447:. Coldwater Ridge Visitor Center, located on the cliffs west of the lake, provides a panoramic view of the valley; on weekends a Science and Learning Center is open to the public here. The Coldwater Lake Recreation Area, located on the south end of the lake, is available for day use only as the area is located within the restricted zone of the National Monument. The recreation area includes a picnic area, restrooms and boat ramp (non-motorized watercraft only). The 0.6-mile (1 km) Birth of a Lake Trail is a boardwalk trail accessible from the recreation area, and includes interpretive displays discussing the formation of the lake by the eruption. The Lakes Trail runs along the western shore and allows access to the Mount Margaret Backcountry beyond the lake.
56:
36:
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387:(55 m). Over the next few months, almost 100,000 acre-feet (120,000,000 m) of water collected to form a lake 5 miles (8 km) in length. At the rate the lake was filling, it was anticipated to overtop the landslide dam by late 1981 or 1982. Because the material forming the dam consisted of soft volcanic debris and ash, it would erode quickly if overtopped, causing serious flooding downstream.
745:
361:, occupying the trough of a glacial valley. The surrounding ridges rise dramatically to heights of more than 1,000 feet (300 m) above the water. The length of the lake is about 5 miles (8.0 km) while the maximum width is no more than half a mile (0.8 km). The water surface is 2,503 feet (763 m) above sea level and the surface area is 773 acres (313 ha). The total
63:
876:
462:(DFW) stocked it in the 1980s. Pre-1980 fish populations in Coldwater Creek and the Toutle River were wiped out by the eruption of Mount St. Helens. The DFW no longer stocks the lake but continues to manage it as a trout fishery. The daily catch limit is one fish, minimum length 18 inches (46 cm).
410:
to South
Coldwater Creek. The eruption had blocked the outlet of Spirit Lake causing it to rise to dangerous levels. The tunnel allowed excess water from Spirit Lake to drain into Coldwater Lake, and from there into the Toutle River. The landslide dam forming Coldwater Lake was closely monitored
365:
of
Coldwater Lake is about 16.6 sq mi (43 km). Coldwater Creek drains 5.4 square miles (14 km) or 33% of the total, South Fork Coldwater Creek drains 6.3 square miles (16 km) or 38%, and another 4.9 square miles (13 km) or 30% drains directly into the lake. Several
386:
or debris avalanche that rushed down the North Fork of the Toutle River, burying the whole valley up to 600 feet (180 m) deep. The lahar backed up
Coldwater Creek for more than a mile (1.6 km), damming the creek and its tributary South Fork Coldwater Creek to a height of 180 feet
414:
The lake has since been shrinking slowly due to erosion of the approximately 17-square-mile (44 km) watershed, which was largely stripped of vegetation during the 1980 eruption. However, the area has recovered significantly in the intervening decades with
406:
and outlet channel for the lake, stabilizing it at 2,503 feet (763 m) above sea level with a volume of 67,300 acre-feet (83,000,000 m). In May 1985 a tunnel was excavated to connect
346:, formed in the same manner as Coldwater Lake during the 1980 eruption, is located about 3 miles (4.8 km) to the south. The area is about 50 miles (80 km) northeast of
310:, which blocked its natural outlet, Coldwater Creek, with volcanic debris. It is one of several lakes in the area that were created or otherwise enlarged by the eruption.
318:
The lake runs from northeast to southwest, with the west end in
Cowlitz County and the east end in Skamania County. The portion of the lake in Skamania County is part of
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277:
Kim Island is the only permanent island, sutuated toward the west end of the lake. There are a few very shallow areas that break the surface depending on water levels.
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are part of the watershed; the named ones are Heart Lake and Snow Lake, which both flow into
Coldwater Creek before entering Coldwater Lake.
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have formed around the lake, the largest formed at South
Coldwater Creek, whose valley sits closest to the blast zone.
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374:, the highest point in the basin at 5,883-foot (1,793 m), sits at the head of the Coldwater Creek valley.
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502:"Sedimentation in a Blast-Zone Lake at Mount St. Helens, Washington – Implications for Varve Formation"
394:
Map showing lakes and other features in the Mount St. Helens area affected by the eruption. West is up.
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Evans, Stephen G.; Reginald L. Hermanns; Alexander Strom; Gabriele
Scarascia-Mugnozza, eds. (2011).
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149:
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651:(Map). Cartography by U.S. Geological Survey; U.S. Forest Service. U.S. Forest Service. 1998
622:(Map). Cartography by U.S. Geological Survey; U.S. Forest Service. U.S. Forest Service. 1998
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U.S. Geological Survey
Geographic Names Information System: Coldwater Lake (Washington)
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803:(Map). Cartography by U.S. Geological Survey; U.S. Forest Service. May 2015
725:"Gifford Pinchot National Forest - Coldwater Lake Picnic and Boating Site"
322:. Coldwater Creek drains the lake on its southwest end and flows into the
403:
616:
Spirit Lake West
Quadrangle, Washington: 7.5 Minute Series (Topographic)
411:
until 1998, when its stability was no longer deemed a serious concern.
