Revealing new underwater map of glacier-carved Lake Chelan

New information on what you can’t see on Lake Chelan. To go along with the distinguished “cleanest lake in the country” award given by an on-line vacation promotion organization, a new study of the lake has been published.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Lake Chelan Research Institute (LCRI) viewed the shape of the bottom of the lake. Scientists were curious about what, where and when the depths of the 386 foot, glacier-carved deep water lake was created.

New data provides a much more detailed understanding of two underwater basins; the Lucerne Basin to the north, and the shallower and wider Wapato Basin to the south. With this detailed imaging of Lake Chelan, "We find evidence of slope failure and mass-transport deposits in at least 89 locations within the lake and 63 deltas," wrote a USGS scientist. "The deeper Lucerne Basin is dominated by steep slopes and numerous deltas fed by streams, whereas the Wapato Basin contains numerous landslide scarps and scars, and evidence of glacial retreat and advance, regional volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes that generate ground motions severe enough to induce landslides recorded in the sediment."

"In some locations the slopes of Lake Chelan are near-vertical (with) artifacts resembling holes," identified, said Phil Long at the Lake Chelan Research Institute, who co-authored the new report.

"Landslides scarps are especially noteworthy because they expose the stratigraphy of lake sediments and they are in some places riddled with holes the size of your fist that are made by burbot, a native fish in the lake," described Long. "The landscape scarps are places where the bottom of the lake has pulled away from the upper sediments and left a vertical scar a few meters high."

Long says the Lucerne basin shows a delta at the mouth of every creek flowing into the lake, revealing important information on how the lake functions and how the water flows.

LCRI also analyzed shallow areas of the lake from Lakeside down lake.

The Lake Chelan Research Institute celebrated it's 10th year of work at Lake Chelan on Sept. 11. The institute says they plan to release additional information on the the lake at the Washington State Lake Protection Association annual meeting in Bellingham on Oct. 6.

In this latest report, a USGS scientist wrote to Long saying, "The Lake Chelan research Institute, and the broader Chelan community were instrumental in producing this mapping product. This work wouldn't have been possible without your support, local knowledge, and steady encouragement throughout the process, and I'm grateful for the partnership that carried it across the finish line."

Learn more from the U.S. Geological Survey study here.