LAKE CHELAN'S RIVERWALK
You can see some bridge pillars through the trees to your left. At this point, Lake Chelan narrows down to form the source of the Chelan River (which is what you see in the photo). Just downstream from us (out of view around the corner) is a dam, which blocks the flow down the rest of the Chelan River. This may create a bit of confusion, because this top part of the river really feels more like it's part of the lake instead of being part of the river. Oh well, even when measured from this bridge down to where the Chelan River empties into the Columbia, it is the shortest river in Washington (at 4.1 miles). Now, after the dam, the next 3.9 miles of the river plunges down the Chelan River Gorge from our elevation here of 1,100 feet to 712 feet. Actually, most of the water which would go down the post-dam part of the river is diverted through a 2.2-mile tunnel to a powerhouse near the natural lower-end of the river. So flow through the river is usually attenuated considerably, although there is sometimes enough flow for some challenging kayaking.
