Why Does Popular WA Lake Have Stumps Poking Up Above Water?

There's a popular WA Lake in Kittitas County, near Snoqualmie Pass that's famous for its sometimes eerie-looking tree stumps.

  Lake Kachess (Kuh-cheese) was man-made over 100 years ago.

We've all driven by the lake many times, if you've ever taken I-90 to Seattle. The lake is located not far from Snoqualmie Pass. It's on the left as you head west, on the east side as you head toward Tri-Cities.

It's known for its deep waters in the middle, but also hundreds of tree stumps. Why?

The Lake dates back to 1912

Lake Kachess and Little Kachess (not far away) were both natural lakes, carved out by glaciers eons ago. But beginning in 1912, the Federal government, now the Bureau of Reclamation, saw it as an opportunity to store water for future use, including irrigation.

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Lake Kachess is one of several large reservoirs that send water downstream to farms and consumers in the Yakima Valley and the Columbia Basin.

When Kachess Dam began to be built in 1912, the water, which is 400 feet deep in the middle at full capacity, crept over massive mature forestland.  In order to manage the water and lake better, hundreds of trees were cut down and the lumber hauled off.

For decades, and now, when the water levels are low, the stumps can be clearly seen. Many kayakers and paddle boarders circumnavigate in and around the stumps when they're clearly visible. The lake is especially lower in the later summer seasons, due to water being drawn down for irrigation.

So the majority of the stumps you see in the lake are well over 100 years old, and they're still hanging on. This video from Wildman Zen on YouTube, shows kayakers navigating their way through the stumps.