That’s because like all of Washington north of Tacoma, the landscapes and lakes of Seattle were created by an enormous 3,000-foot-tall ice sheet that scoured the region 16,000 years ago.
Lake Washington and Lake Sammamish sit in troughs carved by the ice, while smaller lakes like Green Lake were created when huge chunks of ice broke off and compressed the ground before slowly melting.
Follow along as Nick Zentner visits Washington’s largest city to look for clues about its glacial past.
Support for Nick on the Rocks is provided by the Pacific Science Center.
