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Lake Whatcom (from the Lummi word for "loud water") is located in Whatcom County, Washington. It is the drinking water source for approximately 85,000 residents in the City of Bellingham as well as Whatcom County. It is approximately 10 miles total in length and 1 mile in width at its widest. Lake Whatcom is located and managed within three political jurisdictions: the City Of Bellingham, Whatcom County, and Lake Whatcom Water and Sewer District. The lake is a popular area for motor boating, swimming, fishing, and other recreational activities. The lake is divided into three basins. Basin 1, the Silver Beach Basin, is the furthest north, and has a maximum depth of 100 feet (30 m). Land use in Basin 1 is primarily residential development, with one large park and several small parks. Basin 2, the Geneva Basin, is the central basin where the drinking water for the city of Bellingham is withdrawn. This basin is the shallowest, with a maximum depth of just 40–60 feet (12–18 m). Land use is primarily residential with a mix of lake protection program properties and some rural forestry. Basin 3 is the southernmost basin, and is the most remote. At its greatest depth basin 3 is 328 feet (100 m) deep, and is estimated to contain 96% of the lake's total water volume.〔Moore, p.4〕 Land use in Basin 3 is composed of scattered residential development, mostly in the community of Sudden Valley, as well as rural and commercial forestry. The total area of the Lake Whatcom Watershed is 142 square kilometers (or 56 square miles). There are nine annual streams and approximately 25 additional small creeks and tributaries that flow into Lake Whatcom. Accounting for 23 sub-watersheds in all. Lake Whatcom drains into Bellingham Bay by way of Whatcom Creek. The lake has only one island, the Reveille Island, owned by Camp Firwood, which is believed to be the site of past ceremonies by Native Americans, due to the presence of pictographs and a zoomorphic stone bowl found on the island. ==Brief history== The earliest known settlement was a Northwest Coast Salish village at the south end of the lake, occupied by the Saquantch tribe. Around 1800 the Saquantch were pushed out by the Lummi tribe. In the 1850s came the first known settlement of Westerners on Lake Whatcom. The first claim of private land was reported for $8. Most of the area surrounding the lake was extensively logged by the end of the 19th century. Large mining operations also existed near the lake from the late 19th century through 1919, when the Whatcom Mining Company closed down. In 1946 J.H. Bloedel donated 12.5 acres to the city for what would eventually become Bloedel Donovan Park. In 1962 water was diverted from the Middle Fork of the Nooksack River, through a tunnel, to supply water to a then-new paper-mill on the Bellingham waterfront. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Lake Whatcom」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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