Lily Lake (also known as Long Pond or Beach Pond) is an impoundment and natural

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 ...

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 160 acres and is situated on Pond Creek. It is a natural glacial lake in Slocum Township and Conyngham Township. The lake is listed on the Luzerne County Natural Areas Inventory. It is inhabited by eleven species of fish, including alewives and bluegills. The lake has one boat launch.

Geography and geology

The elevation of Lily Lake is 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 standardised g ...

. It has a surface area of approximately 160 acres and is an impoundment. The lake is approximately long and wide at its widest. Lily Lake is in 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 Nanticoke. It is situated in Slocum Township and Conyngham Township. The lake is near the community of Pond Hill. It is hydrologically connected to

Cranberry Pond This is a list of lakes in Nova Scotia. Cape Breton Island All Four Counties * Bras d'Or Lake Cape Breton Regional Municipality * Anse aux Cannes Pond * The Barachois * Bear Cove Pond * Bear Gulch Ponds * Beaverdam Pond * Belle Lake * ...

and the Folstown Mud Pond. A total of 93 percent of the shoreline of Lily Lake is owned by the

Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission is an independent state agency responsible for the regulation of all fishing and boating in the state of Pennsylvania within the United States of America. Unlike many U.S. states, Pennsylvania has a sepa ...

. The remaining 7 percent is private land. In 2014, Lily Lake was frozen until at least March 15. In 1904, the ''

Atlantic Reporter The ''Atlantic Reporter'' () is a United States regional case law reporter. It is part of the National Reporter System created by John B. West for West Publishing Company, which is now part of Thomson West. The ''Atlantic Reporter'' contains ...

'' described the lake as being non-navigable and elliptical in shape. Lily Lake is a natural

glacial lake A glacial lake is a body of water with origins from glacier activity. They are formed when a glacier erodes the land and then melts, filling the depression created by the glacier. Formation Near the end of the last glacial period, roughly 10,0 ...

History

Lily Lake 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 1179343. Lily Lake is also known as Long Pond. This name appears in Patton's Philadelphia and Suburbs Street and Road Map, which was published in 1984. Lily Lake was stocked with

brook trout The brook trout (''Salvelinus fontinalis'') is a species of freshwater fish in the char genus ''Salvelinus'' of the salmon family Salmonidae. It is native to Eastern North America in the United States and Canada, but has been introduced elsewhere ...

brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a European species of salmonid fish that has been widely introduced into suitable environments globally. It includes purely freshwater populations, referred to as the riverine ecotype, ''Salmo trutta'' morph ...

, and

rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead (sometimes called "steelhead trout") is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coasta ...

in 1991. It was surveyed four times between 1994 and 2000. It was surveyed again by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission in 2013. The lake was surveyed once more on May 12, 2014 to examine the effects of alewives on the lake's largemouth bass population.

Biology

Lily Lake is listed on the Luzerne County Natural Areas Inventory. Eleven species of fish were observed by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission in Lily Lake in 2013. A total of 365

alewives The alewife (''Alosa pseudoharengus'') is an anadromous species of herring found in North America. It is one of the "typical" North American shads, attributed to the subgenus ''Pomolobus'' of the genus ''Alosa''. As an adult it is a marine spe ...

were caught, as were 333

bluegill The bluegill (''Lepomis macrochirus''), sometimes referred to as "bream", "brim", "sunny", or "copper nose" as is common in Texas, is a species of North American freshwater fish, native to and commonly found in streams, rivers, lakes, ponds and ...

s with lengths of . 93

black crappie The black crappie (''Pomoxis nigromaculatus'') is a freshwater fish found in North America, one of the two types of crappies. It is very similar to the white crappie in size, shape, and habits, except that it is darker, with a pattern of black sp ...

s from in length were observed, as were 53

brown bullhead The brown bullhead (''Ameiurus nebulosus'') is a fish of the family Ictaluridae that is widely distributed in North America. It is a species of bullhead catfish and is similar to the black bullhead (''Ameiurus melas'') and yellow bullhead (''Ame ...

