Avatar:East and West Lakes

"The Fire Nation controls the western lake. Rumor has it they're working on something big on the other side of it and don't want anyone to find out what it is."

— Suki.

<infobox theme-source="nation"> <image source="image" /> <title source="name"><default>East and West Lakes</default></title> <group> <header>Physical information</header> <label>Location</label> </group> <group> <header>Government</header> <label>Position</label> <label>Capital</label> <label>Form of government</label> <label>Head of state</label> <label>Religious authority</label> <label>Currency</label> <label>Ruler</label> <label>Owner</label> <label>Leader</label> <label>Administrator</label> <label>First appearance</label> <label>Last appearance</label> </group> <group> <header>Location on map</header> </group> <header>Image gallery (0)</header> </infobox> The East and West Lakes are two large bodies of water located in the central Earth Kingdom, southwest of Ba Sing Se. They are divided by the pinnacles of rock that form the Serpent's Pass, connected only by a small gap in the middle of the pass. Both lakes are connected by rivers to the sea, with West Lake connecting to the Mo Ce Sea and arctic seas, and East Lake to the Eastern Sea.

History

As Jianzhu and two of his guardsmen traveled to the southern Taihua range, one of their eel hounds died from exhaustion on the far shore of West Lake.

Around 97 AG, refugees Gong-gong and Jin crossed the West Lake on their journey to Ba Sing Se from their destroyed hometown Daying.

Prior to Avatar Aang's return in 99 AG, the Fire Nation military seized control of West Lake from the Earth Kingdom and sent ships to patrol along the Serpent's Pass and scan for intruders. Rumors spread that the Fire Nation was working on a secret project in West Lake and did not want anyone investigating. East Lake, however, remained under Earth Kingdom control, with one of its harbors, Full Moon Bay, serving as the main transfer point for refugees headed to Ba Sing Se.

However, after the Earth King was overthrown, Fire Nation Navy contingents, under the command of Admiral Liang, quickly swarmed into East Lake, forcing the Water Tribe forces, along with Aang and his friends, to abandon their defense of a nearby bay. After scuttling the Water Tribe fleet in the center of East Lake and commandeering a Fire Nation patrol vessel, they fled west and later approached a barrier constructed by the Fire Nation to control traffic through the gap in the Serpent's Pass. Hakoda and Sokka managed to convince the barrier guards to let the ship into West Lake, only to run into a patrol ship from the Western Fleet. After mistakenly revealing themselves to the ship's commander by commenting on having received orders from Admiral Chan, who had, in reality, been on leave, they engaged in a skirmish with the ship. However, the group managed to escape with relatively little damage.