Sudden Valley, Washington

Lake Whatcom (from the Lummi word for "loud water") is located in Whatcom County, Washington, United States. It is the drinking water source for approximately 85,000 residents in the city of Bellingham as well as Whatcom County. It is approximately 10 miles (16 km) in length and 1 mile (1.6 km) in width at its widest. Lake Whatcom is located and managed within three political jurisdictions: the city of Bellingham, Whatcom County, and the Lake Whatcom Water and Sewer District. The lake is a popular area for motor boating, swimming, fishing, and other recreational activities. The lake is divided into three basins. Basin 1, the Silver Beach Basin, is the furthest north, and has a maximum depth of 100 feet (30 m). Land use in Basin 1 is primarily residential development, with one large park and several small parks. Basin 2, the Geneva Basin, is the central basin where the drinking water for the city of Bellingham is withdrawn. This basin is the shallowest, with a maximum depth of just 40 to 60 feet (12 to 18 m). Land use is primarily residential, with a mix of lake protection program properties and some rural forestry. Basin 3 is the southernmost basin and is the most remote. At its greatest depth, Basin 3 is 328 feet (100 m) deep, and is estimated to contain 96% of the lake's total water volume. Land use in Basin 3 is composed of scattered residential development, mostly in the community of Sudden Valley, as well as rural and commercial forestry. The total area of the Lake Whatcom Watershed is 142 square kilometers (55 sq mi). There are nine annual streams and approximately 25 additional small creeks and tributaries that flow into Lake Whatcom, accounting for 23 sub-watersheds in all. Lake Whatcom drains into Bellingham Bay by way of Whatcom Creek. The lake has only one island, the 3-acre (12,000 m2) Reveille Island, owned by Camp Firwood, which is believed to be the site of past ceremonies by Native Americans, due to the presence of pictographs and a zoomorphic stone bowl found on the island.

Camp Firwood is a Christian summer camp situated on Lake Whatcom, southeast of Bellingham, Washington. It is part of "The Firs", a Christian camp and retreat ministry that is in good standing with the Christian Camp and Conference Association.

The Whatcom Trail was an overland trail from the Puget Sound area of Washington Territory during the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush of 1858. The trail began on Bellingham Bay, at Fairhaven (now a Bellingham neighbourhood), the route used went via a route known as the Columbia Valley, which is a lowland route connecting the mid-Nooksack River area with Cultus Lake and the lower Chilliwack River in the Upper Fraser Valley, about 80 km east of today's Vancouver. In 1858, T. G. Richards built the first brick building in Washington as an outfitter for those using the Whatcom Trail. The name "Whatcom" comes from the Lummi place name x̣ʷátqʷəm, probably meaning "noisy" with reference to a waterfall.A more westerly route now in use for a major border crossing (at Sumas) was not usable due to the presence of Sumas Lake, a large shallow lake, now drained and turned into agricultural land. An alternate route to the main Whatcom Trail was the Skagit Trail, which went up the river of that name to its headwaters, from which another "back valley" emerges on the Fraser near Hope, then the HBC fur trading post Fort Hope. There are no known statistics for the number of goldseekers who travelled the Whatcom Trail during the gold rush, although certainly they may be counted in the thousands. Its existence was in open defiance of the edict from the British Governor on Vancouver Island that access to the Fraser goldfields must be made from Victoria, and then from there via the Fraser River only. In part this measure was intended to prevent the entry of large parties of armed Americans, and also to strip them of any handguns and any goods for trading with the Indians (still a Hudson's Bay Company monopoly during the gold rush). The route's ongoing use was demonstration of the early colony's essential inability to prevent unregulated intrusion by US citizens, as was also the case with the Okanagan Trail. US troops of the Border Commission who were stationed near the route's southern US end were put on alert during the McGowan's War crisis, and were also stationed there during the San Juan Islands Dispute (the Pig War). Similarly, on the Canadian side, the large tract of land in Sardis that for many years was Canadian Forces Base Chilliwack was laid aside as a military reserve during the scare over potential Fenian Raids in the 1870s and 1880s. That allocation, however, was as much a response to local Stó:lō First Nations numbers as it was to potential American aggression. There is no border crossing at the Columbia Valley today, only a fence across farmland.

