Avalanche Lake is a small alpine freshwater

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

located on the northern skirt of

Chikamin Peak Chikamin Peak is a mountain summit located in the Cascade Range, in Kittitas County of Washington state. It is situated within the Alpine Lakes Wilderness on land managed by the Okanogan–Wenatchee National Forest. The mountain's name "Chikam ...

and

Lemah Mountain Lemah Mountain is a mountain peak in the ''Snoqualmie Crest'', a part of the North Cascades Mountains, of the US state of Washington, most noted for its five distinct summits. It is approximately from Snoqualmie Pass. The name ''Lemah'' comes ...

King County, Washington King County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. The population was 2,269,675 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of counties in Washington, most populo ...

. Because of its proximity to surrounding peaks and mountains at the heart of the

Alpine Lakes Wilderness The Alpine Lakes Wilderness is a large National Wilderness Preservation System, wilderness area spanning the Central Cascades of Washington (state), Washington state in the United States. The wilderness is located in parts of Wenatchee National ...

, the lake is a popular area for hiking. Other Alpine lakes are in the vicinity, including the

Iceberg Lake Iceberg Lake is located in Glacier National Park, in the U. S. state of Montana. Mount Wilbur is south and Iceberg Peak is west of Iceberg Lake. Iceberg Peak towers more than above the lake. A popular day hike destination, Iceberg Lake is a ...

a short distance East, at the base of Chimney Rock West. To the South is Chikamin Lake.

Location

Avalanche Lake is located northeast of

Snoqualmie Pass Snoqualmie Pass is a mountain pass that carries Interstate 90 (I-90) through the Cascade Range in the U.S. state of Washington. The pass summit is at an elevation of , on the county line between Kittitas County and King County. Snoqualmie Pas ...

and

The Summit at Snoqualmie The Summit at Snoqualmie is a recreation area in the Pacific Northwest, northwest United States, located on Snoqualmie Pass, Washington (U.S. state), Washington. It provides alpine skiing and snowboarding, Nordic skiing, mountain biking, winter ...

. The NF Road 5620 runs along the middle fork of the Snoqualmie River East of the Snoqualmie Lake Trailhead and Middle Fork Campground. From Huckleberry Saddle, the route leads to Burntboot Creek, which is downstream of Avalanche Lake. Avalanche Lake is also a short distance from the

Pacific Crest Trail The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), officially designated as the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, is a long-distance hiking and equestrian trail closely aligned with the highest portion of the Cascade and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges, which lie ...

North of Chikamin Lake and

Peak Peak or The Peak may refer to: Basic meanings Geology * Mountain peak ** Pyramidal peak, a mountaintop that has been sculpted by erosion to form a point Mathematics * Peak hour or rush hour, in traffic congestion * Peak (geometry), an (''n''-3)-d ...

. It is situated within the

, on land managed by the

Okanogan–Wenatchee National Forest The Okanogan–Wenatchee National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located in Okanogan County, Washington, Okanogan County in north-central Washington (state), Washington, United States. The forest is bordered on the north by British Columbia, ...

Waterbed

Avalanche Lake sits in a bowl that collects water as inlets from snowmelt of surrounding peaks, including Lemah Mountain on the south. From the east, Chimney Rock and Chimney Rock West as well as Overcoat Glacier on Overcoat Peak melt into

, a short distance from Avalanche Lake. The outflow of Iceberg Lake empties in Avalanche Lake, which has an outflow that makes Burnboot Creek, one of the main tributaries of the Middle Fork of the

Snoqualmie River The Snoqualmie River is a long river in King County, Washington, King County and Snohomish County, Washington, Snohomish County in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. The river's three main tributaries are the North, Middle, and So ...

Climate

Avalanche Lake is located in a

hemiboreal Hemiboreal means halfway between the temperate and subarctic (or boreal) zones. The term is most frequently used in the context of climates and ecosystems. Botany A hemiboreal forest has some characteristics of a boreal forest to the north, an ...

climate, part of the

marine west coast An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring co ...

climate zone of western

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

.Beckey, Fred W. Cascade Alpine Guide, Climbing and High Routes. Seattle, WA: Mountaineers Books, 2008. The average temperature is 2 °C. The warmest month is August, with an average temperature of 16 °C, and the coldest month is January, at an average of −8 °C. The average rainfall is 1687 millimeters per year. The wettest month is December, with 247 millimeters of rain, and the least in July, with 33 millimeters of rain.

References

Lakes of Washington (state) Lakes of King County, Washington {{KingCountyWA-geo-stub

Location

Waterbed

Climate

See also

References