Bodies of water of Seattle
The city ofSeattle,Washington, is located on a narrowisthmusbetweenPuget Soundon the west andLake Washingtonon the east; water comprises approximately 41% of the total area of the city.[1]It was founded on the harbor ofElliott Bay,home to thePort of Seattle—in 2002, the 9th busiestportin the United States byTEUsofcontainer trafficand the 46th busiest in the world.[2][3]
Seattle is divided in half by theLake Washington Ship Canal,which connects Lake Washington to Puget Sound. From east to west, it incorporatesUnion Bay,theMontlake Cut,Portage Bay,Lake Union,theFremont Cut,Salmon Bay,andShilshole Bay.The southern half of Seattle is itself divided by Seattle's largest river, theDuwamish River,which empties into the south end ofElliott Bayas the industrialized Duwamish Waterway. The lower 5.5 miles (8.9 km) of the river has been listed as aSuperfundsite needing environmental cleanup.[4]
In addition, Seattle contains three other lakes, all north of the Ship Canal:Bitter Lake,Haller Lake,andGreen Lake.
Seattle is home to a number of creeks. Those emptying into Puget Sound includeBroadview Creek,Fauntleroy Creek,Longfellow Creek,andPipers Creek;emptying into Lake Washington areArboretum Creek,Ravenna Creek(viaUniversity Slough),Yesler Creek,andThornton Creek.A map showing all of Seattle'sstreamsandwatershedscan be found at theCity of Seattle's website.
The main inlets of Puget Sound are Elliott Bay,Smith Cove,and Shilshole Bay; the main inlet of Lake Washington is Union Bay.
References
[edit]- ^"2010 Census U.S. Gazetteer Files for Places: Washington".U.S. Census Bureau. Archived fromthe originalon 2012-08-10.Retrieved2012-08-22.
- ^"Archived copy".Archived fromthe originalon 2007-08-07.Retrieved2004-07-08.
{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^"American Association of Port Authorities: Industry Information - Port Industry Statistics".Archived fromthe originalon 2006-10-04.Retrieved2004-07-08.
- ^"Lower Duwamish Waterway Superfund Site".EPA.Retrieved2012-08-22.
