{{Short description|Lake in Washington state, US}} {{Use American English|date=July 2025}} {{Infobox body of water | name = Talapus Lake | image = | caption = | location = King County, Washington, United States | coords = {{coord|47.415206|-121.518626|type:waterbody_region:US-WA|display=inline,title}} | type = | inflow = | outflow = Talapus Creek<ref name=barnes /> | catchment = | basin_countries = United States | length = | width = | area = {{convert|17.4|acre|ha}}<ref name=blazer /> | depth = | max-depth = | volume = | residence_time = | shore = | elevation = {{convert|3264|ft|m|abbr=on}}<ref>*{{gnis|1526908|Talapus Lake}} </ref> | islands = | cities = <!-- Map --> | pushpin_map = Washington#USA | pushpin_label_position = | pushpin_map_alt = Location of Talapus Lake in Washington, USA. | pushpin_map_caption = <!-- Below --> | website = | reference = }} '''Talapus Lake''' is a freshwater lake located on a prominent valley at the eastern skirt of Bandera Mountain,<ref name=barnes>{{cite book |last=Barnes|first=Jeremy and Nathan |author-link= |date= 2009|title=Alpine Lakes Wilderness: The Complete Hiking Guide |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yqaWDwAAQBAJ|location= |publisher=Mountaineers Books|page=|isbn=978-1680510782}} </ref> in King County, Washington.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://listsofjohn.com/peak/50907|title=Defiance, Mount WA|last= |first= |date= |website= |publisher= ListOfJohn.com|access-date=9 June 2021 |quote=}} </ref> Mount Defiance and Pratt Mountain are a short distance to the west of Talapus Lake. The name Talapus is a Chinook word for ''coyote''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Talapus, the Coyote trickster of the Chinook tribe (Italapas) |url=http://www.native-languages.org/morelegends/talapus.htm |website=www.native-languages.org}}</ref>
Talapus Lake is surrounded by other alpine lakes, including Olallie Lake and Pratt Lake a short distance north. Because of its proximity to Snoqualmie Pass and other prominent peaks in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness,<ref>{{cite book |last=Weber |first=Andrew |author-link= |date= 2009|title=60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Seattle: Including Bellevue, Everett, and Tacoma |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rdBKAQAAQBAJ&dq=%22Blazer+Lake%22+-wikipedia&pg=PA156 |location= |publisher=Menasha Ridge Press |page=156 |isbn=978-0897326957}} </ref> the lake is a popular area for hiking, swimming, and fishing rainbow trout.<ref name=blazer>{{cite web |url=https://www.washingtonfishinglakes.com/lakes/wa/king_county/talapus|title=Talapus King County|last= |first= |date= |website= |publisher= Washington Fishing Lakes|access-date=22 June 2021}}</ref>
Access to the lake is from Talapus Lake trail or Pratt Lake trail further east, a short exit from Interstate 90, west of the Snoqualmie Pass.<ref>{{cite book |last= Hill|first= Craig|author-link= |date= 2002|title= Moon Washington Hiking: Best Hikes plus Beer, Bites, and Campgrounds Nearby|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fZnvDwAAQBAJ |location= |publisher= Avalon Publishing|page= |isbn=9781640495067}} </ref>
== See also == * List of lakes of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness
== References == {{reflist}}
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Category:Lakes of King County, Washington Category:Lakes of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Category:Okanogan–Wenatchee National Forest