Lewis and Clark's Columbia River - Lacamas Lake, Round Lake, and Lacamas Creek, Washington

Lewis & Clark's Columbia River - "200 Years Later"
"Lacamas Creek, Lacamas Lake, and Round Lake, Washington"

Includes ... Lacamas Creek ... Lacamas Lake ... Round Lake ... Camas, Washington ... Potholes Falls ... "The Potholes" ...

Image, 2009, Lacamas Lake, Washington, click to enlarge

Click image to enlarge

Lacamas Lake, Washington. Image taken March 25, 2008.

Lacamas Creek, Lacamas Lake, and Round Lake ...

Lacamas Lake is a narrow 3-mile-long lake located east of Vancouver, Washington, and one mile north of Camas, Washington. Round Lake joins Lacamas Lake on its southeast side. Lacamas Lake was formed by building two dams along Lacamas Creek at Round Lake. Lacamas Lake is used as a fresh-water supply for the Crown-Zellerback pulp and papermills at Camas.

Click image to enlarge	Lacamas Creek, Washington. View from moving car on highway. Image taken April 28, 2007.
Click image to enlarge	Lacamas Lake, Washington. Image taken April 28, 2007.
Click image to enlarge	Round Lake, Washington, at dam. Image taken April 28, 2007.

Lacamas Creek ...

Lacamas Creek rises in Larch Mountain, Washington, and flows 21 miles before reaching the Columbia River at River Mile (RM) _____. Lacamas Lake was formed by two dams on Lackamas Creek. The U.S. Board of Geographic Names made the name "Lacamas Creek" official in 1937.

Click image to enlarge

Lacamas Creek, Washington. Image taken April 28, 2007.

Lacamas Lake ...

Round Lake ...

Round Lake is a 32-acre lake southeast of Lacamas Lake, and separated from Lacamas Lake by a narrow mile-long strip of land. According to Robert Hitchman in Place Names of Washington (1985, Washington State Historical Society), early pioneers called the lake "round", presumably because it wasn't square.

Pothole Falls (The Potholes) ...

Pothole Falls is one of two falls on Lacamas Creek before the creek reaches the Columbia River. Lower Falls (30 feet high and 75 feet wide) is the second. According to "Waterfalls of the Pacific Northwest" Website (2007):

"... Pothole Falls, or The Potholes, depending on which sign you confront, is the first of two modest waterfalls along Lacamas Creek as it flows from Lacamas and Round Lakes to the Washougal River. Round Lake is formed by a small dam on the creek, immediately below which the creek begins pounding through a sandstone gorge with all sorts of potholes in the streambed. About 300 feet downstream of the dam lies the falls, a 50 foot wide, 15 foot tall plunge. The falls are so named because of the various potholes which punctuate the ledge, funneling the water this way and that – particularly in the warmer seasons. Unfortunately, trees block views of the falls from most perspectives along the rim of the gorge. There is one clear view amid a field a short distance downstream, particularly scenic in the spring when copious swaths of wildflowers bloom amid the grassy knoll. ..."

Image, 2007, Pothole Falls, Washington, click to enlarge

Click image to enlarge

Pothole Falls, Lacamas Creek, Washington. Image taken April 28, 2007.

Views around Lacamas Lake and Round Lake ...

Click image to enlarge	My "Corps of Discovery" members at Round Lake - Genna (pointer), Riley (vizsla) and Gene. Round Lake is in the background. Image taken April 28, 2007.
Click image to enlarge	Trail at Round Lake. Image taken April 28, 2007.
Click image to enlarge	Trail at Round Lake. Image taken April 28, 2007.
Click image to enlarge	Round Lake, Camas, Washington. Image taken April 28, 2007.
Click image to enlarge	Dam, Round Lake, Camas, Washington. Image taken April 28, 2007.
Click image to enlarge	Dam walkway, Round Lake, Camas, Washington. Image taken April 28, 2007.
Click image to enlarge	Dam spillway, Round Lake, Camas, Washington. Image taken April 28, 2007.
Click image to enlarge	Lacamas Lake, Washington. Image taken April 28, 2007.
Click image to enlarge	Double-crested Cormorants, Lacamas Lake, Washington. Image taken March 25, 2008.

Camas Fields ...

Spring brings out the Camas flowers around Lacamas Lake and Round Lake, just north of Camas, Washington.
[More]

Click image to enlarge	Camas field. Gene, Genna, and Riley. View from east of Lacamas Lake and Round Lake, Washington. Image taken April 28, 2007.
Click image to enlarge	Camas field. View from east of Lacamas Lake and Round Lake, Washington. Image taken April 28, 2007.
Click image to enlarge	Camas flower. Image taken April 28, 2007.

From the Journals of Lewis and Clark ...

Clark, ...

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^*River Miles [RM] are approximate, in statute miles, and were determined from USGS topo maps, obtained from NOAA nautical charts, or obtained from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Website, 2003

Sources: Hitchman, R., 1985, Place Names of Washington; USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) Website, 2007; Waterfalls of the Pacific Northwest Website, 2007.

All Lewis and Clark quotations from Gary Moulton editions of the Lewis and Clark Journals, University of Nebraska Press, all attempts have been made to type the quotations exactly as in the Moulton editions, however typing errors introduced by this web author cannot be ruled out; location interpretation from variety of sources, including this website author.