Lake Skokomish

Lake Skokomish, Lake Hood
Glacial Lakes Skokomish & Russell in the Puget Sound basin.
Lake Skokomish, Lake Hood
Location	Hood Canal Kitsap County, Washington
Coordinates	47°21′48″N 123°07′39″W / 47.363322°N 123.127485°W / 47.363322; -123.127485
Lake type	Glacial lake (former)
Primary inflows	Cordilleran Ice Cap
Primary outflows	Shelton Delta, Shelton, Washington; Clifton Channel, North Bay of Case Inlet; Poulsbo Channel, Poulsbo, Washington
Catchment area	Hood Canal
Basin countries	United States
Average depth	160 ft (49 m)
Max. depth	350 ft (110 m)
Surface elevation	350 m (1,150 ft)
References	Washington Geological Survey, Bulletin No. 8; Glaciation of the Puget Sound Region; J. Harlen Bretz; Olympia, Wash, Frank M. Lamborn Public Printer; 1913

During the Vashon Glaciation a series of lakes formed along the southern margin of the Cordilleran Ice Cap. In the Hood Canal depression, two significant lake stages existed, Lake Skokomish and Lake Hood. Early Lake Skokomish’s surface was at 350 ft (110 m) above sea level, draining across the divide at Shelton, Washington into early Glacial Lake Russell. As the glacier receded northward, this freshwater lake grew in size, until the ice was north of the Clifton channel. With the opening of the Clifton channel, the water dropped to 160 m (520 ft) above sea level. This longer and lower level lake is referred to as Lake Hood. The glacier continued to recede northward until it reached the Poulsbo channel. Here, the water level equalized to Glacial Lake Russell no longer having a separate identify.^[1]