Bitter Lake

Bitter Lake is a small lake in northwest Seattle, Washington, USA. The lake covers 19 acres (77,000 m²), with a mean depth of 16 feet (5 m) and a maximum depth of 31 feet (9 m). Until 1913, a sawmill was located at its southwest corner. Tannic acid from logs dumped into the lake gave its water a bitter taste and the lake itself a name. The Duwamish called the lake "Blackcaps on the Sides" (Lushootseed: cHálqWadee), denoting the blackcap (Rubus leucodermis) plants that grew along the shores. It is a glacial lake, its basin having been dug 15,000 years ago by the Puget Lobe of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet, which also created Lake Washington, Union, Green and Haller Lakes. The Seattle-to-Everett Interurban streetcar reached the lake in 1906,...