Sugar Lake

• T34N R36E Sec. 17E

• Elevation 2505 ft. msl (763.5 m msl)

• Area 4.0 acres (1.6 ha)

• Maximum depth 9.5 m (May 9, 1987 hand sounding)

• Watershed -- Inchelium

Sugar Lake is located on Brush Mountain near the north end of Rainy Ridge in the Inchelium watershed. It is a Chara bench lake with a typical shallow bench consisting of deposits of marl along the shore. Drainage apparently runs to Barnaby Creek and ultimately to Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake. The lake has a history of winterkills. Sugar Lake is surrounded by forest which includes Alnus sp., Betula papyrifera, Larix occidentalis, Pinus ponderosa, Pseudotsuga menziesii, Acer glabrum, Cornus stolonifera, Philadelphus lewisii, Symphoricarpus albus, and Rosa sp. Along the shore Eleocharis palustris, Sagittariacuneata, and Mentha arvensis were found in addition to various grasses. Macrophytes observed include, in addition to Chara, Potamogeton sp., Ceratophyllum demersum, and Eleocharis sp. Scirpus sp. and Typha sp. are found at scattered locations around the lake. The lake basin contains many old drowned trees which appear to have been flooded as the result of the construction of a beaver dam quite some time ago. The old fence line on the northern side of the lake corresponds to the northern and eastern portion of the Chara bench encircling the deep part of the lake basin.