Capitol Lake
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Capitol Lake is a 3 kilometer long, 260 acre artificial lake at the lower end of Deschutes River in Tumwater/Olympia, Washington. It was designed by John Olmsted to reflect the Washington State Capitol building. The lake was created in 1951 by a dam on the Deschutes where it empties into Budd Inlet on Puget Sound, destroying the former estuary. Just upstream from Capitol Lake is Tumwater Falls.
The Washington State Department of General Administration now manages the lake.
The mud flats that preceded the construction of the lake were a "Hooverville" shantytown during the Great Depression.
Controversy surrounds Capitol Lake because it replaced a once productive estuary. Because of a high rate of siltation, the lake must be dredged to keep it from filling in and resorting to its estuary/swamp state, a classic case of eutrophication. Additionally, the lake is experiencing a milfoil infestation and poor water quality (it is frequently closed to swimmers due to excessive levels of E. Coli). The Department of General Administration, other state and local agencies, and the Squaxin Island Tribe have participated in a study (the Capitol Lake Adaptive Management Plan) to determine the future of the lake. The decision was to maintain the freshwater lake until 2013.
Heritage Park, Capitol Lake Park and Marathon Park in Olympia and Tumwater are on the lake. Swimming, kayaking and canoeing, and sailboating are popular recreational activities on the water.
The February, 2001 Nisqually Earthquake did considerable damage to Deschutes Parkway on the west side of the lake.
Capital Lakefair, centered on the lake, is held annually in July.