Galbraith Mountain is the common name for North Lookout Mountain, located between the communities of Sudden Valley and Bellingham, Washington. It has been rated the best mountain bike trail system in the state of Washington. Galbraith Mountain is located between Lake Padden and Lake Whatcom. Over 65 miles of singletrack winds through 3,000 acres overlooking the city of Bellingham and Bellingham Bay. The mountain is accessible to all non-motorized use; all of the trails are built and maintained by the WMBC.

Lake Samish ( SAM-ish) is a lake south of Bellingham, Washington, United States. Visible to the west of Interstate 5 when travelling between Alger and Bellingham, Lake Samish is heavily used for recreation in the summer months by local residents. The lake shoreline is heavily developed and homesites cover almost the entire shoreline. Lake Samish is bordered on the south by Blanchard Mountain and on the north by Chuckanut Pass. Public access is limited but a Whatcom County park with a rough boat launch is located along the northern shore. In pre-colonial days, members of the Samish tribe lived at sites on the lake. In 1873 the Northern Pacific Railway Company made a preliminary survey through the Lake Samish valley on the way to Bellingham Bay and Hudson's Bay Company trappers had also probably been through the area before that but the first Europeans to settle at Lake Samish were Charlie Barns and William Harris, who staked claims to 160 acres each in March/April 1885, Barns on the east side and Harris on the west side of the lake. In 1931, a new highway connecting Seattle to Vancouver was constructed on the east side of the lake and designated part of U.S. Route 99. This road was later replaced by Interstate 5. Notable residents include Hilary Swank, who grew up on a trailer park next to the lake, and Ryan Stiles, who lives next to the lake.

Geneva is an unincorporated area and census-designated place (CDP) in Whatcom County, Washington, United States. The population was 2,321 at the 2010 census. Based on per capita income, Geneva ranks 85th of 522 areas in the state of Washington to be ranked. It is also the highest rank achieved in Whatcom County.

Blue Canyon is an unincorporated community in Whatcom County, in the U.S. state of Washington.

Park is an extinct town in Whatcom County, in the U.S. state of Washington.A post office called Park was established in 1884, and remained in operation until 1925. The community was named after Charles Park, an early settler.

White City was an amusement park located at Lake Whatcom's Silver Beach in Bellingham, Washington.White City opened in 1906 and closed in 1919. The park had a wooden roller coaster, plus a hotel, dance hall and an ice cream parlor. White City was named because of its "white" electric lights.

Toad Lake is a lake near the city of Bellingham in the U.S. state of Washington.Toad Lake was named for fact the lake was the habitat of an abundance of toads.

Alger is a census-designated place (CDP) in Skagit County, Washington, United States. The population was 403 at the 2010 census. It is included in the Mount Vernon–Anacortes, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area. Alger is located along Old Highway 99 North Road. It is near the midway point of the route between Seattle and Vancouver, 76 miles from the former and 66 miles from the latter. A former logging camp, Alger is now a working-class exurban community and home to the Skagit Speedway. The nearby Skagit Speedway has been operating for 50 years and attracting racers from all over the Northwest and West; Kasey Kahne raced there before becoming a NASCAR Sprint Cup driver. It is a 1/3 mile banked oval track built of silica and clay, and the faster classes of sprint cars achieve lap averages of almost 100 mph. Races are typically held on Saturday nights under floodlights, and camping is available for racers and spectators in the Speedway's grounds.

On June 10, 1999, the Olympic pipeline operated by Olympic Pipe Line Company, carrying gasoline at the time, exploded in Whatcom Falls Park in Bellingham, Washington. The disaster started at 3:25 PM PDT (22:25 UTC) when a mostly underground gasoline pipeline that crossed Whatcom and Hanna Creeks ruptured due to various errors and malfunctions on the part of Olympic Pipeline and others. The gasoline vapors exploded at 5:02 PM PDT, sending a fireball down Whatcom Creek. Three people died in the incident.