Summer Lake is a large, shallow, alkali lake in Lake County,

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

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 territorie ...

located south of the small,

unincorporated Unincorporated may refer to: * Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality * Unincorporated entity, a type of organization * Unincorporated territories of the United States, territories under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress ...

community of Summer Lake, Oregon. At high water it is about long and wide, and supports a wide variety of birds and other wildlife in its marshes. The lake was named by explorer John C. Fremont on his expedition into

Central Oregon Central Oregon is a geographic region in the U.S. state of Oregon and is traditionally considered to be made up of Deschutes, Jefferson, and Crook counties. Other definitions include larger areas, often encompassing areas to the north towards the ...

in 1843.

Ancient Lake Chewaucan

The arid lands around Summer Lake were once lush. During the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...

Epoch, vast areas of this region of south central Oregon were covered by

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 ...

s and

wetlands 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 ...

. As the last ice age was ending, rain and runoff from melting snow filled the lowlands throughout this region of the

Great Basin The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic basin, endorheic watersheds, those with no outlets, in North America. It spans nearly all of Nevada, much of Utah, and portions of California, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, and Baja California ...

, creating an immense, freshwater lake called Lake Chewaucan. The lake covered at depths of up to ."Ancient Lakes", Oregon Historical Marker, Summer Lake, Oregon. Lake Chewaucan covered the Summer Lake basin and drainage system much of the late Pleistocene. The last high water period is thought to have occurred about 13,000 years ago. There is archaeological evidence of human use of Lake Chewaucan during this time. The oldest known human remains in the Western Hemisphere come from the

Paisley Caves The Paisley Caves or the Paisley Five Mile Point Caves complex is a system of eight caves in an arid, desolate region of south-central Oregon, United States north of the present-day city of Paisley, Oregon. The caves are located in the Summer La ...

, wave-cut caves currently 10 miles southwest from Summer Lake. Lake Chewaucan began to dry up at the close of the Pleistocene. As it shrank, salts and alkali were concentrated in its remaining waters. The exposed lake bottom sediments were blown by the prevailing westerly winds to form the sand dunes that still lie on the east side of Summer Lake. Today, Summer Lake and

Abert Lake Lake Abert (also known as Abert Lake) is a large, shallow, alkali lake in Lake County, Oregon, United States. It is approximately long and wide at its widest point. It is located northeast of the small, unincorporated community of Valley Fall ...

are separated by and are the only remnants of Lake Chewaucan. At high water, Summer Lake is about long and wide; however, water levels fluctuate dramatically, and sometimes the lake is almost dry in summer. The main source of fresh water is the small spring-fed Ana River, which is used for irrigation.Witty, Jim
"Ana River"
''The Bulletin'', Bend Oregon, 5 January 2007.

Fremont expedition

Summer Lake was spotted and named by Captain

John C. Frémont John Charles Frémont or Fremont (January 21, 1813July 13, 1890) was an American explorer, military officer, and politician. He was a U.S. Senator from California and was the first Republican nominee for president of the United States in 1856 ...

during his 1843 mapping expedition through central Oregon. Fremont and his Army topographical team were mapping the

Oregon Territory The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Oregon. Ori ...

from

The Dalles The Dalles is the largest city of Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The population was 16,010 at the 2020 census, and it is the largest city on the Oregon side of the Columbia River between the Portland Metropolitan Area, and Hermiston ...

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...

Sutter's Fort Sutter's Fort was a 19th-century agricultural and trade colony in the Mexican ''Alta California'' province.National Park Service"California National Historic Trail."/ref> The site of the fort was established in 1839 and originally called New Helve ...

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

. On 16 December 1843, the expedition struggled down a steep cliff from a snow-covered plateau to reach a large lake in the valley below. Fremont named the snow-covered rim "Winter Ridge" and the temperate waters "Summer Lake." Fremont described the discovery and naming of Summer Lake as follows:

Wildlife refuge

The Summer Lake Basin supports more than 250 species of birds including

bald eagles The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...

Canada geese The Canada goose (''Branta canadensis''), or Canadian goose, is a large wild goose with a black head and neck, white cheeks, white under its chin, and a brown body. It is native to the arctic and temperate regions of North America, and it is o ...

, white faced ibis, yellow-headed blackbirds, goshawks, hermit thrushes, red-tail hawks,

great blue herons The great blue heron (''Ardea herodias'') is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North America and Central America, as well as the Caribbean and the Galápagos Isl ...

, and numerous species of ducks. This makes Summer Lake a favorite

bird watching Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by ...

and

hunting Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

area. 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 and ...

maintains the

Summer Lake Wildlife Area The Summer Lake Wildlife Area (also known as Summer Lake State Game Management Area) is a wildlife refuge located on the northwestern edge of the Great Basin drainage in south-central Oregon. It is administered by the Oregon Department of Fish ...

on the north side of the lake. The refuge consists of a large

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 ...

marsh fed by the Ana River with associated high desert uplands with an tour route open to the public most of the year. The refuge headquarters is located adjacent to Oregon Route 31 in the town of Summer Lake, directly across from the Summer Lake Lodge.

Dust storm

Plumes of Summer Lake dust, lifted by winds of up to , are thought to be responsible for "dirty rain" that fell on February 6, 2015, across parts of three U.S. states: Oregon,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, and

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

. Scientists at

Washington State University Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant unive ...

concluded that an unusual combination of weather systems carried the dust up to north and northeast, where it mixed with rain, which turned "milky". Chalky residue coated cars and windows in Hermiston,

Spokane Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Ca ...

, and at least 13 other cities.

References

External links