Mystic Lake is a
seasonal lake in the
San Jacinto Valley
The San Jacinto Valley is a valley located in Riverside County, in Southern California, in the Inland Empire. The valley is located at the base of the San Jacinto Mountains in the east and Santa Rosa Hills to the south with the San Gorgonio Pass ...
of western
Riverside County, California. The lake's size can vary widely each year. The lake persists from one year to the next, and at other times it completely dissipates during the dry season. The Mystic Lake area attracts one of the most diverse populations of birds in the United States, with over 200 species identified.
The lake is located east of the
Lake Perris
Lake Perris is an artificial lake completed in 1973. It is the southern terminus of the California State Water Project, situated in a mountain-rimmed valley between Moreno Valley and Perris, in what is now the Lake Perris State Recreation Area. ...
reservoir and the town of
Lakeview, between the cities of
Moreno Valley, to the north, and
San Jacinto, to the south. The town of Lakeview received its name for its proximity to Mystic Lake.
Description
The lake persists from one year to the next, and at other times it completely dissipates during the dry season. The lake lies within the outlet area of the
San Jacinto River and is typically full only during late winter and spring when the river is flowing. In recent years, the lake has decreased from thousands of acres to under . If dry conditions persist, experts speculate that it will dry up altogether, becoming an
ephemeral
Ephemerality (from the Greek word , meaning 'lasting only one day') is the concept of things being transitory, existing only briefly. Academically, the term ephemeral constitutionally describes a diverse assortment of things and experiences, fr ...
lake.
Because the San Jacinto basin is actively and rapidly subsiding (on a geologic time-scale), the USGS estimates that the potential size of the lake (the rapidly expanding closed depression) will continue to grow.
San Jacinto Wildlife Area
The lake is adjacent to the
San Jacinto Wildlife Area
The San Jacinto Wildlife Area is a wildlife preserve in the Inland Empire region of California in the United States managed by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. San Jacinto WA is made of up two discontinuous areas, one east of Cali ...
, which is owned and managed by the
California Department of Fish and Wildlife and open to the public. It features restored
wetland
A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The p ...
s and
wildlife habitat. Mystic Lake is a high priority acquisition area for the Department to add to the Wildlife Area.
It is a popular destination for bird-watchers and hunters. The developer of an 8,725-unit housing development is required to create an environmental stewardship program to provide provide community education and funding to the local agencies that manage the wildlife area to offset the impact of the development and its influx of residents.
Juan Bautista de Anza Anza Trail
The
Anza Trail
The Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail is a trail extending from Nogales on the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona, through the California desert and coastal areas in Southern California and the Central Coast region to San Francisco.htt ...
passes by the lake, which was described by
Juan Bautista de Anza
Juan Bautista de Anza Bezerra Nieto (July 6 or 7, 1736 – December 19, 1788) was an expeditionary leader, military officer, and politician primarily in California and New Mexico under the Spanish Empire. He is credited as one of the founding fa ...
in 1774 as "several leagues in circumference and as full of white geese as water." Anza named it ''Laguna de Bucareli,'' after
Antonio María de Bucareli y Ursúa, the viceroy of
New Spain. Much later, it became known as Mystic Lake.
See also
*
Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail
The Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail is a trail extending from Nogales on the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona, through the California desert and coastal areas in Southern California and the Central Coast region to San Francisco. ...
- ''
National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propert ...
''
*
List of lakes in California
There are more than 3,000 named lakes, reservoirs, and dry lakes in the U.S. state of California.
Largest lakes
In terms of area covered, the largest lake in California is the Salton Sea, a lake formed in 1905 which is now saline. It occupie ...
References
External links
San Jacinto Wildlife Area website
** ttps://www.nps.gov/juba/learn/historyculture/california-anza-trail-sites.htm Anza Trail Historic Sites in California
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Lakes of Riverside County, California
Santa Ana River
San Jacinto River (California)
Perris, California
Lakes of California
Lakes of Southern California
Bird sanctuaries of the United States