Lake Washington Ship Canal Lake Washington Ship Canal The Lake Washington Ship Canal, which runs through the city of Seattle, connects the fresh water body of Lake Washington with the salt water inland sea of Puget Sound. The Hiram M. Chittenden Locks accommodate the approximately difference in water level between Lake Washington and the sound. The canal runs east–west and connects Union Bay, the Montlake Cut, Portage Bay, Lake Union, the Fremont Cut, Salmon Bay, and Shilshole Bay, which is part of the sound. The ship canal project began in 1911 and was officially completed in 1934. Prior to construction of the Lake Washington
Puget Sound faults deformation suggests possible unmapped faults near Federal Way, running between Sumner and Steilacoom, and south of Renton. Puget Sound faults The Puget Sound faults under the heavily populated Puget Sound region (Puget Lowland) of Washington state form a regional complex of interrelated seismogenic (earthquake-causing) geologic faults. These include (from north to south, see map) the: The Puget Sound region (Puget Lowland) of western Washington contains the bulk of the population and economic assets of the state, and carries seven percent of the international trade of the United States. All this is at risk of earthquakes from three sources: While the