Icicle Creek

Icicle Creek
Rapids on Icicle Creek
Icicle Creek is located in Washington (state)
Icicle Creek
Location of the mouth of Icicle Creek in Washington
Icicle Creek is located in the United States
Icicle Creek
Icicle Creek (the United States)
Native namena-sik-elt (Columbia-Wenatchi), meaning narrow canyon.
Location
CountryUnited States
StateWashington
CountyChelan
Physical characteristics
SourceCascade Range
 • coordinates47°43′7″N 121°3′3″W / 47.71861°N 121.05083°W / 47.71861; -121.05083[1]
 • elevation4,681 ft (1,427 m)[2]
MouthWenatchee River
 • coordinates
47°34′48″N 120°39′57″W / 47.58000°N 120.66583°W / 47.58000; -120.66583[1]
Length31.8 mi (51.2 km)[3]
Basin size212.7 sq mi (551 km2)[4]
Discharge 
 • locationriver mile 5.8[5]
 • average614 cu ft/s (17.4 m3/s)[5]
 • minimum44 cu ft/s (1.2 m3/s)
 • maximum19,800 cu ft/s (560 m3/s)

Icicle Creek is a non navigable stream in the U.S. state of Washington. It originates at Josephine Lake near the crest of the Cascade Range and flows generally east to join the Wenatchee River near Leavenworth. Icicle Creek's drainage basin is mountainous and mostly undeveloped land within the Wenatchee National Forest and the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. The final 6 miles (10 km) of the creek are moderately developed with scattered homes and pasture, a golf course, children's camp, a small housing development called Icicle Island Club, and the Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery. Some water is diverted from the creek for municipal use by the City of Leavenworth at Icicle Creek river mile 5.6.[3] Near Leavenworth, the wheelchair-accessible Icicle Creek Nature Trail, a National Recreation Trail designated in 2005, runs 1.0 mile (1.6 km) along a historic creek channel.[6]

Icicle Creek's name comes from the Indian word na-sik-elt, meaning narrow canyon. According to Albert H. Sylvester, topographer and Forest Service surveyor for many years, "Place the letter n at the beginning of icicle and the letter t at its end, and you practically have the Indian word."[7] Original patents was Northern Pacific Railroad patent number #32, Joseph Scott patent number #907, and George Briskey patent number #516.

  1. ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Icicle Creek
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference course was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b "Icicle Creek Water Quality Survey Results". Washington State Department of Ecology. Archived from the original on 19 October 2015. Retrieved 10 August 2009.
  4. ^ "Wenatchee River Watershed Initial Assessment". Washington State Department of Ecology. Archived from the original on 11 June 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2009.
  5. ^ a b "Water Resources Data-Washington Water Year 2005; Entiat, Wenatchee, and Sand Hollow River Basins and the Columbia River from Wells Dam to Rock Island Dam" (PDF). United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 10 August 2009.
  6. ^ "Icicle Creek Nature Trail". American Trails. 2012-01-06. Archived from the original on 2014-07-02. Retrieved 2014-08-14.
  7. ^ Brokenshire, Doug (1993). Washington State Place Names: From Alki to Yelm. Caxton Press. p. 113. ISBN 978-0-87004-356-7.