Mowich Lake

---

title: "Mowich Lake" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["old-growth-forests", "lakes-of-washington-(state)", "chinook-jargon-place-names", "mount-rainier-national-park", "lakes-of-pierce-county,-washington"] description: "Lake in Pierce County, Washington, United States" topic_path: "technology/web" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mowich_Lake" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Lake in Pierce County, Washington, United States ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox body of water"]

Field	Value
name	Mowich Lake
other_name	Crater Lake (former)
image	Mowich_Lake,_July_2005.jpg
location	Mount Rainier National Park, Pierce County, Washington
coords
outflow	Crater Creek
basin_countries	United States
area	118 acre
elevation	4929 ft
pushpin_map	Washington#USA
pushpin_map_alt	Location of Mowich Lake in Washington, USA.
::

| name = Mowich Lake | other_name = Crater Lake (former) | image = Mowich_Lake,_July_2005.jpg | caption = | image_bathymetry = | caption_bathymetry = | location = Mount Rainier National Park, Pierce County, Washington | coords = | type = | inflow = | outflow = Crater Creek | catchment = | basin_countries = United States | length = | width = | area = 118 acre | depth = | max-depth = | volume = | residence_time = | shore = | elevation = 4929 ft | islands = | cities = | pushpin_map = Washington#USA | pushpin_label_position = | pushpin_map_alt = Location of Mowich Lake in Washington, USA. | pushpin_map_caption = | website = | reference = Mowich Lake is a lake located in the northwestern corner of Mount Rainier National Park in Washington state at an elevation of 4929 ft. The name "Mowich" derives from the Chinook jargon word for deer.

Access to the lake is provided by a 17 mi long unpaved road which opens to vehicles in mid June to early July. Mowich Lake is also a busy campground during the summer with 30 walk-in tent camping spots. Bathrooms, tables, and trash bins are provided.

From the Mowich campground, hikers can reach the Wonderland Trail, Eunice Lake, Tolmie Peak, Spray Park, and Spray Falls. Old-growth trees, waterfalls, creeks, cliffs, and wildflower meadows are also located in and around the area.

Fishing is generally poor at Mowich Lake because the area is not stocked with fish and no habitat is provided for natural spawning.

This body of water was named Crater Lake in 1883 by the geologist Bailey Willis under the belief that it was formed in a volcanic crater, however I. C. Russell later wrote that the land was shaped instead by ice erosion. Willis concurred. Correspondents to the U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BGN) proposed Mowich to avoid ambiguity with the well-known Crater Lake to the south in Oregon. Mowich Lake was designated the official name by the BGN in 1919. The name of its outflow Crater Creek remained unchanged.

References

References

1. "American Indian Names in and around the Umpqua National Forest". [[USFS]].
2. Stienstra, Tom and Stephani. (2002). "Foghorn Outdoors Washington Camping: The Complete Guide to More Than 650 Campgrounds". Avalon Travel Publishing.
3. Russell, I. C.. (1916). "Mount Rainier: A record of exploration". Macmillan.
4. {{cite gnis. 1523454

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::