Detroit Lake is a

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 ...

impounded by the Detroit Dam on the

North Santiam River The North Santiam River is a tributary of the Santiam River in western Oregon in the United States. It drains of the Cascade Range on the eastern side of the Willamette Valley east of Salem. It rises in the high Cascades in eastern Linn count ...

southeast of Salem, Oregon,

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. The lake is adjacent to

Oregon Route 22 Oregon Route 22 is an Oregon state highway that runs between the Oregon Coast community of Hebo, to an interchange with U.S. Route 20 near Santiam Pass in the Cascade Mountains. OR 22 traverses several highways of the Oregon state highway ...

near the city of

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

. This

mesotrophic lake The Trophic State Index (TSI) is a classification system designed to rate water bodies based on the amount of biological productivity they sustain. Although the term "trophic index" is commonly applied to lakes, any surface water body may be inde ...

stores water for use by the city of Salem and other nearby communities.

History

DETROIT LAKE AT SHOWN AT AN ALLTIME LOW IN THE FALL OF 1973 DUE TO INFREQUENT SNOWFALL AND RAIN THE YEAR BEFORE

Detroit Lake is situated over a historical road bed of the former Oregon Pacific Railroad. This route was built by Colonel T. Egenton Hogg as a proposed

transcontinental railroad A transcontinental railroad or transcontinental railway is contiguous railroad trackage, that crosses a continental land mass and has terminals at different oceans or continental borders. Such networks can be via the tracks of either a single ...

. Because of a lack of funding, the line terminated in Idanha, southeast of the lake. Idanha had rail service until the 1950s, when the track was removed for installation of the Detroit and Big Cliff reservoirs. Detroit Lake was created in 1953 after the completion of the dam. Part of the Willamette Valley Projects, the lake was intended primarily for flood control and power generation but has become one of the major recreation resources in western Oregon.

Details

The reservoir has a capacity of of water when full and in the summer when drawn down. Located in the North Santiam Canyon, the long lake has shoreline of when full. One swimming opportunity is at the Mongold Day-Use Area (an Oregon State Park). Detroit Lake is stocked by the

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) is a government agency of the U.S. state of Oregon responsible for programs protecting Oregon fish and wildlife resources and their habitats. The agency operates hatcheries, issues hunting an ...

with 125,000 catchable rainbow trout along with fingerling rainbow, kokanee and

chinook salmon The Chinook salmon (''Oncorhynchus tshawytscha'') is the largest and most valuable species of Pacific salmon in North America, as well as the largest in the genus '' Oncorhynchus''. Its common name is derived from the Chinookan peoples. Other ...

. A self-sustaining population of brown

bullhead catfish ''Ameiurus'' is a genus of catfishes in the family Ictaluridae. It contains the three common types of bullhead catfish found in waters of the United States, the black bullhead (''Ameiurus melas''), the brown bullhead (''Ameiurus nebulosus''), a ...

resides in the lake. Detroit Lake offers year-round fishing in still water and not in or near the rivers and streams. It is one of 32 lakes federally designated for recreation, managed by the

United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency in ...

. The lake serves many purposes including flood control, water conservation, and recreation. There are many camping and recreation opportunities at Detroit Lake. In 2009, a new winter boat ramp was constructed, making it possible to launch a boat safely during the winter months when other ramps are on dry ground.

Water levels

The water level fluctuates with snow pack, precipitation, and the water consumption of Salem, and surrounding areas. At low pool, it has a surface elevation of ; at the full pool season—typically May 1 to September 1—it can raise up to a water elevation of . In 2015 and 2016 low water levels in the reservoir impacted recreation, the operation of marinas and the economy in the Santiam Canyon.

References

External links

FLRCDL: Federal Lakes Recreation Committee for Detroit Lake website

Army Corps of Engineers: Hourly Detroit Lake Levels

Army Corps of Engineers: Plot of lake level for last 12 months

{{authority control Reservoirs in Oregon State parks of Oregon Lakes of Marion County, Oregon Lakes of Linn County, Oregon Parks in Marion County, Oregon Parks in Linn County, Oregon Buildings and structures in Marion County, Oregon Buildings and structures in Linn County, Oregon Willamette National Forest

History

Details

Water levels

See also

References

External links