fourth of July fireworks shows in Seattle. Other parks ring the lake, clockwise around the compass from Gas Works which is nearly due North: North Passage Point Park, South Passage Point Park, Fairview Park, Terry Pettus Park, South Lake Union Park.

Seaplanes

Lake Union is host to many seaplanes, especially those of Kenmore Air.

Floating Homes

Picturesque floating homes line the east and west sides of Lake Union. In ''Sleepless in Seattle'', the character played by Tom Hanks lived on one of these homes. [1]

Connections to other bodies of water

Part of the Lake Washington Ship Canal system, water flows into the lake from Lake Washington through the Montlake Cut, and out via Fremont Cut on its way to Puget Sound. Before construction of the canal, Lake Union emptied into Salmon Bay via a creek which followed roughly the same course as the Fremont Cut does today.

Salinity

Because of the connection via the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks to the salt water of Puget Sound, there is some saline contamination, which worsens in the summer as the inflow rate from Lake Washington decreases and the locks open more frequently for pleasure craft.

Geography

Three major streets are named in relation to the lake: Westlake Avenue, which runs along its western shore from Downtown to the Fremont Bridge; Eastlake Avenue, which runs along its eastern shore from Cascade to the University District, and Northlake Way, which runs along its northern shore from the University District past Gas Works Park to the edge of Fremont.
Several neighborhoods take their name from the lake: Eastlake, Westlake, Northlake, South Lake Union (''not'' Southlake), and Montlake.

References

1. Washington State Place Names, , James W., Phillips, University of Washington Press, 1971,
2. Native Seattle: Histories from the Crossing-Over Place, , Coll, Thrush, University of Washington Press, 2007,