Lake Washington is a large freshwater lake adjacent to the city of Seattle. It is the largest lake in King County and the second largest natural lake in the state of Washington, after Lake Chelan. It is bordered by the cities of Seattle on the west, Bellevue and Kirkland on the east, Renton on the south and Kenmore on the north, and surrounds Mercer Island. The lake is fed by the Sammamish River at its north end and the Cedar River at its south.
Lake Washington received its present name in 1854 after Thomas Mercer suggested it be named after George Washington, as the new Washington Territory had been named the year before. Prior names for Lake Washington have included the Duwamish name Xacuabš (Lushootseed: literally great-amount-of-water), as well as Lake Geneva, Lake Duwamish, and the Chinook jargon name, "Hyas Chuck," meaning, "Big Lake."
Read more about Lake Washington: Geography, Creeks and Rivers, Canals and Bridges, Shoreline Cities and Towns, Businesses, Water Purity
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“They who know of no purer sources of truth, who have traced up its stream no higher, stand, and wisely stand, by the Bible and the Constitution, and drink at it there with reverence and humility; but they who behold where it comes trickling into this lake or that pool, gird up their loins once more, and continue their pilgrimage toward its fountain-head.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
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—George Washington (1732–1799)