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164:
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Coldwater Lake is seen here from the
Coldwater Ridge Visitor Center.
389:
383:
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Elk Rock Quadrangle, Washington: 7.5 Minute Series (Topographic)
500:
Anderson, Roger Y.; Nuhfer, Edward; Dean, Walter E. (1985).
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The eruption of Mount St. Helens on May 18, 1980, created a
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338:. Coldwater Lake is located 8 miles (13 km) north of
563:. Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 85–86.
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534:. Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife
848:"Trout battle: Anglers compete on Coldwater Lake"
460:Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife
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439:(the Spirit Lake Highway) provides access from
670:"Volcano landslides can dam tributary valleys"
700:"Lakes and Drainages Around Mount St. Helens"
8:
342:, 5 miles (8 km) west of Spirit Lake.
826:Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
797:Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
775:Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
750:Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
433:Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
746:"Science and Learning Center at Coldwater"
638:
636:
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506:USGS Staff – Published Research Paper 301
472:Toutle River Sediment Retention Structure
23:Landslide-dammed lake in Washington, U.S.
75:Location of Coldwater Lake in Washington
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560:Natural and Artificial Rockslide Dams
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350:and 100 miles (160 km) north of
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908:Lakes of Skamania County, Washington
706:. U.S. Geological Survey. 2013-02-07
676:. U.S. Geological Survey. 1999-12-16
180:16.55 sq mi (42.9 km)
913:Lakes of Cowlitz County, Washington
306:. The lake was created during the
14:
828:. U.S. Forest Service. 2016-02-29
777:. U.S. Forest Service. 2015-12-22
752:. U.S. Forest Service. 2015-12-22
308:1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens
586:USGS Topo Maps for United States
508:. University of Nebraska Lincoln
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320:Gifford Pinchot National Forest
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16:For the lake in Michigan, see
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334:, in turn a tributary of the
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822:"Mount Margaret Backcountry"
771:"Birth of a Lake Trail #246"
704:USGS Volcano Hazards Program
674:USGS Volcano Hazards Program
400:U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
898:Lakes of Washington (state)
227:773.2 acres (312.9 ha)
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450:The lake has had resident
437:Washington State Route 504
263:2,503 ft (763 m)
15:
846:Thomas, Al (2015-06-04).
366:smaller lakes or glacial
219:0.5 mi (0.8 km)
49:
33:
431:The lake is now part of
243:180 ft (55 m)
903:Landslide-dammed lakes
591:U.S. Geological Survey
589:(Map). Cartography by
435:, designated in 1982.
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235:87 ft (27 m)
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330:, a tributary of the
211:5 mi (8 km)
158:South Coldwater Creek
143:Landslide-dammed lake
44:is in the background.
417:second-growth forest
419:returning. Several
398:In early 1981, the
255:(83,000,000 m)
117: /
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121:46.304°N 122.237°W
570:978-3-64204-763-3
290:on the border of
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532:"Coldwater Lake"
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456:cutthroat trout
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357:Coldwater is a
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296:Skamania County
188: countries
170:Coldwater Creek
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156:Coldwater Creek
151:Primary inflows
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877:Area trail map
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871:Coldwater Lake
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865:External links
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232:Average depth
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196:First flooded
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852:. Retrieved
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624:. Retrieved
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536:. Retrieved
510:. Retrieved
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477:Volcanic dam
449:
441:Interstate 5
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402:excavated a
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328:Toutle River
317:
288:barrier lake
283:
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251:67,300
248:Water volume
224:Surface area
199:May 18, 1980
445:Castle Rock
408:Spirit Lake
359:ribbon lake
344:Castle Lake
208:Max. length
124: /
112:122°14′13″W
99:Coordinates
892:Categories
854:2016-03-05
832:2016-03-05
807:2016-03-05
781:2016-03-05
756:2016-03-05
731:2022-09-17
710:2016-03-05
680:2016-03-05
655:2016-03-05
626:2016-03-05
597:2016-03-05
538:2016-03-05
512:2016-03-05
483:References
458:since the
427:Recreation
324:North Fork
300:Washington
240:Max. depth
216:Max. width
109:46°18′14″N
88:Washington
879:from USFS
363:watershed
314:Geography
466:See also
404:spillway
348:Longview
84:Location
378:History
326:of the
302:in the
273:Islands
253:acre⋅ft
567:
421:deltas
801:(PDF)
649:(PDF)
620:(PDF)
384:lahar
368:tarns
286:is a
186:Basin
565:ISBN
454:and
294:and
138:Type
92:U.S.
443:at
894::
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748:.
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689:^
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635:^
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515:.
20:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
