During the Vashon Glaciation a series of lakes formed along the southern margin of the Cordilleran Ice Cap. In the Puget Sound depression, a series of lakes developed, of which Lake Russell was the largest and the longest lasting. Early Lake Russell’s surface was at above sea level, draining across the divide at

Shelton, Washington Shelton is a city in, and the county seat of, Mason County, Washington, United States. Shelton is the westernmost city on Puget Sound. The population was 10,371 at the 2020 census. Shelton has a council–manager form of government and was the ...

into early Glacial Lake Russell. When the ice margin receded northward, the lake expanded. When it reached the Clifton channel outlet, the water levels dropped to above sea level. The new longer and lower level lake is referred to as Lake Hood. The glacier continued to retreat until the northern outlet of the Hood Canal was reached as the water level equalized with Glacial Lake Russell becoming part of that body of water.Washington Geological Survey, Bulletin No. 8; Glaciation of the Puget Sound Region; J. Harlen Bretz; Olympia, Wash, Frank M. Lamborn Public Printer; 1913 Lake Russell is named for

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althoug ...

, Israel Cook Russell. Forming about 17,000 years before present (ybp) as the ice front began to retreat northward. One version or another of Lake Russell existed form 16,900 ybp until 15,900 ybp.Vashon Glaciation; Ralph Haugerud; Milepost Thirty-One; Washington State Department of Transportation, Quaternary Research Center; retrieved June 15, 2017

Early Lake Russell

Early Lake Russell formed in the southern basins of Puget Sound. As the glacial ice retreated northward, the geologic troughs, which create the basins of the sound remained blocked from the northward outlets, until the

Tacoma Narrows The Tacoma Narrows (or the Narrows), a strait, is part of Puget Sound in the U.S. state of Washington. A navigable maritime waterway between glacial landforms, the Narrows separates the Kitsap Peninsula from the city of Tacoma. The Narrows i ...

cleared, the basins east of Tacoma remained separate from those to the west. Lake Tacoma is the name given to these eastern waters, until they merged with those of Lake Russell to the west.

Lake Nisqually Lake Nisqually is used to identify the freshwater lake formed in the Puget Sound trough, west of Tacoma. It is sometime confused with Early Lake Russell which covered the same area during a previous northward retreat of the glacier. The glacier re ...

was the name given to the freshwater in the Nisqually Reach, until the ice front retreated far enough north for the meltwaters to cover the land between the mouth of the

Nisqually River The Nisqually River is a river in west central Washington in the United States, approximately long. It drains part of the Cascade Range southeast of Tacoma, including the southern slope of Mount Rainier, and empties into the southern end of Pu ...

and Olympia, joining a freshwater lake in the Budd Inlet and Black Lake forming Early Lake Russell. Lake Russell filled the basins of the Eld Inlet,

Budd Inlet Budd Inlet is an inlet located at the southern end of Puget Sound in Thurston County, Washington. It is the southernmost arm of Puget Sound. Etymology Budd Inlet was named by Charles Wilkes during the United States Exploring Expedition, to honor ...

Henderson Inlet Henderson Inlet is a small, southern inlet of Puget Sound, Washington state, situated between Budd Inlet to the west and Nisqually Reach to the east. It is located in Thurston County and the nearest city is Olympia, the state capital. Henderson I ...

, and the great curve of the Nisqually Reach, northward to the

, and the highgrounds between then up to above sea level.

Black Lake Outlet

When the glacial ice receded northward, reaching the Olympia area, a low drainage was reached in the eastern

Black Hills The Black Hills ( lkt, Ȟe Sápa; chy, Moʼȯhta-voʼhonáaeva; hid, awaxaawi shiibisha) is an isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, United States. Black ...

. Using the Black River as its primary drainage, Lake Russell came into existence was continued after the edge of the ice had withdrawn from the region. Using two channels, the waters drained south to the Chehalis River valley. A northern channel left the Budd Inlet in near Butler Cove. A southern channel passed through Capitol Lake. A third channel may have existed from the Eld Inlet. They merged where Black Lake now exists, following the Black River southward. Following the south side of a line of hill, the channel is above sea level with a gravel plain across the outlet. This barrier is thought to be deposits from the outflow. Percival Creek contains the Northern Pacific Railroad route over the pass between Puget Sound and the Chehalis Valley. In the pass is a long, narrow swamp, which drains to both Puget Sound and Grays Harbor. Its altitude is above sea level. Along the southern margin is a gravel bluff at of considerable size. The northern margin has a gravel terrace at above sea level, and another narrow terrace is at . The existing valley is the result of post-glacial erosion. The bluffs along both sides are seen as evidence of this theory. Black Lake resides in the pass, beginning as a swamp. Black Lake is long and wide. It stands above tide. Withdrawal of the edge of the ice from Thurston County left both the Deschutes and Nisqually Rivers free to flow directly northward to the growing body of water in the unobliterated interglacial valleys. The Nisqually carried a large volume of water when it first entered Lake Russell, since the Ohop channel still contributed the drainage of the northern and western slopes of Mount Rainier. It appears to have entered the western side of the interglacial Gate Pathway River valley, and to have contributed considerably toward the obliteration of that valley by deposition of the Sherlock Delta.

References

{{Puget Sound Russell Russell Pierce County, Washington King County, Washington Thurston County, Washington Geography of Washington (state) Proglacial lakes