Lake Louise is a
lake
A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...
in
Luzerne County, Pennsylvania
Luzerne County is a county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and is water. It is Northeastern Pennsylvania's second-largest county by total area. As of ...
, in the United States. It has a surface area of approximately on
The National Map
''The National Map'' is a collaborative effort of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and other federal, state, and local agencies to improve and deliver topographic information for the United States. The purpose of the effort is to pro ...
and is located entirely in
Franklin Township.
The lake is dammed by the Lake Louise Dam, which is in poor condition, as of 1980. Lake Louise is situated on Sutton Creek and drains an area of . As of 1980, its watershed is mostly forested. The Lake Louise Lake Association was given a Growing Greener mini-grant in 2012.
Geography, geology, and watershed
The main inflows to Lake Louise are
Sutton Creek and two unnamed streams. The main outflow is Sutton Creek.
The lake has an elevation of above
sea level
Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...
.
Under normal conditions, the lake has an area of , a volume of , and a length of . However, the maximum storage capacity is . The lake is upstream of the Susquehanna River.
Lake Louise is
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 ...
med by the Lake Louise Dam.
As of 1980, this dam is in poor condition, with a
spillway
A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of water downstream from a dam or levee, typically into the riverbed of the dammed river itself. In the United Kingdom, they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways ensure th ...
capable of handling 45 percent of a probably maximum flood. It was classified as an "unsafe non-emergency dam". The dam is an
earthfill dam with a height of , a length of , and a width of at the top.
Lake Louise is in the Glaciated Low Plateaus section of the Appalachian Plateaus physiographic province. The main
rock formation underlying the lake is the
Devonian-age
Susquehanna Group, which consists of
conglomerate,
siltstone,
sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...
, and
shale.
The
watershed of Lake Louise has an area of . As of 1980, the watershed of Lake Louise is mostly forested. Most slopes in the watershed are gentle or moderate.
Lake Louise is entirely within the
United States Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...
quadrangle of Center Moreland.
Hydrology
In October 2007, the concentration of
nitrate/
nitrogen
Nitrogen is the chemical element with the symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a nonmetal and the lightest member of group 15 of the periodic table, often called the pnictogens. It is a common element in the universe, estimated at se ...
at the inlets to Lake Louise ranged from . In November 2009, the concentration ranged from and in May 2011, the concentration ranged from . At the outlet of Lake Louise, the concentrations on those three dates were , , and , respectively. For comparison, healthy lakes generally have concentrations of less than in the summertime.
In October 2007, the concentration of
phosphorus
Phosphorus is a chemical element with the symbol P and atomic number 15. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms, white phosphorus and red phosphorus, but because it is highly reactive, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Ear ...
at the inlets to Lake Louise ranged from . In November 2009, the concentration ranged from and in May 2011, the concentration ranged from . At the outlet of Lake Louise, the concentrations on those three dates were , , and , respectively. For comparison, a phosphorus concentration of more than indicates a
eutrophic
Eutrophication is the process by which an entire body of water, or parts of it, becomes progressively enriched with minerals and nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus. It has also been defined as "nutrient-induced increase in phytoplan ...
lake.
History
Lake Louise was entered into the
Geographic Names Information System
The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is a database of name and locative information about more than two million physical and cultural features throughout the United States and its territories, Antarctica, and the associated states of ...
on August 2, 1979. Its identifier in the Geographic Names Information System is 1199089.
In 2012, the Lake Louise Lake Association was awarded a
Growing Greener
Growing may refer to:
* Growth (disambiguation)
* Growing (band), a noise band based in Brooklyn, New York
* ''Growing'' (Sleeping People album), 2007
*Growing (Rina Chinen album)
* Growing, a children's song sung on the television program Barney ...
mini-grant for sediment removal, shoreline stabilization,
riparian buffer
A riparian buffer or stream buffer is a vegetated area (a " buffer strip") near a stream, usually forested, which helps shade and partially protect the stream from the impact of adjacent land uses. It plays a key role in increasing water quality i ...
establishment, and
invasive species control on Lake Louise.
See also
*
List of lakes in Pennsylvania
This is a list of lakes and reservoirs in the state of Pennsylvania in the United States. Swimming, fishing, and/or boating are permitted in some of these lakes, but not all.
Lakes
* Allegheny Reservoir (also known as Kinzua Lake)
* Antietam La ...
*
Cummings Pond
Cummings Pond is a lake in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It has a surface area of more than and is located in Franklin Township. The lake is fed by springs and an unnamed tributary of Sutton Creek flow from it. It is up to ...
, also in the Sutton Creek watershed
References
External links
Image of Lake Louise
{{DEFAULTSORT:Louise
Lakes of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania
Lakes of Pennsylvania