Montlake Cut

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Montlake Cut
The Montlake Cut, seen from the corner of E. Shelby St. and 10th Ave E.
Map of Seattle with the Montlake Cut shaded in blue.
Location	Seattle, Washington
Country	United States
Coordinates	47°38′50″N 122°18′15″W / 47.64722°N 122.30417°W / 47.64722; -122.30417
Specifications
Length	0.76 km (0.47 miles)
History
Current owner	City of Seattle
Original owner	Duwamish Tribe
Construction began	1860
Date completed	1916
Geography
Start point	Portage Bay, Lake Union
End point	Union Bay, Lake Washington

The Montlake Cut is the easternmost section of the Lake Washington Ship Canal, which passes through the city of Seattle, linking Lake Washington to Puget Sound. It opened in 1916 after 56 years of conversation and construction to create the manmade canal.

The path along the cut was designated a National Recreation Trail as Montlake Cut National Waterside in 1971.^[1]

The cut provides a connection between Union Bay, part of Lake Washington, to the east and Portage Bay, an arm of Lake Union, to the west. It is spanned by the Montlake Bridge, a bascule drawbridge carrying Montlake Boulevard (State Route 513). Most of the land on the north shore of the cut is occupied by the University of Washington, its medical school to the west and its stadium parking lot to the east; residences and a recreational trail occupy the south bank, which is part of the Montlake neighborhood.

Before the creation of the Montlake Cut, the land was regularly used by the Duwamish tribe and the holds important history within the tribe, that is commonly overlooked.