Baldwin Lake is a

natural Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are p ...

intermittent Intermittency is a behavior of dynamical systems: regular alternation of phases of apparently periodic and chaotic dynamics. Intermittent or intermittency may also refer to: *Intermittent river or stream, the one that ceases to flow every year or ...

, alkali lake in the of the

San Bernardino Mountains The San Bernardino Mountains are a high and rugged mountain range in Southern California in the United States. Situated north and northeast of San Bernardino and spanning two California counties, the range tops out at at San Gorgonio Mountain � ...

, in

San Bernardino County, California San Bernardino County (), officially the County of San Bernardino, is a County (United States), county located in the Southern California, southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of the ...

. It is located east of

Big Bear Lake Big Bear Lake is a reservoir in the San Bernardino Mountains, in San Bernardino County, California, United States. It is a snow and rain fed lake, having no other means of tributaries or mechanical replenishment. At a surface elevation of , it ...

reservoir and

Big Bear City Big Bear City is an unincorporated community in San Bernardino County, California, United States along the east shore of Big Bear Lake and surrounded by the San Bernardino National Forest. It is northeast of the city of San Bernardino, and imme ...

.Big Bear Frontier: "About Baldwin Lake"
. accessed 4.1.2016.

Geography

The lake is at a surface elevation of . Its deepest point it can be approximately . At its widest, the lake is more than across. It is in the headwaters watershed of the

Santa Ana River The Santa Ana River is the largest river entirely within Southern California in the United States. It rises in the San Bernardino Mountains and flows for most of its length through San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, before cutting through ...

. The terrain surrounding the lakebed supports montane

chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant community and geographical feature found primarily in the U.S. state of California, in southern Oregon, and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranean c ...

and

pinyon–juniper woodland Pinyon–juniper woodland, also spelled piñon–juniper woodland, is a vegetation type (biome) of Western United States higher elevation deserts, characterized by being an open forest dominated by low, bushy, evergreen junipers (''Juniperus oste ...

habitats.

Baldwin Lake Ecological Reserve

Baldwin Lake is within the 156-acre Baldwin Lake Ecological Reserve. It is at the intersection of

California State Route 18 State Route 18 (SR 18) is a state highway in the U.S. state of California. It serves as a primary route into the San Bernardino Mountains, both from the Riverside–San Bernardino metropolitan area from the south and the Mojave Desert from the n ...

and

Holcomb Valley Holcomb Valley, located in the San Bernardino Mountains about five miles north of Big Bear Lake, was the site of the most gold mines in Southern California. It was named after William F. Holcomb, who found gold there in 1860. That year started th ...

Road on the north side of the lake. Hwy 18 wraps around the northeastern and northern shores of Baldwin Lake. Calflora.net Blog: "Pebble Plains at Baldwin Lake Ecological Reserve" (with photo gallery)
by Michael L. Charters, April 2012. The Baldwin Lake linanthus (''Linanthus killipii'') is a rare plant at lake's pebble plain and adjacent meadows, that is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the locale and an

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

.Calflora Database: ''Linanthus killipii'' (Baldwin Lake linanthus)
/ref>Jepson eFlora (TJM2) treatment of ''Linanthus killipii''
/ref>

History

The Eye of God, an historic quartz dome, is located in the Baldwin Lake area.

Benjamin Davis Wilson Benjamin Davis Wilson (December 1, 1811 – March 11, 1878), commonly known as Don Benito Wilson,Excerpt: ''"Wilson, now known as Don Benito, became a Californio – that group of Mexicans and Angols who thought of themselves as Californians rathe ...

encountered the lake in 1845, while tracking

horse thieves The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million y ...

in the

. When Wilson saw that the region was populated by many

grizzly bear The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horri ...

s, he divided his 22 men into hunting partners. The men slaughtered 11 bears for the fur pelts. While returning to Jurupa (Riverside), they slaughtered another 11 bears for the fur. Wilson named the region Big Bear Valley, and the lake he called Lake Big Bear.History of Big Bear Lake
/ref> In 1884, the Bear Valley Land and Water Company began construction of a

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

southwest of the lake. The company's stakeholders named the new

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

. They also renamed the alkali lake to Baldwin Lake, after Elias Jackson "Lucky" Baldwin, who came to Big Bear and

in 1876 when he purchased Gold Mountain Mine, later renamed Baldwin Mine.

Baldwin Lake Community Improvement Association

In January 2011, the Baldwin Lake Community Improvement Association was formed which is a non-profit volunteer organization of residents, business and property owners in the lake's adjacent community, who share a common appreciation for the beauty and diversity of Baldwin Lake.Baldwin Lake Community Improvement Association
/ref> The Baldwin Lake CIA is within the Big Bear City CDP for

demographic Demography () is the statistical study of populations, especially human beings. Demographic analysis examines and measures the dimensions and dynamics of populations; it can cover whole societies or groups defined by criteria such as edu ...

statistics. The mission is to improve, beautify and preserve the quality of life in Baldwin Lake through the development of outdoor environmental education programs, community gardens, and a small business incubator to create a sustainable future for the residents of Baldwin Lake.

References

External links

Baldwin Lake Fire Department

US Forest Service.gov: Guide to Big Bear Valley Hiking Trails
— ''trail descriptions and maps''.

{{authority control Lakes of San Bernardino County, California Big Bear Valley San Bernardino Mountains San Bernardino National Forest Santa Ana River Nature reserves in California Natural history of San Bernardino County, California Protected areas of San Bernardino County, California Lakes of Southern California Lakes of California