Eagle Lake (Lassen County)
| Eagle Lake | |
|---|---|
 The lake and its surroundings from a small peak above | |
  Eagle Lake  Eagle Lake | |
| Location | Lassen County, California |
| Coordinates | 40°38′42″N 120°44′38″W / 40.64500°N 120.74389°W |
| Catchment area | 600 sq mi (1,600 km2) |
| Basin countries | United States |
| Surface area | 24,000 acres (97.1 km2) |
| Max. depth | 85 ft (26 m) |
| Surface elevation | 5,098 ft (1,554 m) |
Eagle Lake is a
Ecology
Eagle Lake is home to osprey (Pandion haliaetus) and bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), from which it gets its name.
Eagle Lake is the only watershed which supports native
Non-native fish have not survived in the lake because of its high alkalinity, although in the early 1900s during a period of higher lake levels and falling alkalinity, Largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) and Brown bullhead (Ameiurus nebulosus) became abundant in the lake for some years.[4]
Historically American white pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) nested on Eagle Lake. They suffered from hunting by locals who mistakenly thought the pelicans ate the native trout and stopped nesting completely after 1932, when water was exported for agricultural irrigation and lowered the lake level by 10 feet (3 m), changing their nesting island into a less desirable peninsula ("Pelican Point").[5][6]
Watershed and tributaries
Eagle Lake was once part of a large lake on the Modoc Plateau millions of years ago. The modern lake is 15 mi (24 km) long by 1.8–2.5 mi (2.9–4.0 km) wide and is highly alkaline (pH 8-9). The lake consists of three basins, two of them averaging 16–20 ft (4.9–6.1 m) deep, the third averaging 32–65 ft (9.8–19.8 m) and reaching a depth of nearly 98 ft (30 m).[4]
The tributaries of Eagle Lake (beginning in the lake's north end and going clockwise) are Cleghorn Creek, Papoose Creek, Merrill Creek, and Pine Creek. Pine Creek is the main tributary of Eagle Lake and is 39 miles (63 km) long.[7] Now an intermittent stream; only the upper 6.8 miles (10.9 km) of Pine Creek has perennial flow.[8] In 1923 the Leon Bly Tunnel was constructed to export lake water to the Honey Lake Valley via Willow Creek,[9] a tributary of the Susan River. The 2 mi (3.2 km) long tunnel was cut through old lava flows but falling lake levels rendered it useless and a landslide partially blocked the tunnel entrance. However, a 1990 study found that lake water still flows through the tunnel although tunnel fish are from the Willow Creek assemblage.[10]
-
The lake just before dusk. -
The lake in the afternoon.
See also
- List of lakes in California
References
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Eagle Lake
- ^ hdl:10256/7472. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2012-03-24.
- ^ a b "Eagle Lake Rainbow Trout" (PDF). CalTrout. Retrieved 2012-03-24.
- ^ a b Peter B. Moyle; Ronald M. Yoshiyama; Jack E. Williams; Eric D. Wikramanayake (1995). Fish Species of Special Concern in California (PDF) (2nd ed.). California Department of Fish and Game. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-12-20. Retrieved 2012-03-24.
- ]
- ^ Shuford, W. D.; Gardali, T., eds. (2008). 2008. California Bird Species of Special Concern: A ranked assessment of species, subspecies, and distinct populations of birds of immediate conservation concern in California, in Studies of Western Birds. Camarillo, California: Western Field Ornithologists. Retrieved 2012-03-24.
- ^ "Pine Creek". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
- ^ Lisa C. Thompson (2009-12-01). "Inter-relationships between the spawning migration of Eagle Lake rainbow trout, streamflow, snowpack, and air temperature" (PDF). Technical Completion Reports, University of California Water Resources Center, UC Berkeley. Retrieved 2012-03-24.
- ^ "Willow Creek". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
- ^ Peter B. Moyle; Thomas Kennedy; Derek Kudal; Laurie Martin; Gerold Grant (1991). "Fishes of Bly Tunnel, Lassen County, California". Great Basin Naturalist: 267–270. Retrieved 2012-03-24.