s from in length and 36 golder shiners from . The survey observed 22

chain pickerel The chain pickerel (''Esox niger'') is a species of freshwater fish in the pike family (family Esocidae) of order Esociformes. The chain pickerel and the American pickerel (''E. americanus'') belong to the ''Esox'' genus of pike. Taxonomy French ...

s from in length, 18

pumpkinseed The pumpkinseed (''Lepomis gibbosus''), also referred to as pond perch, common sunfish, punkie, sunfish, sunny, and kivver, is a small/medium-sized North American freshwater fish of the genus ''Lepomis'' (true sunfishes), from family Centrarchi ...

s from in length, 12

yellow perch The yellow perch (''Perca flavescens''), commonly referred to as perch, striped perch, American perch, American river perch or preacher is a freshwater perciform fish native to much of North America. The yellow perch was described in 1814 by Samu ...

es from in length, and 10 hatchery

. It observed seven

largemouth bass The largemouth bass (''Micropterus salmoides'') is a carnivorous freshwater gamefish in the Centrarchidae ( sunfish) family, a species of black bass native to the eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada and northern Mexico, but ...

from in length and two

northern pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus '' Esox'' (the pikes). They are typical of brackish and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). They are known simply as a ...

from in length. Since alewives were introduced into Lily Lake, bluegill populations have declined by 77 percent and black crappie populations have declined by 79 percent. However, the remaining black crappies are larger than they were prior to the introduction of alewives.

Odonate Odonata is an order of flying insects that includes the dragonflies and damselflies. Members of the group first appeared during the Triassic, though members of their total group, Odonatoptera, first appeared in Late Carboniferous. The two comm ...

species inhabiting the area in the vicinity of Lily Lake include ''

Aeshna clepsydra ''Aeshna clepsydra'', the mottled darner, is a species of darner in the dragonfly family Aeshnidae The Aeshnidae, also called aeshnids, hawkers, or darners, is a family of dragonflies. The family includes the largest dragonflies found in North ...

'', ''

Celithemis eponina The Halloween pennant (''Celithemis eponina'') is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae. It is native to eastern North America, including Ontario in Canada and the United States as far west as Colorado.NatureServe. 2015''Celithemis ep ...

'', '' Libellula incesta'', '' Ischnura kellicotti'', and '' Sympetrum semicinctum''. Plant species in the vicinity of the lake include '' Bidens discoidea'', ''

Myriophyllum heterophyllum ''Myriophyllum heterophyllum'' (English: twoleaf watermilfoil or broadleaf watermilfoil) is a species from the genus ''Myriophyllum'' native to North America. It was first described by André Michaux. Description ''Myriophyllum heterophyllum' ...

'', ''

Schoenoplectus torreyi Schoenoplectus torreyi, common name Torrey bulrush or Torrey's bulrush, is a species of Schoenoplectus found in North America. Conservation status in the United States It is listed as endangered and extirpated in Maryland, as endangered in Indi ...

'', and '' Utricularia intermedia''. Species such as ''

Elatine minima ''Elatine minima'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Elatinaceae, native to eastern Canada ( Newfoundland island, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Prince Edward Island), the north-central United States (Minnesota and Wisconsin), the northeas ...

'' and ''

Potamogeton robbinsii ''Potamogeton robbinsii'', commonly known as Robbins' pondweed, is a North American perennial herb. The specific epithet ''robbinsii'' is named in honor of James Watson Robbins, the pioneer student of the genus. It is found in deep to shallow, ...

'' have also been observed near the lake in the past.

Recreation

Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission sign at Lily Lake

Icefishing and

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

can done on Lily Lake. The lake has one

boat launch A slipway, also known as boat ramp or launch or boat deployer, is a ramp on the shore by which ships or boats can be moved to and from the water. They are used for building and repairing ships and boats, and for launching and retrieving small ...

. However, no boats that are more than long and have engines with no more than 60

horsepower Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are the ...

are permitted on the lake. Boats on the lake are also required to travel at limited speeds between noon and sunset from the Saturday before

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have fought and died while serving in the United States armed forces. It is observed on the last Monda ...

until September 30 as of 1994.

References

{{authority control Lakes of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania Lakes of Pennsylvania Glacial lakes of the United States

Geography and geology

History

Biology

Recreation

See also

References