Riffe Lake

Riffe Lake is a 23.5 mi (38 km) long reservoir on the Cowlitz River in the U.S. state of Washington. Originally named Mossyrock Lake,[4] then later Davisson Lake, it was created in 1968 (1968) with the construction of Mossyrock Dam by Tacoma City Light (now Tacoma Power).[2] The lake was renamed in 1976 after the community of Riffe, which was inundated by the lake. The residents of Kosmos were also relocated as the lake's water level would submerge much of the town.[5]

Riffe Lake
Riffe Lake
Riffe Lake
LocationLewis County, Washington, United States
Coordinates46°32′4″N 122°25′43″W[1]
Typereservoir
Primary inflowsCowlitz River
Primary outflowsCowlitz River
Catchment area1,400 sq mi (3,630 km2)[2]
Basin countriesUnited States
Max. length23.5 mi (37.8 km)[2]
Surface area11,830 acres (47.9 km2)[3]
Max. depth360 feet (110 m)
Shore length152 mi (83.7 km)[2]
Surface elevation778.5 ft (237 m)[2]
References[1][2][3]
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

The lake contains species of fish including rainbow and brown trout, landlocked coho, bass both large mouth and small mouth, bluegill, crappie, and perch.[6]

In 2017, Tacoma Power lowered the maximum water level of the lake by 30 feet (9.1 m) due to concerns that the Mossyrock Dam could fail during a major seismic event and cause catastrophic flooding.[7]

Riffe Lake as seen from the peak of Dog Mountain
Riffe Lake as seen from the west side of Dog Mountain
Panoramic view of Riffe Lake as seen from the peak of Dog Mountain

See also

References
  1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Riffe Lake
  2. Cowlitz River Project Statistics, Tacoma Power
  3. Cowlitz River Project Mossyrock Dam, Tacoma Power
  4. "Riffe Lake - Fish Washington | Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife". wdfw.wa.gov. Retrieved 2016-02-03.
  5. Mittge, Brian (June 12, 2015). "Underwater Towns of the Cowlitz River: A Look Back at Kosmos, Nesika and Riffe". The Chronicle. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  6. http://www.washingtonlakes.com/LakeInfo.aspx?id=147&t=1
  7. Rubin, Will (May 3, 2019). "Tacoma Power Updates Mossyrock Residents On Riffe Lake Levels". The Chronicle. Retrieved October 15, 2021.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.